Re: [NTLK] Quote of the day!

On 7/10/07, Grant Hutchinson <grant@splorp.com> wrote:

> Hwoever, I'm a firm believer that - once trained over time - HWR text
> input on the Newton is far superior to any keyboard-based input the
> iPhone has at this point - predictive or otherwise.

I think there needs to be some qualification to this. I've used my
Newtons since 1995, and have never had many problems with HWR. I write
fast, using all the shortcuts (writing everywhere on the screen, using
any and every available space to write, expansions, etc.) and I write
fast and sloppy. ;-) However, At my best, I write little over 20
wpm--maybe 30. Guess what. That's comparable to what I write on
paper--if not better. Using Gesture Mosaic, I was able to write a bit
faster, but less comfortably. My hand tired faster, and I got tired of
having to manually capitalize and enter spaces. Graffiti on the Palm
is even worse than GM was on my Newton (which, btw, I gave up after
only a few weeks of use). All of these pale compared to my typing on a
keyboard. I type 60 wpm on average, not counting errors. I've never
used a thumb keyboard, but suspect I will when I finally get a Treo.
;-) And I have never touched an iPhone either. However, I suspect that
my typing speed on _both_ of these will be faster than on my Newton.

But that is only part of the picture. Entering text is only part of
the picture. Editing and correcting text is the second part. The Palm
w/ Graffiti has it all wrong. It stinks. I hate writing on my Palm,
and hate editing even worse. I don't see a thumbboard improving upon
this much, as you still have to navigate to where you want to edit,
and to jump back and forth between thumbboard and stylus is almost as
hair-raising as navigating with the keyboard alone.

From reports I've read, the iPhone is a mixed bag in the editing
department. It sounds like it's retained some of the Newton's
capabilities, but not all.

But in any case, it is at the editing stage that the Newton truly
shines. I can write full-bore, normal notes or outlines, and go back
later and edit and clean up. Every way the Newton OS works feels
natural, and has felt natural since day one. Some things weren't so
obvious at first, but as soon as I learned the "trick" it was like "oh
yeah! So obvious!"

So, while maybe the Newton is the slowest in terms of raw speed, it is
also the most natural and comfortable. I've written pages upon pages
with it, and used to write full-length emails on my 120 running 1.3
(sent to NTLK via Aloha for AOL!). In fact, my sole remaining function
for my Newton (besides a couple games) is note-taking. Its names
database is waaay out of date, and the calendar is long-neglected, but
my Notes are current, and my NewtonWorks gets a weekly workout also.
:-)

So, is there a perfect input method? Well, on my computer, it's easily
a full-sized keyboard, but portable, I am still convinced that the
NewtonOS is as close to perfect as you can hope for... but that's one
man's experience...

-- 
 -Jon Glass
Krakow, Poland
<jonglass@usa.net>
There is no such thing as public opinion. There is only published
opinion.   --Winston Churchill
-- 
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