For most writers, the idea of a retreat is a wistful fantasy. That’s because many writers live in the city, and the subway doesn’t go to that perfectly reclusive cabin in the woods. So what’s a writer to do? Well, you could just build a cabin in your backyard, like this guy.
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We’re living in a time of extreme technological change. Gadgets that didn’t exist a decade ago are shaping your existence. So we need science fiction, more than ever, to speculate about the future of technology. But here’s the hard part: You can’t speculate about technological change without also speculating about social change.
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A few months ago we featured iSketchnote, an iPad cover that can record and digitize handwritten or handdrawn notes. If chipmaker Qualcomm has its way, that feature may be integrated into the next wave of tablets. To show off the power of its upcoming Snapdragon 805 processor, Qualcomm will be displaying what it calls Ultra Sound at the 2014 Consumer Electronics Show (CES).
Like iSketchnote, Ultra Sound copies doodles made with ink and paper in real time. The prototype shown in the video below requires a digital pen that’s also an ink pen. When you use the digital pen on paper, it emits ultrasonic vibrations. Those vibrations are picked up by microphones embedded in the Snapdragon 805-powered tablet and then analyzed to replicate the paper sketch on the tablet’s screen.
It would be nice if Ultra Sound worked even if the tablet was in sleep mode, so you can keep writing or doodling for long periods of time knowing that your work is being backed up in real time.
[via SlashGear]
Graphic designer William Drenttel died on Saturday, a multifaceted creative who played many roles: a Mad Men-era ad man, a design industry legend, an advocate for social change. But as the founder of Design Observer, the influential design blog launched 10 years ago, Bill irrevocably transformed the way we talk about design.
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There’s no shortage of vacant real estate
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Have you ever walked out of a movie theater utterly convinced you could have made a far better film? Now you can put your money where your mouth is with a new screenwriting tool called Plotagon. To make it easier for the imaginationally-challenged to visualize a scene or dialogue they’ve just written, the software actually generates an animated version of the script.
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Livescribe pens are popular and powerful recording tools, but they only work with Livescribe’s own notebooks. A new product called the iSketchnote can’t record audio, but it presents a cheaper and more intuitive way of recording your drawing or writing. I think it can also be a good way to introduce luddites to the wonders of technology. By technology, I mean the iPad.
The first model of the iSketchnote will be an iPad cover. The back of the cover has an array of sensors where you’ll place any A5-sized paper or notebook. The iSketchnote pen is just a normal pen except it has a ring-shaped magnet embedded inside. When you fire up the iSketchnote iPad app and start writing or drawing, you’ll see your work get copied in real time on the iPad. When you’re done, you can replay the recording and share it online right from the app.
The final version of the iSketchnote app will also let you change the colors of the ink, support multiple layers and more. The company behind iSketchnote also hopes they can make their device compatible with popular writing apps like Paper and Evernote. But the iSketchnote can actually work even without the iPad, but you’ll need to supply an SD card so it can store data.
Pledge at least $149 (USD) on Kickstarter to get an iSketchnote as a reward. But before you pledge note that the first batch will only be compatible with the iPad 3 and later. The company behind iSketchnote did say that their technology already works with Windows, Mac OS X, Linux and Android, but they’re focusing on the iPad for now.
Wacom is covering all grounds lately with new products
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Handwriting is dying out in general, but cursive especially. Does anyone under the age of twenty ever use it anymore? They will, if the minds behind Lernstift have anything to say about it. They’ve got a haptic smart-pen that will spellcheck your script, but does that really make it any more enticing?
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Earlier this year we heard about Lernstift, a concept for a pen that helps kids spell and write correctly by vibrating to point out mistakes. The folks behind this promising invention have now launched a fundraiser on Kickstarter. The questions I had when I first saw it remain unanswered though.
Inventor Falk Wolsky’s idea for the pen remains the same. Its basic functions are still to oversee the user’s spelling and the legibility of his handwriting. When it detects a mistake, it vibrates to alert the user. But with the launch of their fundraiser, Wolsky and his colleagues have revealed more about the hardware inside the pen. Lernstift has a motion sensor, a gyroscope, an accelerometer and a magnetometer. The pen’s processor will use these devices to create a 2D image of the user’s handwriting, which it will then analyze using a handwriting recognition software.
While the team is confident in the pen’s hardware, they’re still working on the best way to process the data that its sensors gather to ensure a quick and accurate response. They’ve also revealed that they’re not working on their own handwriting recognition engine and will instead license one from an established company. That should make it easier for Lernstift to be released and updated to support more languages; the pen will only be able to recognize English and German when it launches, but they supposedly have access to a database of over 40 languages.
Pledge at least £89 (~$135 USD) on Kickstarter to get a Lernstift as a reward. I have to say though, it’s not clear at the moment just how polished or far along they are with the pen. Notice how they didn’t demonstrate even the pen’s basic functions in their pitch video.
As I said in my previous post about the pen, I’m still not sold on its usefulness. It’s still not clear how it will help you find out the right spelling, form or grammar. Yes, it could buzz the moment you make a mistake, but what then? How do you find out what you’re supposed to do? I’m hopeful that Wolsky and his team will answer these questions soon. Also, do kids still use pens?
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
