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sarah11918 · 04-03-2010, 04:49 PM

This is definitely something to look at long term, but I'm not holding my breath. I've owned tablet PCs for years and it's taken until now (Windows 7) to have a really good handwriting recognition system. I've had Macs for a few years now, too, and I can tell you that not only do they lag behind in capabilities with handwriting recognition (Inkwell), but the real difference is that they simply have no good software for using this feature even when it does recognize your handwriting. They technically *have* handwriting recognition, but there's no program in which that feature is integrated enough to even be remotely useful. So, be careful what you wish for - Mac OS has handwriting support, but nowhere to really use it.

The eDGe is in one way a step ahead because Mac OS, for its existing handwriting recognition, doesn't even have a basic Journal type app right now. I'm going to venture a guess that the eDGe's Journal app is practically taken right from xournal, which is the open source linux version of MS Journal that my Nokia N810 internet tablet uses and has been around for at least a couple of years already. The two function almost identically (there's no handwriting support for xournal, either) so enTourage could probably have build off of that existing (and extremely well-functioning, stable) piece of software focusing on modification or existing software for their product instead of starting over from scratch. xournal on the N810 has zero lag and is almost identical to the experience of using MS Journal on a Tablet PC. It truly is one of the best, most polished apps for the N810, and if enTourage was starting from that, they had a real leg up.

So, the problem is multi-fold, and while it's absolutely where this device needs to go, I just want to make sure people realize that this is not something that is likely to happen quickly. You won't really get the end-user experience you want until not only does the OS support handwriting recognition, but it has smooth, kick-***, useful apps that make use of this feature.

04-03-2010, 04:49 PM	#6
sarah11918 Edge User	This is definitely something to look at long term, but I'm not holding my breath. I've owned tablet PCs for years and it's taken until now (Windows 7) to have a really good handwriting recognition system. I've had Macs for a few years now, too, and I can tell you that not only do they lag behind in capabilities with handwriting recognition (Inkwell), but the real difference is that they simply have no good software for using this feature even when it does recognize your handwriting. They technically have handwriting recognition, but there's no program in which that feature is integrated enough to even be remotely useful. So, be careful what you wish for - Mac OS has handwriting support, but nowhere to really use it. The eDGe is in one way a step ahead because Mac OS, for its existing handwriting recognition, doesn't even have a basic Journal type app right now. I'm going to venture a guess that the eDGe's Journal app is practically taken right from xournal, which is the open source linux version of MS Journal that my Nokia N810 internet tablet uses and has been around for at least a couple of years already. The two function almost identically (there's no handwriting support for xournal, either) so enTourage could probably have build off of that existing (and extremely well-functioning, stable) piece of software focusing on modification or existing software for their product instead of starting over from scratch. xournal on the N810 has zero lag and is almost identical to the experience of using MS Journal on a Tablet PC. It truly is one of the best, most polished apps for the N810, and if enTourage was starting from that, they had a real leg up. So, the problem is multi-fold, and while it's absolutely where this device needs to go, I just want to make sure people realize that this is not something that is likely to happen quickly. You won't really get the end-user experience you want until not only does the OS support handwriting recognition, but it has smooth, kick-***, useful apps that make use of this feature.