How do you make notes when you are away from your computer, and then get them into your PIM? There are many possibilities.

Remote Data Entry Devices - PDA, Cell Phone, Laptop
Remote Data Formats - Text, Voice, Image
Destination Programs - Desktop PIM, Web-Based PIM
Transfer Methods - Email, Bluetooth, Web-App, USB Sync cradle

Text entry is awkward and slow with the PDA and cell phone. Text entry is quick and easy using the laptop, but you can't take a laptop everywhere. It's easier to record data into voice notes than text notes, but after the initial recording, text notes are much more useful than voice memos.

For me voice notes aren't very useful until I get them into text format. I have Via Voice for speech-to-text, but I haven't really tried to do that with remote voice notes. I have transcribed some voice notes to text using a freeware program called Express Scribe. The whole process is quite complex, but it works well.

My Palm PDA has text memos, calendar, task list - these sync with Outlook, but the Palm doesn't support all the data fields that Outlook supports. My Palm also has a voice memo function, which syncs with the Palm Desktop application. I've long used Ecco for most of my notes. It will sync with my Palm but I've never set that up.

I have been looking more and more into web-based solutions. This alleviates the complicated problems of synchronization of data on different devices. It also opens up the possibility of sharing data with other people more easily. But I haven't used my PDA or cell phone to send data to a web-based PIM. The cell phone data plans seem very expensive. Lately I have been getting around that problem by taking my laptop to places with free WiFi hotspots - that's not always a possibility though.

So, I'd like the easy data entry of my laptop, the portability of my cell phone, the ease of using a web-based PIM from any place I may be, and automatic conversion of my voice notes into text. Is that too much to ask? :-D

Seriously though I'd like to hear how my fellow PIMmers are making data remotely and then getting it into their PIM solution.

I do this constantly, using two methods:

1. My logitech io pen totally rocks. It's a pen that stores everything you write with it, for later usb synch to your computer, with or without handwriting-to-text recognition.
I use it constantly throughout the day. I keep a small memo pad in my back pocket and use a larger legal pad for detailed notes. Because I work in an environment where laptops are often barred or inappropriate, I sometimes need to take lots of notes without a laptop around, and then get the info into the laptop. I also use the pen for short notes about new tasks and calendar items for my pen. It has programmable gestures that let you create Outlook tasks and calendar items. Notes I take on a legal pad go right into OneNote.

2. I have been trying jott.com lately and it works amazingly well for a limited amount of information. You call the number on your phone and say your note to yourself and it does voice-to-text conversion and then sends the text to your email. You can also send emails to others this way. Because I like my pen so much I only use this when I'm in the car or doing something else where I don't have 2 hands. (I know, technically I shouldn't be on my cell phone in the car either.)

dan7000 wrote:

I do this constantly, using two methods:

1. My logitech io pen totally rocks.

Super! I found a link to it:
http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/mice_pointers/digital_pen/devices/408&cl=us,en

Here's another "digital pen" product - I don't know how it compares:
http://www.flyworld.com/

Notes I take on a legal pad go right into OneNote.

As text or as a bitmap image?

2. I have
been trying jott.com lately

Thanks, sounds great. I'll check that out.

While I'm at it - here's the link to Express Scribe, the transcription program I mentioned earlier. There are easy keystrokes to move through voice sound files while you type the text into the PIM of your choice. Not as easy as speech recognition, but reliable.

http://www.nch.com.au/scribe/

Great ideas! How about the rest of you?

Another thing - often when I am out shopping I will see a product that I am interested in buying, but I want to go home and do some more research on the web. So often I will make input some text into my Palm, or make a quick voice note. Often I will use my cell phone camera to take a picture of the package, or of the store card that displays the price and other important information. I do that at Fry's, even though they told me not to. :-D. When I get home I can just type in the text whereever it needs to go.

> Notes I take on a legal pad go right into OneNote.

As text or as a bitmap image?

Right now it comes in as both: a bitmap with recognized text underneath. The handwriting recognition varies greatly depending on how careful I am when I write. If I write carefully, it's good enough to use - I end up making about one correction per line. But if I am sloppy, the recognized text is useless. Often, I don't care much about having the recognized text anyway.

Oh - another toy --- er, tool --- I use while away from my laptop is my wizcom infoscan pen scanner. It holds text that I scan from books while I'm away from the laptop and then I can sync the text back into my laptop when I return. It does OCR on the fly, and stores just the text. The OCR is very accurate - much better than the IrisPen I used to use. And unlike the IrisPen, it can be used away from the computer.

Great ideas! How about the rest of you?

I'm afraid I may disappoint - on the few occasions I am away from my desk I use pen and paper. And, despite the frightening array of information management tools I currently have around me, I do the same at my desk too. I find that making the notes and then looking at them later before processing them gives me a chance to absorb and think about them, before popping the data (if required) into one of my information recepticles.

By the way: OneNote has a mobile version which will work on Windows Mobile 5 or 6, so that you can capture data on your smartphone and sync it to OneNote later. Not available on the Palm platform, unfortunately.

Graham

jimspoon asked:

Great ideas! How about the rest of you?

I use two things: emails to my Backpack home page, and paper notes.

Since I've move to my iPhone and no longer tote my personal computer to work, I've come to use Backpack as my primary PIM. I've found that emailing things into it (usually from my phone) is the easiest way to get data there. Next time I'm logged in to Backpack on a computer, I sort things into their proper place.

When I'm in meetings, I tend to take paper notes, and I transcribe those notes at a later date into the proper location.

Dan, thanks for the pointer to Jott! I've been looking for something like that for the longest time! Just what I need to get notes into Backpack when typing on my phone isn't possible. It's an excellent find.

- Wes

Wes Perdue wrote:

jimspoon asked:
> Great ideas! How about the rest of you?

I use two things: emails to
my Backpack home page, and paper notes.

I also use email as much as possible. I've even begun sending web pages or clips from web pages to email using the sendto button on my google bar in firefox. If it ends up in my email inbox, it never gets lost and I always see it in the morning.

I also use a smartphone but it takes too long to send an email from the thing. Instead I input notes into a mobile excel file. The file is synced with my computer in the morning. The input is surprisingly easy using transcriber mode on the phone. I am looking for alternatives, however, and think the Logitech io pen is intriguing.

Tom S.

Those in Europe may be interested to check out a cheaper alternative to the Logitech IO pen, namely DigiScribble by UK company APCOM:
http://www.apcom.ltd.uk/m_17.asp

I picked it up at the local FNAC and it seems indeed to cover my needs. In addition to it being cheaper as a device it doesn't need the special paper that the Logitech pen requires.

You might also want to check out this rather specialised on-line shop in the UK
http://www.scanningpens.co.uk

Among others, they supply refills for the pens mentioned. They also have portable scanning pens, as well as the Pegasus Mobile NoteTaker, the device on which the DigiScribble seems to be modelled.

alx

I picked it up at the local FNAC and it seems indeed to cover my needs.

My interest (re: digiscribble) has been perked. Would you please elaborate on when and how you use digiscribble? For $103.99 + $15.00 shipping, it sounds like a note taker I've been looking for. I'm trying to justify a purchase. Thank you.

I use Digiscribble for the one thing it seems to be convenient for, namely notetaking. During meetings I find it impossible to take notes on my PC and concentrate on the discussion at the same time. I have no such problem with handwritten notes, albeit these are rather overtly encoded, i.e. noone but me can make sense of them, which is not a serious problem.

The accompanying software is quite simple and usable. It automatically downloads notes from the mobile memory when you attach it to the PC. I simply copy the notes I want from within the application and paste them into Evernote, which acts as my electronic journal. I can then organise the notes whatever way I want, or link to them from within other applications.

There is also an accompanying handwriting recognition program which I haven't tried, as my working language is Greek which is unsupported by such software. Evernote actually tries to recognise text in images and index the notes accordingly, anyway. It seems to be able to handle English quite competently.

The Digiscribble was a lucky find. Both the Logitech IO pen and the Fly Fusion mentioned here require special paper, as will the upcoming Livescribe. A couple of other solutions I had found required carrying a cumbersome pad along. The Digiscribble (and the Pegasus apparently) are happy with whatever paper you throw at them.

Mind you, the system is not without faults. It requires the discipline of writing within the specific area it covers and seems to interpret certain sudden movements strangely, adding lines on the notes (I still haven't found what those movements are exactly, not that I've tried much). If you write with the special pen on a piece of paper outside your main writing surface, i.e. a post it note, which happens to be within the portable memory device's range, you'll end up with an image that includes the main note and the post-it note as well.

Hope the info helps. Nevertheless, if you are based in the US (which I assume since you talk in dollars) I suggest you take a look at the Pegasus as well. I suspect it may be the same device under a different brand. There used to be another similar one from Seiko as well.

Cheers, alx

GeorgeB wrote:

Would you please elaborate on when and how you use
digiscribble? For $103.99 + $15.00 shipping, it sounds like a note taker
I''ve been looking for. I'm trying to justify a purchase. Thank you.

after considering several options (digital pens, scanners, pda ...), I decided to go for ibm x60 tablet (still saving to afford one, around 700 pounds on ebay) ... small and light enough to carry but still big enough screen for comfortable reading, notetaking + all my data and PIM are with me. Whether this is going to be a right way to go I don't know ... time will tell

if you think this is not a good idea, let me know, I still have few months to change my mind ;-)

Quant: See http://shop.lenovo.com/us/notebooks/thinkpad/x-series?PID=2429072

those are regular laptops, tablets are almost 50% more expensive ...
http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/web/LenovoPortal/en_US/catalog.workflow:category.details?expand=2&selected-modelname=X+Series+Tablet&selected-machinemodel=X+Series+Tablet&selected-familyname=ThinkPad+notebooks&current-catalog-id=12F0696583E04D86B9B79B0FEC01C087

Jan Rifkinson wrote:

Quant: See
http://shop.lenovo.com/us/notebooks/thinkpad/x-series?PID=2429072

Some further comments about the Digiscribble, which I decided to try because it can double up as a mouse replacement - I had one PC where I still needed to replace the mouse with a pen and tablet - and despite the documentation stating that this only works on Vista, is works also on XP.

I agree almost entirely with Alexander's assessment, but would like to add a few things.

- The way the receiving unit attaches to paper is a little flimsy, and in mouse replacement mode, it only attaches with one clip. As there is a cable between the PC and the receiving unit, it tends to get caught in other wires, for example, as one works, and the receiver rotates on the paper at awkward moments. This could have been better designed.

- Unfortunately the way that the pen can be used instead of a mouse (in terms of pen clicks etc.) is different from the more intelligently designed Wacom pens, so it means learning to use a different system on different computers.

- For handwriting capture the receiving unit can sit in the middle of the paper at the top, or at its sides at 45 degrees. Annoyingly, the positioning has to be set on the desktop, so if you capture notes with the receiver in different positions when you're away from the PC, the writing can't be recognised, because (stupidly) the software only allows rotations of 90 degrees.

- I do find the pen awkward to write with, which makes my handwriting more difficult to decipher. I like to see the nib on the paper when I write - the pen's design prevents this.

- If you stop taking notes for 10 minutes, the unit will switch itself off, and, on being awoken, automatically start a new note. I don't think this can be overridden, so if, like me, you work on the same piece of paper at different times during the day, it makes new notes of each scribble rather than adding them to a whole.

Otherwise, as I said, Alexander is spot on, and I find it great that no special paper is required.

Graham

Alexander Deliyannis wrote:

I use Digiscribble for the one thing it seems to be convenient for, namely notetaking.
During meetings I find it impossible to take notes on my PC and concentrate on the
discussion at the same time. I have no such problem with handwritten notes, albeit
these are rather overtly encoded, i.e. noone but me can make sense of them, which is not
a serious problem.

The accompanying software is quite simple and usable. It
automatically downloads notes from the mobile memory when you attach it to the PC. I
simply copy the notes I want from within the application and paste them into Evernote,
which acts as my electronic journal. I can then organise the notes whatever way I want,
or link to them from within other applications.

There is also an accompanying
handwriting recognition program which I haven't tried, as my working language is
Greek which is unsupported by such software. Evernote actually tries to recognise
text in images and index the notes accordingly, anyway. It seems to be able to handle
English quite competently.

The Digiscribble was a lucky find. Both the Logitech IO
pen and the Fly Fusion mentioned here require special paper, as will the upcoming
Livescribe. A couple of other solutions I had found required carrying a cumbersome
pad along. The Digiscribble (and the Pegasus apparently) are happy with whatever
paper you throw at them.

Mind you, the system is not without faults. It requires the
discipline of writing within the specific area it covers and seems to interpret
certain sudden movements strangely, adding lines on the notes (I still haven't found
what those movements are exactly, not that I've tried much). If you write with the
special pen on a piece of paper outside your main writing surface, i.e. a post it note,
which happens to be within the portable memory device's range, you'll end up with an
image that includes the main note and the post-it note as well.

Hope the info helps.
Nevertheless, if you are based in the US (which I assume since you talk in dollars) I
suggest you take a look at the Pegasus as well. I suspect it may be the same device under a
different brand. There used to be another similar one from Seiko as well.

Cheers,
alx

GeorgeB wrote:
>
>Would you please elaborate on when and how you use

>digiscribble? For $103.99 + $15.00 shipping, it sounds like a note taker
>I''ve
been looking for. I'm trying to justify a purchase. Thank you.

Graham Rhind wrote:

I agree almost entirely with Alexander's assessment,
but would like to add a few things.

Hi Graham,

Most definitely agree with your remarks. Indeed, I wouldn't recommend Digiscribble (or any other digital pen for that matter) as a mouse replacement for an additional reason: A mouse replacement that leaves a trail behind as one moves around is awkward to say the least. In theory one can change the tip, but that is obviously impractical to do all the time.

As soon as I connected the Digiscribble, I made pen the default mode and never gave the mouse mode a second thought.

alx

Has anyone any experience using CyberPad or a similar product?

http://www.adesso.com/products_detail.asp?productid=294

Looks like a viable alternative to the digital pens.

Steve Z.

UPS delivered the Mobile NoteTaker today. Thus far, I've thoroughly enjoy working with it. It recognized my scribbling better than I thought it would. The setup was easy. For the price I've got to make it work for me at admin. and teacher's meetings. I thank you all for your input which directed my purchase. gB-)

I use a combination of digital and analog techniques.

I have been carrying, and using a notebook for years. Actually, two notebooks. At any given time I have a work notebook, and a "real-life" notebook. I also work in a lab, and have a lab notebook, but that is a different beast.
At work I carry my notebook with me pretty much everywhere. It goes to meetings, it goes to coffee breaks, about the only places it doesn't go is the restroom, and lunch. I have gotten into the habit of writing down everything. And if if is something that it is project related, I use the notebook to record the input of the other people involved. Then, as a way of recording the outcome, I email everyone who was involved with what we agreed on. This gets done in a combination where I write out the discussion points in Onenote, and then email in Outlook. If I need to get formal agreement, then I store those emails in Onenote as well. I have tried using Onenote to take notes in meetings, and while I can type faster than I can write, I need to pay more attention when I type so it is harder to be a participant in the meeting.

My "real-life" notebook doesn't get quite as exhaustive a treatment. For instance, I seldom enter my notes into any electronic form. I just go back and look in my notebook when I need to find something.

For some things in "real-life" I do have electronic entries. Not specifically of my notes, but if I need to look something up, then the looking up generally gets done electronically, and the results stored in Devonthink Pro.

My old boss once complained that my approach to writing papers was inefficient in that I write things longhand, and then type them up. For my work writing I usually do the initial draft in Microsoft Word, and then continue and do revisions there. For anything outside of work, it gets written in the notebook, and then transcribed if necessary.

The reason for all of this back and forthing from analog to digital and back is that I love using fountain pens. My handwriting sucks, but I love the way they feel on the page. And I find the idea of using a ballpoint pen to be abhorrent. I can't imagine using one of these digital pens, so I will probably keep my old habits.

Jim wrote:

The reason for all of this back and forthing from analog to digital and
back is that I love using fountain pens. My handwriting sucks, but I love the way they
feel on the page. And I find the idea of using a ballpoint pen to be abhorrent. I can't
imagine using one of these digital pens, so I will probably keep my old habits.

--------------------
Jim, if you want to "talk pens," send email to ureadit@hotmail.com

-c