Wednesday, August 09, 2006


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Got my copy of ritePen today, in exchange for a small handwriting sample. [see my sample] Haven't had much time to tool with it, but already I feel like a total chump for not getting it sooner.

ritePen should be pre-installed on every Tablet PC. It makes the Windows Tablet Input Panel look like absolute garbage. True, the TIP is still useful for keyboard entry and activating voice input, but the "write anywhere" power of ritePen is incredibly liberating. And it's enabled for every app, unlike the TIP which needs specifically written support.

Just to show you how good it is, I'm going to write the rest of this post in text, using ritePen without correcting the translation. Here we go...

Okay, I got a little too excited about ritePen. It wouldn't write in Journal, probably due to the fact that it's an ink-enabled app. I'm writing this in Notepad and aside from the fact that I'm unaccustomed to using its ritePen is working like a champ. So far, only one error in conversion ("its ritePen" should be "it, ritePen"). I did make a couple of Corrections when I tried to scratch out a word. (I'm geared mentally for ink.) Otherwise, a brilliant display of text conversion.

ritePen is Rite on!


6 Comments:

  1. Can't comment on RitePen cause I haven't used it. But what gave you the impression that the TIP needs to be written for? You aren't the first person to have this misconception which is why I ask. The TIP works in any focused control and the floating TIP works in any control that sets the caret position which win32's "EDIT" control (on which text boxes, combo boxes, etc. are based) does.

    Only apps that choose to reinvent the text box without fully implementing it will not get the in-place TIP. But this is not an issue of needing to code for the TIP, rather it's an issue of making your custom control really be a "text box."

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 8/10/2006 01:03:00 PM
     

  2. Yeah, the docked TIP works with any app; I should have clarified that. But the floating TIP doesn't work in Firefox without the GeckoTIP extension, nor does it work with The GIMP. The incompatibility with The GIMP is understandable, but why not Firefox? Did they reinvent text boxes in Mozilla?

    By Blogger Sumocat, at 8/10/2006 01:20:00 PM
     

  3. Yes actually they did. Because Firefox is probably cross-platform code, they probably wrote the text box from scratch and didn't fully implement it. It's not a standard Windows text box. So basically as far as Windows is concerned, the Firefox address bar and text boxes may as well be buttons or images. Basically, it doesn't know what it is. That's not because they need to code for the TIP, but they need to derive from the build in EDIT window class.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 8/11/2006 11:34:00 PM
     

  4. Okay, so it's a matter of coding for Windows, not the TIP. I can appreciate that distinction, but from a user perspective, Firefox functions like a standard Windows app in every other way. Even uses the standard Save and Open dialogs. Looks like any other Windows app, except for the lack of floating TIP. Hard not to assume flaw lies with the TIP.

    By Blogger Sumocat, at 8/12/2006 01:03:00 AM
     

  5. Hey Sumocat,
    I enjoy seeing someone using their tablet PC in such a unique way, and I was probably going to start my own ink blog. I've already downloaded Build52 and will check it out later, but I had a few questions for ya. Which blog service do you think is best for this sort of thing? I know you use Blogger, but Windows just released their own service and there are a few others of mention, and I just wanted to know what you're opinion on them is in terms of just overall quality, usefulness, and options. And'uh, I forgot the other question, but I'm sure it'll come back to me. Thanks much.

    Timbo

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 8/14/2006 12:26:00 AM
     

  6. Timbo,

    I haven't tried any other blog service. I started blogging as sort of an afterthought (to keep everyone in the loop during our trip to Japan) and did not have time to shop around. I kept using Blogger since then because it works for my purpose, which is primarily to experiment with ink blogging. However, I seem to be the only ink blogger who uses Blogger. Check out the Ink Bloggers in the side menu to see what everyone else uses.

    I should point out, because I only use Blogger, that Build 52 is designed around it. However, it should work with any blog service that allows you to edit the HTML template (just a deletion and a couple copy-and-paste additions) and paste HTML in your posts. Also, I didn't bother to update the zip with the recent revision (the previous download count was zero), so use the web page instead.

    By Blogger Sumocat, at 8/14/2006 10:12:00 AM
     

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