Slashdot Mirror

Different people learn differently. Consider the possibility that you are simply not using the learning style best suited to you. There are tools to help with this.

The sleep thing as well, obviously. But consider that you may not have a fruitful approach to learning in general.

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned the translating pen scanner from WizcomTech: QuicktionaryII.

Dictionaries are too slow when you are trying to read a language that is new to you.

In no particular order..

Perhaps it doesn't appeal to the stereotypical geek, but the vibrator. The pocket calculator as well as; The calculator/remote control/radio controlled/FM radio *wristwratch* (surely the pinnacle of minitiaturization!).

Of course, the bonefone: link. The transistor radio. The world receiver radio. The wind-up/clockwork radio/charger. The intimidating maglite flashlight. Glowsticks! Neither electonic, nor moving parts, but who can resist luminecence!

7" 33 1/3rpm vinyl gramophone records; or I can do you even better than that - 7" 33 1/3 rpm plastic gramophone records that were given away as inlays with MSX Magazine, that you'd dub on tape, and you'd "load" programs off of the tape using the regular "data cassette recorder".

CB (Citizen's Band, 27 "megacycle") radio. ZX80. C64. Nuff said. The lava lamp! Duh! The strap-on (wait for it) keyboard (keyboard guitar).

The hearing aid. The answering machine remote control/handheld DTMF tone dialer. Also; the blue box! The minox sub-miniature "spy" camera (as seen in james bond). The SLR Single Lens Reflex camera. Automatic tweezers (They don't work particularly well, but they have a gadget-esque movement)

The portable DVD player. Toys robots (remote controlled, especially; the robosapiens is a good stab at the concept). Magnesium firestarters. (I'm the firestarter!)

Personal Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacons (P-EPIRBs) RC cars, helicopters. E.g. The translator pen (scans text when you move across it, translates) The penman robotic plotter and of course the closely related concept of the Logo turtle..

The random movement printer (If and when it becomes widely available..) Lego mindstorms (programmable bricks..)

The most important hand-helds historically; the Smith&Wesson and the AK47.

Also, though not an autonomous device, nor mechanical, nominated for achievements in disrupting the global economy, I'd like to recognize bubblejet printer ink, for costing more than its weight in gold or oil.

Aerosol spray canisters; specifically,
every graffitti artist's friend: spraypaint and every gadget-minded geek's friend: deodorant (especially the miniature cans) and of course; aerosol cheese! Also, perhaps slightly more
palatable, mace pepper spray.

The electric toothbrush (with induction-loop-charging-circuit magic!)
Not the greatest gadget in history until you consider it's "dual use" nature, and the fact it's marketed so widely.

Sattellite TV. Not the most portable of gadgets, but come on! Windscreenwiper glasses. (Though more of a chindogu) The mac. The iMac for doing it twice. The aibo.

The "orgasmotron" (actually just a head massager, not at all naughty) Stylish pin clock. The keyghost hardware keystroke logger.

The digital camera. The digital photo frame.
The credit-card sized Anything, but in particular, the cre

what are
Have you every tried using a single line pen scanner to do actual work? If not let me tell you if you are trying to scan more that a full page of information it is a PAIN

you
ISA card ... floppies... ITS AN APPLE LAPTOP!!! -think about it for a second

talking
"Mac compatibility only with Virtual PC CD-ROM Drive"
Lets just spend another ~$130-$250 to get THIS to work

about - ummm ok good luck finding this one ...pst that article is from 99, and after seaching for about ohh 2hrs i only found ONE and that was an Ebay Auction with 23hrs left to go.

I understand and appreciate your problem. I have tried many solutions, and I believe the c-pen 800c is the best solution I've tried for my research needs. There is another pen based solution, WizCom QuickLink SuperPen which I've also tried. I did not like the wizcom because it was not as comfortable to use or as accurate. It also actually had a moving part. :) Both have SDKs to write your own software, however, the only one I could get access to was the c-pen, which made it even more of a favorite of mine. The cpen can also act as a mouse and can do some gestures in addition to being able to input text through "writing" (in big letters) on the page. Both companies are barely alive it seems, but it's a niche market, and I hope they survive. They both have some fantastic functionality, such as translation and barcodes. Of course c|net did the normal bribed review, but I guess the cpen wasn't out at the time. Both are upgradeable and can load extra programs or dictionaries and such. I wouldn't want to go back to college with out one.

Hey, if this has at all been useful, please feel free to buy me one! I miss having it around.

I understand and appreciate your problem. I have tried many solutions, and I believe the c-pen 800c is the best solution I've tried for my research needs. There is another pen based solution, WizCom QuickLink SuperPen which I've also tried. I did not like the wizcom because it was not as comfortable to use or as accurate. It also actually had a moving part. :) Both have SDKs to write your own software, however, the only one I could get access to was the c-pen, which made it even more of a favorite of mine. The cpen can also act as a mouse and can do some gestures in addition to being able to input text through "writing" (in big letters) on the page. Both companies are barely alive it seems, but it's a niche market, and I hope they survive. They both have some fantastic functionality, such as translation and barcodes. Of course c|net did the normal bribed review, but I guess the cpen wasn't out at the time. Both are upgradeable and can load extra programs or dictionaries and such. I wouldn't want to go back to college with out one.

Hey, if this has at all been useful, please feel free to buy me one! I miss having it around.

what are you talking about?

The :CueCat has been the only really affordable barcode scanner I've seen in some time, and many people managed to put the thing to industrial use (most often by doing something that D:C didn't approve of). The only upcoming replacement I see is the new expansion pack for Wizcom scanner pens to allow them to recognize barcodes. However, although Wizcomtech told me about 6 months ago they'd be opening specs so Linux drivers could be writen, nothing's come of that, so that solution won't work for me. Seems like hardware to do this type of stuff ought to be really cheap. Does anyone know of low-cost alternatives?

The :CueCat has been the only really affordable barcode scanner I've seen in some time, and many people managed to put the thing to industrial use (most often by doing something that D:C didn't approve of). The only upcoming replacement I see is the new expansion pack for Wizcom scanner pens to allow them to recognize barcodes. However, although Wizcomtech told me about 6 months ago they'd be opening specs so Linux drivers could be writen, nothing's come of that, so that solution won't work for me. Seems like hardware to do this type of stuff ought to be really cheap. Does anyone know of low-cost alternatives?