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Device for Taking Travel Notes?
the Anonymous Wanderer writes "When I go in vacations, I like to take notes and upon return write a travel story for my friends. Until now I've been using a paper notebook, but found that I'm so busy when I come back that the notebook sits for weeks or months unopened. On the other hand, I have some 'dead' time during trips and I'd like to take the notes electronically (final editing could be done upon return). I don't want to carry a laptop or a PDA (too expensive, plus I want to be away from computers at least those 2 weeks per year). Any suggestions for a light, cheap, keyboard-equipped device? Like a travel clock + keyboard and more memory and USB? Thanks, the Anonymous Wanderer."
A calculator is always nice to have. And you can plug in a keyboard. And while you're out traveling, you can also be collecting data!
Casual Games/Downloads
There are cheap pdas. And you can buy keyboards for them. I doubt you will find anything much better than a pda.
You want a Tandy WP-2 or Radio Shack Model 100. Go here: http://www.8bit-micro.com/wp2wp3.htm
Here's the solution for your problem: just get a really expensive notebook (executive journal). This way, you'll have spent enough money to actually feel bad not using it, and you'll actually save money not buying a stupid electronic device just to jot down some words.
this sig limit is too small to put anything good h
You want an electronic device, that has a keyboard, you can type on, but is not a laptop or a PDA? Is there a punchline here?
Christ, buy a Palm IIIe and a keyboard from eBay. Way less than $50. If that's too expensive, stick with your notebook and buy a scanner.
This sounds like one of those people that sends the annonying 10 page email out to a list of their 50 closest friends detailing all the event on their vacation! Save us! Someone please! :)
Memories become legend, Legend fades to myth, and even myth is forgotten by the time that age comes again.-Robert Jordan
Try here: Alphasmart. They even have many models which will work off of AA batteries.
"-1 Troll" is the apparently the same as "-1 I disagree with you."
Happy Trails!
Erick
http://www.busyweather.com/
You should check out Tablet PC. Microsoft really excelled itself with this one, voice recognition, character recognition, excellt utilities, all well-integrated and talking to one another, and a new Tablet PC OS is launching very very soon.
If too expensive is the reason you do not want to carry a laptop or a PDA, then I strongly suggest you get one of those el-cheapo Palm Vx's off eBay for like $20 or something.
:)
You can also get a foldable portable palm keyboard for less than $5.
It's really portable and quite comfortable to type in too.
I always carry these around when I go wandering -- they are good companions in the wilderness (read books, take notes etc) and you can read them in the dark too (they come with a back-lit display).
Besides, using them does not make you feel like you are using a computer-ish device, just think of them as nothing more than advanced note-taking tools with alarm clocks and games
And oh, if you are the type who hikes/climbs mountains etc., you could hook up a GPS to your Palm to look up directions using something like Cetus GPS - that way you have a GPS tool, alarm clock and a note-taking tool all bundled into one.
Depending on your travel, if your laptop gets full of sand or falls into the water, or you fall off a bike and break your $600 PDA, you definitely want to have a notebook and pen handy.
Or, wait. Just skip the electronic gadgets all together and bring a 2 oz notebook and pen.
Cover your eyes and click this link!
Travel Clock + KeyBoard + Memory + USB = PDA If you're worried about cost, a Zaurus SL-5000D or SL-5500 can be gotten on eBay for a reasonable price. Of course, if you're not concerned about price, then the Treo 600 would do what you need, and comes with a (albeit poor) camera.
Find out about the Lexus Rx400h Hybrid!
But this is slashdot, so let's discuss electronic toys we can add to our debts. We like paying for things after they've become landfil.
...and the device you described is called a PDA.
I personally prefer a device called a "digital camera" for my travel note-taking, but it has the same problem, I never seem to get around to dealing with the output.
-JDF
Find an Apple e-Mate.
Not sure why you're ruling those out. An obsolete Palmpilot (say, a Vx) with an external keyboard will fit the bill nicely, down to being a decent alarmclock, too.
This almost sounds like a troll -- "I don't want to carry a PDA, but I want a device with a keyboard and USB. A travel clock with a keyboard? What universe are you from?
Anyway, I recommend getting a cheap early-model Palm Pilot (circa $100 or so, especially if you get 'em used) and a keyboard. I used the Palm m500 and a Logitech keyboard (about $75, less used, I assume) to write a travelogue on a trip this summer. The battery life on the plam impressive, and if you lose it, you're only out less than $200. Or much, much less if you buy used.
One caveat: the accuracy on those tiny keyboards sucks. Expect to spend some time cleaning up yuor speling on your home pc.
Like a travel clock + keyboard and more memory and USB?
Looks like a duck, talks like a duck, quacks like a duck... hey, its a duck
Hate to tell you, but you are looking for a pda, pure and simple. My recomendation is to look on ebay for a first or second generation Windows CE devices ( the kinda with a keyboard ), or the origional Zaruas. You should be able to pick one up used for 100$.
like a sidekick
http://www.dynamism.com/u70/
Seems like just the ticket - but it may empty out your wallet considerably. I've used the U101 a lot when travelling for everything to photo editing, dv editing, notes, watching movies on 10 hour plane flights, or wifi net connectivity -- but the U70 (although the 800x600 screen seems too small for my liking) seems more flexible / portable.
I think this guy just wants a more efficient way to write love notes to Cowboyneal.
-Tony
tonyville dot org
Although it is a PDA, the Zaurus will do everything you need. Also the keyboard is built in so you won't have to worry about carrying that along too.
I recommend this device. Small, relatively lightweight, not a PDA or notebook, and is called Stallman. What more could an aspiring Slashdot geek want?
It is, however, missing your travel clock and USB connectivity requirements.
You say you don't want a PDA, but it sounds like that's exactly what you need. You can get a basic Palm and a mini keyboard for under $100.
A camcorder may not have a keyboard, and may not be easy to take notes on - but believe me, there's nothing like audio+video to make a memorable/enjoyable memoir of your trip.
I never thought of a camcorder (usually $300+) as a worthwhile investment, but my recent experiences changed that view - my parents're visiting and they've got a camcorder along (Sony, about $500.00, I think).
Nothing beats a camcorder to take audio/visual notes including a running commentary. It's even fun to plug it back in to the computer and edit it and relive the memorable portions of the trip later. Give it a try.
An Indian-American Hindu committed to non-violent thought/speech/action alarmed by the global explosion of radical Islam
Try the calcuscribe. Light, small, fullsize keyboard and runs for months off three AA batteries. Oh yeah, and it connects via the keyboard port so it works with everything.
On the downside, they're staggeringly overpriced ($240) for a keyboard + flash memory + LCD screen.
If you want to turn your notes into an electronic format, then you WILL need to use a computing device. SURPRISE!!! You're just being lazy if you don't translate what you've written down on paper to a word processing program on a computer to store and potentially print out later.
It just appears to me that you're being a whiny little bitch for 2 reasons:
1) if you use paper, then you're bitching about how you need to spend extra time on transferring it to a computer
2) if you use a laptop or PDA, then you're bitching that it's "too expensive"
I think you need to be realistic in your expectations and then just make up your fucking mind in light of those realistic expectations.
si vis pacem, para bellum..."if you wish peace, prepare for war"
this works well with one of theese
...if you promise never to send me your vacation write-ups and photos.
As soon as I read this I immediately thought of the Alphasmart devices. I think they're right up your alley.
If the notebook is so boring after the trip that you don't even want to subject your own mind to reading it, why the hell do you think anybody else would care?
Sorry, I am just being very straightforward.
Cover your eyes and click this link!
I'm seriously in love with my trusty old Psion Series 5 for writing stuff on - I mean, the odd short note is fine to do on the Palm M130 I got, but nothing can beat the Psion for datainput. True, it has only a serial conector, but then, nothing is perfect. A Psion 5MX or a Revo might be just what you need.
Everything in the world is controlled by a small, evil group to which, unfortunately, no one you know belongs.
How will the note taking device being electronic solve the problem that you don't have time to write up the story when you get back? Won't it just be a more expensive way of not writing the story for a while after your return?
My advice would be to just stay with the pad and pen. You will save the money on the device and batteries with out loosing any functionality as I see it.
Can I Play With Madness?
I have the Visor with the collapsible keyboard and I used to take that with me for my travel writing and although it worked ok it kept crashing like crazy. I bought a Psion 5 on eBay and it ROCKS! Comes with a keyboard ( a little small but usable ) built in voice recorder. Notably it takes a standard CF card and I shoved a 40 something meg card into it. It comes with reasonable versions of Word, thesaurus, spell checker, etc and it works great. I even have an Ethernet adaptor for it.
You can see see the eBay Psion 5 stuff here. Runs on two AA batteries. I wouldn't have thought to get one but I got the recommendation from Robert Young Pelton author of the World's Most Dangerous Places. If it's good enough for him....
Check out a thing called the alphasmart.
http://www.alphasmart.com/
it has all the features you are looking for.
Dude... ok, call me an ASS, but this is EXACTALLY the point of a PDA.
As for expensive, what exactally IS your budget? Sure there ARE $500 PDA's, but there are also $50 PDA's. You can't justify your avoidance on cost and I personally think the "I like to get away from computers...." arguement is rediculous. If you were a bus driver, this would be equivilent to saying you want to go on vacation, without being subject to a car/bus/whatever-can-be-driven.
Hell, if its notess you want, get a $10 mini-cassette recorder, and just talk into it. It will be much easier to deal with then pen and paper anyway.
"When life gives you lemons, don't make lemonade. Make life take the lemons back!" -- Cave Johnson
I don't want to carry a laptop or a PDA (too expensive, plus I want to be away from computers at least those 2 weeks per year). Any suggestions for a light, cheap, keyboard-equipped device? Like a travel clock + keyboard and more memory and USB?
If you want to be away from computers, use pen and paper to take your notes, like all those guys wearing flannel shirts at your local Starbucks. If a device has USB, keyboard and memory, it's a computer according to the classic definition with embedded software - just as any PDA, but more limited. So... why not to use the PDA anyway?
You want to be away from a computer, but you want an electronic way to take notes? Does Not Compute.
:-)
:-)
Honestly, get yourself a Palm and the Palm UT Keyboard or even the wireless IR keyboard they sell. OK, so it's electronic. It's still the most convenient you'll find, and has a ton of other features as well. Like reading ebooks on the plane on the way to your vacation, then taking notes while on the vacation, then playing games on the way back from your vacation. It works out quite nicely.
These guys can give you great advice on which model you want to get. They've reviewed just about every handheld in existence.
Disclaimer: I am one of "those guys".
--GrouchoMarx
Card-carrying member of the EFF, FSF, and ACLU. Are you?
Instead of taking travel notes and writing stories for your friends, enjoy your trip more and don't bore your friends with all you what I did on my summer vacation reports. No one cares!
When I went to Nice a couple years ago, I took a Palm, keyboard, modem, and Maglobe account. I then sent daily emails to my girlfriend (now wife), who kept them as a travelogue.
She actually printed out my emails and had a bookbinder friend of hers bind them into a journal. It was a really touching gift when I got back.
Ask your doctor if getting up off your ass is right for you! -- Bill Maher
YOu want a usb port, and a keyboard, and a lot of memory but no computer? And also do you really think it will be faster typing notes on a tiny keypad than writing them down on paper? Sounds to me like you ARE looking for paper.
I know a number of journalists (including ones that regularly report from places where they get shot at) that swear by the ancient Tandy Model 100 (http://www.obsoletecomputermuseum.org/model100) for exactly the kind of travel writing you are talking about. They claim them to be fairly indistructable, easy to type on and very stingy on the battery usage. It even has a (slow) modem for uploads.
If you don't have time to do anything with your paper notebook after you get back, why do you think you'll have time to do the "final editing" with digital data?
I think a re-evaluation of your schedule after vacations is more justified than a new equipment purpose.
Sigmentation fault - core dumped
What you describe is a PDA or notebook, or some bastard version of the same.
/. stupid questions"?
Is this "I am bored so lets ask
That said if you really want to get away from computers for your vacation, get a dictation recorder (not sure on proper english term). You know the devices people used to use to dictate letters etc for their secretaries to write up. Digital storage versions existed last time I checked. Take voice notes, then transcribe later. Maybe you could even hook it up with some speech recognition software.
How about a small notepad that will fit in your pocket?
Not every damn thing has to involve a microprocessor to be useful.
If those notes sit around for a while. Nobody cares about your life anyways.
If anybody reads that drivel it's just that they are being polite.
I can't imagine anything more boring than reading somebody's "travel log".
And I'll keep posting this as long as it keeps getting modded down!!! Go ahead and waste your mod points on an A/C!!!
Does anyone still use those? Mind you, my school has one and it's fantastic, so I'm not meaning to disparage the brand.
Karma: Segmentation fault (tried to dereference a null post)
I take a regular film camera with slide film, since I have a kodak slide projector with a top mounted slide charger (with cable remote!).
No one ever shows up for my slide shows, however.
Do other people bother to look at your digital travel photos and/or videos?
On our recent honeymoon in NZ I used a USB MP3 player with a mic to record short notes. Worked great, got lots of ambient sounds to go with the pics, plus now I'll always know how dorky I sound in person....
Just use a little microcassette recorder and outsource the transcription to India.
This sort of worked, It probably took me 2 or 3 years to loose them.
-- ac at work
"Light and cheap" and "keyboard, memory, USB" don't mix well. If you're just going to reedit later get a mini-voice recorder. Some carry up to 18 hours these days and they're cheap. You'll actually enjoy (or loath) hearing your own voice and knowing at one point in time you weren't in front of a computer.
If you're half as beautiful naked, you'd be 4 times as beautiful with twice as many clothes on.
Or the digital equivalent. Something small that you can carry in a pocket. Pull it out whenever you want to take some notes. You can do improv stuff or record a more organized daily summary. And you can grab sounds from the environment. Nothing connects people more than the sound of voices (particularly if the voice is of a friend or relative). Instead of describing the ocean with words, just record "I'm at the ocean. Listen." When you get back to a computer all you have to do is encode it and put it on the web. You can probably do that at Internet cafes while you travel.
Serve Gonk.
I remember seeing the olypus digital recorder comming bundled with software and connecting wires.
Fight Spammers!
I used to have a PocketPC, and I've also been collecting ideas for stories I've been wanting to write. During my 15 minute walk home, I used to always be inspired with new ideas. I started taking my PocketPC with me and using the voice recorder function to record my notes. (I didn't wanna stop and tap tap tap.) When I found some time, I'd go one by one down the audio files and set the filename to something meaningful for the note.
I just wanted to suggest this to you because you may see a good workflow improvement like I did. You could listen to the PocketPC and type on the comfy keyboard on your desktop/laptop.
"Derp de derp."
http://www.8bit-micro.com/wp2wp3.htm
My wife is a novelist, and has used her Alphasmart for years. She loves it. It's lightweight and easy to type on.
"No matter where you go, there you probably are." -- Buckaroo Heisenberg
Been meaning to buy one for myself for ages. Especially in the traffic in the morning, when I have a bright idea, hell of a lot easier to speak it than write it down.
Your cheapest, easiest solution is likely a used Palm with a fold-out keyboard. This shouldn't end up costing more than $50 or $60. The fact that so many people want to be rid of their "obsolete" Palms ends up subsidizing your cost.
Just hide all of the other icons on the menu. Ooh, and get a sticker that says "NoteTaker 2000" to put over the Palm logo. That way you won't have a PDA with you.
Let's not stir that bag of worms...
a PDA is not to expensive you can find them for 100 bucks. Your not going to get away from a computer... if you having a keyboard plugged into any type of device that is a computer. You can use the pda for nothing but typing if you want to be away from the computer. Also install nothing else on it and you will be unlikely to use it for anything but typing. It would offer you the best solution of typing editting (if you want) and portability if you plug a keyboard into it. This is part of what PDA where made to do. Your asking for a solution to a problem that doesn't involve the correct solution. (I want to paint a wall red, using only non red paint... it can be done, but there is no reason to make it more complicated than nessary by requiring mixing paints and such....)
Dan Mayer: my blog, essays, art, etc
Because it's built into my phone, I've always got a usable keyboard with me and a hierarchical note management utility (myList). As well as a decent voice recorder, wordprocesor and the rest.
Government of the people, by corporate executives, for corporate profits.
I've been in strange troubleshooting situations where I need to type commands blindly on a keyboard when there is either no monitor attached to the server, or the display is completely screwed up. Junior folks are amazed that I can login, cd to a directory, make backup copies of the config files before I edit them, and vi the config files with no screen. /.ers know it's a big deal to "see" the screens in your mind.
What if there was a USB memory stick you stick on the end of a USB keyboard cable that would simply record keystrokes? You could record huge amounts of text with a small amount of storage. Just keep the mem-stick in your pocket until you need to make notes. Pull out your keyboard and type away, or borrow one you find laying around. So what if you lose the keyboard or it gets filled with sand? USB KBs are almost disposable anyways. Just don't lose your log stick.
Finally, a use for all of those extra Sun USB keyboards piled in the warehouse! Just jab on a keyboard capture memeory plug and type away! That's it! The "Jab-On"(tm) "Jab one on so you can jabber on...". Or, instead of a memory-stick, you could have a "Log-Stick" (tm). Hmmm, maybe that's why I'm not in marketing...
This one gang kept wanting me to join cause I'm pretty good with a bo staff.
Why does it have to be written? It sounds like since you were writing it down on pen and paper you had todo lots of transposing already.
Why not invest in an mp3 recorder and use it to keep an audio journal of your vacation.
Then when you come home you can just sit down and listen to the entries and use them to write your story.
Firstly, mp3 recorders and the memory they use are cheap.
Secondly, it's alot smaller and lighter than a pen / notebook.
Thirdly, if your've near the right facilites you could even upload your log entries to a server just in case you use lose the thing.
You could even setup a webpage so your friends and family to co surf to your site and listen to your log entries.
Yes Francis, the world has gone crazy.
Seriously... use a pen and paper if you want to make travel notes. If you want to get away from the world, also get away from anything technology rated.
All right fine, buy a Nokia Communicator!
The productivity savings of me not loosing my notes and paperless are a life saver. I use to be one of those people that would make all my notes on posty notes...then would have like 100s of them...and a 100 more lost!
The cheapest method is one of those keyboard devices that store your keystrokes into memory and have like a 15 character LCD display of what you are writing...of course i forget the product's name...doh! it would hook into your PS/2 keyboard port and download the keystrokes into notepad/Word.
The other method would be a PDA with a keyboard, or a phone with a keyboard.
LainTheWired = isgod( int Lain, int denial, float truth)
Plus there are many foldable near-full-size keyboards out there for each PDA that plug into the sync port on the bottom. The typing experience is like typing on a laptop, except you are staring at a 3" sreen.
Another reason to use a PDA is that you can use the alarm clock to wake you up; The datebook to log travel arrangements; The address book to keep addresses to send post cards; The list goes on...
In the end, I'm back to pen and paper and decided that if it isn't important enough that I'm not willing to transcribe it, then off it goes to the 'black hole of ideas' box. Maybe when I die, someone will edit and publish it. More likely, it will mislead a future team of archealogists into thinking we were all a bunch of crazy bastards.
I'd try the phone thing though, if you're traveling locally. Get familiar with a sound editor and you can give your audience something a little cooler than text.
The meek shall inherit the earth, in 3 by 6 plots. - Lazerus Long
If you're taking along an iPod (and I have no idea if you are or not), how about getting an iTalk to go with it and dictate your notes?
I live ze unknown. I love ze unknown. I am ze unknown.
okay...I don't remember the details but i remember a review of a product that was basically an electronic pen and special paper. it runs about 200 though. It was in my Popular Mechanics mag a few months ago, i can look up the information if you are interested.
Higher a poor college student to take notes for you. Preferably female, unless you're a fag.
Comment removed based on user account deletion
If I ever get around to a cross-NA bicycle tour I would consider subscribing to this service.
PS: I have no affiliation with PocketMail nor have I tried it.
It only holds 40 pages of text, but that might be enough for a two week vacation. Here's the link
My other sig is extremely clever...
Try taking a peek at a calcuscribe. Might be what you're looking for...
They don't make them any more, but they're great. Find an old one on E-Bay. Great keyboard, runs for over a month on a pair of AA batteries, about twice as big as a palm.It can take CF cards for storing things. No USB, but the sync software works over serial or infra-red, or you can get a CF USB adapter.
In soviet russia stale jokes recycle you!
Also, I know you said you didnt want the expense of a PDA, but you can also pick up an old Palm (say III-series vintage) and snap-on keyboard. Again, the older palms ran off of regular buy-anywhere AAA batteries so are good to travel with.
How about a spiral notebook? Cheap, light,compact, interoperable with most anything, and is complies with open standards.
Both kinds, 8.5x11 and legal.
Carpe Deez
If you want to try a little hands-on experimentation, check out your local Staples, which carries at least some of the line, but calls them "Electronic Organizers" rather than PDAs.
===== Murphy's Law is recursive. =====
It's pretty nice to take pictures of stuff and then add comments. The phone I'm using is Nokia 7610, which I guess is not yet on the market, but it is pretty much same as 6600 Symbian based phone.
These guys have still ways to go, but it might become a pretty nice product if they keep at it.
To go with my Palm CLIE.
http://www.thinkgeek.com/computing/accessories/5c3 8/
Write all of your notes in your notebook then when you get back, just throw away the notebook.
H4h4h4h4h4!!!! Imidazole, you're teh funneest d00d on
you roxororororo!!!!!~~~~~````11111oneonetwoeleventys
Hands down, a Moleskine notebook. Plus a ballpen. It's analogic, but it's the best there is for taking notes on the go. And you don't have to worry about the batteries.
It's just a BloJJ
> If those notes sit around for a while. Nobody cares about your life anyways.
> If anybody reads that drivel it's just that they are being polite.
> I can't imagine anything more boring than reading somebody's "travel log".
You probably can't imagine much at all, then. Consider that many popular books and magazines are actually travel logs. Also consider that people who want to go to the same place rely on travel logs and trip reports to inform them about pitfalls and highlights of the journey.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00007KGHK/ interactiveda2-20/102-6546454-6328927
Voice Recorder
Digital Camera
Digital Video
Capture sights and sounds cheaply (it retails for under $100) Yeah, it doesn't have a built in light or flash which sucks for night shots, but if you are using it to capture a tavel log, that won't matter. A CF card can give you a full 30 minutes of video. It also is very very kind to batteries. 2 AA seem to last forever.
Or just suck it up and transcribe your notes or get someone else to type them up for you. There has to be someone who needs $20 willing to do it for you.
This is not the way to build a lasting empire.
You could always subject them to slides or home movies.
You should get an MP3 player that also has a built in microphone. Record your voice notes. Pay someone to transcribe them. I use a local transcription service. I get them the mp3 file. They e-mail me back text. And it's not too expensive. Something in the $.0035 per character.
Unload it each nite into your laptop. Then, at the end of your vacation, you can transcribe it, and perhaps even use voice recognition software to transcribe the rough draft for you.
Open Standards Portal
I'm a software engineer who works in an industry where everyone carries expensive devices that replicate the functions of cheaper, more reliable "old-fashioned" methods, (aka: pencil and a notebook).
All you really need to do is look at your watch, jot the time down, start writing.
Sometimes, technology for technologies sake is a bad idea. You'll find yourself along the side of the rode with no batteries in your portable typing device and you'll end up scratching a description out on some bark with a rock or something.
You don't want to be the guy who can't change the channel without the remote control dude. I don't mean this as a flame, just a bit of practical advice.
-troy
I see some other comments about PDA-type gadgets with voice-recording ability. Perhaps the voice recorder (single-feature devices that are pretty small these days) is all you really need. Then when you get home fire up a voice-recognition program, feed the voice to it, and then clean up the typos.
I have the perfect device for you my friend:
Cheap, not really a computer and with a keyboard! It's called a P-P-P PowerBook
Where do you want me to ship it?
Yahh, hiii haaaaa! -Major Kong, from Dr. Strangelove
Actually, I've never used it myself, but I have some friends who have LiveJournals. I know that one of them did an audio journal entry from her cell phone while watching the ball drop on New Years Eve in NY City. Why not invest a few dollars in one of these, and call in to make daily entries? Just one of the many possibilities. Another could be to call your answering machine every day and leave a short summary, then listen to the messages when you return. That's probably one of the cheapest sollutions. Have fun!
This space for rent, inquire within.
And for Simoniker's next poignant question:
I want to travel a distance, say from Point A to Point B. I don't want to use anything with wheels, wings, or propellers. I don't want to use any energy myself, or use kinetic or potential energy from any other source. Does anyone have any ideas?
I've used a pocketmail device, for this purpose. Pocketmail sends and receives email over an accoustic coupled modem, but I also use it to log notes. The keyboard is small, but goes pretty well with my thumbs. When done, I send the notes to myself via email.
Why do you have to be so caustic when delivering an otherwise insightful reply? If you are offended by the poster so much then maybe you should take a look around and see that there are worse things to be pissed at besides this one guy's indecisiveness.
mods, this post is admittedly offtopic.
My canon a70 camera allows you to record voice notes along with a photo.
So you get
digital photos
+
voice recorder
In addition to keeping your notes, make sure your digital camera (if you have one) is set to the correct time and take lots of pictures. Even the photos you don't use will give you the date and time of the highlights of your visit. This lets you enjoy the sights without being a slave to your watch.
Phoenix
Get a paid livejournal account ($2/month), take your cell phone w/ you, make phone posts from your cell phone. You get to keep all of your notes, your friends can do the typing for you, and your family knows where you are and how you're doing at all times.
Alternatively, stop whining and get a PDA. Seriously.
[o]_O
I'd also suggesting looking at Psion's old PDAs (Series3, Siena, Revo), which were even smaller, had reasonably good keyboards, and excellent software that you can also use for tracking your schedule, calculating exchange rates, storing phone numbers, etc. This is what I've usually used as a travelling companion... except for the times when I really wanted to get away from the 'tronics, and instead used a notepad of paper and a pencil for keeping a journal.
http://alternatives.rzero.com/
you should probably send postcards.
While I have not used them and thus cannot vouch for them, they sound suited to your application. Expensive though.
3 8/
Example: http://www.thinkgeek.com/computing/accessories/5c
- Give a man a fire and he's warm for a day, but set him on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life.
Typewriter.
Seriously. Get an old mechanical typewriter. They have relatively small ones that come in their own briefcase-like case. I'm sure you can pick one up dirt-cheap at a thrift shop or antique store.
You'll feel really hip and literary typing up your travel notes on an actual typewriter. Then when you get back home, scan your typewritten pages into your computer with through an OCR program, clean it up a bit, and you're good to go.
recommending old/used PDAs is battery life - after 3-4 years, the battery craps out and won't hold a charge (this is not an issue, obviously, with the ones that take AAAs). I'd also recommend the AAA ones because you don't have to find a way to charge it every week, so you can go on a really long road trip or whatever. Just take a few packs of batteries.
OTOH: as long as you're bringing a cell phone, you can use it as a dictaphone (voice recorder) or buy a relatively cheap voice recorder. Then spend $100 on ViaVoice, Dragon Naturally Speaking or whatever (for Windows; I'm not familiar with Mac and Unix voice recog software). You'll still have to fix the voice recog's mistakes, but there shouldn't be so many that it'll be a pain - especially since you'd have/want to edit anyway.
The Nokia Digital Pen could be the answer to your prayers.
It can store up 100 A5 pages...
I haven't tried it myself, but I would love to.
We do not live in the 21st century. We live in the 20 second century.
All he needs is a P-P-Powerbook! Infinite battery life too!
Free Mac Mini Yeah, it's
I like to do spacewalks, but I don't like taking a cumbersome and expensive spacesuit with me. Is there some low-tech solution to keeping oxygen in my lungs and pressure surrounding my body? Like a fishbowl attached to a bag?
http://www.ncus.org.uk/
Great piece of machinery - light, runs on AA batteries for ages, and while it's quite large (full size keyboard) it doesn't take up much room. And it's quite rudimendary so might not count as a computer in your mind! No USB though.
One vacation on a bicycle, I sent postcards back every evening.
Someting I do now for random thoughts is send text messages from my cell phone back to my email account, just enough to jog my memory.
Infuriate left and right
I'll agree with those who've said that if you're looking for something with a keyboard and USB, you might as well just get a PDA. My own personal recommendation would be a Treo 90, which is on closeout everywhere, is small as hell, and has a built-in keyboard. I use mine to take notes, and it's pretty convenient, as long as you're not opposed to thumboards. It should even come with a free copy of WordSmith, one of the better Palm word processors.
Check out Shopping.com. Lots of journalists and other professional writers use them. They have the additional ability to capture commentaries from tour guides, unusual sounds, etc.
"Can there be a Klein bottle that is an efficient and effective beer pitcher?"
You need a Crosspad! It's a legal pad that records your written notes digitally, which can then be input into a computer later.
It comes with a thesaurus that has over 1,000 synonyms for 'supercilious' It's also completely self-centering.
Honestly, most people I know are bored stiff by letters like yours. It's so egocentric to send off letters like that to all your friends. Either they have lives as interesting as yours and don't have the time to read the damn things, or they DON'T have interesting lives, in which case, why rub their faces in it?
Why not tell them about it next time you see them? If you don't see them that regularly, what makes you think they give a shit? Unless you are a particularly gifted writer, travel stories come across as the most boring tripe imaginable.
- None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license. -- John Milton
Seriously... Dump the keyboard requirement and use the digital pen. It has built-in hadwriting recognition and will keep a memory of everything you write with it. It's not a computer--at least in the sense you meant--so it should fit the bill.
I use an Olympus digital camera and it can record samples of video and audio, but also it can record audio with images.
It would seem to me that if there is something you encounter with your travels that is significant, you'd probably want to take a picture or two of it... if that's the case, a touch of narration wouldn't be at all inappropriate.
Now if only there were a convenient way to download the commentary as text... sounds like a dandy product idea for camera makers out there.
The Logitech IO Pen is a pretty neat toy which you write with like a pen but it stores your notes as computer files which you can later edit in your processor later on after the trip. You will need to use their special paper to write on, but it's just regular paper with little dots all over it to recognize the direction of the ballpoint movement.
ding ding ding....you are the big winner!!!
Seriously, this guy needs to get a clue. PDA + Keyboard off Ebay cheap or pen or a big serving of shut the f*** up!
Why not get a voice-recorder that supports voice-to-text conversion?
Nothing simpler than just speaking your notes into a tiny electronic device, then have a speech-to-text converter "type" it into your favorite word processing program.
I use one from Olympus that has really good record time/battery life.
Diplomacy is the art of saying, "Nice doggie!" until you can find a rock.
Yeah, I know its lo-tech but I had the same dilemma, and discussed it with a very technology-minded friend. I considered a Tandy 100, and all sorts of things when I eventually decided a microcassette recorder would do the trick. Doctors, journalists, and many other professionals have used them for so long, its a standard practically. Oh, and did I mention cheap? You can buy a decent one for $20-30 at wal-mart, and a few tapes.
Nobodies Prefect
Tidbits for Techs Technology Blog
I have, and have used, a Tandy 200. Connect via serial port, dump the data. This, as well as the Tandy 100, plus the WP-1, and other varients are really primarily text entry devices today, though they have the ability to be somewhat more. (I know the Tandy's come with a rudimentary spreadsheet, as well as a database. Not sure on the WP-1)
The biggest problem is going to be cost. For what they do, they are very expensive for the casual user. If you are a reporter, or freelance writer who can get a lot of use out of one of these, I would say go for it.
Folding keyboards for Palm and PockPC devices are reasonably comfortable for most people to enter text with. I am not fond of the thumbpads for entering text, but if you are comfortable text messaging on a cell phone, or with a Blackberry, you might want to take a look at a Zaurus 5500, which has been comming down in price.
If you prefer to "write" there are notepad data entry devices for the various PDA's as well.
Further on the "write" path is the data pen that keeps track of the movement of the pen and then downloads it via a USB port. I do not know how much memory they have, and would suspect that they are designed around taking notes at a meeting, vs. keeping track of the two week trip to Tibet.
If you don't mind a piece of electronics, but want to stay away from a computer/pda, you might want to look into a small typewriter. Type your notes, then when you get home scan them, OCR the scanned text, and post the results.
You may also find that whatever hotel you stay at as you are visiting have typewriters available for guests. This may not be handy when riding on the train and the muse strikes you, but you could use such to transcribe whatever notes you have taken into something you can scan.
For that matter, you could just do as you are, with the itterative step of scanning in your current notes, posting them as images, then manually typing the notes and decide if you want to have both the original scan and the text, or one or the other.
Another variation on that if you happen to have a cammera with a macro lens, or even a cell phone with a built in camera, would be to take photos of your notes that you can post along with whatever photos you take of the area. This would be also handy for keeping track of what you are photographing. This would work also with a film camera, but you would have the additionall wait involved in getting it developed and scanned in. Though some camera shops will allow you to get the pictures on disk or CD instead of or in addition to the prints.
Lastly you can also find digital voice recorders that you can dump the recorded audio to a computer at a later time. Memory costs dropping have really improved the amount of time you can record on these with. You might also contemplate the same with a DV camera.
Just some ideas, others will have more.
You never know...
Any suggestions for a light, cheap, keyboard-equipped device?
;)
How about a mechanical typewriter
Seriously, check out the Logitech Digital Pen. I know someone who gave up his tablet PC for one of these and couldn't be happier.
circa $100
I know time is money, but really, this is taking it too far, or should I say too costly?
Why not look into Logitech's IO pen or Nokia's or Sony's digital paper bluetooth pens? You'll need a special notebook or PostIt note pads, but at least you'll be able to jot down your notes when you want to. As a side benefit, you won't have to transcribe them electronically into your computer. Once you dock the pen or transmit the information back to your computer, all of your notes become electronically stored. There's even some software that will perform character recognition for you to make importing your notes into a document or other application even easier.
It may have something to do with why this got front page "news" worthiness?
You have to admit that the entire issue is something that could be resolved by a few minutes of thinking for ones' own self.
The geek community typically responds to questions like these with RTFM, STFW, or {GASP} google...and they always get remarked on as being caustic too.
Just my opinion though, I don't know what the guy was thinking anymore than why the original artical was such a lame question.
BSD is designed. Linux is grown. C++ libs
Dictaphone. Or a small tape recorder. Cheap, light-weight, durable, easy to use.
the only device i could imagine that fits your needs would be the p-p-p-powerbook as seen on slashdot yesterday. it has a keyboard, it's definitely the right thing to come away from real computers, it's not too heavy to carry around and you could even file some paper in it to write your traveling notes...
How about a Clark-Nova? It worked for William Burroughs, it damn well better work for you!
stay off the bug juice...
I don't understand why you don't want a PDA but someother numeric digital keyboard. I have the zaurus and use primary the building keyboard. It's very easy and fast to enter test. I use it everyday /everyhour to do this. The format of the wordprocessoer is RTF whom permit a lot of interchange.
On ebay you can have one for less than 200$ USD
Ceci n'est pas une Signature !
I can't believe no one has suggested Newton yet!
The best note taking device *ever*
How about going to thinkgeek and buying the rollup keyboard and the keylogger? A little work with a battery for voltage and you have just what you asked for.
Try out a crosspad, I bought one of these things about 4 years ago, and it was awesome, just a pad of paper, a pen (RF no less) and a clip-board type interface. Then you hook it up via serial port and use IBM's digital Ink program to convert your chicken scratches to e-text. It was a little expensive and mine is collecting dust now but it was essential when i was in college collecting notes etc... The one problem was that there wasn't an eraser, however this was offset by the ultra-cool pen, that takes a aaaa battery, i never knew they got that small. I would imagine you could pick one up off ebay for not too much money, or use the newer nokia pen thing, which i think is pretty slick, however it might have it's own issues.
What you need is the Travel Version of the Home Stenographer.
Get a RIM Blackberry (or something similar with a thumb keyboard) - then it'll feel like your playing a hand-held game rather than typing
Plus it'll be like you're using a phone instead of a computer and you'll be able to enter the info quickly and transfer it to a computer later on. Trust me, you can type really fast on those little things after some practice.
Despite your mention to the contrary, you want a PDA. Your requirements obviously point to a PDA, unless you're looking for something analog, like a compact typewriter with a watch glued to it.
I travelled around Asia and Europe for ~2 years with a Palm and keyboard. I was able to write stories and notes, and synchronize them up whenever I had a chance, at an e-mail place. It worked ok for me; I was able to keep more detail than I would have if I transcribed things.
As for cost, my biggest problem was that it was a Palm V, and re-charging was a pain in many places. It is some money, but in the scale of things it isn't that bad. Also, if it did die on you, a replacement is a commodity item (albeit a downgrade...).
The only "cool" hack I had at the time was a bootable Linux CD with the required drivers. Odd how internet cafes get fussy about installing software on their machines.
Personally I'm still not happy with what's available.
/ 23/053221 3&mode=flat&tid=100&tid=137&tid=19 6
Problems are still:
- battery life
- size
- screen visibility
- input
- the fact that you have to turn it on; availablility
Some of these problems have been mitigated but no one's fixed them all, especially with the low price you need for this sort of thing (the max contents of a wallet you'd bring around everyday).
The comment of using a digicam is really good though.
I feel that if the Sony Ebook reader:
http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=04/04
had handwriting recognition as good as WindowsXP (where you can write whole sentances at a time), without making battery life shorter than a days work (i.e. say 8 hours constant use). Then I'd be happy.
Wack idea for you:
- use a blackboard/similar. Perhaps one of those magic pen board things
- photo it with your digicam
- erase + start again
- do handwriting recognition at a later stage
(obviously this won't work that well, meant as inspiration for better ideas)
The http://www.nokia.com/nokia/0,,5787,00.html
is also an option but it still wastes paper.
And http://www.dynamism.com/u70/ (24Watt) may still have problems with battery life and screen visability.
What's the point of having it if you more scared to use it than paper - that the battery will run out. It has to be at least as good as paper or better.
I should add that plenty of people have suggested various things but only the dedicated actually use a PDA for quick notes. I had a Zaurus but even if the battery life was 8 hours instead of 2 just turning it on would have stopped me from using it.
A blog I run for the wealth
The best type of device for this purpose is the NTS DreamWriter T400. It was originally designed for use in schools, but they work for any text entry needs. They have a full-sized keyboard, and can transfer data via serial cable and software (runs under Windows, Mac, and DOS).
Battery life is superb. It can remain in standby mode for 2 weeks on a fully charged battery, and can operate for 10-12 hours. There is an upgraded model of this device that has a fold-out screen and 1.44MB floppy drive which makes data transfer a bit easier.
There are plenty for sale on eBay. I picked one up for $5 and it works beautifully. Brainium Technology (http://www.brainium.com/) provides excellent support for these old devices.
Some people may suggest the venerable Tandy notebooks, but the problem with those is that they are still in high demand and the configuration to transfer data back and forth is pretty convoluted.
If you're looking for a little something more "substantial", I recommend the NEC MobilePro 780 Handheld PC. These devices offer HVGA (640x240) color screens, and run Windows CE 2.11, and include Pocket Internet Explorer, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, and Outlook.
Battery life is very good on the MP780 though no where near as good as the DreamWriters. But with VGA port, PCMCIA, Compact Flash, and internal 56K modem, there is plenty possibilities for expansion. There are plenty of 780s for sale on eBay for $90.
I love my Jornada 820. Windows CE device with full laptop keyboard, 8.2 inch 640x480 vga screen, built in v.90 56k modem and an 8 hour battery. For writing, nothing does better.
I picked one up on eBay two years ago for around $250 and it is worth every penny. Not a lot of options for upgrade since the OS is on a ROM but I wouldn't trade mine for anything.
"Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
And some voice recognition software for home.
Sounds like what you need is a Trash-80. It'll take notes and it's ancient enough that you really won't feel like your using a computer! Also, it's not flash enough to attract attention when travelling. A quick homemade serial interface when you get home and you're formatting in Word before you know it!!
Moleskine
Can't be beat. I'm on my 6th moleskine, 3rd global circuit.
; -- the corruption of government starts with its secrets. a truly free people keep no secrets. --
The camera I most recenly purchased wasnt even that expensive (Tm
Support TBI Research: http://www.raisinhope.org
I took a vacation to the Keys (Islamorada, actually. Stay at the Moorings village. Great beach!) and I brought a Gibson novel and my handspring.
I wanted to jot notes about ideas that Gibson was bringing up while reading in a hammock (thats why we read sci fi-to find out interesting theories). And the problem is the hammock.
Grafitti in the hammoc to FOREVER. It was no fun.
The keyboard for my visor seemed like a good idea, but I never use it. And in thise case, I was in the wrong position.
The only ideal solution was a cheap paper note-book/notepad.
Maybe you plan on sitting at a desk or table; in that case a PDA with a keyboard will work wonders.
If you install something like TealNotes you can even include hand drwan graphics with your text. GREAT!
But Hammocks? Not meant for doing any work!
In the future, I would want to not be isolated from my friends in the Space Station.
It's been suggested already but using a tape recorder, or some kind of voice recording gizmo that can record more than a few seconds at a time, would be a good option. You could easily babble off thoughts and descriptions during the trip then, when you get home, take a little time to transscribe it to your blog/email/note/whatever.
--
If I actually could spell I'd have spelled it right in the first place.
Cybiko's are dirt cheap these days. I've seen them for 5 quid each. USB, keyboard, very long battery life. Just what you want I think. Only 1MB of RAM in the standard model but that is a lot of typed text. Processor runs at a monster 11MHz (with a 4MHz co-processor).
Omnis amans amens
Why not get digital voice recorder or a MP3 Player that can record voice memos? Then transfer the recordings using dragon natural speak to convert it to a word document? If you already have an MP3 player see if it will allow you to record voice memos. Sounds easy to me and keeps your hands free during your trips.
All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing. --Edmund Burke
I believe the Logitech io Digital Pen is the only device that satisfies your requirements. I can't give you a recommendation because I haven't tried it myself. Epinions has a couple reviews as does ZDNet
It's about $160, plus the price of a compatible journal.
I have long been looking for the same device that Anonymous Wanderer asks for, so it's really annoying to read people saying he's described a PDA/keyboard combo.
Have any of you ever tried to actually USE a PDA with one of those fold out keyboards? I have a setup like that, and it's great - as long as you have an ergonomically set-up desk and chair at just the right height, that is stationary. If anything moves, or is jogged, your PDA is likely to fall over, out of the cradle. You can't use it on your lap, or on an airplane (as the angle of the PDA hits the seat in front). A subnotebook is a MUCH better "travel" note device than a PDA/keyboard combo.
However, what we want is NOT a subnotebook. A useable subnotebook (even a very old one, if you want a working battery) will run you at LEAST $300, and more likely around $1,000. Battery life will hardly ever exceed 3-4 hours, and they are heavy and breakable, and are full of unwanted features!! (which incur the aforementioned battery and financial drain).
The ideal device would have the intelligence of something along the lines of a Palm III, and the body of an ultrathin/compact subnotebook. I think I would like a full 8"-10" greyscale screen, and the action could include a 'foldout-palm' style keyboard so that when closed, it could be more compact, and when open the keyboard could be fullsized. Battery life should at LEAST exceed 10 hours with these simple internals. It should be under $300
This device is very simple, I would imagine much demand among note-takers, writers, students etc. We don't NEED laptops for this! Executives of Slashdot, Create!
(P.S. the Alphasmart is almost there, if only it was more compact !! And it could be a lot cheaper)
...and make slides. When you get home, put on a slide-show for your friends. Soon, you won't have any friends and the issue will go away.
Whatever you do, MAKE SURE YOU USE Vi!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I haven't used mine as much as I expected -- I don't know if they've got newer models, but mine has audible keyboard clicks, and I find I don't write LaTeX as fast by keyboard as I can write math, so plain paper is better for me for taking notes. Nonetheless, I've never had a serious problem with it, when I talked to their tech support (about a minor memory thing -- it acted like it had less than it did) they were outrageously helpful and actually solved the problem over the phone.
Light, convenient, don't have to worry about software incompatibilities (it "uploads" by pretending you're typing now, rather than when you did)...worth looking at.
So I'm finishin' up my piss at the bathroom at work just now, and this dude walks in, gets to the urinal, starts to take his piss, then takes out his cell phone and starts talking to his buddy! WTF?
TM
Support TBI Research: http://www.raisinhope.org
I have a friend who bought a 386 laptop on ebay for exactly your purposes. Cost about $25 and worked out wonderfully for her.
Very interesting, thanks for the link. Reminds me of the old short-lived Apple eMate. I wonder what became of those anyway?
Drill baby drill - on Mars
You could try the p-p-p-powerbook...
You want a device for taking notes that is not a computer, but has a keyboard? I have the perfect solution for you. It's a bitch to lug around, though.
Kind thoughts do not change the world
You could always pick up a wired-out stenographer and invite her along..check your local courthouse..
Symbian phones can use Palm keyboards. Note that the Nokia 3650 is a GSM world phone, so you can take notes (and send email) from pretty much anywhere.
Seems like the next logical idea, one step down from a PDA.
No sig here...
I'd say you'd need a Tablet PC. You can take written notes that are pretty much instantly digital. And you don't have to S P E L L each word out, unlike PDAs. Question is, do you have a few thousand dollars to chuck out for one?
a tape recorder? You don't want a PDA or Laptop so I think you are limiting your options.
Copytalk provides a cheap, reasonable quality voice dictation service for people on the go; just call up a phone number from your cell phone or house phone, say whatever it is that you want to say and it'll be sitting there as an email in your inbox when you get back home, ready for editing
I would highly reccomend the RIM Blackberry www.rim.com or www.blackberry.com You can browse the web, write memos, write e-mails, check e-mail... And the kicker.. I am posting this from a blackberry :)
It has a qwerty keyboard. Very awesome piece of hardware.
This is a little old and now hard to find but
Runs on 2 AA batteries for 20 to 40 hours,
Opens word docs, Opens excel sheets, spell checker, voice notes, Lot of program on internet, Saves to compact flash, has a keyboard (which i can use), fixs into your pocket, games, world clock, alarms, contact lists, calc, etc etc.
I have been using it for years when traveling, wouldn't leave home without it.
Recommend
Go for the high-cost, and highly satisfying option of a sexy personal secretary. One who can take care of all typing needs, as well as any other needs you may have while travelling (or not).
Trust me on this.
I have to plug the AlphaSmart 3000 here. I have one, and it is great. The only downside is that it isn't collapsible, so it's about 12x8 inches. If all you want to do is type, it will do that, as it has a keyboard. It holds a good amount of text (a bit over 80 pages at 80 chars wide).
The real advantage is that it gets at least 500 hours on three AA batteries. For me, that is a lifesaver, because I absolutely hate charging things and have a tendency to forget to do so (particularly while travelling).
Also handy, It can output over USB or a printer cable, and can send to any computer because it can emulate a USB keyboard and just type really frickin' fast.
I expect you want something smaller than that, as it is close to laptop size. It costs about 300 dollars, which is unfortunate.
Unfortunately, Motorola is refusing to release the specs on the chip, so you can't program your own applets for it. It's only ever good as a word-processor and a primitive calculator, but that's all many people need.
Also unfortunately, the company which makes them doesn't seem to want to make a smaller one, although it can't be too difficult. I've looking inside there: it has almost nothing in it. If they would make one with a smaller screen and a stowaway keyboard, I would be in heaven.
i agree this article (and the phenomenon of lame ask /. posts in general) is annoying, but to post an angry rant doesn't do any good.
secondly, it's basic sociology. 101 - overly aggressive, hostile tactics rarely get you what you want. venomous posts are self-defeating wastes of space in this case. doesn't catch the editors' ears - just verifies the idea that it was postworthy in the first place by increasing the comment count.
If you don't mind some hassle in connecting upon your return you can get an Apple eMate off ebay for less than $100. They from factor is designed for use by children so it is nearly indestructible but it used the Newton OS and you can still find a lot of serious software for it. The screen is large enough for comfortable typing. Beyond the old Tandy's it's probably your best bet. I used one for a couple of months back when I worked at Apple an found it really useful. It did fill a niche between a handheld PDA (really useful only for retrieving information) and a laptop (to fragile and slow to start working).
The Newton eMate, (very) dead technology from Apple, is available for cheap on eBay. It's very rugged, having been designed for kids. It has a built-in keyboard and no disk drive (FLASH RAM instead). It runs for hours and hours on a charge. The LCD display is shock-mounted and highly readable in direct sunlight. It doesn't wash out, it just gets easier to read. There's a backlight too. And it's very light.
It's fun to use one of these on a long plane flight. After two hours, everyone else is either changing batteries or folding their laptops. After four hours, the battery-changers are folding up, and you're the only one still typing.
It doesn't have USB. Its only interface is serial. But the Palm Desktop software for the Mac, which is Claris Works in disguise, will export documents from the eMate either as ASCII text, or to Word.
Your friends don't want to read it. I promise. ;-)
I currently have no clever signature witicism to add here.
sorry, you are asking for too much... so we'll have to break a few rules. a pda might be the best solution. a laptop can sometimes be too big for what you want and then you have battery/power issues; pda batteries last pretty long when not in use. but using it heavily will also cause battery issues. i purchased a palm m500. it broke on my 4 times. i had it warrantied, but pain in the butt. I will never buy a palm again. maybe another brand or palm model is better? honestly, if i were you i'd probably get a small laptop. something like an apple ibook 12". they go pretty cheap for laptops. but i think there are pc like machines out there that can let you do email/internet and typing. they're smaller. not sure how much. but cheaper than laptops - more expensive than pdas. if you do end up getting a pda, you'll have to get a keyboard. typing in or using graphitti can be a pain if you're writing something long.
It uses funky paper; a digital pen.
Why not a Danger hiptop. It's a phone, PDA, HTML web browser, has AIM, does pop email (pushed down to you, you don't have to explicitly check emails) and includes a handy notes type program. You could also type notes into your e-mail or blog on the go. It has a full qwerty keyboard and the T-Mobile version (aka sidekick) is available for $70 (after rebates) from Amazon (if you get new service). Unlimited data access for $20 with any voice phone plan. There's even a telnet/SSH application you can snag for $10. The kicker is that the only way to backup your data is when it is automatically synced when connected to the GPRS network... so if you're not in or going to be in an area where T-Mobile (or whichever carrier you'd go with) has data coverage and the battery dies, then you're notes or email drafts will be history. But as long as your in a coverage area, it's great!
What you want doesn't seem to exist. if you only want to drop a few dollars on something practical, especially for camping and for reading and writing, I'd suggest rethinking the notebook and pen, and for around 10-15$ you can get a headlight/flashlight thing that you slip on your head, they have LED bulbs, run for days on some AAA or AA batteries. Chinamart has several models on the rack, easy to find there or most other department store. I have two of them, great for working and keeping your hands free, comfortable enough to sit down and read books (or write in a journal) with if there's no other lighting available.
Really, the next best option is just get an real old cheap used laptop, like some old 50$ pentium one or something. Transfer every days notes to a floppy and snail-mail it to yourself with a postcard, daily, then you have a backup if the laptop borks on you. Just make sure it has a decent battery. Don't think of it as a computer, just call it a portable keyboard equipped electronic typewriter for taking notes that's a lot cheaper than the other one you looked at.
But I still like the headlamp/ dead trees storage combo as the cheapest and best. The headlamp will satisfy geek gadget urges and it actually is quite practical, and the dead trees notebook is cheap and effective.
See if you can find an old Cross Pad. I have had good luck with these pads in the past while taking notes in meetings. It is nice to have a digital and a paper copy. The handwriting recog. actually works too. They were discontinued in April 2001, so check ebay.
Check out here.
Alright, so you probably don't want the Lisa Frank version, but Walgreens has other similarly small, $1 notebooks to choose from. I speak from experience when I say that these things are a lot better than Palm Pilots and other PDAs. They're more portable, you don't have to worry about battery life, and you don't have to deal with carrying around a keyboard or trying to use the hand writing recognition software.
If you take the palm with keyboard route as a lot of people are suggesting, I recommend SiEd for text editing, it saves files as normal text files on the memory card.
If you carry around a cellphone, you can then upload the files with VFSFTP. When I went to events before I got my laptop, I used this setup to update my webpage with live information. I could also upload photos as such.
Ah, one more handy program, Mocha Telnet, it has SSH-2 support. I used it to ssh in to make thumbnails of the photos I'd uploaded.
The word "verb" is a noun, so by using the gerund "verbing" you're actually "verbing" a noun ("verb") in order to use it as gerund (which is a verb used as a noun). Interesting.
I was going to recommend one of those myself... shame they don't make similar devices now... they'd definately fill this niche... make it small, cheap, and sturdy. i had one in school for taking notes, beautifully simple device.
As an example, I bought this japaneese device that is a worldwide clock/alarm clock/calculator which is smaller than my wallet. I found this to be very useful in my trip to Thailand. The digital camera was seperate. No phone. No voice recorder. Did jot a few notes once or twice. How do YOU do it?
I think this is a really great topic, but unfortunately, it's missing some good answers. The way that I see it, I'm finding that I don't have enough time to keep up with all of my emails, and when I do write, there's typically a staple set of questions that I'll repeat in each correspondence. Major events, funny things that happened get repeated until I am disassociated from the actual event. Having a web journal may be a good solution to these day-to-day events.
So let me play devil's advocate for a bit. The pen, I think, is a good idea, because a lot of information is conveyed through handwriting. Unfortunately, I type faster than I write. Also, I tend to edit a lot.
Voice is a good idea, but frankly, that's a whole different medium in itself. I talk completely different than I write... and ultimately, I'd probably like for my journal to have audio capabilities to complement my writing.
Also, I'd like to include pictures that I take from digital cameras and other digital (TV/video/webpage clips) and analog (drawings/sketches) but often, it takes several steps to upload, edit, adjust my pics as well as other types of media.
On top of it all, If I have to edit the webpage, make sure that it all formats correctly, and select a good blogger that will allow me to do it all for cheap/free... it becomes quite a hassle. It'd be great if it was all one step.
If you occasionally have web access during your trip, you can edit the above and/or send it off to your friends in either text or PDF format (so they can see your multi color drawings etc).
In fact, I've developed a system exactly like that - runs on Linux too... see aForms.
Go over to REI or EMS or whatever local "outdoor" store you've got and pick up a small dry bag for it. Or look into an otter box.
Any kind of boating shop should have these too. Saves you when you get drenched. I do a lot of travel in non-modern areas (like camping in a foreign country) and things get wet at the oddest times.
If the problem is "that I'm so busy when I come back that the notebook sits for weeks or months unopened", then the device you need is a time machine. Attempting to fix this with any other sort of technology is an attempt to fix what's not broke. You can spend as much as you like and still only have good intentions to show for it.
I would use a camera and a hand held tape recorder. Take pictures and voice notes, and merge them into a slide show. And I wouldn't ruin the immediacy by editing the recordings, which also would let you off the post-production hook.
"I may be synthetic, but I'm not stupid." -- Bishop 341-B
just get an alphasmart! my school has em and they pwn for typing up stuff. they even have a built in spell checker. also i think they have one alphasmart model with palm os on it. definitly worth checking out!
Have you thought of maybe using an mp3 player or some other type of sound recorder to simply record your voice while you're on the trip? Then when you get home you use a speech recognition software such as ViaVoice for example to convert all you say to text. Not sure how well that would work in practice, but it might save you some typing, plus you only have to carry a little sound recorder when you're travelling.
I didn't think we were being particularly subtle about that, such that it would need explanation.
You don't want a pda or computer (which, a pda is) - but you want it electronically. Anything with a keyboard display and memory, as has been mentioned, is going to be 'a computer' - unless it doesn't actually work.
If you don't like the idea of getting a nice little PDA (new palms/sonys are beautiful and sub $150) - you won't like any alternatives.
Buy a damned scanner - they're cheap. Find some OCR - experiment briefly to be sure it can recognize a large percentage of your handwriting - learn the quirks to avoid.
Now take your paper and pencil with you on vacation and write legibly. When you get home, spend the time you check email and get updates on news / relaxing with your hand frequenting the scanner and your notebook every so often. Then you have it MOSTLY done and you'll have to go back over it and fix things.
cyn, free software and *nix operating systems enthusiast.
It has enough battery life to last for a couple of weeks, and if the batteries run low it takes standard AAs...
And since they're 1988 technology, they're also extremely cheap these days. I've still got two of them knocking around.. Definately built to take a few hard knocks.
The bottom lines run $100 list price, cheaper for discounted/used.
Psions and have unparalleled keyboards for their form factor. I have large hands and can still manage to touch-type on a Psion.
EPOC is a nice and stable OS that gets the job done. Though it's a dead OS, there are thousands of apps available for it. And if you don't like it, on the 5mx, series 7 and netbook, you can run an XT emulator and apps, or you could try Linux (though the netbook version is currently somewhat less than optimally usable).
Also, they are incredibly rugged (though the 5mx do have an Achilles' heel in their screen cable ribbon). I think I could chuck my netbook, frisbee-like, straight into the concrete and have it work afterwards. Very durable, few moving parts.
Why not just use a digital video camera? They can be pretty small and inexpensive. When you get home, do a little video editing. I'm sure your friends would be much more entertained to watch a video and actually get to see some of the things instead of just reading about them. You could also do voice over (while recording even). Nothing fancy. It's what most vacationers have done for a long time.
Lots of people like to "tape" voice notes. These days you can replace tape by flash memory. Uses less battery power than moving parts. Also you have random-access to notes. The better ones you can play the first N seconds of each record. so you label a note like "London, Novemeber third", then flip through the note labels to the one you want.
...at least some using Anoto Technology:
info here
some reviews here
and here
and a open source blogging system that has support for anoto pens: http://handwritten.net/
Why don't you not make a blatant grab for karma by taking the pro-tek position and post anonymously?
I'm a writer (yes, a publishing one) and have struggled for years to find a way that works. The PDA solution sucks because the keyboard isn't useful. The notebook solution sucks because it's expensive, stops you in airports for far too long, and increases one's chances of getting robbed. There is, to my knowledge, no easy-to-use portable, foldable, or rollable keyboard that's actually practical. They're fine for a desk, but not a subway car, back of the taxi, or whatever.
What does work, surprisingly well, is an inexpensive digital voice recorder. You can get speech recognition software if you're too lazy to type. If you have a USB key you can even download the data if you fill four hours of talk time.
Just a thought. It's worked well for me.
Nice and cheap ... only a buck.
... If you've got money for a vacation, you've got money for a used PDA.
On a more serious note
Check out the AlphaSmart Dana, which is a compact keyboard/PDA based on PalmOS. Very rugged, long battery life, costs about $380 US new, can be found on eBay for less. I haven't personally used one, but they have gotten really good reviews for people who need to write on the road. The "used only once" eBay items are probably people who thought they were getting a really cheap laptop and were disappointed, but for your requirements a laptop would be a liability.
I do the same thing and have the same requirements. I tour on a motorcycle and like to take notes about the trip. With a digital camera (with date and time) and the receipts from the stops along the way, the notes only need to be notes and not books. When I stop, and depending on what I did that day, I can be pretty tired. I've tried using a palm for a ski trip and it's just too much of a hassle.
When I get home, I use mapping software (MS Streets & Trips works real well) along with the receipts and I can track my travels real well. Along with the pics and I have a reasonably good idea where I was. Add in the sparse notes I quickly jot down and I have a reasonable journal.
Check out http://www.geocities.com/dm_gsxr/touring.html for my ride reports.
[John]
Shit better not happen!
A better solution on the same lines would be a bluetooth phone and the new bluetooth frogpad which is available for pre-order - looks like the dog's knob.
Assuming the phone has GPRS, it would enable you to email your log to yourself, providing a good backup.
Not cheap, but a good geeky solution which justifies the purchase of a new toy (I've just ordered one!).
Humorous signatures are over-rated.
I agree that there are serious problems to both paper (ultimately, I'll want it in electronic form) and electronics (electronic devices have lots of limitations on the road).
How is OCR technology coming along? How realistic is it now to take notes in a paper notebook and then load them into computer via OCR more or less painlessly? I usually print when I write anyway, like most programmers it seems, but I would want to be able to retain little diagrams and things that paper is really good at.
Would current OCR applications support this approach well? Any suggestions?
"Those who have never entered upon scientific pursuits know not a tithe of the poetry by which they are surrounded."
I actually suggest you stop doing that. Enjoy your vacations but spare your friends of the details...
I'll be using my iRiver, and recording notes and comments in the left over space.
Blar.
I hope this just wasn't a Michigan phenomenon thing, but many years ago when cell phones became mainstream, we went out in droves and everyone owned one of those memo-pads with the suction cups to stick on their windshield -- you know, to take those important notes whilst driving.
Seriously, man, what were we thinking? That we looked important and cool? I mean, I did, but the rest of you.. anyway.. So, my suggestion, while traveling, use a suction-cup memo-pad with the nice spiral-cord attached pen, that, of course, writes like complete sh*t. You can stick it on the window on the plane, or on the seat in front of you. When you're renting a car, you can stick it on that car's windshield. The possibilities are endless, really.
Make sure that when you remove the suction cup, you carefully lift the little rubber nubby nipple -- makes removal so much easier.
Would this be better than standard pen & paper plus OCR?
This isn't an argument. I'm actually asking.
I looked at their website and saw that it claims a capacity of 40 pages before a download is required. That could be handy if I came home everyday from traveling and was able to sync it to a computer and then back up what I wrote.
I'm wondering how it would be on the road with a backpack, not wanting to carry much, and definitely not wanting to lug a computer around. I can buy paper anywhere, rain won't hurt it much as long as I use a ballpoint pen, which I can carry around with nobody wanting to steal it. And if I lose my notebook, I lose the data, but most thieves don't hungrily eye a pad of used paper, so the risk of that is low, unless they steal the whole backpack, in which case I can at least buy more paper and pens on the road anywhere....
I'm just wondering out load, because I'm guessing that now it wouldn't be too hard to buy an OCR setup that you would leave at home when you traveled. When you returned, you could just take an evening and scan everything, and the scanner would even let you scan flat souvenirs (tickets, maps, brochures, etc.) in addition to your own journals.
I'm just wondering if, for travelers, putting the cost of the IO into buying a scanner wouldn't be a better approach. And I don't even know what OCR software is capable of or costs these days....
Just wondering....
"Those who have never entered upon scientific pursuits know not a tithe of the poetry by which they are surrounded."
Blackberry
Older models run for cheap...new models are SLICK.
I knew a cop, who about 5-6 years ago, had started using a digital recorder for taking notes -- he had trained Naturally Speaking, and the device had a clean enough recording that when he got back to the office, he'd play back it back to his computer --
A quick review to make sure it had transcribed cleanly, and he was done.
I'm guessing the software's gotten better since then, and the various recorders have gotten more memory, as well. With an iPod, it's not going to be cheap, but it's small, and it'll hold hours of dictation.
Build it, and they will come^Hplain.
- backup the data on my computer
- change the batteries
- restore my palm from the backed up data.
This is obviously something you will not be able to deal with when you are away from computers. The capacitor problem is not uncommon.(You can get it fixed here by the way)There are several ways for the devices you have been reading about here to store the documents you write. Some devices can maintain their data when they lose power, and some cannot. This is Non-Volatile vs Volatile storage.
Most modern PDAs (I would not consider my m100 modern) and many other devices operate with a built in rechargable battery (not AAAs or AAs). This is good and bad. Good because its virtually impossible to encounter the problem I have with changing the batteries, but bad because you have to bring a charger specific to that device with you and you have to make sure that it doesn't lose all its power or you may lose your documents.
Some devices (perhaps even some PDAs or some of the voice recorders) may operate with a core of non-volatile memory in which case if something did happen to the batteries ( if you dropped the pda and they fell out or it ran out of power before you could charge it up again) your data would remain intact.
Another option for avoiding this problem is to get a device with a memory card slot (compact flash, or memory stick) and copy the documents you write onto them periodically since memory cards are inherently non-volatile.
With all that in mind The Psion that is mentioned in other comments seems to me to be the right device for you. It has a Compact Flash slot and a keyboard and can be had cheap.
Yes I know
Take notes in pen while traveling then download them to the computer when you return. Tjp
- Tjp
I am in wallow with my inner money grubbing capitalistic pig. ... Oink!
I kept a clipboard full of loose leaf paper on the passenger seat, a GPS on the dashboard, my digital camera in the center console, and my laptop in the trunk. When I saw something cool, I pulled over and took a picture. When I thought of something cool, or learned something cool, I jotted down a note. I do my best to keep the notes in chronological order (date and page number on top of each sheet), and use special marks to indicate something I've written out of sequence or as an aside. Whenever I had a useful stop, or saw something particularly interesting, I put a waypoint on the GPS.
When I got to that night's hotel, I took about half an hour to:
Having the combination of the four created a comprehensive enough tickler set that I could recreate the day pretty thoroughly.
Probably the best thing I did to remember the trip was to send out an e-mail to everybody at the end of the day. Most of the hotels I stayed in were online, and every town I stayed in had an Internet cafe of some description (often it was a bar serving wonderful Alaskan beers). I CC:d myself on everything, and this has supplemented my running notes very nicely.
So I took the laptop, yes, but I only pulled it out at the end of the day, or when my digital camera was full and I needed to offload its contents somewhere. This took all of four minutes at a roadside picnic area.
All this gear made the airport a PITA, but it was all pretty worth it.
This is not my sandwich.
My thoughts exactly. I also had a fond memory of my Laser PC3 that I got from Tiger Direct many years ago. It was simple, but effective and ran forever on a set of batteries.
Now available for Palm, Pocket PC, Tablet PC, Windows 2000/XP. See also Fitt's Law.
-- A satisfied user
If you can outlay the money, I suggest an iRiver iHP-140 (it is an mp3 player)
it has an internal microphone and can record straight to mp3s
But it is big, expanive, and don't use it.
Go to your local second hand shop, and pick up a 5yr+ PDA (Psion Revo is my recomendation) for 20-50.
All the "Notes" you could want, plus VNC, Telnet, and most importantly NetHack.
Wow, I should not post when knackered.
Take some valium and stop being such an asshole.
and then you slit the binding off the notebook and run your notes through a sheet-feed scanner?
Best Buy can have you arrested
I use a Sony Clie NX-70 for just that. I know you said you didn't want a "computer", but for me, the Clie has worked out perfectly. I take notes using graffiti and into Documents to Go. When I'm back from the trip, the stuff gets uploaded into MS Word format - *immediately* into OpenOffice.org, and gets cleaned up.
The slow input speed of graffiti actually helps me - I can collect my thoughts while inputting, and in a way it slows me way down, something we all need on vacation.
The other, equally cool thing about the Clie is the built-in camera and relatively large display. I have a great time in on vacations in 3rd world countries, taking little movies of the kids and playing them back on the screen for them.
Then, of course, while in that international airport waiting for the next plane, you can use the WiFi to pick up that last bit of email, or sign on to Slashdot to get great advice like this...
"You can't have everything. Where would you keep it?" -- Steven Wright
SX64 is ideal!
Wow, I should not post when knackered.
AT&T wireless keeps giving away a nokia 6800. some days it cost $100.00 US.
It is like a flip phone type thing with a qwerty built in.
I use it for grocery list's, Invention ideas, reminders, email and occasionally as a phone.
KenWooD
If you pick them up used on ebay. I got my IIIxe for $30 and a brand new keyboard for the palm for $10. Add the shipping and I spent $50 for small compact device to record my trip. I made sure I kept spare set of batteries and when I returned I just downloaded the Notes I took and did the final edit.
"Your having a bad day when the voices in your head put you on hold"
When I go in vacations, I like to take notes and upon return write a travel story for my friends.
What do your friends think about this?
Here is the answer to your question. Yes, they do still exist!
This travel typewriter will be just what you need to organize your notes and with some simple OCR software it's easy to convert your notes into digital format. Hope this helps!
Though it's similar to the Nokia, what about the Logitech io Personal Digital Pen? You can write on paper all you want and when you get home, just sync. http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm?page=products/fe atures/digitalwriting&crid=1545&countryid=19&langu ageid=1
hehheh heh
OK, it's kinda like vapor-hardware, but might be out by x-mas
http://www.flipstartpc.com/
Try the Dana Alphasmart (www.alphasmart.com). It's really just for writing. It's not really a "computer" per se.
When I worked at Starbucks we had Tall, Grande, and Venti drinks. There used to be a Short, but after the Venti was added the Short had to be removed. People kept ordering "Medium," most of whom couldn't understand that they cannot order a medium in a 4 size index. Of course, with our smallest drink labeled a Tall the customers had constant questions when we would relay their order to other people, and we had to double-check with everyone who ordered a Tall that they wanted the smallest drink we served. Which in a way was a lie, as you can still order a short, if you want, it's just not on the menu anymore.
The ______ Agenda
If you've got a phone anyway you may as well use it along with a digital pen for notes taking as well as sending postcards during your trip.
If you can touch type and aren't worried about seeing your notes until you get back, you could go with a small keyboard such as the Happy Hacking and a keylogger like KeyKatcher, or a combination like at Key Ghost. Just rig up a few batteries to power it. When you get back, dump the notes into a file.
I don't know if this fits the bill- I never used one myself, though I thought it was an intriguing idea. It was a legal tablet, small and large size, that sat on a half-inch thick black "clipboard". This clipboard recorded all the handwriting done on the paper and saved it to its memory, where you could transfer it to your computer later. It had a row of buttons across the top- when you ripped a page off or started a new one, you pushed the "new page" button and the device bookmarked where your page started and ended. You could use any legal pad on the device, and it could hold a lot of pages before you uploaded your writing to your computer. Don't know if this is something you'd be interested in- I haven't seen one in a awhile, but I'm sure Ebay has a couple.
My good looks paid for that pool, and my talent filled it with water.
They work really well for jotting down stuff.
Hop into the nearest internet cafe or booth and mail yourself. They are around everywhere. Cheap, save and simple, with 24/7 data protection (depending on ISP of course :-).
If you don't life on the edge you take up too much space!
Hi there,
:-)
It sounds like you are after a Libretto 100 (or later models). They are fully equiped PCs that are about the same size as a VHS casette (remember those?)
Have a look on EBay for a bargain (expect to pay around 150GBP for a 100 model).
John
http://www.nkl.fi/memona/memoengl.htm
You'll have learn how to type with a Braille keyboard (6 keys), and there's no screen (obviously). You will need some other machine to upload to periodically.
Some PDAs have been produced with chording keyboards - I owned one (briefly) once.
In common with others in this thread, I can't recommend Psion Series 3 or Series 5 too highly. My 5MX is in daily use - so get one off an auction site.
This line intentionally left..uh..blank?
I have seen these things at CompUSA, have no idea how good (or bad) they are, but the basic idea is a standard notepad with a pressure sensor in it, so you can write stuff down, and when you get home, you hook it up to your computer and it transfers all of it over, I think it may come with some writing recognition software too, may be something to look into...
You want 2 weeks without computers yet you want a keyboard... mmmm let me think... I assume that since you are so idealistic about your non-computer vacations existence perhaps you are so noble as to go for 2 weeks without electricity... because otherwise, let's be honest, what's the f***ing point?!
Get a typewriter... go off like Burroughs.
Anyway, my opinion is a Treo cell phone... if the batteries die and you can't charge it, your vacation will be better for it.
The most useful travellog was put up by some friends. Check out www.mehras.net... they travelled the country and the world and simply jacked in every so often.
Far more capabably during a whole year than you appear to want to be during two lousy weeks!
Haha
this is actually a good idea - would work for meetings and conferences as well
I suggest you get an etch-a-sketch as your criteria are as rediculous as this suggestion.
Honestly think about a Sony Clie tj 27 with an Otterbox armor case. It works for me!
But. Coming close to a dumb paper pad, the good, really really REALLY old Tandy Model 200 was a light piece of gear, ran for weeks on four penlight cells, and includes nothing more computer-like than a text editor, BASIC, and has timer functions you can use for alarm and time functions.
It's not tiny but it is light and very rugged because it has no moving parts aside from the power switch. And serial communications when you get back, yippee! (okay okay - and the keys, which by the way are a good solid feeling set.)
Not widely available these days, though there are some people who still have a few, just they don't often like to part with them. (I'm hanging onto mine because it's just the best serial datalogging machine I've ever had.) If you do find one grab it fast, they are THE ultimate holiday note taker.
-- ted russ http://www.arach.net.au/~ted/mydynes/ http://www.arach.net.au/~ted/myblogs/
My cell phone has a "voice note" dealie. Comes in handy sometimes. (I hear the T-Mobile Sidekick phones are nice, too; big backlit colour screen, qwerty keyboard. Send an AIM to a screen name you keep logged.)
Assume I was drunk when I posted this.
Buy mp3 player with builtin microphone (USB or harddrive)
VERY USEFUL
could I build it myself?
a little LCD screen and a keyboard. it should'nt be that hard? right?
http://www.8bit-micro.com/wp2wp3.htm
Learn to write in print. Scan and OCR your notes. One of the great contrasts of the cold-war space-race was that the U.S. invested tens of thousands of dollars on developing a ballpoint pen that would write in zero-g. A pressurized capsule at the back end of the reservoir forced the ink out. The russians solved the problem by taking pencils to space (subtracted weight from the problem, as well).