I have not used the pen yet
- Thread starter bulls96
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Telstar1948
Active Member
I love the idea of the pen... but my work doesn't require me to use one. I've used it as a mouse from time-to-time, and I've written with it a few times just to use it. Like others have posted, I can type faster than I can write, and the result is much more easily read than my writing without a doubt. I think if I ever give up typing notes in OneNote I will set OneNote so that my "paper" is lined so that I at least have something to aim at to help keep my handwriting somewhat on track and more concise... that's my theory anyway.
All of this is probably in keeping with the way I use my SP3. I use it as a laptop virtually all the time. I don't detach the keyboard - even now I'm typing this with my SP3 propped on my crossed legs sitting on the couch. I rarely use my SP3 in tablet mode or even in portrait mode. I use the MUI apps about as much as I use the desktop though. For me, it feels more comfortable this way than trying to use it as a tablet.
On the other hand, I write on my GN3 often using its stylus on the Action Notes/S Notes. Maybe it's the size of the device that makes the difference for me - smaller and I'm more inclined to write on the device. In many ways, I use my GN3 as a tablet, reading books etc.
I use my SP3 a lot in its dock hooked to multiple monitors, all sorts of USB devices, separate BT keyboard, wireless mouse etc. In fact, reading many of your comments about the S3 and using it as more of a portable device, as a notebook or tablet, and so on has started me wondering if I would use an S3 that way rather than my SP3. Of course then I'd have 3 devices (GN3, SP3, S3) to fool with instead of just two. One the other hand, I sometimes wonder if having a backup device to my SP3 wouldn't be a good idea, but then I think of the expense involved... thoughts then circle one another like water going down a drain. All in all, sounds like first-world problems, doesn't it??
All of this is probably in keeping with the way I use my SP3. I use it as a laptop virtually all the time. I don't detach the keyboard - even now I'm typing this with my SP3 propped on my crossed legs sitting on the couch. I rarely use my SP3 in tablet mode or even in portrait mode. I use the MUI apps about as much as I use the desktop though. For me, it feels more comfortable this way than trying to use it as a tablet.
On the other hand, I write on my GN3 often using its stylus on the Action Notes/S Notes. Maybe it's the size of the device that makes the difference for me - smaller and I'm more inclined to write on the device. In many ways, I use my GN3 as a tablet, reading books etc.
I use my SP3 a lot in its dock hooked to multiple monitors, all sorts of USB devices, separate BT keyboard, wireless mouse etc. In fact, reading many of your comments about the S3 and using it as more of a portable device, as a notebook or tablet, and so on has started me wondering if I would use an S3 that way rather than my SP3. Of course then I'd have 3 devices (GN3, SP3, S3) to fool with instead of just two. One the other hand, I sometimes wonder if having a backup device to my SP3 wouldn't be a good idea, but then I think of the expense involved... thoughts then circle one another like water going down a drain. All in all, sounds like first-world problems, doesn't it??
wynand32
Well-Known Member
I came across this article about paper note taking being more effective in terms of comprehension, and it made me think of this thread: http://www.npr.org/2015/05/27/40879...ign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=20150527
My own experience with digital pen use goes back to Tablet PCs and my time as a sales engineer for Ricoh, a job I left a little over seven years ago. I used Tablet PCs to take literally thousands of notes on OneNote (yes, that long ago), and here's why:
My own experience with digital pen use goes back to Tablet PCs and my time as a sales engineer for Ricoh, a job I left a little over seven years ago. I used Tablet PCs to take literally thousands of notes on OneNote (yes, that long ago), and here's why:
- I wanted notes that could be easily searched. I had way too many prospects and customers generating copious amounts of notes to try to manage them all with paper. I also attended many meetings a day, some of which were followups, meaning I would have had to carry a portable filing cabinet around with me to make it all work.
Tablet PCs were excellent at converting handwriting to text in the background, which I only used for searching. To this day, I can pull up that OneNote file and search my notes for, say, "OCR required" and get every relevant note in seconds. That's powerful stuff.
- I liked to take notes by hand rather than typing because I needed to draw diagrams of business processes and workflows and such. I simply can't imagine how to do that without using a pen, unless I were to type my verbal notes and then draw diagrams on paper, which seems silly.
- I often took notes while walking around a business and observing. Obviously, that's easier with a Tablet PC (now Surface) tucked in my arm.
- Finally, and what was most interesting to me: I was meeting with prospects and customers. It was much less disruptive to hold a machine in my arm and take notes like I would with a pad of paper than set a clamshell notebook between me and the person/people I was meeting with and type. Having that screen between us just wasn't conducive to a positive, inviting atmosphere.
I think the same is likely true for students in classrooms, and many other instances.
Like you, I have OneNote Notebooks reaching back, mine all the way back to 2003. All of them in ink and all still searchable, and now that Microsoft has offloaded OCR into OneDrive (Azure Service) even the inking done in the Universal App is searchable.
I ink not because its faster, I ink because if I write it, I retain it and I act upon it.
