How to Read Boring Computer Text like a Virtual Paperback Novel
Many people would balk at the idea of reading books or other lengthy works of text on-screen. Yet, especially for office-types, a lot of people spend most of their entire day doing exactly that: read text on-screen.
If you'd rather be reading on real paper but have to read off your computer, try yBook - the Paperback Emulator. (Or maybe, this could be your way of saving a few trees.)
yBook is a freeware application that lets you read your Text, HTML, RTF, PDB and PRC documents as virtual paperbacks. To help with the illusion, you can set the background to look like paper (you have several choices of paper texture). Just like a book, you can split the view of your document so you have a left-hand and right-hand page.
A simple click on either page will let you flick to the previous or the next page. Hitting the Space bar also works to flip the page, as do the arrow keys (left/right and up/down). The key options are good if you want your hand to rest lazily by your keyboard, ready to casually tap a key to turn the page.
Figure 1: Change settings: choosing the "paper".
Because of this...
You can change the type of font, the size of the font, resize the yBook window and you still won't have to pan or scroll. yBook will re-index its pages and do whatever magic it does so your virtual paperback will still read like a paperback. You'll still get your left page and right page (or single page if that's what you set it to) with the number of words per page increased or decreased to fit. No scrolling. No panning. Just a lazy keyboard tap or mouse-click to flip pages.
Figure 2: Reading a small yBook... no pan or scroll buttons required!
Bookmarks are automatically set. yBook remembers where you are when you close it down, ready for your next visit. I've noticed that it keeps a history of documents you've loaded and it sets a bookmark for you for each one. Very handy.
There are other options worth noting: Search, Read from Clipboard, Print, Export, Change Borders, Change Colours, Search, Internationalised Menus.
Figure 3: Changing the font. Got bad eyes? Increase the font size. Make those letters pop.
There's even an option to access the Project Gutenberg website which provides 20,000-odd ebooks for dowload for free.
Get yBook here (3MB).
(Note for Linux users: I've even gotten yBook to run in Linux via WINE.)
The author of yBook says on his website that he wrote yBook for his own use and decided to also give it away for free. Thank goodness for his generosity. Not only is yBook making it easier for me to read gobs of text off my computer monitor, I'm even starting to read ebooks on-screen for pleasure. It sure beats watching YouTube for looking busy at your desk while loafing.
Better yet, you can cut down on your printing. Save time. Save money. Save trees.
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How to Read Boring Computer Text like a Virtual Paperback Novel
Many people would balk at the idea of reading books or other lengthy works of text on-screen. Yet, especially for office-types, a lot of people spend most of their entire day doing exactly that: read text on-screen.
If you'd rather be reading on real paper but have to read off your computer, try yBook - the Paperback Emulator. (Or maybe, this could be your way of saving a few trees.)
yBook is a freeware application that lets you read your Text, HTML, RTF, PDB and PRC documents as virtual paperbacks. To help with the illusion, you can set the background to look like paper (you have several choices of paper texture). Just like a book, you can split the view of your document so you have a left-hand and right-hand page.
A simple click on either page will let you flick to the previous or the next page. Hitting the Space bar also works to flip the page, as do the arrow keys (left/right and up/down). The key options are good if you want your hand to rest lazily by your keyboard, ready to casually tap a key to turn the page.
Figure 1: Change settings: choosing the "paper".
But why not just read from your word processor?
Because of this...
yBook adjusts itself so you won't have to pan or scroll to read your text.
You can change the type of font, the size of the font, resize the yBook window and you still won't have to pan or scroll. yBook will re-index its pages and do whatever magic it does so your virtual paperback will still read like a paperback. You'll still get your left page and right page (or single page if that's what you set it to) with the number of words per page increased or decreased to fit. No scrolling. No panning. Just a lazy keyboard tap or mouse-click to flip pages.
Figure 2: Reading a small yBook... no pan or scroll buttons required!
Bookmarks are automatically set. yBook remembers where you are when you close it down, ready for your next visit. I've noticed that it keeps a history of documents you've loaded and it sets a bookmark for you for each one. Very handy.
There are other options worth noting: Search, Read from Clipboard, Print, Export, Change Borders, Change Colours, Search, Internationalised Menus.
Figure 3: Changing the font. Got bad eyes? Increase the font size. Make those letters pop.
There's even an option to access the Project Gutenberg website which provides 20,000-odd ebooks for dowload for free.
yBook.
Features:
* Runs on any Windows PC (Win95 or later)
* Display your book on side-by-side or single pages.
* Resize the pages, adjust the margins, set text and paper colour.
* Text, html and RTF reader
* PDB and PRC reader
* Search for words or phrases
* Automatic bookmarks
* Text sizes from tiny to HUGE
* No zooming, panning or scrolling
* Direct download of all Gutenberg titles, with index.
* Internationalised menus - Spanish, German, etc
* Completely free to use: No registration, no adware, no spyware
Get yBook here (3MB).
(Note for Linux users: I've even gotten yBook to run in Linux via WINE.)
The author of yBook says on his website that he wrote yBook for his own use and decided to also give it away for free. Thank goodness for his generosity. Not only is yBook making it easier for me to read gobs of text off my computer monitor, I'm even starting to read ebooks on-screen for pleasure. It sure beats watching YouTube for looking busy at your desk while loafing.
Better yet, you can cut down on your printing. Save time. Save money. Save trees.
About the author. Allan Naguit is a part of Funai Pty Ltd, an outfit that provides friendly, professional I.T. Handyman Services for small businesses and home offices based in the Sydney Metropolitan Area (Australia). "Just like a handyman, but for computers and IT."
[ 1 comment ] ( 28 views ) | [ 0 trackbacks ] | permalink | related link
Fun, Practical and Personalised Post-its
We all know you can write on post-its. Did you know you can print on them too?
First, a big thank you to the creator of The OVERnote!
What is the OVERnote? It's a design you print directly onto a Post-it to make taking notes a bit more organised, fun and scribbly.
Figure 1. The OVERnote
If you want your post-its to look like the OVERnote (above), the link to the OVERnote article is here.
I really liked the idea of the OVERnote. The idea of printing directly onto post-its... that really tickled the crazy little DIY'er in me. So I decided to see what else I could do with it.
But first, I needed to find out if it worked on my printers.
In the original OVERnote article the author admitted to playing "fast and loose" on a cheap Laser printer and suggested that printing these things carried some risk. Keeping that in mind I tried printing first on an old inkjet printer (my trusty Canon BJC-1000SP). No problem! I then tried it on an HP multi-function printer and finally on a Laser printer. Worked without a hitch.
I'll also say "proceed at your own risk" to cover my behind, but I've printed lots of these things now (mostly on the Canon) and none of the printers have complained yet.
The original OVERnote documents were in PDF format. I created these easily-editable templates in Word (.DOC) format and OpenDocument format (ODF) to make it easier for you to make your own Post-it covers.
There are two templates:
1. The Printing Guide. This is the first page you want to print out. It has six boxes marked on the page so you know where to position your six blank Post-its. It's editable in case you want to use Post-its that are not the standard 3x3 inch squares. Download the Printing Guide here: ODF (9 KB) or DOC (13 KB).
Figure 2. The Printing Guide
2. The Cover Template. This is the document you modify to place your own post-it designs. The page has six 3x3 inch squares based on the standard Post-it size. The numbers in the column in the middle (0 to 3) serve two purposes. The first is to mark out (roughly) the inches down the page, 3 inches per box. The second is so the table's cells representing the post-it boxes remain at the proper size even when the cells themselves are empty (and ready for you to fill with your own designs). Download the Cover Template here: ODF (9 KB) or DOC (13 KB).
Figure 3. The Cover Template (pre-filled with my sample designs)
Turn on the ruler guide in your word processor. Use it when editing to keep an eye on the post-it boxes of your Printing Guide and Cover Template to make sure they stay at 3" x 3" (assuming you're using standard post-its).
Add and Resize images to fit. After inserting images into my post-it boxes, I found I could use the resize drag bars around the image box to enlarge or reduce my images to bring my boxes back to 3" as required. Note: You'll probably use Photoshop or MS Paint to come up with your images - whatever you're comfortable with is fine. I used the GIMP to create and manipulate my images. It's free and is available for Windows, Mac and Linux. Anyway, we're not printing on photo paper so some roughness in your images is acceptable.
Note: I created these documents using OpenOffice.org. OpenOffice.org allows saving to Word format as well as in the new standard, OpenDocument format (aka ODF). I haven't tested the Word version from within MS Word so your results may vary. If you're on MS Word, there's an ODF Add-in you can try here.
Step 1. Print the Printing Guide. It has six boxes where you can position six standard post-its (3" x 3").
Step 2. Load your Printing Guide with blank post-its.
Step 3. Feed the loaded Printing Guide into your printer.
Step 4. Print the Cover Template you've personalised with your designs. If you like, you can try my sample cover template as in Figure 3, available here: ODF (24 KB) or DOC (27 KB). This step will print the Cover Template's designs onto your six blank post-its.
Step 5. Peel off your post-its and use as desired!
Figure 4. Loading the Printing Guide with blank post-its
Figure 5. Printing out a set of personalised post-its using the Cover Sample: Before...
Figure 6. Printing out a set of personalised post-its: After!
Here are some of my ideas for your post-it designs.
A blank post-it works perfectly well as a bookmark. Not much point in printing out the word "Bookmark" on a post-it, is there? But how about a bookmark that lets you know the date and time you last set it? Maybe even one that lets you know the current page number at a glance? And, of course, your name just in case you lose the book.
To take messages and write notes, the original OVERnote is perfectly servicable, especially if you're a scribbler like the OVERnote's creator. If you want something different, how about this? Print your face on your post-its. Make your messages personalised. Advertise yourself. Don't let them forget the favour you did them. What goes around may come around.
Just like those plastic dividers, but even cheaper! Plus, you can print the chapter names out, write them in yourself, or just have the chapter numbers on these babies.
A bit of Office Fun. Included in the sample cover template is one for a human silhouette. Use it for a bit of deskbound target practice. Keep score! The beauty of these targets is, they can make a satisfying snap when you hit them. They can take a lickin' and keep on tickin'. You might want to go visit OfficeGuns.com or splash out and get yourself some hardcore rubberband action from Rubberbandguns.com and BackyardArtillery.com.
For your physical inbox. Separate the reams of paper with post-its sporting the titles: Must Do, Optional, Maybe, Recycle. Make up your own titles depending on whether you're a follower of GTD, some other productivity regime, or your home-brew version.
The Doctor Is IN. The Doctor is OUT. Don't bother me just now, I'm REALLY BUSY. A variation of the Come in/Go Away! mat. Happy, Angry, Sad... A blank Smilie Face. A Series of enlarged Emoticons. Stick these on your monitor, on the door to your office, on your forehead. People will get the message. Crystal clear communication is a wonderful thing.
Okay, so maybe not all of these things are all that practical (or practicable). Still, it's a way of indulging in a bit of procrastinating fun and looking busy while you're doing it.
The original work on the OVERnote is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.5 License and so are my adaptations in this article.
Take these templates and run with them. I'm sure you can add to and improve on these ideas. If you do, please share!
Figure 7. No more wondering who took the trouble to take a message for them!
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Fun, Practical and Personalised Post-its
We all know you can write on post-its. Did you know you can print on them too?
The Inspiration for this Article: The OVERnote
First, a big thank you to the creator of The OVERnote!
What is the OVERnote? It's a design you print directly onto a Post-it to make taking notes a bit more organised, fun and scribbly.
Figure 1. The OVERnote
If you want your post-its to look like the OVERnote (above), the link to the OVERnote article is here.
I really liked the idea of the OVERnote. The idea of printing directly onto post-its... that really tickled the crazy little DIY'er in me. So I decided to see what else I could do with it.
But first, I needed to find out if it worked on my printers.
Printing
In the original OVERnote article the author admitted to playing "fast and loose" on a cheap Laser printer and suggested that printing these things carried some risk. Keeping that in mind I tried printing first on an old inkjet printer (my trusty Canon BJC-1000SP). No problem! I then tried it on an HP multi-function printer and finally on a Laser printer. Worked without a hitch.
I'll also say "proceed at your own risk" to cover my behind, but I've printed lots of these things now (mostly on the Canon) and none of the printers have complained yet.
Printing Templates
The original OVERnote documents were in PDF format. I created these easily-editable templates in Word (.DOC) format and OpenDocument format (ODF) to make it easier for you to make your own Post-it covers.
There are two templates:
1. The Printing Guide. This is the first page you want to print out. It has six boxes marked on the page so you know where to position your six blank Post-its. It's editable in case you want to use Post-its that are not the standard 3x3 inch squares. Download the Printing Guide here: ODF (9 KB) or DOC (13 KB).
Figure 2. The Printing Guide
2. The Cover Template. This is the document you modify to place your own post-it designs. The page has six 3x3 inch squares based on the standard Post-it size. The numbers in the column in the middle (0 to 3) serve two purposes. The first is to mark out (roughly) the inches down the page, 3 inches per box. The second is so the table's cells representing the post-it boxes remain at the proper size even when the cells themselves are empty (and ready for you to fill with your own designs). Download the Cover Template here: ODF (9 KB) or DOC (13 KB).
Figure 3. The Cover Template (pre-filled with my sample designs)
Template Tweaking Hints
Turn on the ruler guide in your word processor. Use it when editing to keep an eye on the post-it boxes of your Printing Guide and Cover Template to make sure they stay at 3" x 3" (assuming you're using standard post-its).
Add and Resize images to fit. After inserting images into my post-it boxes, I found I could use the resize drag bars around the image box to enlarge or reduce my images to bring my boxes back to 3" as required. Note: You'll probably use Photoshop or MS Paint to come up with your images - whatever you're comfortable with is fine. I used the GIMP to create and manipulate my images. It's free and is available for Windows, Mac and Linux. Anyway, we're not printing on photo paper so some roughness in your images is acceptable.
Note: I created these documents using OpenOffice.org. OpenOffice.org allows saving to Word format as well as in the new standard, OpenDocument format (aka ODF). I haven't tested the Word version from within MS Word so your results may vary. If you're on MS Word, there's an ODF Add-in you can try here.
How to Print Your Personalised Post-its
Step 1. Print the Printing Guide. It has six boxes where you can position six standard post-its (3" x 3").
Step 2. Load your Printing Guide with blank post-its.
Step 3. Feed the loaded Printing Guide into your printer.
Step 4. Print the Cover Template you've personalised with your designs. If you like, you can try my sample cover template as in Figure 3, available here: ODF (24 KB) or DOC (27 KB). This step will print the Cover Template's designs onto your six blank post-its.
Step 5. Peel off your post-its and use as desired!
Figure 4. Loading the Printing Guide with blank post-its
Figure 5. Printing out a set of personalised post-its using the Cover Sample: Before...
Figure 6. Printing out a set of personalised post-its: After!
Ideas
Here are some of my ideas for your post-it designs.
Bookmarks
A blank post-it works perfectly well as a bookmark. Not much point in printing out the word "Bookmark" on a post-it, is there? But how about a bookmark that lets you know the date and time you last set it? Maybe even one that lets you know the current page number at a glance? And, of course, your name just in case you lose the book.
Leave a Message
To take messages and write notes, the original OVERnote is perfectly servicable, especially if you're a scribbler like the OVERnote's creator. If you want something different, how about this? Print your face on your post-its. Make your messages personalised. Advertise yourself. Don't let them forget the favour you did them. What goes around may come around.
Chapter tabs
Just like those plastic dividers, but even cheaper! Plus, you can print the chapter names out, write them in yourself, or just have the chapter numbers on these babies.
Targets
A bit of Office Fun. Included in the sample cover template is one for a human silhouette. Use it for a bit of deskbound target practice. Keep score! The beauty of these targets is, they can make a satisfying snap when you hit them. They can take a lickin' and keep on tickin'. You might want to go visit OfficeGuns.com or splash out and get yourself some hardcore rubberband action from Rubberbandguns.com and BackyardArtillery.com.
Inbox Organiser
For your physical inbox. Separate the reams of paper with post-its sporting the titles: Must Do, Optional, Maybe, Recycle. Make up your own titles depending on whether you're a follower of GTD, some other productivity regime, or your home-brew version.
Status
The Doctor Is IN. The Doctor is OUT. Don't bother me just now, I'm REALLY BUSY. A variation of the Come in/Go Away! mat. Happy, Angry, Sad... A blank Smilie Face. A Series of enlarged Emoticons. Stick these on your monitor, on the door to your office, on your forehead. People will get the message. Crystal clear communication is a wonderful thing.
Practicality
Okay, so maybe not all of these things are all that practical (or practicable). Still, it's a way of indulging in a bit of procrastinating fun and looking busy while you're doing it.
License
The original work on the OVERnote is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.5 License and so are my adaptations in this article.
Take these templates and run with them. I'm sure you can add to and improve on these ideas. If you do, please share!
Figure 7. No more wondering who took the trouble to take a message for them!
About the author. Allan Naguit is a part of Funai Pty Ltd, an outfit that provides friendly, professional I.T. Handyman Services for small businesses and home offices based in the Sydney Metropolitan Area (Australia). "Just like a handyman, but for computers and IT."
[ add comment ] | [ 0 trackbacks ] | permalink | related link
Tired of Typing? Here's How You Can Type Less or Even Avoid Typing at All
(Photo of keyboard thanks to Stock.XCHNG)
I used to work at a place where the Customer Relationship Management System was a bunch of index cards in a series of boxes. Part of each customer service representative's job was to write down a quick summary of each interaction with every registered customer. As the number of customers grew (and their history with the company lengthened) space on those cards became more and more of an issue. In an effort to counter this problem, the staff members developed their own set of abbreviations. In fact, kids of today on Messenger, internet chat or using SMS would almost feel at home with the code.
For example,
LMTCO meant Left Message to Call Office
SWW meant Spoke With Wife
RR meant Rang Residence
So, an entry on an index card might've read:
RR SWW LMTCO4H
It was surely quicker (and used less precious space) than writing out,
"Rang residence. Spoke with wife. Left message to call office for husband."
Then their system got computerised.
All of a sudden, they had as much room as they wanted to type in long and detailed histories of every phone call, letter and face-to-face interaction with every customer.
So what did they write in there?
RR SWW LMTCO4H
Why? It was quicker, easier on the fingers, and all the veterans knew what everyone else was talking about. But problems arose when new staff came in. Not to mention the angst suffered by the IT staff (like me) who sometimes had to decipher their code in order to provide the support the Customer Reps needed. ("What's this data record... 'SWW'... someone want a SandWich, White bread?")
If only they had Texter.
Texter is a little Windows application that you can 'train' to translate shorthand code like LMTCO into the full version. MS Office has something similar, but Texter apparently works on any application (so you can use it outside of MS Office and Outlook, like within your web browser, your Instant Messenger or whatever). And it's under the GPL so it's free.
Texter is from the clever people at lifehacker.com. Specifically, it was developed by Adam Nash, LifeHacker Senior Editor. He describes Texter like this:
"Windows only: Text substitution app Texter saves you countless keystrokes by replacing abbreviations with commonly used phrases you define."
Figure 1: Adding a new Hotstring.
As you can see from Figure 1, you enter your "Hotstring" abbreviations on the left, enter the translation (replacement text) in the big box, and decide what your trigger is: Enter, Tab or Space.
Once Texter is running, whenever you type your hotstring and follow that with your trigger (enter, tab or space), Texter will replace your hotstring with the replacement text. Simple!
The best way to get an idea of how it works is by watching a video. Adam Nash put together a video and put it on YouTube.
Video 1: Texter Demo
Nash mentions that Texter has been tested and works under Windows XP. I've also tested it on a Windows 2000 machine and it didn't throw any errors. Try it and see if it works for you. Visit the Texter page on lifehacker for more information. The section on Advanced Use (with video demo) is worth it, especially for the more techo among you.
Website: Texter on lifehacker.com
Download: TexterInstaller.exe.
Dasher is an application that lets you use your mouse to select letters to write out your text. But it's a lot more clever than just using your mouse to point at an on-screen keyboard. Dasher works with your mouse to make letters zoom across the screen; letters that fly through a certain spot on the screen get selected. It uses a 'probabilistic predictive model to give priority to more likely character combinations'. That means, if you select an "h" followed by an "e", Dasher will help you write out the word "hello" as well as other likely choices.
Figure 2: Dasher running under Linux.
Dasher has a lot of science behind it. As the Wikipedia article on Dasher states,
"Dasher can be described as a back-to-front version of arithmetic coding, a data-compression algorithm" and "Dasher takes advantage of Fitts' law -- the fact that larger areas can be selected more quickly than smaller areas."
The best way to get your head around how it works is to watch a demo. You can even try an online version of Dasher on its website if your web browser is Java-enabled, no download required. Here's a demo of me introducing myself in Dasher.
Video 2: Introducing myself in Dasher.
(Click here for the direct link to Youtube.)
Regarding the video above, I just installed Dasher and ran it. No practice, no reading of instructions, no going through the 'training text' and it's obvious. You'll notice me fumble a bit as I work out how to get it going (just click), and fumble again as I try to capitalise my initial.... but hey, it works! Not once did my fingers (leave my hands or) touch the keyboard. I can only get better (and quicker).
Dasher is free (like Texter, it's licensed under the GPL). It's available for Linux, Microsoft Windows and Pocket PC as well as other platforms.
More notes from Wikipedia: Dasher was invented by David J.C. MacKay and developed by David Ward and other members of MacKay's Cambridge research group. The Dasher project is supported by the Gatsby Charitable Foundation.
Website: Dasher
Download: Dasher download page.
There you have it. How to type less or not type at all. Actually, what led me to look at these options was because my poor hands are starting to get those little sparks of pain hinting at what might, if I'm not careful, eventually lead to RSI. Yikes! Strangely enough, typing is not really the problem. It's using the mouse and that cursed, way-too-useful scroll-wheel! Ouch! Maybe for the next article I'll write about how to avoid using a mouse entirely. Hmmm!
[ add comment ] | [ 0 trackbacks ] | permalink | related link
Next
Tired of Typing? Here's How You Can Type Less or Even Avoid Typing at All
First, How to Type Less...
(Photo of keyboard thanks to Stock.XCHNG)
I used to work at a place where the Customer Relationship Management System was a bunch of index cards in a series of boxes. Part of each customer service representative's job was to write down a quick summary of each interaction with every registered customer. As the number of customers grew (and their history with the company lengthened) space on those cards became more and more of an issue. In an effort to counter this problem, the staff members developed their own set of abbreviations. In fact, kids of today on Messenger, internet chat or using SMS would almost feel at home with the code.
For example,
LMTCO meant Left Message to Call Office
SWW meant Spoke With Wife
RR meant Rang Residence
So, an entry on an index card might've read:
RR SWW LMTCO4H
It was surely quicker (and used less precious space) than writing out,
"Rang residence. Spoke with wife. Left message to call office for husband."
Then their system got computerised.
All of a sudden, they had as much room as they wanted to type in long and detailed histories of every phone call, letter and face-to-face interaction with every customer.
So what did they write in there?
RR SWW LMTCO4H
Why? It was quicker, easier on the fingers, and all the veterans knew what everyone else was talking about. But problems arose when new staff came in. Not to mention the angst suffered by the IT staff (like me) who sometimes had to decipher their code in order to provide the support the Customer Reps needed. ("What's this data record... 'SWW'... someone want a SandWich, White bread?")
If only they had Texter.
Texter
Texter is a little Windows application that you can 'train' to translate shorthand code like LMTCO into the full version. MS Office has something similar, but Texter apparently works on any application (so you can use it outside of MS Office and Outlook, like within your web browser, your Instant Messenger or whatever). And it's under the GPL so it's free.
Texter is from the clever people at lifehacker.com. Specifically, it was developed by Adam Nash, LifeHacker Senior Editor. He describes Texter like this:
"Windows only: Text substitution app Texter saves you countless keystrokes by replacing abbreviations with commonly used phrases you define."
Figure 1: Adding a new Hotstring.
How to Train and Use Texter
As you can see from Figure 1, you enter your "Hotstring" abbreviations on the left, enter the translation (replacement text) in the big box, and decide what your trigger is: Enter, Tab or Space.
Once Texter is running, whenever you type your hotstring and follow that with your trigger (enter, tab or space), Texter will replace your hotstring with the replacement text. Simple!
The best way to get an idea of how it works is by watching a video. Adam Nash put together a video and put it on YouTube.
Video 1: Texter Demo
Nash mentions that Texter has been tested and works under Windows XP. I've also tested it on a Windows 2000 machine and it didn't throw any errors. Try it and see if it works for you. Visit the Texter page on lifehacker for more information. The section on Advanced Use (with video demo) is worth it, especially for the more techo among you.
Website: Texter on lifehacker.com
Download: TexterInstaller.exe.
... and now, How to Avoid Even Typing At All
Dasher is an application that lets you use your mouse to select letters to write out your text. But it's a lot more clever than just using your mouse to point at an on-screen keyboard. Dasher works with your mouse to make letters zoom across the screen; letters that fly through a certain spot on the screen get selected. It uses a 'probabilistic predictive model to give priority to more likely character combinations'. That means, if you select an "h" followed by an "e", Dasher will help you write out the word "hello" as well as other likely choices.
Figure 2: Dasher running under Linux.
Dasher has a lot of science behind it. As the Wikipedia article on Dasher states,
"Dasher can be described as a back-to-front version of arithmetic coding, a data-compression algorithm" and "Dasher takes advantage of Fitts' law -- the fact that larger areas can be selected more quickly than smaller areas."
The best way to get your head around how it works is to watch a demo. You can even try an online version of Dasher on its website if your web browser is Java-enabled, no download required. Here's a demo of me introducing myself in Dasher.
Video 2: Introducing myself in Dasher.
(Click here for the direct link to Youtube.)
Regarding the video above, I just installed Dasher and ran it. No practice, no reading of instructions, no going through the 'training text' and it's obvious. You'll notice me fumble a bit as I work out how to get it going (just click), and fumble again as I try to capitalise my initial.... but hey, it works! Not once did my fingers (leave my hands or) touch the keyboard. I can only get better (and quicker).
Dasher is free (like Texter, it's licensed under the GPL). It's available for Linux, Microsoft Windows and Pocket PC as well as other platforms.
More notes from Wikipedia: Dasher was invented by David J.C. MacKay and developed by David Ward and other members of MacKay's Cambridge research group. The Dasher project is supported by the Gatsby Charitable Foundation.
Website: Dasher
Download: Dasher download page.
I'm not Lazy, I Just Want to be Efficient
There you have it. How to type less or not type at all. Actually, what led me to look at these options was because my poor hands are starting to get those little sparks of pain hinting at what might, if I'm not careful, eventually lead to RSI. Yikes! Strangely enough, typing is not really the problem. It's using the mouse and that cursed, way-too-useful scroll-wheel! Ouch! Maybe for the next article I'll write about how to avoid using a mouse entirely. Hmmm!
About the author. Allan Naguit is a part of Funai Pty Ltd, an outfit that provides friendly, professional I.T. Handyman Services for small businesses and home offices based in the Sydney Metropolitan Area (Australia). "Just like a handyman, but for computers and IT."
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