Ron Lusk's Radio Weblog

Friday, September 27, 2002

In the old days of floating logs down rivers, there were times when the log raft would get all jammed up and unable to move. Into this uncertain situation came a fellow called a jamcracker. The jamcracker's job was to look over the log jam and find the points that, if changed, would break up the jam and let the logs flow freely. The job was extremely dangerous and the jamcracker frequently used dynamite to do the job. This is not unlike the situation found in a modern shared service groups. [Windley's Enterprise Computing Weblog]

3:15:25 PM

Faster text entry on a Palm Pilot. The use of a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) such as a Palm Pilot can add great value to a personal knowledge management strategy. But one of the key inhibitors is the speed at which text can be input.
Palm's use Graffiti, a form of stylised writing. Although effective, it is not as tolerant as our ability to ignore errors in handwriting. That is, slight errors in Graffiti writing often leads to the wrong letter being displayed. Continual backspacing and correction reduces efficiency for large amounts of text. Longer words also tend to use infrequent letters for which remembering the Graffiti is difficult - slower again. Further the letter stylisations are different and tire you easily if not used all the time. Portable keyboards are available and quicker but one more thing to carry (and buy).
This entry is being written using a tool called TextPlus. Like pre-emptive text for SMS on a Nokia phone, TextPlus suggests words based on the first few letters. It suggests phrases as well, saving even more time.
In line with an approach to trialling software, over the 30 day trial I will use TextPlus 'in anger' to determine its worth. So far it has saved time and contributed to a longer article. Time will tell. "dcb" [thought?horizon :: non inferiora secutus]

Well, self, take a look at this before springing for a keyboard-enabled PDA
3:13:37 PM

Blondes to die out in 200 years: "The last natural blondes will die out within 200 years, scientists believe. A study by experts in Germany suggests people with blonde hair are an endangered species and will become extinct by 2202. Researchers predict the last truly natural blonde will be born in Finland - the country with the highest proportion of blondes." [From the Desktop of Dane Carlson]

2:50:38 PM

New Scientist: Lorenzo's Oil proven to work. Wow. [John Robb's Radio Weblog]

Once in a while, I like to see the visionaries and the desperate win.
2:49:05 PM

AbilityHub. AbilityHub is a portal, so to speak, that directs people to adaptive equipment and alternative methods for accessing computers. Not only does it offer links for people with hearing and... [meryl's notes]

2:40:23 PM

Repair. Kevin Guilfoile: The Half-Assed Handyman. (45 words) [dive into mark]

2:32:47 PM