My (Writers') Cramped Style

There is one thing you never see any Starfleet personnel do on any of the Star Trek TV series or films. Not one of them ever writes anything by hand. No one ever so much as signs their name. No one even types. Communications are mostly audio or visual. Data is imputed through audio commands, sensor readings, etc. The closest they come is tapping various digital buttons on a display. Entertainment media seems restricted to holodeck and recordings, both visual and audio. Occasionally, someone is seen reading from a handheld computer (the inspiration for "the Kindle", no doubt). Captain Picard was seen occasionally reading an antique book, but the implication was always one of novelty.

So where am I going with this? Well, it’s not just to illustrate my geek-dom.

Technology advances at a pace never before seen. Gadgets that once only existed in Gene Roddenberry's fanciful imagination have become reality. The prospects have always excited my sci-fi nutcase mentality. However, every good (or fantastic) advancement has one or two bummer side affects.

We are witnesses to the decline of the art of handwriting. Will our children be witnesses to the demise of writing by hand all together?

Before computers were commonplace household items, writing by hand was more convenient. Then email replaced letter writing, and often telephone calls, as the primary form of communication for most people. At least with PDAs, one could write with a stylus. However, you are restricted to a certain style of writing. Using the stylus to write proves clumsy at best. Also, it's really easy to lose the little sucker. Now that smart phones have replaced PDAs, typing is just easier, even without the luxury of a "qwerty" keyboard. These days people would rather send a text than make a phone call.

Mankind being creatures of habit and inherently nostalgic, we aren't giving up writing by hand just yet. Handwriting recognition technology has a long way to go before it is more useful than novel. But that doesn't keep researchers from seeking out innovative attempts. There are a number of tablets and pens on the market to choose from. For instance, I was given a Fly Fusion for my birthday. Marketed as a study aid for young students (5th to 9th grade), I thought I'd try it as an alternative to having to retype when I chose to write on paper. Unfortunately, it is inconvenient to use, requires rigid form in printing letters, and requires the continuing purchase of special paper. Also, I believe it is being discontinued, so the accessories are hard to find. It's little more than a passing fad.

At least perhaps it can help me improve my penmanship.

Addendum

I wrote the previous paragraphs using the LeapFrog Fly Fusion Pentop Computer. I was actually pleasantly surprised that it actually did a fairly decent job recognizing my handwriting. I guess recognition software has advanced further than I thought. Here is what I wrote:
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And here is the result after the program converted my effort to a word document. Obviously the document was heavily revised.
There are some nauseating draw backs, such as its tendency to end and start paragraphs at line breaks instead of when I indented. Further reading of the user guide may help to me to solve that particular annoyance. Then there’s the inability to cross out mistakes. Also, I was trying very hard to write as closely as possible to the example characters on the supplied reference guide. This is not the most comfortable way for me to write, since over the years my handwriting has taken on a style of its own. I don’t think that particular phenomenon is unique to me either. I had to concentrate on my writing so that I did not switch to cursive mid sentence. (Recognition software still has a way to go before programs will be able to read the way a person normally writes. Let’s face it; a device like this is pretty much worthless to anyone in the medical profession.) This not only made me write at a slower pace, it took my concentration away from the subject of the essay. To top it off, I quickly developed writers’ cramp due to writing so rigidly. It also didn’t help that I was writing with an instrument that is thicker than thick. If you own an electric toothbrush, try writing with it.

The biggest problem with the Fly Fusion and some other digital pens is the necessity for special notebook paper. At first I didn’t think it was that big of a deal. You have to buy notebooks anyway, and the Fly Fusion notebooks didn’t seem to be that expensive. It also requires special ink pen refills, which I didn’t think much of for the same reasons. I have Cross pens that I must buy refills for, and prefer them to the disposable kind. Leapfrog’s lack of consideration for its consumers has since changed my mind on this issue.

My sister in law is the queen of bargain hunting. She bought me the Fly Fusion for my birthday, no doubt because she was able to for around $30. She also bought it for her own kids to use for school work. Once I got it set up I started looking around the internet to buy supplies, namely notebooks and ink refills. That’s when I realized they were increasingly rare. I was able to purchase a few notebooks, but as of yet still cannot locate ink refills. So I contacted Leapfrog through their website and had a pleasant conversation in which they told me that the production of the Fly Fusion line of products (including the pens, software, ink refills and notebooks) has been discontinued. All that’s left is what’s on the market. They discontinued necessary accessories for a device that is not quite three years old, with no plans to release a new version of the device. Once I run out of notebooks and ink, I will be left with a useless electronic do-dad. Should I decide to replace it, it will be with a device that uses regular paper and preferably standard ink refills. I want to be able to use the device long after its production has been discontinued, at least as long as there are still office supply stores on every corner.