“Handwriting recognition was a key part of the plan.”
I was pretty young during this era of computing…but it felt that handwriting input was going to be The Thing in terms of next-generation computer interaction. Mind you, all I had access to was MacWorld and whatever PC mags were at the bookstore, but handwriting was seemingly going to be the text input method of the future. I swear you could even buy what amounted to a teeeeny little Wacom tablet to plug into your computer for handwriting recognition.
All of which seems funny to me by 2022 standards. Computers were supposed to adapt to our “natural” input method of handwriting…but instead everything is a keyboard, be it a soft or hard keyboard, and then voice recognition for short on-the-go messages or for individuals with accessibility constraints. I mean, I literally cannot write any more. If you put me back in 4th grade, I’d flunk a cursive test so hard they’d hold me back a year.
I was pretty young during this era of computing…but it felt that handwriting input was going to be The Thing in terms of next-generation computer interaction. Mind you, all I had access to was MacWorld and whatever PC mags were at the bookstore, but handwriting was seemingly going to be the text input method of the future. I swear you could even buy what amounted to a teeeeny little Wacom tablet to plug into your computer for handwriting recognition.
All of which seems funny to me by 2022 standards. Computers were supposed to adapt to our “natural” input method of handwriting…but instead everything is a keyboard, be it a soft or hard keyboard, and then voice recognition for short on-the-go messages or for individuals with accessibility constraints. I mean, I literally cannot write any more. If you put me back in 4th grade, I’d flunk a cursive test so hard they’d hold me back a year.