RobertoOrtiz
12-09-2006, 03:54 PM
Roberto Note...Bear me me, read what this thing CAN do.
USATODAY (http://www.usatoday.com/tech/columnist/jinnygudmundsen/2005-10-30-fly-pentop_x.htm) (Article)
NEW YORK TIMES (http://timesdaily.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051117/ZNYT05/511170351/1002/NEWS50) (Article)
Just think of the potential.....
"The Fly's most important piece of hardware is a tiny, hidden camera near the tip. The pen comes with sheets and booklets printed on special "Fly paper (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/images/B0009A4F8Y/ref=dp_product-image-only_0/104-7437599-7782336?%5Fencoding=UTF8&n=15693541&s=imaginarium)." Each page is embedded with a grid of tiny dots that only the camera can see. Whenever you touch it down on the paper, the Fly orients itself to the page's geography based on which gridlines the camera sees. As you move it across the page, the pen knows what you're writing, drawing, or pointing at.
The best way to get a sense of how the pen works is through the videos and Flash demos at the Fly Web site (http://www.flypentop.com/). (Warning: Proceed only if you've got lots of bandwidth and free time.) The Fly has also been exhaustively reviewed by the New York Times (http://timesdaily.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051117/ZNYT05/511170351/1002/NEWS50) and USA Today (http://www.usatoday.com/tech/columnist/jinnygudmundsen/2005-10-30-fly-pentop_x.htm) (twice (http://www.usatoday.com/tech/columnist/edwardbaig/2005-11-30-fly-pentop_x.htm)). My own experience jibes with theirs: The pen has a simple interface and is fun to use instantly. The draw-your-own-calculator program is my favorite. The pen tells you to draw a box, then the numerals 0 through 9 and the plus, minus, times, divide, and equals symbols. Simply tap the symbols you've drawn to make the Fly do the math aloud. As long as the pen recognizes your symbols, you get full artistic control over the interface. I drew my numbers in varying sizes and arranged them in a flower pattern instead of neat rows; they still worked.
This all sounds tricky, but the pen tells you what to do. When you're creating the piano keys it announces, "Starting from left to right, draw nine vertical lines in a row." If you hesitate it adds, "Vertical means up and down." As you draw the lines, it counts with you: "One. Two. Three …" I timed it. Sure enough, the pen never lets seven seconds go by without interacting with you, either by responding to your strokes or prompting you to do something.
"
http://www.slate.com/id/2132261/ (http://www.slate.com/id/2132261/)
-R
USATODAY (http://www.usatoday.com/tech/columnist/jinnygudmundsen/2005-10-30-fly-pentop_x.htm) (Article)
NEW YORK TIMES (http://timesdaily.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051117/ZNYT05/511170351/1002/NEWS50) (Article)
Just think of the potential.....
"The Fly's most important piece of hardware is a tiny, hidden camera near the tip. The pen comes with sheets and booklets printed on special "Fly paper (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/images/B0009A4F8Y/ref=dp_product-image-only_0/104-7437599-7782336?%5Fencoding=UTF8&n=15693541&s=imaginarium)." Each page is embedded with a grid of tiny dots that only the camera can see. Whenever you touch it down on the paper, the Fly orients itself to the page's geography based on which gridlines the camera sees. As you move it across the page, the pen knows what you're writing, drawing, or pointing at.
The best way to get a sense of how the pen works is through the videos and Flash demos at the Fly Web site (http://www.flypentop.com/). (Warning: Proceed only if you've got lots of bandwidth and free time.) The Fly has also been exhaustively reviewed by the New York Times (http://timesdaily.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051117/ZNYT05/511170351/1002/NEWS50) and USA Today (http://www.usatoday.com/tech/columnist/jinnygudmundsen/2005-10-30-fly-pentop_x.htm) (twice (http://www.usatoday.com/tech/columnist/edwardbaig/2005-11-30-fly-pentop_x.htm)). My own experience jibes with theirs: The pen has a simple interface and is fun to use instantly. The draw-your-own-calculator program is my favorite. The pen tells you to draw a box, then the numerals 0 through 9 and the plus, minus, times, divide, and equals symbols. Simply tap the symbols you've drawn to make the Fly do the math aloud. As long as the pen recognizes your symbols, you get full artistic control over the interface. I drew my numbers in varying sizes and arranged them in a flower pattern instead of neat rows; they still worked.
This all sounds tricky, but the pen tells you what to do. When you're creating the piano keys it announces, "Starting from left to right, draw nine vertical lines in a row." If you hesitate it adds, "Vertical means up and down." As you draw the lines, it counts with you: "One. Two. Three …" I timed it. Sure enough, the pen never lets seven seconds go by without interacting with you, either by responding to your strokes or prompting you to do something.
"
http://www.slate.com/id/2132261/ (http://www.slate.com/id/2132261/)
-R