The morning was spent playing with ritePen 2.5 on a Gateway Tablet PC (Vista Ultimate installed). The trial version was downloaded from the Evernote website and installation was nothing more than double clicking on the setup file. jkOntheRun posted an overview of the product in February 2005 and I am finally getting around to looking at this latest version.
My first attempt was to write over TextPad. I use this program in place of Notepad for editing php files as well as html files. Just to see if the handwriting recognition would work, I wrote sideways on the screen. The program did not understand my writing. This was not unexpected. Figuring out how to edit the recognition took a little brainwork but I found the menubar less intrusive than the Tablet PC Input Panel (TIP). Once I started to edit writing, using the program became easier. The second attempt was to write in MS Word 2007. Most my time was trying to figure out gestures for adding spaces, etc. I was not able to figure out how to select text. The third attempt involved Live Writer (this post). Adding a period was a tricky encounter and I gave up with gestures and used the menu bar @ to add the symbol. I also managed to move the cursor to the wrong place and text would be inserted into the wrong place. Other tests involved using MS OneNote 2007 - which did not work.
As a last attempt to use this program, I changed between scribbles, script, and printing letters. The best recognition involved printing. Finally, the biggest challenge to the TIP is the jaggy lettering. In contrast to the TIP, the Evernote product pen is much smoother.
Will I buy this product? At this time, I am more productive with typing my notes in OneNote, copy / pasting the text into MS Word, and editing within MS Word. This does not mean you should not try the product. Install the trial version and see if you are more productive.
Best of luck.




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