Text Entry Duel

JK covers SHARK, an on-screen text entry system from IBM's alphaworks very well. I just tried SHARK but was unable to achieve text entry speeds comparable to what I get with the TIP . SHARK like Alpha Tap forces you to learn a new keyboard layout. Unlike Alpha Tap I was able to actually write a couple of sentences. I like the intuitive scratch out gesture, the responsive user interface. Nevertheless, I still insist that nothing that i have seen yet can beat the TIP. I use the TIP extensively and I am willing to challenge anybody with an alternative to a Text Entry duel, anytime anywhere.
All in all an objective and informative blog post from JK. I will vote for jkOntheRun for TechWeb's Top ten Tech blogs. Keep it up JK, great blog post.

Unrelated: IBM's alphaworks is a life save for anyone that writes java code. I have used their java beans at work and love their licenses too. Thanks IBM for saving java from Sun and thanks for supporting Linux.

skyline

more cool tablet pc stuff am really curious how Larry does this but Scioble is right, this is talent

Tony McCrae
has experiences with using hotspots in manhattan...I've been using the Cornercast public node on Union Square for email. ...
he blogs that "I don't think I've been more than 2 minutes from a wifi signal all week. .....
while it is true that there are a lot of nodes, the more important thing is that most of them are not located in locations that are convinent to work at ... when am working i typically have a tablet and notebook --- not a laptop(its big and heavy but has a high resolution display and maybe 15 inches of viewable screen space). I also often have notes and papers (haven't gone paper free, but am close). I need at least 6 feet squared desk space to work ok (maybe 3 by 2) i could do with a bit less but it wouldn't be the same. I typically settle for chairs and stuff. I also need a place where i can sit for at least 2 hours to get something done....thats why i believe the tablet with new ways of working combined with ubiquitous wifi makes sense.....pocket pcs are coming along but they are limited to tasks like browsing reading or email....so there are nodes all over but you still have to find a place with a table or whatever ... thats the trade off, a weak signal for a practical working space .........oh and its 14 degrees today in new york so you can't really go to bryant park .....

i know i should be developing the framework, this was the coldest weekend in nyc, went to borders on 32nd st to use their hotspot since my previous room was a dead zone. My current room has access to a couple of networks even a nypc.hotspot. So am hoping that i don't have to go all over the place looking for wifi hotspots. Borders is almost always full. I think lots of the folks use Borders as a social meetspot, which is maybe unfair for the folks that come in to read. Oh well, it really is Borders problem since i used to drink lots of their tea and smoothies but don't any more since there is no place to sit. Book stores are optimal telecommute offices with all the books, the quiet and the cafe, however i doubt lots of this organizations will figure this out fast enough. Even Starbucks doesn't sem to have a clue.
Community networks offer the most promise since more smaller business will be part of the community nets while the bigger and dumber organizations will do the for-pay access type thing. What would be the ideal hostpot for telecommuting?

wifi will make a difference, am not sure what everyone is doing when they say they are building out the infrastructure. As far as i know AP's cost under 100 bucks and that silly pay as you use model is absurd. I repeat wifi access should be like the music that most commercial facilties make available for free. Why is it so hard for so many "in the know" people to get that. Has nothing to do with the providers, nothing at all , infact they haven't figured it out since they have no plan or solutions to the quagmire, which is what this is to them.
Shared free internet and VOIP just makes what they do look like immoral robbery, which might be what it is.

What's with all the benchmarks? I guess Java is slowest and C++ is fastest. Now all that is good but the fact that .NET has a more comprehensive "accessories" package , means even if java vm's were built into hardware or whatever other nativisation might happen for byte-code. .NET would still be a better deal. Benchmarks might address performance issues but they do not necessarily mean that its pragmatic. Language "accessories" are in my opinion primarily libraries, communities and tools.

Other things like advocacy and standardization are also important but nothing is more important than libraries.

based on that arguement .NET related techniologies are a better deal all the time since the whole .NET thing is all about crreating those pieces.
I keep on saying .... you really cannot compete with folks who are doing it for the money if you are doing it for fun or ego..... nothing clarifies more than trying to get paid