Original review published on Steve Litchfield's 3-Lib.

This is a slickly-programmed hand-writing recognition program that needs no training on the part of either user or software, working straight out-of-the-box.

Hand-writing recognition is when you use the stylus of a hand-held to jot down notes; it is not intended for writing novels, it simply facilitates data entry, say while talking to a client or friend in a cafe or waiting room. Some vendors went the whole-hog in that way (3Com Palm/Pilot), others shunned it (Windows CE devices that I know of), while others have offered both keyboard and hand-writing (Newton MessagePad and Psion Series 5). I've tried them all over the years but only recently bought a Series5. While it had no hand-writing recognition software loaded, the intelligence of Psion's design warranted a purchase in the faith that hand-writing support cannot be far behind (there were others, but like the Newton they lacked reliability).

Calligrapher can be downloaded from the Internet (850Kb file) and installed directly or via PsiWin. I chose the latter, it all went smoothly and I had it running in fifteen minutes. Launched from the Extras bar, I left it on all the time (Messaging Suite complained of lack of memory, but I only had one Mb left - time for clean-up!). It appears as a floating window that can be tucked unobtrusively to the bottom of the screen - floating so much in fact that one can inadvertently move the Calligrapher window every time the pen strays into the window title bar.

A neat feature is that the input screen can be rotated, to use it sideways or upside down... away from the keyboard for both left and right-handed writing! I always thought a tall form factor would work better for hand-helds: here's a case of intelligent software obviating the need for hardware re-design... It can also be run in three modes, regular (default), caps (to read block or non-cursive letters) and numeric (to read numbers for calculator input). What is written to the Calligrapher screen is usually translated in about a second to whatever window is open behind (Word, Data, Agenda, Calculator etc...) - the recognition delay is sometimes annoying, but for me on the whole acceptable.

This is also a case where the advertisement lives up to its billing: Calligrapher truly interpreted my writing right away, and I had very little back-tracking to do. Depending on the hand-writing, recognition can vary between being perfect to getting about one word in 3 wrong - your mileage will almost certainly vary and it's essential to check how it behaves with your scribbling style before committing yourself. The litmus test is "does it run smoothly enough not to interfere with operations", ergo will it continue to be used over time? While I have no baseline to go by (after all, I only just bought it!), it passed the first test of not being relegated to the shelf of unused software. The only caveat is that the default setting is for cursive hand-writing, i.e. letters must be joined - a space is automatically inserted in the typed output every time the stylus is lifted. You can however switch to 'caps' mode if your hand-writing just comprises block characters.

Calligrapher offers a delicate balance of techno-savvy and options that make it a useful tool for jotting short notes by hand (no, I didn't write this review using it!) It also works well with Psion's excellent long stylus (keeps hand away from keyboard), screen (pressure sensitive), form factor (cheque-book size that can be rotated and used on-the-go) and of course the plethora of software available for it.

Atelier have a web site, with more information available. The price is US$59.95 online.

Andrew Zolnai
a1zolnai@airmail.net
http://web2.airmail.net/a1zolnai

Steve Litchfield's note: I've tried Calligrapher too. Clever though the software is, I still can't see the point of it all on a machine with such a great keyboard. Like Allegro and Nightkeys before it, a 10wpm (max) handwriting-recognition system is only really going to be truly useful on future keyboard-less 'communicators'. And even then, new systems like 'T9' will arguably offer better word entry rates...

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