Livescribe: Difference between revisions
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Please stop vandalizing with un-cited information. Discuss on the talk page please. |
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The Pulse allows the installation of as many applications as there is memory, and ships with several applications. If tapped on the correct images, it can function as a calculator, for example, or can translate words (the translator software as shipped includes only 21 words in a small selection of languages). |
The Pulse allows the installation of as many applications as there is memory, and ships with several applications. If tapped on the correct images, it can function as a calculator, for example, or can translate words (the translator software as shipped includes only 21 words in a small selection of languages). |
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Some users have noted that ambient noise can be a problem. The built-in microphone on the pen can pick up small amounts of noise from writing on paper, and adjacent ambient noise is often louder than a far away speaker. However, the included headphones have embedded microphones that reduce this ambient noise. |
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== Availability for Operating Systems == |
== Availability for Operating Systems == |
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==Developer Tools== |
==Developer Tools== |
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Livescribe is working on a Penlet SDK to allow application development for the smartpen. The SDK is based on Java; applications run directly on the pen itself. They are able to display text and menus, as well as produce audio feedback. The SDK is currently in version 1.0.1. A Desktop SDK to be run on Windows and Mac OS computers has been promised, which will allow developers to access files stored on the pen. |
Livescribe is working on a Penlet SDK to allow application development for the smartpen. The SDK is based on Java; applications run directly on the pen itself. They are able to display text and menus, as well as produce audio feedback. The SDK is currently in version 1.0.1. A Desktop SDK to be run on Windows and Mac OS computers has been promised, which will allow developers to access files stored on the pen. |
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==Legislative Limitations May Be Proposed== |
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With the rise of Pulse Pen and similar technology which records audio without notice and consent, there is a corresponding fear that surreptitious secret audio recordings will interfere with the rights of the public to be free from unwarranted intrusion on what they believed was more private than the context presented. Rumors of college professors banning Pulse Pens in the classroom threaten to create a conflict between those, like their telephone predecessors, who value their private conversations and those who wish to record them. Litigation will be needed to draw the boundaries between permissible but secret audio and video recordings and those technology users who want to record the sounds and sights of others without notice or their consent for their own personal and commercial use. http://www.newmediarights.org/page/field_guide_audio_and_video_recordings |
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==Software Glitches== |
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As newsworthy as Toyota's current recall of defective improvements in its braking system, Version 2.0 of Livescribe software was released in December of 2009 and caused immediate failure of the Pulsepen/Livescribe hardware software. Complaints were lodged on the company's Forum pages describing the inability to upload audio, sync pen to computer, and even simple loading of the software without immediately crashing. Forum reports software/hardware failures of new owners purchasing pens after the Ver. 2.0 release. Customer Service was unable to resolve customer complaints for more than six weeks before giving up pending the release of a corrected version of Ver 2 on Feb. 23, 2010. SC reported the glitches were known to exist prior to the release of Ver 2 but it was released with that knowledge due to previous promises to release before Christmas and the anticipated negative press and customer store obligations despite quality assurance warnings of the unresolved glitches in the software/hardware combinations. (Check Livescribe's website Forum pages for more information.) http://www.livescribe.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/LDApp.woa/wa/CSForumPortalPage |
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==User Forums== |
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One of the company's innovations is its website containing a massive set of customer forums, covering everything from new ideas, uses of its product, user complaints about its defects and malfunctions, as well as other opportunities to share with other users. |
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==Defective Product Experts== |
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Product defect experts assert that after the manufacturer or retailer learns their product is defective, sometimes they may refuse to issue refunds, replacements, or provide warranty service to consumers who purchased the defective product. When this happens, consumers are left “holding the bag” and are stuck with a defective product and a worthless warranty or corporate guarantee. Product defect litigation, and perhaps a class action remains viable. (http://www.doylelowther.com/product-defects/) |
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== References == |
== References == |
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Revision as of 03:16, 24 February 2010
The Livescribe paper-based computing platform consists of a smartpen, paper, software applications, and developer tools.
Central to the Livescribe platform is the Pulse, a ballpoint pen with an embedded computer and digital audio recorder. When used with special paper, it records what it writes for later uploading to a computer, and synchronizes those notes with any audio it has recorded. This allows a user to replay portions of a recording by tapping on the notes he or she was taking at the time the recording was made. It is also possible to select which portion of a recording to replay by tapping on the relevant portion of a page on-screen, once it has been synced to the Livescribe desktop software.
Jim Marggraff, inventor of the LeapFrog FLY Pentop computer and creator of the LeapPad Learning System, left Leapfrog to form Livescribe in 2005.
The Pulse Smartpen
The Pulse smartpen is about the size and weight of a large pen (5/8" x 6 1/8"), and is equipped with a removable ball-point ink cartridge, a microphone to record audio, a speaker for playback, a small OLED display, and internal flash memory that captures handwritten notes, audio and drawings.
The user can choose to record audio in addition to the handwritten text. Recorded audio is kept indexed with the handwritten text - tapping on a written word starts playback of the recorded audio from that part of the recording.
The pen is available with either 2 or 4 Gigabytes of flash storage. The 2 GB model holds about 200 hours of audio depending on recording quality settings. The US retail price is $199.95 for the 4 GB model. A 1 GB model has been discontinued.
The Pulse allows the installation of as many applications as there is memory, and ships with several applications. If tapped on the correct images, it can function as a calculator, for example, or can translate words (the translator software as shipped includes only 21 words in a small selection of languages).
Some users have noted that ambient noise can be a problem. The built-in microphone on the pen can pick up small amounts of noise from writing on paper, and adjacent ambient noise is often louder than a far away speaker. However, the included headphones have embedded microphones that reduce this ambient noise.
Availability for Operating Systems
The product was initially available only for use with Microsoft Windows-based computers, but Version 1.0 of Livescribe Desktop for the Mac was made available via download in March, 2009.[1] It requires OS X 10.5.5 or higher, and was one of nine products designated as "Best of Show" at Macworld Expo 2009.[2] There is no Linux version at this time. Livescribe has provided a user forum at the request of Linux users.[3]
Apple's release of Snow Leopard caused functionality and compatibility issues with Livescribe's driver installation.[4] Although, on August 31,2009, Livescribe released beta 1.2 which fixes all compatibility issues, albeit those who previously tried to install the old software would need to manually the delete the old file extension.[5]
Handwriting recognition functionality is provided by a third-party application, MyScript by Vision Objects Inc., which sells separately for $29.95. As of August 2009, this is available on both Windows and Mac (Intel-processor) systems.
Paper, Applications, and Sharing
Livescribe's special paper that allows the recording of notes uses a patented dot-positioning system licensed from Anoto.
The pattern
As with all Anoto pattern-based pens, you must use paper pre-printed with the dot pattern - there's no other way for the pen to know which page you are on, for example. Livescribe sells notebooks in several styles, and it is also possible to print your own dot paper with a printer capable of at least 600 dpi.
Almost invisible to the naked eye, the Anoto pattern consists of numerous intelligent small black dots that can be read by a digital pen. The pattern indicates the exact positions of the digital pen. What’s more, the pattern on each paper has a unique identity so that each page can be kept separate from another.
In order to recognize where the user is writing on a page, the paper must be pre-printed with a pattern of dots on a roughly 0.3 square mm grid. The dots are slightly offset from the grid to enable the infrared camera located near the writing tip of the pen to decipher where the pen is located on the page. Each page has a unique identity associated with it therefore allowing the pen to decode exactly what page (as well as which notebook) is being written on.[6]
Developer Tools
Livescribe is working on a Penlet SDK to allow application development for the smartpen. The SDK is based on Java; applications run directly on the pen itself. They are able to display text and menus, as well as produce audio feedback. The SDK is currently in version 1.0.1. A Desktop SDK to be run on Windows and Mac OS computers has been promised, which will allow developers to access files stored on the pen.
References
External links
- Livescribe, Inc.
- http://www.penlets.com Provides resources for users and developers of the Pulse smart pen from Livescribe, Inc.
- The Shape of Computers to Come? at Wall Street Journal
- D5: A new pen for a new era at The Tech Chronicles, SF Gate.com
- Livescribe Smartpen Applications