Wanted: The Ultimate Note Taker

Barney and I were talking about this the other day. I really wish that somebody could create what he’s looking for, as I know I needed one when I was reporting more (as I’m in the same boat as he):

I’m a reporter. I skipped third grade, so I’m sure I missed some handwriting classes. Ever since, my handwriting has sucked, especially when someone is speaking fast and I’m trying to get down every interesting word. It’s sort of a self-encryption – if I don’t transcribe the notes within 12-24 hours, even I can’t make out what it says. (It’s why I love phone interviews – not out of sheer laziness – well, not just that – but I’m a real fast typist, so those notes are 1,000 times better.)

Sooo…. there’s voice-recognition software out there, right? Getting better all the time? But apparently you still have to train the thing? I’d LOVE to tape interviews, rather than scribble them, then upload the audio file and have a program turn it into text! Heck, I’d settle for 30 percent accuracy, that’d be better than my stinkin’ notes!

Does anybody know if such a thing exists or is even on the horizon? I know it would require a good chunk of CPU power, but those portables/PDAs/etc… are getting pretty dang powerful. It would be a blessing for so many reporters, that’s for sure.

December 13, 2004

Eyetrack Heatmap 2004

How are people reading news sites online? The Eyetrack study covers this in great detail, but the heatmap is great because it gives you a bit of an idea, graphically, how sites are read.

I know this is an old link, but I’m posting it here for the sake of having it for future use.

December 13, 2004

MovableType = MS Outlook of Blogging

A very good article about how MovableType’s popularity may be its biggest downfall when it comes to comment spam. Link via MovableBlog.

December 13, 2004

Is Rob Gone?

Has AboutItAll bit the dust? The last entry of his I see in my RSS reader was titled “You know… I just don’t have time to keep this blog going” and the entry excerpt (don’t have the full entry in the feed) says “So posting will be spotty at best during the holiday season. I’m pretty sure that after the 1st we’ll be pulling the plug on the AboutItAll.com family of blogs. It’s been fun, but I’ve got to focus on other things for a while…” His site now says “closed. Email me at admin at aboutitall.com if you want to know more.”

I’ve e-mailed him, haven’t heard back. Anybody know what’s going on? He was probably the first Portland-area blog I started reading (along with Jack‘s), and he’ll be missed.

December 13, 2004

Google Gives Suggestions

As you’re typing in your search term, this new Google toy will give you real-time autocompletion of popular search terms. Besure to check out the one-letter suggestions (“P” gives you “Paris Hilton” for example). Links via Waxy and the Google Blog.

December 13, 2004

Google Gets Nine-Cents On Every Search

Considering the millions of searches they do on a daily basis, let me be one to say “Holy Crap!” Full Story.

December 13, 2004

250,000 Sci-Fi Mags Head To University of Oregon

Why is my former stomping grounds not covering this story? I had to read it over on Boing Boing.

Hello, Jason Scott here (historian guy). I saw that the 250,000 fanzines up for sale on ebay were taken down. I took the step of looking up and contacting Mike, the guy who put them up, and spoke for a while.

Apparently he had gone to the ebay sale as a last resort after contacting a number of universities to donate his collection. And, as luck would have it, his auction was spotted by a worker at the University of Oregon, who have contacted him and offered to take the collection whole.

So, the collection has found a home, and a sale to the highest bidder (not always the greatest way to divest decades of collecting and collating) is no longer necessary. Great news.

Of course, the Knight Library news site nor does the University’s news site have anything.

It’s obviously not a huge story, but still print-worthy (as it’s quite a collection).

Update on 2/13/05: The collection is actually going to the University of Iowa.

December 12, 2004

MovableType/Blogging Link Dump

Wanted to get some of these MovableType and blogging links on here that I’ve collected before I forget about them:

OK, now I feel better getting a few of those bookmarked here.

December 12, 2004

A Beautifully Unique Blog Design

I’ve been a reader of nixlog for quite a while, but mostly via the RSS feed because I haven’t had time to always check out his site. I went back to his front page recently to find one of the most original designs that a blog could have. Be sure to check it out. I’m blogging it here myself just so I can have a permanent record of it here.

December 12, 2004

eBay Adds “Want It Now”

I’m putting my obscure computer parts shopping list over here. Thanks Waxy for the link.

December 12, 2004