Pad Journaling

The design specification for Retrospective Software's new journal was that it had to pass the "easy chair test". People want to use their journal at times when they are most reflective ― for most of us this is not when we are sitting in front of our desk PC. Most of us prefer to update and review our journal when we can concentrate, undisturbed―sitting in an easy chair, or in bed, reflecting on the past day before drifting off to sleep.

Now & Then was designed with the understanding that it needed to mimic the experience people have with their traditional cloth or leather bound journal―including writing and searching while in a reflective setting. As with the introduction of most new media, we recognized that the medium is the message―we needed users to feel that their new journal was a familiar friend even though it was running on a pad computer. If our users could enter and review journal entries exactly as they would using their traditional journals they could essentially "forget" that they were using a computer and could learn to use the power and capabilities of Now & Then at their own pace.

Handwriting recognition and pad computing were technologies that had to sufficiently mature to make a revolutionary journal like Now & Then a reality. Pad computers and accurate handwriting recognition now provide the "look and feel" of a paper personal journal. Pad computers also have the processing power needed for Now & Then's context-aware search, information mining, and presentation software―applications that not long ago required the processing power of mainframe computers.

Trainable handwriting and speech recognition was also a key requirement to support every user preference for journal entries, navigation, search queries, and presentation commands.

In the future Retrospective Software may support journaling devices based on emerging technologies such as digital pen, electronic paper, and electronic ink.

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