Apple Features iWork Applications for iPad

[BigJimmyC]

It's a wonderful dream to imagine that someday we'll be able to scribble a mathematical equation and have it be instantly and flawlessly understood by the device. But we're just not quite there yet. It's a long road from recognizing a single simplified Chinese character to being able to interpret handwriting.

Just because we can't do this yet doesn't mean apple shouldn't include basic software for people to jot down notes with. It doesn't necessarily need to convert writing to text, it would still be a piece of software that lots of people would find useful, even if they (gasp) had to read their own handwriting. Additionally, if processing power is the major barrier to conversion, then the software could always be designed to just wait until the pad is idling before converting input to text.

I think this would be a very useful feature for people who wish to use this to take notes in class, at meetings, etc. Right now, the pad seems nigh on useless for this function. Say what you want about the keyboard; I think it will be very tricky to be able to type at a half-decent speed, and you definitely won't be able to input complex math equations.

 

[Full of Win]

What I want is an app like the current one for Keynote, where I control presentations from my iPad. That would be freakin' awesome, walk around the room holding your iPad, while you run a presentation off your notebook.

 

[digitalbiker]

Oh, no question that the vision behind Courier is really cool. But the vision behind the Knowledge Navigator was pretty freakin' awesome too, and none of that ever came to pass. Given Microsoft's track record over the past twenty years, does anybody have the slightest confidence that a product reminiscent of the Courier concept will ever hit the market?

Agreed. DIfficult to say whether the concept will ever materialize but engadget and gizmodo seem to think that this one will.

Given how MS has been getting it's @** handed to them by Apples portables, iphones, ipods, itunes store, and now possibly the ipad. I could see this as motivation for a real shootout in a future product.

 

[HLdan]

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rofl is that all they had that they could say about it...

Unless you believe this is true, you might as well ROFL this one too from Microsoft. If this isn't false advertising, I don't know what is? Every company will say the best about their product even if it's not the "best".

 

[markm49uk]

Good grief! I hope that's not true because if it is, that's a complete oversight and utter nonsense.



--DotComCTO

Are not the solutions available on the App Store for the iPhone sufficient ? I have one and it works pretty well.

 

[La Porta]

Handwriting recognition at this point simply would be a hassle and really would not be effective. However, simple graphical stylus input would be extremely beneficial. Not EVERYTHING can be typed. Suppose you were in a class and a teacher was using a chalkboard (yes, they are still around). He draws a diagram of a physics model that I'm sure we all saw: firing a cannon straight off a cliff. You can't "type" that diagram into the margins of your notes, it has to be drawn. This is why something like the iPad cannot yet replace a simple five subject notebook. I'm not asking for a fancy handwriting recognition scheme, I just want the ability to doodle and create some sort of illustration to go along with my notes.

 

[liquidsuns]

I have a question for the people talking about "hand writing recognition"; what do you mean by that and why is it important? Like you write something with a stylus and then the device turns it into computer text, so that it looks like you typed it? Can't you just have a generic notepad app that you write on and draw graphs and stuff with either your finger or a stylus, like how a paper notepad works? Why does the device need to "recognize" what you are writing and drawing?

 

[TheBigApple2006]

I wonder what happens to the soft keyboard in landscape mode in Pages if the Keyboard Dock or wireless keyboards are connected. Will it still pop up and take up half the screen? I really hope not, as I plan to use the iPad with Pages for word processing quite a lot. I would expect the soft keyboards to have a "hide" function when a physical one is connected to the iPad...anyone has any thoughts on this?

 

[digitalbiker]

I have a question for the people talking about "hand writing recognition"; what do you mean by that and why is it important? Like you write something with a stylus and then the device turns it into computer text, so that it looks like you typed it? Can't you just have a generic notepad app that you write on and draw graphs and stuff with either your finger or a stylus, like how a paper notepad works? Why does the device need to "recognize" what you are writing and drawing?

Lets say you are taking notes and the professor or lecturer uses a word that you don't quite understand. It would be nice to highlight the word and let the app pop up the dictionary meaning on the fly.

Or let's say you have a notebook full of handwritten text and diagrams. It would be nice to search the notes for keywords or content.

Having text recognition just makes your notes a lot more useful to the computer than just a bitmapped graphic.

I have no doubt that a good third party notebook app will materialize that will offer such features. It would just be nice if Apple built it into the SDK so that app developers and Apple software would be consistent and be able to take advantage of hand written input as well as typed input.

 

[Boghog]

Handwriting recognition at this point simply would be a hassle and really would not be effective.

I disagree. I have a 10 year old Tablet-PC and I must say the one thing about it that doesn't suck is the handwriting recognition. And devices like the livescribe seem to be working alright.
Thing is that the old Tablet PC doesn't have a touchscreen. The ONLY way to input anything is with the stylus - which relieves them of the problem of having to distinguish between a hand resting on the screen and the actual input. Maybe this part is harder to solve than we might think.

 

[liquidsuns]

Handwriting recognition at this point simply would be a hassle and really would not be effective. However, simple graphical stylus input would be extremely beneficial. Not EVERYTHING can be typed. Suppose you were in a class and a teacher was using a chalkboard (yes, they are still around). He draws a diagram of a physics model that I'm sure we all saw: firing a cannon straight off a cliff. You can't "type" that diagram into the margins of your notes, it has to be drawn. This is why something like the iPad cannot yet replace a simple five subject notebook. I'm not asking for a fancy handwriting recognition scheme, I just want the ability to doodle and create some sort of illustration to go along with my notes.

There is an iPad app in development called PadNotes that you can check out on youtube that would be perfect for this and there are already styluses designed for the iPhone that people use for the Brushes app and they work great.

 

[DotComCTO]

Are not the solutions available on the App Store for the iPhone sufficient ? I have one and it works pretty well.

I believe those solutions rely on software running on a computer. The thing is that I wanted to get an iPad for my mother. She's in her early 70s and has never used a computer - doesn't own one. The iPad could be a great solution for 99.99% of what she needs; however, she sometimes wants to write and send physical letters. If the iPad supported wifi and/or bluetooth printing, then that would be OK. As it stands, not having that support is a bit of a limitation. I find it odd that Apple would do that; however, they're probably thinking, "why print? just send an email." Unfortunately, not everything works that way.

--DotComCTO

 

[digitalbiker]

I wonder what happens to the soft keyboard in landscape mode in Pages if the Keyboard Dock or wireless keyboards are connected. Will it still pop up and take up half the screen? I really hope not, as I plan to use the iPad with Pages for word processing quite a lot. I would expect the soft keyboards to have a "hide" function when a physical one is connected to the iPad...anyone has any thoughts on this?

I'm almost 100% sure that there will be this capability in the preferences as no software keyboard should pop up when the ipad is keyboard docked or is connected to a bluetooth keyboard.

 

[Mcgargle]

Just because we can't do this yet doesn't mean apple shouldn't include basic software for people to jot down notes with.

I was gonna say there's an app for that, but the truth is there's actual paper for that. The iPad is not a note-taking device. At the very least it's not one today. It might become one in the future, with new software, but that hasn't happened yet.

This is why something like the iPad cannot yet replace a simple five subject notebook.

I dunno about you guys, but I've seen absolutely no evidence that it's intended to.

Taking notes is one of those applications that computers just aren't good for right now. If I have a pen and a pad of paper — or even just a single sheet of paper — I have infinite flexibility in note-taking. I can write big or small, fast or deliberately. I can sketch, draw arrows between things, circle things, put boxes around things. I can doodle. And later, I can look at that piece of paper with the utter certainty that everything I put there is still there, and with at least a reasonable degree of confidence that I can figure out what it all means.

We're a long way from being able to do that with a computer program, or with a device. There have been some baby steps along the way — like how with the Newton, you would erase things by scribbling them out. But we're not there yet.

What we could do today with a computer or device, at least in theory, is to approximate that piece of paper. Pen input, bitmap drawing. It won't be exactly like paper; there's always the chance that the processor in the device could blip out momentarily and miss your input or something. But given some planning and careful design, we could make it a close simulation of a piece of paper.

Or we could just use a dang piece of paper.

I would love to be able to take notes on a screen, and have them translated into meaningful text, with relationships and all that stuff. I'd love to be able to search my notes and reorder them and restructure them and the whole nine yards. But until that's available — that is, until using a computer or device to take notes is superior to using a piece of paper for the same purpose, I'll stick with a piece of paper.

I'm guessing — not sure, but guessing — most people feel the same way.

 

[artistry]

Journal articles and PDFs? Use Papers

I'm curious to know how Apple will implement a file system, particularly when you cannot multitask how could you take an image off Google and import it into your presentation or Pages document?

This file system thing is key for me. I would love to use this as a dedicated .pdf reader as I currently live under a huge paper pile of journal articles, but I need some way to organise them.

Check out Papers - it's a great Mac program for organising and finding journal articles with an iPhone version that syncs with it too. They are working on an iPad version from what I hear but it looks like it will work pretty well in x2 mode.

 

[La Porta]

There is an iPad app in development called PadNotes that you can check out on youtube that would be perfect for this and there are already styluses designed for the iPhone that people use for the Brushes app and they work great.

If that is true, that's pretty much all I was asking for. I will have to check that out. Also, I wasn't putting down recognition. Just saying that it seems, in my opinion to be superfluous. If it were better liked universally than touch screen keyboards, then old style Palm-like devices would be more popular than on-screen, or even physical Blackberry keyboards.

 

[liquidsuns]

I was gonna say there's an app for that, but the truth is there's actual paper for that. The iPad is not a note-taking device. At the very least it's not one today. It might become one in the future, with new software, but that hasn't happened yet.



I dunno about you guys, but I've seen absolutely no evidence that it's intended to.

Taking notes is one of those applications that computers just aren't good for right now. If I have a pen and a pad of paper — or even just a single sheet of paper — I have infinite flexibility in note-taking. I can write big or small, fast or deliberately. I can sketch, draw arrows between things, circle things, put boxes around things. I can doodle. And later, I can look at that piece of paper with the utter certainty that everything I put there is still there, and with at least a reasonable degree of confidence that I can figure out what it all means.

We're a long way from being able to do that with a computer program, or with a device. There have been some baby steps along the way — like how with the Newton, you would erase things by scribbling them out. But we're not there yet.

What we could do today with a computer or device, at least in theory, is to approximate that piece of paper. Pen input, bitmap drawing. It won't be exactly like paper; there's always the chance that the processor in the device could blip out momentarily and miss your input or something. But given some planning and careful design, we could make it a close simulation of a piece of paper.

Or we could just use a dang piece of paper.

I would love to be able to take notes on a screen, and have them translated into meaningful text, with relationships and all that stuff. I'd love to be able to search my notes and reorder them and restructure them and the whole nine yards. But until that's available — that is, until using a computer or device to take notes is superior to using a piece of paper for the same purpose, I'll stick with a piece of paper.

I'm guessing — not sure, but guessing — most people feel the same way.

PadNotes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6nDbE1CK3o

Is this not perfect? And there are plenty of styluses that will work with the iPad.

I don't understand why people are saying the iPad won't be able to take notes like you can do with a paper notepad. It seems like that would be a really basic app to make. I mean, you won't be able to search for keywords are look up word meanings in a built in dictionary, like I guess you could with hand writing recognition, but as for replacing the functionality of a simple paper notepad...it seems rather basic.

 

[Mcgargle]

Is this not perfect?

Frankly, no. I don't think it is. Either the guy in that video has the worst penmanship in human history, or that app simply does not approximate a pen and a piece of paper.

I agree wholeheartedly that it would be really easy to make a crappy paper-simulating app for the iPad. I question whether it would be easy, or even possible given the limitations of the device, to make a good one. And again, even if there were a perfect paper simulation for the iPad … how would it be superior to just using paper? It wouldn't buy us anything. Okay, maybe if you put your handwritten notes on your iPad you'd be less likely to misplace them, but on the other hand you'd be unable to spread them out, photocopy them or give them away without having to jump through some computery-type hoops. Paper is still better for this.

 

[La Porta]

McGargle, I really don't need those extra features you mentioned. My notebook doesn't link things, or file notes, etc. I wanted something to literally duplicate a notebook that you can flip pages on with hand/stylus gestures on, have margins/ruled lines if you want, and keep a graphically verbatim copy of any strokes you make. Perhaps i didn't explain myself well.

 

[lilo777]

Why so few templates vs. the desktop version?

Could it be because some templates are not suitable for finger editing?

 

[Boghog]

There are plenty of styluses that will work with the iPad.

But an iPhone screen is so small that your hand doesn't touch the surface so it won't be misinterpreted as input.
Try sketching on something the size of an iPad without ever touching the screen with your hand.

 

[liquidsuns]

Frankly, no. I don't think it is. Either the guy in that video has the worst penmanship in human history, or that app simply does not approximate a pen and a piece of paper.

I agree wholeheartedly that it would be really easy to make a crappy paper-simulating app for the iPad. I question whether it would be easy, or even possible given the limitations of the device, to make a good one. And again, even if there were a perfect paper simulation for the iPad … how would it be superior to just using paper? It wouldn't buy us anything. Okay, maybe if you put your handwritten notes on your iPad you'd be less likely to misplace them, but on the other hand you'd be unable to spread them out, photocopy them or give them away without having to jump through some computery-type hoops. Paper is still better for this.

He's doing it with his finger or probably a mouse. You can use a stylus for better penmanship. You can email and print your notes rather easily.

 

[Boghog]

Frankly, no. I don't think it is. Either the guy in that video has the worst penmanship in human history, or that app simply does not approximate a pen and a piece of paper.

I belive the video must have been made with the iPad simulator from the developer kit, so he had to draw with a mouse. It certainly looks like it. Your penmanship with a finger or a stylus would probably be better.

Even if there were a perfect paper simulation for the iPad … how would it be superior to just using paper?

It would allow me to annotate pdfs. That would be a HUGE advantage over paper.

 

[lilo777]

PadNotes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6nDbE1CK3o

Is this not perfect?

Looks like a poor man's laptop/desktop to me. Just awful example. Everything this guy does cold be done on a laptop but easier, much faster and better.

 

[lilo777]

I belive the video must have been made with the iPad simulator from the developer kit, so he had to draw with a mouse. It certainly looks like it. Your penmanship with a finger or a stylus would probably be better.



It would allow me to annotate pdfs. That would be a HUGE advantage over paper.

It's not clear at all. Drawing those small digits with a finger? Good luck.