ELECTRONIC PEN REMEMBERS WHAT YOU WRITE

The other day I found myself in a place with no computers and a request to write something creative for my upcoming radio show. As I quickly grabbed a pen and began to write, something amazing dawned on me as I tried to focus my thoughts to the page in front of me. Somehow the process of writing had become integrated to the way I transcribed my thoughts and ideas to the medium on which I was recording them. In other words, the flow of my ideas kept being interrupted as I tried to scrawl them down on paper. I was being distracted by the actual physical act of writing with the pen.

When I write using my computer, its keyboard and mouse and see my thoughts coalesce on the screen, I can instantly edit those thoughts, move words into different positions, maybe even drag a sentence to another part of the story, watching it take form on the screen. This on the fly editing helps me to compose the form as well as the flow of my ideas as I modify the composition from moment to moment. All of that flexibility was lost as I attempted to jot down my ideas, discovering I couldn't even erase something because I was using a pen rather than a pencil. At that moment, I began to appreciate how much the word processor contributes not only to the mechanical process of writing but in some ways it acts as a catalyst to the creative part as well. The ease in which one manipulates the words can literally lets loose the reigns of creativity. As one who types as fast as I can speak, I've come to discover that the very process of word processing frees me to be creative. Without my computer, I felt like a race car driver placed in a horse and buggy. Like the driver, we could still get to our destinations but with a lot less speed and a lot more discomfort.

Of course, sometimes it's nice to gaze out the window instead of blazing around the race track which is one reason why they still have hansom cabs amid all that traffic in New York. So if you feel the need to use a pen and paper to jot down your thoughts, have at it. But while you're there, why not bring a little technology along with you? Logitech has just introduced their io electronic pen that lets you maintain your penmanship without abandoning the link to your computer. This amazing little device looks like a sleek silver and black pen with an organic, ergonomic design that lets it rest comfortably in your hand. The ball point tip works on any paper if you want to use it as an ordinary pen. But using the included digital paper that contains tiny tracking dots enables the io's capture ability. As you begin to write, the io tracks your every move and digitally captures everything into its memory. Checking different boxes on the paper instructs the pen as to the kind of information you are writing, be it a document to be emailed via Outlook, or moved into Lotus Notes.

Inserting the io into its cradle that connects to your computer via a USB connection signals the pen to download your handwritten notes into the computer in their original handwritten form. The included software automatically interprets what boxes you checked on the digital paper so that it sorts what you have written into their respective folders, attached to email or sent to your calendar and other respective applications.

Currently Logitech has no immediate plans to release handwriting transcription software that converts the handwriting recorded to the io into printed text. At this time, the io software only creates graphical images of your handwritten documents. Still that's all you may need when you find yourself without a computer and the urge to quickly jot something down.

The $199 io includes the pen, docking cradle and software that requires Windows.