Thumbscript Offers Free Medicine for Graffiti Blues

Posted By: Jeffery Smith, M.D. Saturday, December 30, 2000 9:05:32 AM

In order to promote its visual alphabet for text entry with all kinds of mobile devices, Thumbscript Development, LLC is giving away Go-Thumbscript™, a fully functional software application that substitutes Thumbscript for Palm’s pop-up keyboard

“We know there are many people, especially those who received Palm devices for the holidays, who are just finding out how tricky Graffiti is, and how often there are errors in recognition. Thumbscript takes no more time to master, is 25% faster, and uses a positive recognition scheme to avoid guesswork,” says Jeffery Smith, MD, a psychiatrist and pioneer of the technology.

The Thumbscript, alphabet is based on the world’s most common input device, the telephone keypad. The unique idea behind the technology is seeing the keypad, not as a series of numbers, but as a simple drawing slate. Users “draw” letters on the 9 buttons of the keypad or on a 9 dot target. Extending the visual metaphor, the system gives direct access to everything on the standard keyboard without mode shifting or menu choices.

Having won three of the most prestigious industrial design awards this year, Thumbscript is taking its input technology directly to consumers. In November the company launched two commercial products: Thumbmail™, believed to be the only service in the US allowing users to send text e-mail messages from any push-button phone without additional hardware, and Thumbscript-Pro for Palm, which requires a stick-on overlay on the Graffiti input area of the device, and makes Thumbscript input slightly more convenient. Both products are available through the company's website.

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okay. maybe im being a jerk, but...

scaught @ 1/2/2001 4:27:34 PM #
is graffiti really all that hard to master? i had no problem with it and use it alone for entering data into my palm to this day. not to mention that this thumbscript thing looks about as intuitive as VCR time programming instructions.

RE: okay. maybe im being a jerk, but...
I.M. Anonymous @ 1/2/2001 4:35:05 PM #
Nope, you're just fine. I got my Palm for Christmas and in just under an hour of playing with it, managed to commit the alphabet to memory. In under a day, I had remembered the most commonly-used symbols.

Sure, once in a while I need to backspace but even computer keyboards have a backspace button! : )

RE: okay. maybe im being a jerk, but...
I.M. Anonymous @ 1/2/2001 9:18:10 PM #
Yes, Graffiti works, but is thumbscript faster and more accurate for the same time spent training? Also, thumbscript might be important eventually if it can be implemented on any telephone keypad.

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