[OSGeo-Discuss] Mobile GPS - really low cost hardware platforms for this?

[M.Blackmore]

On Thu, 2006-08-03 at 08:58 -0500, Sasa Ivetic wrote:
> I think the problem is that in the field they may not want to carry a keyboard.  It gets quite awkward to try to walk and type on a keyboard at the same time.  When using a touchscreen device, they can walk and enter information at the same time (using the stylus)

Taking the discussion off on an even greater tangent, but still vaguely
attached in terms of the issue of data entry in the field on small
handheld devices, hands up those who ever came across a machine called
the Microwriter Agenda? 

http://www.geoff.org.uk/museum/microwriter.htm

http://easyweb.easynet.co.uk/~len/boog/aghome.htm

The idea of this chording keyboard is one that has been tragically
neglected historically, and I can't figure out why. Took me about 12
minutes to learn and an hour to get up to a useful speed, but then I'm
quick that way, but most people would surely get the hang of it in a few
hours just fiddling with the software and functions...? Within a day I
was microwriting as fast as I can hand write neatly.

Anyway, I think it is superior to styli in almost all respects bar the
ability to draw freehand, and still use my collection to the present day
(I have a number of them and various PCs around the place with Mark1
CyKeys attached). 

How much would it cost to build a bullet proof open OS/software based
system, say combined with a basic GPS etc. using such a keying system
for mobile data entry? Not much nowadays. In its time the electronics of
the Microwriter and the quality of its nicad batteries (as I said, mine
are still going strong after 16-17 years!) made them very expensive
indeed. Much of that cost would be trivial nowadays, I suspect most of
the costs would be prototyping the case...

Chris Rainey is still supporting them and has developed a chording
add-on keyboard for PCs, called the CyKey (which I also use, one hand on
the mouse, other on the cykey, kick back the chair into recline mode and
mooch away). I think he holds the rights etc. as well for a lot of the
microwriting technology.

I am still unconvinced by hand script recognition, tho' not seen
anything too recent (still bear the scars from attempting to program
some cursive recognition in the mid 70s, that was a joke then as was
most of AI, upon which some of us wasted inordinate amounts of time
stuffed up the wrong paradigmatic tree).