Gadgets for the eternal student
Ah, how I miss the joys of academia. I almost finished my second degree, and then we had our little guy. After that, many nights of knee-bouncing, back-patting, and walking around bleary-eyed wearing epaulettes of child vomit put the kybosh on my studious intentions. But now, he's five, and I'm short on excuses. I think it's time to get back in the game. And some of the gadgets that have appeared since my last academic excursion make me want to go back, if only so that I can have an excuse to use them.
PlanOn's recently updated pen-based scanner, the DocuPen X, looks like a sure winner. It can scan many a regular letter-sized document into its 64Mb of memory, and features a microSD expansion slot, so that you can add more memory if you're unable to get back to your PC to transfer the data straight away. It also features Bluetooth connectivity, so that you can send it to your PC or your Windows Mobile device wirelessly.
There's another pen that makes taking notes a dream. The Livescribe Pulse smartpen comes with its own unique paper, imbued with tiny microdots, that the pen's tiny built-in infrared camera uses to tell where it is on the page. It uses this tracking mechanism, along with a pressure sensor, to record where you're writing on the paper, digitising the notes so that you can display them on your computer later. But the neat part is the voice recording. It digitally records ambient audio, and correlates it with what you're writing. This means that when you're revising your notes later, you can select any part of your writing or drawing, and have the pen play back what was being said in the room at the time - perfect for documenting lectures.
And, even though I've talked about the sanctity of the book in other posts, I have to acknowledge the ebook as a perfect tool for students. Sony's Reader Touch Edition stores hundreds of books in a small format, and includes a stylus that lets you annotate your books in freehand style. That's very welcome for students that need to lug lots of books around in their backpacks - especially if they have to study, say, historical works that are in the public domain, and accessible via the Google Book Search service, with which the service integrates.
With gadgets like these, how could a person not be lured back into the hallowed halls of scholarship?
Danny Bradbury, MSN Tech and Gadgets
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