Minotes

The Minotes pen is designed to capture and save handwritten text and drawings from paper to a computer without the need to retype, copy or scan them.

The input from the pen can then be turned into editable computer text or line drawings, and the device also doubles up as a mouse.

The installation CD has two programs on it, with Easy Note Taker and Myscript Notes Lite acting as note saving and handwriting conversion applications. The digital pen itself, a small receiving unit and a retractable USB connector complete the package.

The pen uses ultrasound and infra-red technology to track its position on a page, converting what you draw or write into an image of the user’s drawing or handwriting. It then transmits whatever has been written or drawn to its base unit for storage and for later transfer to the PC when it's connected.

After connecting, written notes are saved from the base unit to the Easy Note Taker program, and the data can then be changed to typed text. Doing this opens a conversion box in Myscript Notes Lite and after the image has been made into text it can be edited further, either within the word processing part of Myscript Notes Lite or in any other word processing software.

Also, Easy Note Taker allows capture of a note directly to the desktop as a note that can be 'stuck down' as a reminder, and can link directly to a mail server to send a note as an email attachment – although this requires you to know the details of your ISP's mail server.

We had to work on calibrating the pen to make the base unit detect it accurately, and the lack of a clip to attach the sheet of paper to the base unit was an annoyance.

The pen, however, had a good weight and was easy to write with, and replacing the standard ink cartridge supplied was also simple.

Students and business users, or anyone that needs to take notes on site without access to a computer, will find Minotes a valuable time-saver, though home users may struggle to find much use for it.