The Shape of Things to Come

This is from my weekly newspaper column, hence the lack of links. By Jeremy Wagstaff We’re all touch typists now. Of course, the definition of touch type has had to change a little, since most of us don’t actually learn touch typing as we’re supposed to. Watch people tapping away at a keyboard and you’ll … Read more

Keys to the Kingdom

In this week’s Loose Wire Service column (which runs in print publications, more here), I write about those unsung heroes of productivity: programs that store globs of text for you so you don’t have to keep typing the same thing. Last time I talked about how the keyboard is often a quicker way to launch … Read more

How To Report on the Road

I’ve always been looking for the perfect way to report on the road — do you write shorthand notes, do you record it all and transcribe it later, do you use digital writing tools like Logitech’s io Pen? Or a combination? Each one I’ve done has fallen down, usually because I get bored transcribing or … Read more

Skype Me And A Return To Innocence

Great piece today in The New York Times: ‘Internet Phone Service Creating Chatty Network’ on the openness of Skype users using the SkypeMe function to chat, and be chatted to, by strangers with only a nice chat in mind: Skype users report unsolicited contacts every day, and contrary to such experiences with phone and e-mail, … Read more

Another Incentive To Leave The Office

I’m a big fan of AlphaSmart’s range of portable writing devices, which are aimed at students but are good for anyone with itchy feet who does a lot of typing and needs a device with a good keyboard, screen and battery life. After the Dana, the Dana Wireless and the AlphaSmart 3000, the company has … Read more