Best writing implement

adamlogan

adamlogan

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I'm looking for something to write back and forth with hearing people.

A little backstory. I am partially deaf and wear two hearing aids. I've noticed that 99% of hearing people cannot understand that I cannot hear them even though I talk well, so they just keep talking to me which is really frustrating since its exhausting trying to understand them, and they think they're off the hook to accommodate me (learning to sign).

So I'm thinking about approaching communication with hearing people differently for about a month. During this period I would not wear my hearing aids. Instead I would communicate by writing since that is the easiest common denominator for me and because its visual I don't have to work so hard to understand it (hopefully anyways, we'll see about my ability to read other people's handwriting!).

So I was wondering do anyone on here communicate this way? What are the best writing implements you have found? I'm not fond of dealing with paper and love Wacom tablets, was hoping to find a slate or eInk solution that could replace paper/pencil/pen.

So far I'm eying the http://www.amazon.com/Boogie-Board-9-7-Inch-eWriter-ST1020001/dp/B00E8CIGCA/ which is very battery efficient, can save writings/drawings etc with the caveat that you cannot recall past writings/drawings to the screen once you wipe the board.

The Noteslate looks cool, but because its a display device it seems that drawing/writing suffers from significant lag (common with all such devices and from what I can tell it gets worse the longer the stroke is). More importantly the Noteslate is not available yet and was vaporware until now.

Found this nice matrix of eReaders, while it'd be nice to be able to open and read various media its low priority to me as I'm really just looking for the best writing medium. If anyone has any experience with the eReaders or other related devices let me know.

One downside with using the above electronic gadgets is they're not water proof, so it'd be limited to fair weather or indoor use. One would argue that regular paper is not waterproof either, true, but there are waterproof paper/pens/pencils on the market. Probably not that important, just thinking peace of mind when carrying it around.

Would love feedback, what your thoughts are etc.
 
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I'm all for the writing aspect of it, but it might cause some issues. Since you can talk, it might insult people if you don't. And, since they can talk, it might insult them if they can't.

I think a better approach would be to use voice transcription instead of writing. Most phones and tablets have a voice option. Let the phone or tablet transcribe what they say.

And, keep your hearing aid in, it will confuse people as to why your are asking them to do this if you don't wear the aid.

As a last resort, use the writing.
 
Adamlogan, I agree with VacationGuy234, since I have tried all those methods. Ironically, yes it does offend people when you insist on this visual non-oral method, yet with the table turned, they insist the same of us when they demand we go oral for their benefit. Funny that (not).

Sent from my SM-T705 using AllDeaf App mobile app
 
Gotta disagree. Chances are the hearing person will still have a fit even with the voice to text transcription. On top of that speech to text sucks... it really does. The best scenario is a quiet room with no other distraction and the speaker speaking in a clear even tone. You aren't going to get that in the real world standing in a checkout line or sitting at a restaurant table not to mention the variation of speech pitch, tone, accent.

The few times that hearing co-workers wrote to me (many times using the giant white board in my cube) they didn't have a problem doing it and at least one even knew to initiate it (writing sticky notes lol). Using my FM system helped a little (until I lost the microphone)- I don't know what it will be like now since I've noticed my speech discrim going down a little.

The idea of a tablet with a stylus is more appealing than getting the other person to either text you or use the keyboard (slow and a pain at times especially a small keyboard).

As near as I can tell, the OP is saying leaving the hearing aid out as I would assume on a typical day aside from work the chances of meeting someone you know is almost nil. But I do get where you are saying keep it in to reduce the confusion. To me it wouldn't matter if you (or I) keep the hearing aid in or not... the sticking point is your (or my) voice is understandable. My family STILL tries to talk to me even when they KNOW I'm not wearing my hearing aid- Maddening.. but I will give 'em credit in that they do either try to sign (a little...) or write a note.

I'd give a little (just a tiny bit) more of a benefit of a doubt to the hearing population as a whole- yes there are dimwits out there but in general I'm sure many will be happy to accommodate-- with a caveat that sometimes many will still try to take shortcuts...I just saw something about this on FB last night... or somewhere else. Will see if I can dig it up.
 
I see the point about a scenario where the OP can't be understood. In that case, writing might be the only answer.

I do think test-to-speech has gotten much better.

The best writing implement I have ever had was my R822-15 Toshiba convertible tablet. I used a wacom driver. That pen was the most accurate. I've tried the surface pro which is really good. I've also heard the Galaxy Note Pro is good, but have not tried it. Wacom now has an onscreen model, but I think it is really expensive.

I'll look into boogie board.
 
Wacom is famous for expensive tablets etc- even more expensive over 15 years ago lol.
 
I have 3 of the Boogie Boards, one is by my vp, other in my car and third is in my travel bag. I would think they are pretty water resistant. they work great i got mine from this seller and they are like new minus the box. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Boogie-Board-Jot-LCD-Writing-Tablet-Black-8-5-Inch-E-Writer-Pad-NO-RETAIL-BOX-/381265957025? you can also find them at costco.com for $30 and $7 shipping. Also its always on, and you dont even have to use the stylus, fingernail or any hard object works for writing i also have a couple of the ones with the red green blue colored rims but they are to flexible and tend to develop bubbles and delaminate. plus they store the pen on the outside instead of the inside which makes it easy to loose. found one new for $19.49 with free ship here http://www.ebay.com/itm/Boogie-Board-8-5-LCD-Writing-Tablet-Black-Silver-/161703393831?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item25a645fa27

there is only one boogie board that you can save the images. Its bigger and i have one but never use it because of the size (its about the size of a sheet of paper.) willing to sell it if you or anyone else is interested.
I prefer to write also because many hearing people are clueless when I tell them i am deaf, they don't believe me or forget and talk back to me anyway. plus i need it for them to write their responses on.
noteslate looks cool but $200? I bought my galaxy note 10.1 off ebay for less than that and has full pen writing capabilities http://www.ebay.com/itm/Samsung-Gal...607?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5675c19237
 
DeafDucky said:
Wacom is famous for expensive tablets etc- even more expensive over 15 years ago lol.
Click to expand...
Wacom is a computer imput device for artists and CAD people it doesn't desplay any image on the device so it is not suitable for what the OP wants
 
Here it is, I'll sell it for $45 shipped if anyone is interested.
e5e62084114c9c199407db760152afb8.jpg
 
thanks for the image Southpaw- I was wondering what it looked like (as I am not a fan of white background/black text normally).

Definitely may look into this for myself too (another thing to carry around along with my phone, keys, wallet, DAI cord and money lol- though I really need a new wallet...)
 
DeafDucky said:
thanks for the image Southpaw- I was wondering what it looked like (as I am not a fan of white background/black text normally).

Definitely may look into this for myself too (another thing to carry around along with my phone, keys, wallet, DAI cord and money lol- though I really need a new wallet...)
Click to expand...

Sounds like you need a man-bag. :D Or a small backpack or messenger bag.
 
@SouthPaw:

Thanks for the offer , but I bought the boogie board sync 9.7 and a boogie board Jot 4.5. I got the sync 9.7 as an open box deal on amazon for $73.78, it mentioned cosmetic defects, hopefully it won't be noticeable. The Jot 4.5 was cheap enough at $17.96


I read that with the sync you can use whatever hard objects to write on it, but only things written with the stylus get recorded by the save function. With the other models it doesn't matter. Worth noting also is that the sync has lower contrast, the writing shows up as more of a dark gray versus the other models which are a brighter white-gray. We'll see which one I use more.

@LoveBlue & Deafducky

I have a http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00IKRVTF0 that I use as a Murse that I picked up from amazon for $27.95, I like it a lot it really simplifies things although it is an adjustment to keep track of a Murse and to not forget it. I got fed up with stuffing my pockets and moving my stuff around. Also the http://www.amazon.com/prAna-32-Inch-Inseam-Stretch-Medium/dp/B00NT1ESQ4/ I wear are very breathable and flexible so I can stretch and do yoga in, it's counterproductive to have a wallet and other misc stuff in the pockets.

The main con with the http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00IKRVTF0 that I've noticed with it so far is that it's terrible if you do a lot of bike riding since it will slip around and your knees may knock into it over and over.

I'm pretty sure the sync would not fit the Murse, but am guessing the 4.5 will. I'm not sure how I would keep the synce on me without doing something weird like attaching a loop to the sync or something and wearing it… I can wear the Murse for limited amounts of time but can't imagine wearing a backpack or full sized messenger for long periods.

@ All
My guess is I will be using the jot 4.5 more on the go and the sync 9.7 may be just for notetaking or for communicating around the house. Worst case scenario it'll be a high tech "blackboard" for keeping grocery items or notes for my household.

Yeah, a wacom tablet would not be appropriate for what I want, although I'm definitely drooling over the Wacom Cintiq Companion 2 with the idea of hackintoshing it. That Wacom tablet is not just a digitizer btw, it's an actual computer, the OS lives on the wacom, the holy grail for mobile design work. But for having conversations with hearing people the wacom tablet would not be a good candidate. Especially considering the short battery life, ~5 hours when unplugged. Still, I want one to play with :drool:.
 
adamlogan said:
@SouthPaw:

Thanks for the offer , but I bought the boogie board sync 9.7 and a boogie board Jot 4.5. I got the sync 9.7 as an open box deal on amazon for $73.78, it mentioned cosmetic defects, hopefully it won't be noticeable. The Jot 4.5 was cheap enough at $17.96


I read that with the sync you can use whatever hard objects to write on it, but only things written with the stylus get recorded by the save function. With the other models it doesn't matter. Worth noting also is that the sync has lower contrast, the writing shows up as more of a dark gray versus the other models which are a brighter white-gray. We'll see which one I use more.

@LoveBlue & Deafducky

I have a ENO Possum Pocket that I use as a Murse that I picked up from amazon for $27.95, I like it a lot it really simplifies things although it is an adjustment to keep track of a Murse and to not forget it. I got fed up with stuffing my pockets and moving my stuff around. Also the pants I wear are very breathable and flexible so I can stretch and do yoga in, it's counterproductive to have a wallet and other misc stuff in the pockets.

The main con with the ENO Possum Pocket that I've noticed with it so far is that it's terrible if you do a lot of bike riding since it will slip around and your knees may knock into it over and over.

I'm pretty sure the sync would not fit the Murse, but am guessing the 4.5 will. I'm not sure how I would keep the synce on me without doing something weird like attaching a loop to the sync or something and wearing it… I can wear the Murse for limited amounts of time but can't imagine wearing a backpack or full sized messenger for long periods.

@ All
My guess is I will be using the jot 4.5 more on the go and the sync 9.7 may be just for notetaking or for communicating around the house. Worst case scenario it'll be a high tech "blackboard" for keeping grocery items or notes for my household.

Yeah, a wacom tablet would not be appropriate for what I want, although I'm definitely drooling over the Wacom Cintiq Companion 2 with the idea of hackintoshing it. That Wacom tablet is not just a digitizer btw, it's an actual computer, the OS lives on the wacom, the holy grail for mobile design work. But for having conversations with hearing people the wacom tablet would not be a good candidate. Especially considering the short battery life, ~5 hours when unplugged. Still, I want one to play with :drool:.
Click to expand...
Post up a review when you get them and tell us what you think. The sync is new, I wasn't familiar with that one. Looks cool
 
adamlogan said:
@SouthPaw:

Thanks for the offer , but I bought the boogie board sync 9.7 and a boogie board Jot 4.5. I got the sync 9.7 as an open box deal on amazon for $73.78, it mentioned cosmetic defects, hopefully it won't be noticeable. The Jot 4.5 was cheap enough at $17.96


I read that with the sync you can use whatever hard objects to write on it, but only things written with the stylus get recorded by the save function. With the other models it doesn't matter. Worth noting also is that the sync has lower contrast, the writing shows up as more of a dark gray versus the other models which are a brighter white-gray. We'll see which one I use more.

@LoveBlue & Deafducky

I have a ENO Possum Pocket that I use as a Murse that I picked up from amazon for $27.95, I like it a lot it really simplifies things although it is an adjustment to keep track of a Murse and to not forget it. I got fed up with stuffing my pockets and moving my stuff around. Also the pants I wear are very breathable and flexible so I can stretch and do yoga in, it's counterproductive to have a wallet and other misc stuff in the pockets.

The main con with the ENO Possum Pocket that I've noticed with it so far is that it's terrible if you do a lot of bike riding since it will slip around and your knees may knock into it over and over.

I'm pretty sure the sync would not fit the Murse, but am guessing the 4.5 will. I'm not sure how I would keep the synce on me without doing something weird like attaching a loop to the sync or something and wearing it… I can wear the Murse for limited amounts of time but can't imagine wearing a backpack or full sized messenger for long periods.

@ All
My guess is I will be using the jot 4.5 more on the go and the sync 9.7 may be just for notetaking or for communicating around the house. Worst case scenario it'll be a high tech "blackboard" for keeping grocery items or notes for my household.

Yeah, a wacom tablet would not be appropriate for what I want, although I'm definitely drooling over the Wacom Cintiq Companion 2 with the idea of hackintoshing it. That Wacom tablet is not just a digitizer btw, it's an actual computer, the OS lives on the wacom, the holy grail for mobile design work. But for having conversations with hearing people the wacom tablet would not be a good candidate. Especially considering the short battery life, ~5 hours when unplugged. Still, I want one to play with :drool:.
Click to expand...

I just bought the 4.5 one today (got a good deal on it at Best Buy as it looks like they're trying to get rid of them). Anyway, how the heck do you get the stylus off?
 
Oh, I found one of my old ones. You can see what happens after a while with too much flexing.. basically it's too flexible and easily bends in a pocket backpack. Also just broke the top off to see how to access the battery. There are 4 screws under the boogie board label and the erase button. Which if you peeled off, would probably not stick back on afterwards. etc
ac5398d43bd0abe2eb009e39958e126e.jpg
 
Here's a video I found- shows how to get the stylus off.
I don't know what language the audio is in (I wasn't 'plugged in') but when I turned on the captions it was in another language (not english lol). Still understandable from what I saw.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUZaOUe-Kag

Oh.. yeah I've used backpacks and a "messenger type" style bag (I got a free one from my last employee- I also have 3 travel mugs from them...). May do something like that again... was definitely worth doing when I was working. I don't get out as much now unfortunately (until or if I find a job).
 
I got so excited about this, I ordered the one I linked to on Amazon. Fortunately I already have an old tablet sleeve so it won't get damaged.
 
DeafDucky said:
Here's a video I found- shows how to get the stylus off.
I don't know what language the audio is in (I wasn't 'plugged in') but when I turned on the captions it was in another language (not english lol). Still understandable from what I saw.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUZaOUe-Kag

Oh.. yeah I've used backpacks and a "messenger type" style bag (I got a free one from my last employee- I also have 3 travel mugs from them...). May do something like that again... was definitely worth doing when I was working. I don't get out as much now unfortunately (until or if I find a job).
Click to expand...

Thanks. I was just afraid of pulling on it too hard and breaking it. I tried it and got it off and it went back on ok too.
 
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