Dasher

[mattp]

I'm writing this journal entry with an unusual text entry system called Dasher. It was mentioned on UNaXcess, which is a BBS that I'm on. It uses contextbased prediction to give it speed boost. I'm still much slower with it than I am with QWERTY but accuracy is easier so it's less frustrating.

Musing: I wonder if this is the first LiveJournal entry written with it.

Summary for the non-geek: type with your mouse, not your keyboard.

Comments

[kimble.livejournal.com]

Just had a play with it... cool stuff, could see it being a viable solution for people with limited typing ability (though barakta will probably kill me for even suggesting it :) ) or indeed for mobile devices.

I have a weird mental block when it comes to the alphabet, so found it to be painfully slow - that would probably improve with practise. Conversely, I expect it would be really intuitive for people with synesthesia.

When playing around following the big blobs of colour I liked the look of, it kept coming out with stuff about a Mock Turtle, which may have interesting implications regarding the inner workings of my mind...

[mattp.livejournal.com]

I expect it would be really intuitive for people with synesthesia.
Ooh, interesting idea. I know someone who has it. I shall ask for his feedback.

[choric.livejournal.com]

it kept coming out with stuff about a Mock Turtle

That'll be _Alice in Wonderland_, then. Dasher works by being fed a large amount of sample text; since we couldn't distribute copyrighted material, we went for out of copyright books instead. :)

- Chris, the New Dasher Guy. (mjg59's left to go off and do a PhD again.)