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Alphasmart

84K views 597 replies 91 participants last post by  Brevoort 
#1 ·
Mine came in the mail the other day. I have these constant urges to write now. It's hard to believe Alphasmarts are 10 years old. Why does old technology have to be so... intriguing?
 
#2 ·
Sometime simpler is better. :D I love my Neo. I was at a cafe a couple weeks ago writing on the Neo and the young kids with their tablets were giving me confused looks. A couple came over and asked what I was working on and they were both totally befuddled that I couldn't access the internet at all on it.
 
#3 ·
Jim Johnson said:
Sometime simpler is better. :D I love my Neo. I was at a cafe a couple weeks ago writing on the Neo and the young kids with their tablets were giving me confused looks. A couple came over and asked what I was working on and they were both totally befuddled that I couldn't access the internet at all on it.
"If the Internet isn't there...do we still exist?"

One thing I really like about the Alphasmart is the old-fashioned keyboard. Much closer to the feel of typewriter keys than the current flat "chiclet" keys.
 
#4 ·
My Alphasmart Neo arrived in the mail three days ago, and I've been using it daily since. I love to write outdoors, and the Alphasmart allows me to do that without the glare of a laptop or tablet. To top it off, adding the text to my WIP on my PC is as easy as hitting the send key.
 
#8 ·
I've had mine for several months. Things to love: No internet distractions (if I need to look something up, I just make a note all in caps), no outdoor glare, lightweight, AA batteries that last a year, hit the send key and walk away while it uploads my work.

There seems to be an endless supply of them on ebay but I may get a second one for backup just in case.

 
#10 ·
Gertie Kindle 'a/k/a Margaret Lake' said:
I've had mine for several months. Things to love: No internet distractions (if I need to look something up, I just make a note all in caps), no outdoor glare, lightweight, AA batteries that last a year, hit the send key and walk away while it uploads my work.
In case it's of value, you could download their file management software and use that to pull files off the Neo if you don't have time to wait for it to complete the 'send' text dump. I've found the software really handy when I want to get at those files and paste them into Scrivener.
 
#13 ·
I got mine a few days ago but I haven't given it a good workout yet. The smaller keyboard has reminded me my nails need to be shorter!

I'm a checker/re-reader so letting go of that and just writing is a foreign feeling.
 
#15 ·
Jim Johnson said:
In case it's of value, you could download their file management software and use that to pull files off the Neo if you don't have time to wait for it to complete the 'send' text dump. I've found the software really handy when I want to get at those files and paste them into Scrivener.
Interesting. I have the 3000. Will it work with that? Usually, I just let it run while I'm doing something else.

LorrainePaton said:
I love mine to get my ideas out quickly or if I want to write outside, but I usually have a LOT more edits to do on those files. It is a mixed blessing...
Same problem. The touch is very heavy and there are a lot of missing letters and words. I find the newest version of Word does a pretty good grammar/spell check and I run that to catch most of the errors.
 
#16 ·
I love my NEO too and use it for all my drafting. The limited viewing window is really disconcerting at first - especially if you're like to edit as you go. But if you're looking to speed up your drafting process, the Alphasmart is the way to go. I learned to pick a point on the wall or out the window to look at and just type out a conscious stream of thought. Productivity goes WAY up when you shut off that internal editor.
 
#19 ·
Gertie Kindle 'a/k/a Margaret Lake' said:
I've had mine for several months. Things to love: No internet distractions (if I need to look something up, I just make a note all in caps), no outdoor glare, lightweight, AA batteries that last a year, hit the send key and walk away while it uploads my work.

There seems to be an endless supply of them on ebay but I may get a second one for backup just in case.
I'm thinking I might get a back up too, because I love mine <3.
 
#23 ·
I ordered a Dana off eBay yesterday (there are none on UK eBay; all international only, with the shipping prices bumping up the price significantly!). I already have an AlphaSmart 3000, but it doesn't communicate with my PC at all (PC just doesn't detect it being plugged in--iirc, it uses one of those old-style keyboard-esque cables, the purple ones, and I think with my entirely un-technical brain that that's something to do with it), which kind of defeats its purpose.

Hopefully the Dana with a USB cable will work, and I'll be in business, because I did manage to get a lot of writing done on the 3000 for the brief time I used it. :)
 
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