Word: anoto
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Within two years, FAhraeus predicts, most network operators will follow Vodaphone's lead. The Anoto concept gives them a cool new service to offer subscribers - and a way to collect new fees. Paper-makers, naturally, are sold on the prospect of turning their centuries-old product into a digital tool for a fraction of a cent per sheet...
...moment of truth arrives when I'm invited to test the first Chatpen, developed in-house by Anoto. As writing instruments go, this one weighs no more than your average Mont Blanc and is about as long. But it's twice as thick: the infrared camera, which peeks out from under the nib of a basic ballpoint, seems to take up a lot of room. Most folks would find this pen too fat for comfortable writing. Wiebe assures me this is only a prototype, and the final product will be practically indistinguishable from an ordinary...
...write on the paper, scribble an e-mail address (say, mine) on the designated panel and then check the send box. Then, in a blink of an eye, my written note would be sent by the pen to my mobile phone, my phone would send it to the Anoto server, the server would recognize which set of dots the note came from - but not the contents of the note itself - and pass it on to the server of the manufacturer of the paper I've written on. The manufacturer's server would execute the send command, zap the note...
...test all of this today because the local mobile network operator doesn't offer Anoto-enabled services. So for this demonstration a laptop computer will have to play the part of the mobile phone, the Anoto server and the manufacturer's server...
...here I am, back in Hong Kong at my beloved keyboard, which keeps me legible and - as a direct consequence - legitimately employed. I'm pretty certain most people will continue to type, rather than write, all their important documents. But I must confess to being seduced by Anoto's basic premise: old-fashioned pen and paper can be reinvented to fit the digital age. When the Chatpen comes onto the market, I won't be the first in line to buy one. But I doubt I will be able to resist for too long...