Test of Dasher text entry

[ciphergoth]

Dasher Project (from jwz)
This livejournal entry was written using a very strange input method called dasher!
You select text by navigating around an ever zooming landscape of possibilities , and it gives the most area to those it predicts are most likely. I am surprised how much I've managed to write with it already. It learns to improve its predictions based on what you write. Oh, and it's all free software under the GPL. Disclaimer, I did do some cutting and pasting to rearrange the text before putting it in my journal. i doubt i could drive this as fast as graffiti but i'm happy to give it a try! It gets a bit dizzying after a while though, and the way it second-guesses what you're going to write is positively spooky, or sometimes just unintentionally funny...
I suspect the time has come for me to stop fiddling with it and go to bed! Goodnight all!

Comments

[zz]

when you pause it after using it for a while the boxes seem to move backwards and get smaller
but it is fun for a while at least even if it cannot do punctuation or smiles

[(Anonymous)]

In the latest version, choose options/alphabet/English with lots of punctuation. The boxes will move backwards and get smaller if the cursor is on the left hand side of the crosshair, but shouldn't if the system is paused (by clicking the left mouse button again) - could you mail a bug report if it seems to happen?

[zz]

ahh thanks, and the backwards effect is just a brain optical thingy :)

[ciphergoth.livejournal.com]

Sounds right. Hello, who are you?

...brought here by referrer logs?

Ooh, my stomach feels funny...

[ishkhara.livejournal.com]

Ow! My head hurts. I think I've been staring at the pretty colours for too long.

[kaet.livejournal.com]

I found that if you show someone Dasher and give them a chance to play with it then the same boring old explanation of arithmetic coding makes much more sense. It's a wonderful idea to have an arithmetic-based input system.

When I first came across Dasher, a while ago (I used to work for another of David McKay's companies), we had a play leaving it to generate things by moving the cursor to the right, closing our eyes and vaguely wigglnig it about. The training set was much smaller then and didn't dynamically update, but we got this great garblled sentence which seemed to be about Americans buying hallibut in Cromer for posterity. Unfortunately [:)], the training set is much larger now.

[hughe.livejournal.com]

the very for ages,
  they sharp for condly increase the story,
  the axes another very bward of the has notkiz english,
in the does high tlgjoing dammand a young courther,
  and dia whike you had so should still hee throults,
  do the very tirely pagant to diaughts,
many of a ridaynsored talet mergent ojazz eseaoise,
  aver to this supportable amond how travel jazz,
  dam o was not m opey  can cott eeping mority policy,
the band on the over the earth has gone pig from all,
  topsychole in his prms that heaving after tops proxima,
  the rest of like jility  have lie again.

[vampwillow]

Your posted LJ image looked so interesting that I went and downloaded the program (work-avaoidance no doubt, although we are trying to reach the end of 2002 this afternoon, so don't really haev the time) and it is def. cool (should that be 'kewl'? if so, why?) - now a port to palm OS would be great (seeing as how, it appears, we are to lose graffiti...)

[pavlos.livejournal.com]

Are we likely to lose Graffiti? Does Palm think it has other reasons to exist?

Pavlos

[ciphergoth.livejournal.com]

As jwz says, "Xerox sues for copying" is a headline that never stops being funny.

http://www.brighthand.com/article/Graffiti_Dead

[(Anonymous)]

There's no PalmOS port yet because older Palms have dreadful screens that blur too much for it to be terribly usable. The newer colour ones should be able to manage it, so there'll probably be one in the not-too distant future.

[sparklegoth.livejournal.com]

That really scares me! I can only get it to write "hello how are you" am I supposed to get more words than that? I am getting really confused!

[ciphergoth.livejournal.com]

You have to download the software - the box isn't Flash or anything, just an animated GIF.

[sparklegoth.livejournal.com]

Ah, I was getting really frustrated! I thought I couldn't do it right! Not sure if I can download something like that onto a uni pooter, how big is the programee? Will it fit onto a floppy?

[ciphergoth.livejournal.com]

I expect so - check out the website though...

ps can I call you?

[sparklegoth.livejournal.com]

Cool, I'll try to get it on one, I'm not good with these things though, as you know! When do you want to call? I'm in Appleton tower right now but I'll be leaving to go to the gym relatively soon.

[babysimon]

I didn't know jwz was here...

[stgpcm.livejournal.com]

Hmm, All I need to is an an HTML alphabet, and ...

[ciphergoth.livejournal.com]

In theory, if you feed it samples of HTML for training scripts, it should adapt well to writing HTML. Hmm, might try that...