So in addition to my plaintive last post, I now find myself wanting one of these Fly pens. One of Jeff’s co-workers let him borrow it and he, in turn, let me try it out yesterday. It works just like a regular pen and paper, except the paper is “special” and is covered in minuscule dots that the pen uses to record everything you write.

You can then upload everything to your computer via USB, there to be viewed as an image or recognized and transfered into Word – instant transcription!

This thing has tremendous potential, not just for writing geeks like me, but for students, artists, business people, and anyone who likes to save their doodles (evidenced here, obviously).

There are a few drawbacks, though. The pen only works with the “special” paper, and it looks like there’s only the one size (8.5″ x 11″). Smaller notebooks or even daytimers would be useful. The pen itself is pretty awkward too, like an oversized magic marker. The rez isn’t the greatest, but the program does a good job of handwriting recognition.

$80 retail, $40 on eBay? I think I just might.