Dr Andus wrote:

Pierre Paul Landry wrote:
Dr Andus wrote:
>> It wasn't entirely clear to me though whether these are handwritten
>notes or the pen makes changes digitally as if one
>>was using a keyboard (crossing out a word deletes it):
>
>Word has had pen support for comments since v2002 and within the
>document since v2007:

Well, it's one thing to have support for pen and handwriting, and
another for the hardware and software and the OS to provide a
satisfactory experience. I have experimented with a Windows tablet back
in 2011, and it just wasn't up to par with the iPad back then, even just
as a touchscreen device.

There have been many touchscreen devices and apps supporting various
styluses, but whenever I tried them, they failed in real-life
situations, such as needing to take handwritten notes quickly at a
meeting. Either there was a lag, or it was too awkward to get to the app
quickly, or something else.

There must be a reason why even in 2018 in a rich country like the UK,
in academic, government, and corporate contexts, I virtually never see
anyone using a stylus to work with their devices (other than the
occasional Samsung smartphone or tablet user).

I am an early adopter of stylus technology. I was a big Palm fan, but
even the Palm hardware just wasn't up to the job. I'm glad that there
are more devices now that appear to be useable, but it seems a
relatively recent phenomenon where people are suddenly talking more
about taking handwritten notes on their devices.

I am mostly hearing about the Chromebook devices, such as Samsung
Chromebook Plus and Pro, and the Pixelbook, where taking handwritten
notes in a meeting context actually seems to work now (people tell me).

I am happy with the handwriting performance of the iPad Pro and the Apple Pencil. Over the weekend, I took the opportunity to try out handwriting on a relative's Microsoft Surface Book 2, and that was pretty good too - expensive, and early days for the technology, but pretty good. Of course, handwriting recognition is another matter.