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It's kinda funny, I worked for years as an artist and never used paper and then I became a programmer and I'm drowning in paper. I use post-it notes, notebooks,

• Karrot_Kream 9y ago
  > I'm not sure what it would take to replace that. Working on paper allows me to disconnect from the digital world and concentrate on logic, it also allows me to organize my information physically. How about a device not connected to the internet?
  • zormino 9y ago
    I'm similar to the poster you were replying to. I think there are two big reasons I use paper. 1) is that I can very quickly format.my notes however I want, draw diagrams and pictures quickly, there's just no restrictions as opposed to using a text editor or notetaking program. 2) is that when I write things by hand I tend to remember them better, and have an easier time understanding concepts when I sketch them out by hand. I really wish I could replace paper with a suitable program, but so far I haven't found it.
• askafriend 9y ago
  If you've tried the new iPad Pro with Apple Pencil then you'll have your answer. It's fantastic for sketching and taking notes - the new display eliminates all lag between the stylus and the screen. It is an expensive solution for sure, but as that kind of technology becomes cheaper, the use case you describe for paper will be reduced as well.
  • TipVFL 9y ago
    It wouldn't really replicate my multiple notebooks scattered precisely across my table, unless I had like 5 ipads. Also, not really a fan of Apple's mobile ux, so it's not the solution for me. I have managed to get rid of some paper usage by having multiple dry erase boards of various sizes. One digital solution I have considered is something like the boogie board. If you're not familiar, it's basically a 10 inch digital whiteboard that can save the screen to an image and costs around $20. That's cheap enough I could have a pile of them and mostly replicate my current process.
    • askafriend 9y ago
      iPad UX has changed a lot with iOS 11, I think you’d be surprised at how easily you can switch between notebooks on an iPad or have them side by side. One thing I would suggest is to go to the Apple Store, buy the 10.5” iPad Pro and try it out for 2 weeks with an app called Notability and then return it before 14 days is up if you dislike it. They have a great no-questions-asked return policy at the Apple store. If you end up liking it, you can look for a used model if the new one is too expensive for your tastes. I think it’s a better long term solution than the boogie boards because it has handwriting recognition and it’s seamless + synced to the cloud without you doing anything. Also, the 120hz refresh rate on the new displays make it behave closer to the physical experience than on past displays where there was a short lag between your stroke and the stroke appearing on screen. The boogie board is also a great solution if most of your notebooks are meant to be throwaway scratchpads. It might be a better solution than iPad if you don’t intend on keeping the stuff you sketch out. Plus it’s cheaper like you said. All I’m saying is that it’s something worth trying out at the very least since you can try it with no cost. It’s been working very well for me.
• nitwit005 9y ago
  What a human can manually generate with pen and pencil is usually a fairly trivial. Look back a few decades and people used to have shelves full of manuals and binders full of product specs. The cubicle designs are totally different now, partly because we don't have all that printed stuff to deal with.