I've owned an AlphaSmart for years, and it's a great prebuilt machine for roughly this purpose. I type out my thoughts, plug it into my computer, hit a key and

I've owned an AlphaSmart for years, and it's a great prebuilt machine for roughly this purpose. I type out my thoughts, plug it into my computer, hit a key and it dumps the entire thing into whatever editor you have open by emulating a USB keyboard. Great little device. Before I built my own editor, I used it all the time. Disclaimer: Due to acquisition I now work for a company who at one time produced AlphaSmart machines. I however owned and loved the AlphaSmart prior to this.