3 ms·

I’m looking to phase out my phone wherever possible, so when I’m out and about I would like to use my notebook to replace some phone functions (notes, non-urgen

I’m looking to phase out my phone wherever possible, so when I’m out and about I would like to use my notebook to replace some phone functions (notes, non-urgent messages, adding to a list, setting a reminder, new contact, etc). The issue is, once I write in my notebook, I tend to never reread what I’ve written. Enter Typoglyph. I assign blocks of text a glyph or symbol (#, <, ~, etc). I can then map these symbols to any command using the text as input. At the end of each day I simply snap a picture of my notebook pages and all the queued actions in my notebook are executed. Unfortunately I’m using Google Cloud OCR, as it’s the most accurate at detecting handwriting (that I’ve found). It also doesn’t allow for custom glyphs.

drusepth 6y ago
This sounds super cool. A few questions, if you don't mind: 1) Do you have any examples of the kinds of "actions" you execute (and what you would write to execute them)? Is the text also in some kind of strict DSL (e.g. @ firstname lastname number to add a contact?) 2) How do reminders work? I'd assume only at-least-next-day ones work well if you only execute/set them at EOD. Do you use them more to remind you of daily things in the morning, or do you have your phone ping you throughout the day as specific-time reminders kick in? 3. Are you planning on releasing this as an app? Planning on adding any support for people adding their own glyphs/actions? (I ask because I've been tempted to do something similar, but moreso for worldbuilding -- where I jot down character/location ideas and OCR them into notebook.ai later or similar). Does it work on any notebook, or do you need a special one to anchor for OCR accuracy?
- desertraven 6y ago
  Hi there, thanks for the interest! Edit: new line characters don’t seem to work on HN. So the commands might not make much sense. 1. A couple of examples I’ve been using for development: # Joe Smith 314 395 112 % why is the sky blue? +¥:3 Carrots Avocado Tomato Spaghetti $Joe Smith Long time no talk Hi Joe, it’s been a while. How are the kids? # - create contact % - research (will open browser with this search term when getting home) + - add to list ¥ - shopping : - denotes length of list. The above will ignore spaghetti. $ - send email Regarding the separators, I’ve obviously been using new line for the different arguments, but could use anything. More so I was trying to make it so you could annotate any page from the past in glyphs. Just annotate a few glyphs on an existing page (or whiteboard) and it’d run operations. I’ve tried lots of systems, but there’s always pros and cons. Open to suggestions! 2. More so I’d use them to remind me of dates or set wake up alarm. Reminders throughout the day doesn’t really help me (plus the phone isn’t with me). But there’s no reason you couldn’t do all of the options you mentioned. 3. I did a proof of concept as a desktop app. I’d just upload pictures I took to cloud, and pull down. Because desktop is much more powerful for the user, I could write custom scripts and run them from the notebook. But an app would be a good idea for those who don’t mind the hit in flexibility. DEFINITELY have support for custom glyphs. Because I’m using Google OCR I don’t currently have support for custom glyphs (a little shape or squiggle), hence the glyphs are just symbol characters. But yes they can be created and assigned actions. I’ve been using it on any old book. Just make sure the lighting is ok. Of course it’s not always perfect, but it’s close enough if you take effort to write clearly.

drusepth 6y ago

This sounds super cool. A few questions, if you don't mind: 1) Do you have any examples of the kinds of "actions" you execute (and what you would write to execute them)? Is the text also in some kind of strict DSL (e.g. @ firstname lastname number to add a contact?) 2) How do reminders work? I'd assume only at-least-next-day ones work well if you only execute/set them at EOD. Do you use them more to remind you of daily things in the morning, or do you have your phone ping you throughout the day as specific-time reminders kick in? 3. Are you planning on releasing this as an app? Planning on adding any support for people adding their own glyphs/actions? (I ask because I've been tempted to do something similar, but moreso for worldbuilding -- where I jot down character/location ideas and OCR them into notebook.ai later or similar). Does it work on any notebook, or do you need a special one to anchor for OCR accuracy?

desertraven 6y ago
Hi there, thanks for the interest! Edit: new line characters don’t seem to work on HN. So the commands might not make much sense. 1. A couple of examples I’ve been using for development: # Joe Smith 314 395 112 % why is the sky blue? +¥:3 Carrots Avocado Tomato Spaghetti $Joe Smith Long time no talk Hi Joe, it’s been a while. How are the kids? # - create contact % - research (will open browser with this search term when getting home) + - add to list ¥ - shopping : - denotes length of list. The above will ignore spaghetti. $ - send email Regarding the separators, I’ve obviously been using new line for the different arguments, but could use anything. More so I was trying to make it so you could annotate any page from the past in glyphs. Just annotate a few glyphs on an existing page (or whiteboard) and it’d run operations. I’ve tried lots of systems, but there’s always pros and cons. Open to suggestions! 2. More so I’d use them to remind me of dates or set wake up alarm. Reminders throughout the day doesn’t really help me (plus the phone isn’t with me). But there’s no reason you couldn’t do all of the options you mentioned. 3. I did a proof of concept as a desktop app. I’d just upload pictures I took to cloud, and pull down. Because desktop is much more powerful for the user, I could write custom scripts and run them from the notebook. But an app would be a good idea for those who don’t mind the hit in flexibility. DEFINITELY have support for custom glyphs. Because I’m using Google OCR I don’t currently have support for custom glyphs (a little shape or squiggle), hence the glyphs are just symbol characters. But yes they can be created and assigned actions. I’ve been using it on any old book. Just make sure the lighting is ok. Of course it’s not always perfect, but it’s close enough if you take effort to write clearly.