Filed under: Text, Utilities, Windows, Windows Mobile, Productivity, Microsoft, Commercial
AdapTex: Text prediction for keyboardless devices
by Jason Clarke Nov 27th 2006
It's clear that nobody has truly solved the problem of how to efficiently enter text into a device that does not have a full-sized keyboard, judging by the sheer volume of software that exists to attempt this feat. AdapTex is interesting in that it is a slightly different take on this age-old problem. Rather than trying to replace your favorite text input method, AdapTex exists to augment it with word and phrase suggestions that, if correct, can significantly cut down on the number of letters or words you need to manually type. Although I haven't been using it long enough for the adaptation process to truly start understanding my most popular words and phrases, already I can see some benefit as AdapTex understands some very common ways that sentences start, given one or two initial words. Probably my only complaint with this sort of system is that I'm already fast enough at entering text on my device (I happen to use a Pocket PC) that stopping to read the suggestions actually just slows me down if it doesn't happen to suggest something that is useful for me. In fact, often I could have already typed the whole sentence in the time it takes to type a bit, stop and scan, type a bit more, stop and scan...
Of course, for people that are painfully slow at entering text on a mobile device, software like this could be a real lifesaver. I'm going to continue to use the software until the free trial expires before deciding if it adds enough to my text input speed to justify the approximately $50 USD regular price (after exchange). If you're interested, you can still get in on the beta, and be eligible to purchase the software for an introductory sale price that will save you approximately $20.
So, just how good at time waster games are you? Think you've got the stuff? Well, The World's Hardest Game 2.0 doesn't think you do.
Yes, amazingly, it's possible to have a sequel to a game called "The World's Hardest Game". It doesn't seem logically possible, since if the first one was actually the world's hardest, how could another one come along and share the moniker? It made me doubt the name in the first place. That is, until I tried the game.
The mechanics of the game are very simple. You are a small red square, ...
