But will it work on a Mac?

Oops. I shouldn't have used the word "but" as the first word in the sentence. I hope I haven't offended any grammar sticklers like myself. :D

How much? and Where can i buy it?. Taking notes for med school is going to be so much easier. I might actually pay attn in class now.

Sounds pretty cool; I like the idea that you can simply print out the special paper for using it. But yeah, is this a real product, or just a prototype/concept at this point? When is it expected to be available for sale.

Now what would be sweet was if Microsoft made a GUI that used the lightscribe as a mouse via bluetooth. I personally think that would revolutionize the way designers interface with computers. And yet, Fake Steve would probably still rip it a new one.

Menaq, what would that give you that a bluetooth Wacom tablet wouldn't already give you? Outside of not needing a separate tablet, and just being able to use the stylus itself, I'm not sure how it would revolutionize the way people interface with computers any more than Tablets have. Frankly the tablet is almost a necessity (whether it's a wacom tablet or a tablet pc), because if the pen is just free form by itself, it would not have anything defined to navigate with (unless you added in some motion sensitive stuff).

Is this this?

okay, what the hell? there are at least 5 other products on the market that do this exactly. when you say something's going to change the way i look at technology, then it better not already exist. if i lived on the west coast and stayed up to see this, i would be very angry at microsoft right now

@ Zhao

A) On the west coast 12 am is only 9 pm. That's not very late.

B) This isn't the Microsoft announcement.

@ Zhao:

"And the pen's software development kit is going to be nice and open, so geeks can write their own apps on top of the ones you can buy. (And the pen already does neat stuff like the math and translation."

Imagine a pen that gives you the answer to any math question that you write down, or that provides the translation for foreign phrases that you write -- although for that to be really useful, the logic will have to be fuzzy enough to accept phonetic and misspelled phrases: If I can't speak Spanish, I probably can't spell it either....

if it does those things, then i can't use it in class, it would be banned, yay!

Let's see it do really useful math like integrals or deq's - I don't think so. I don't need a simple match pen (and we should really worry about continuing to dumb-down the next generation by giving them the technology to answer questions for them).

Linking writing/drawing with spoken thoughts I like (except that this makes yet another reason for people to "talk to themselves" in public). But, there better be significant memory in that thing. (Notice how I started sentence with "But"? It's ok.)

In rebuttle and defense of my prior comment:
The main difference between the tablet and the pen to table interface is that the desk or drafting table itself becomes the monitor which you write directly onto with the pen. The pen of course would need to be modified (click stick style) to ensure that the desktop surface would not be scratched. Although I agree that the wacom tablets/tablet pc's do have this capability the notion of a full size desk or workstation that a designer can use as a digital desk is somewhat of a leap from the 20" tablets and small wacom pads. I think that if you visualize yourself (as a designer) sitting at a drafting table with a pad of digital paper sketching out ideas directly onto the surface of the table you will see the difference. Equally, imagine the implications for drafters, engineers, architechts, business people, etc. who could vastly improve productivity and efficiency through this desktop/drafting desk model. Any thoughts?

Something to offend your sensibilities this AM: Forever 21 is now selling "Got Beer?" t-shirts. Photo via Racked Flickr Pool Local · PETA protests outside the Burberry store [Oxfeld] · New boutique Den is "unlike any other" [DNR] · Good resource for blinds and other window...

Where on Earth can I acquire one of these?

That's a good idea. A lot of times you write down something and then later reread it and go "what on earth was that supposed to mean?" =D

Also I'm good at writing and sketching but really hate explaining myself to people verbally.

Hmmm...loose the requirement of using their special $1-per-sheet dotpaper and you might got something, Chachi.

The original leap pen is really amazing - it's just that dang blasted paper - there's got to be a way to engineer that out.

I just saw them demo this pen (or something like it) on TV. It is fully functional, will cost less than 200$, what one writes can be seen on PC screen and then further manipulated, and it does the audio thing as well. Fuh-keen X-sell-rent me say.

I want to marry and have babies with this product. Having dumped, lost, and ruined more then a few notebooks in my day, a digital back up would be super. Sure I could do it with a scanner, but I'm lazy. It's also nice that it's coming out around the same time i start law school. Hopefully before i get my ass kicked by torts...

@ huygir:

"and we should really worry about continuing to dumb-down the next generation by giving them the technology to answer questions for them"

Umm, like calculators? Heck the generation before the calculator probably decried the sliderule. The generation before that probably didn't have nice things to say about newfangled erasers on pencils either. This pen is probably far less capable than a modern calculator that costs 19.99. It's DEFINITELY less capable than MathCad or Mathematica. They don't make math easier, they allow you to do harder math. These advances in technology mean that kids are learning higher-level concepts in math at lower ages, _because it allows them to_. See how many parents you could find over the last 3 generations that could help their kids with grade 10 math. Face it, there was never any such thing as "the good old days"....

@ leMel
Did you not bother to read the post before posting? You can print the paper for free on your own printer. I don't get why people comment without first reading the post they are commenting on. Sorry, but that and absent left turn signals just push my buttons.

I was going to say (before I got distracted) was that this seems much much cooler than the stupid Treo-companion-laptop-thing.

For students (including paper-chasin' chansen) I still think the ol' keyboard is the best input method. Text is just more easily read, copied, translated, and otherwise manipulated. I made it through grad school with a Palm III and a Stowaway, and I have to say it was pret'near ideal.

But this device does look pretty interesting. I can definitely see the utility for those who take a lot of handwritten notes, including me. I'd want more storage though - it should be "conference length" as a minimum; around 3 hours. I'm interested to see the other apps that are included and later made available.

All, it's gratifying to see the interest in this kind of capability. While the idea of the pen is nice, the limitations are significant. However, check out what we are up to, because we have this and more. www.remembrix.com. We are getting ready to open up for beta testers, so all you interested people, drop me a line!

The ability to "tag" your written notes with audio is a fantastic idea. Like a fellow medschooler mentioned, this would be incredible when taking notes in an information-dense lecture. You try your darndest to pay attention but the simple distraction of writing something down means you might miss what the lecturer says while you're writing.

The LiveScribe Smartpen lets you link audio to the notes you're writing on the special dotted paper, and it also stores the notes you're writing inside it electronically. You can then download the audio and holograph to your computer and index all the notes.

@sarcastic-man says:

I DID read the post.

While the Giz writer says that "you can print out the templates," Livescribe's OWN release says "The Livescribe platform turns plain paper into a computer screen" (suggesting that no specially prepared paper is needed AT ALL).

BUT, livescribe then goes on to say "Additional dot paper will be available at prices comparable to standard paper products."

The real story will be seen in the final product.

This pen sounds amazing. I can never read my notes and now all i have to do is click on one word and the entire lecture from class is recovered.

Digital pens rule!