Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
come with their own viewer software, the software Adapx Capturx for OneNote
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automatically integrates handwritten notes and sketches into Microsoft OneNote.
In addition, some augmented notebooks (e.g. Oxford EasyBook software) allow
the user to select commands to be performed once the notes are transferred to the
computer. For instance, a note can be automatically sent to a specific person by
electronic mail or it can be added as a new task to Microsoft Outlook's task list.
These commands are invoked on a note by writing a specific sign (e.g. an encircled
letter) next to the note.
Integrating Additional Media
More advanced research prototypes demonstrate how the basic principle of synchro-
nization can be combined with more advanced functionality, such as hyperlinks to
additional digital resources. Influential in this respect was a series of research pro-
totypes that aim at supporting biologists. Biologists make frequent use of notebooks
for jotting down information when they are in the field, e.g. while observing species
or collecting specimen, and also use their notebooks when they are in the lab. Many
of these notes are closely related to other resources, such as articles, photos or phys-
ical specimen. While these typically remain separate from traditional paper note-
books, augmented notebooks allow biologists to integrate these different sources
of information closely with their notebook. As a matter of course, such augmented
notebooks do not only support the effective work of biologists, but equally apply
to a wide range of professional occupations. For instance, also designers typically
make heavy use of notebooks.
The
A-Book
[88] is an augmented lab notebook for biologists. It comprises the
basic functionality for accessing paper-based notes via a computer interface that
was introduced above. In addition, it contributed a set of important concepts for
augmented notebooks. First, the A-Book introduced digital means for integrating
the paper notebook with external resources. The user can create hyperlinks to Web
pages and can paste physical objects, such as printouts and photos, into the paper
notebook, provided that these are “known” to the computer. Second, the A-Book
offers functionality for structuring the notebook. The user can easily define a digital
table of contents by adding graphical snapshots of passages of the notebook which
are listed in chronological order. Moreover, it is easy to connect different passages
within the notebook by creating hyperlinks.
A-Book's probably most influential contribution is the Interaction Lens. The In-
teraction Lens makes digital information (such as hyperlinks) available in-situ, di-
rectly within the notebook, instead of on a separate computer screen. The Interaction
Lens consists of a PDA, which can be placed onto the paper notebook, moved and
rotated. The Interaction Lens appears to be transparent, visualizing on its display the
physical contents of the notebook that it is occluding (Fig. 2.10). The position and
orientation of the PDA is automatically tracked. This enables the system to maintain
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