While I just wrote about the search I made for a computing device that fulfills my needs, I'm still a bit irked. The truth of the matter is that I still rely on a paper notebook stuck in the back pocket of my jeans for most things. Why? Because I grew up using pen and pencils. I flow better when using a pen (but not with a pencil, for some reason). Granted, I can type up a storm and can sometimes blaze past 120 wpm, but to get into the groove is a little more difficult with a QWERTY keyboard and mouse. A pen doesn't require a physical ambidextrous rhythm. Or maybe it's just that I learned the keyboard after I learned to scribble hieroglyphics using a pen.

The point is that there's no device right now that I think really improves upon present writing instruments. Sure, they're making better ways to read things - the Kindle gets a lot of buzz for being easy to read, but I've not seen one and I probably would find it useless because of it's geocentric features and DRM-wrapped-tighter-than-a-wet-dream. It's even more useless to me because I can't very well write with it better than what's out there.

And don't get me started on the mobile phone. With SMS text messages as prevalent as they are, you'd think some rocket scientist would come up with a decent input device instead of offering software that guesses the word based on a dictionary.

So where are these new devices and input devices for people who actually create content? Seriously? The mouse and keyboard concept came from the 1960s at Xerox PARC. Moving my hand through space, using the infrared sensors, may be all well and good for some - but it's not portable, and for actually writing I imagine it will suck for the same reason that holding out a pencil at arms length for an hour sucks. The little pencil gets heavy. Try it.

So where are the next generation implements for creation?