12 Dec
2011
12 Dec
'11
5:32 p.m.
On 12 December 2011 22:48, Andrew Burton <aliensrcooluk at yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
Ah, well, this is the thing.
T9 is a little intimidating if you very rarely text, and if you text a
huge amount at very high speed, it's obstructive. (Like touch-typing
*for me.* I am pretty fast with 3-4 fingers (40wpm sustained, 80 in
bursts), very slow with 10 - so I have not improved in decades.)
But for the majority of texters, from fairly low volume to the dozens
a day bracket, it's actually a timesaver - /if/ you take the time to
learn it.
Many of my 40something friends could not do it. Several I goaded into
learning with gentle mockery. Those that have learned now really like
it - especially once they've taught their phones their personal
vocabulary.
An it reducs or elimin8s "txt spk" which is smthg tht prsnlly I
absltly h8 n Dtest.
I *loathe* the clipped, abbreviated style of English that many
non-predictive-texters use. T9 works with words and encourages you to
use whole ones. This is a Very Good Thing.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Liam Proven" <lproven at gmail.com>
To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts"
<cctalk at classiccmp.org>
Sent: Thursday, December 08, 2011 1:14 AM
Subject: Re: Mac/Mac Programming/Cocoa/HyperTalk Books free - Melbourne
I asked for that didn't I... :)
Well... yup. :?)
On 7 December 2011 21:32, Andrew Burton
<aliensrcooluk at yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
>
>
> Most mobile phones (atleast the ones I have seen) have 2 options -
> predictive text (T9 mode on my 8 year old mobile phone) and ABC mode.
There
should be
a way to switch it to ABC mode, though some mobiles have
predictive text on as default (so you have to turn it off every time you
need to text).
I have yet to meet anyone that actually likes predictive text.
[Waves] Hi! It's fine
once you get used to it. It really does use fewer keystrokes
- quite a lot fewer.
It's great if you learn how to use it /if/ you are a relatively light
to moderate texter. Heavy users who want the absolute maximum speed,
however, seem to favour non-predictive entry, as it is deterministic,
so you don't need to wait and see what emerges. Predictive text is
interactive: you press the keys, just once each, for each letter, then
you step through the offered words, pick the one you want and move on
- or teach the phone the new word. This means that the list of
offerings changes over time, and that means it's non-deterministic.
Some phones put the new words on the end of the list, some on the
beginning, but either way, it will be a different number of choices to
loop through the list.
Admittedly, I have never really used predictive text that much. I am a
creature of habit and much prefer doing it the way I have always done. It's a bit like programming on the Spectrum... I
learnt programming by
typing out each command. It wasn't until later that I discovered the 48K
method (one key for each instruction) and (as with predictive text) my
instant reaction was that I didn't like it. But that's just me...
So you started on a 128, then? ;?)
Those of us who started on 48s didn't have a choice. (Until I bought
Beta BASIC from Dr Andy Wright, which is still one of my very
favourite programming languages 30y later.)
--
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