Half a croissant, on a plate, with a sign in front of it saying '50c'
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Cut 'n' Paste Pen

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This pen provides a limited cut/copy/paste facility, as seen on computers. The tip (which is broad enough to span the height of a line of writing) houses an line of photocells, and a line of ink depositors, which may deposit black of white ink. In copy mode, you run the pen along the text to be copied, and it is read into memory by the photocells. When pasting, the depositors write out the contents of the memory (erasing what is already on the page) while the photocells read what is about to be erased. When the required text has been pasted, you have to keep on moving the pen so the erased text (now stored) gets written out.

There are problems with cutting, or indeed any manipulation which requires existing text to be shuffled backwards. Several passes of the pen over the text would be needed to achieve this.

Mickey the Fish, Sep 13 2000

Quicklink's *Super Pen* http://www.wizcomsh...specialoffers&row=3
[thumbwax, Oct 18 2002, last modified Oct 04 2004]

One Half is fully baked! http://www.21stcent...gy/print_dreams.asp
.. there is also a DIY version with a webcam, but couldn't find it.. [loonquawl, Apr 02 2009]

[link]






       I realise this idea is submitted somewhat in a spirit of whimsical irony, but it reminds me of 1950's pictures of "What the future will look like" - Courageous-looking men standing next to fabulous space rockets - holding slide rules. They didn't quite get it right.
"In the future the simple pen you hold in your hand to write with will work for you. Observe, with this remarkable pen you can erase those silly mistakes in your business letters and it even checks your spelling! See how it copies a phrase of text from one sentence to another. Yes, it does everything an efficient secretary does except make the tea, Ha ha ha".
hippo, Sep 13 2000
  

       Whimsical? Maybe. Ironic? Perhaps. I was moved to submit this idea when I caught myself actually trying to use a normal biro to cut and paste text. I also sometimes find myself using the mouse to click on the function keys on my keyboard.   

       Maybe I should start a new career as a binman or something, before I degenerate any further.
Mickey the Fish, Sep 13 2000
  

       Ah, now that's interesting - when a technology becomes so pervasive in your life that you start to apply it in inappropriate circumstances - attempting to cut and paste with a biro, double-clicking on doorbells and lift buttons, reaching for your mouse when you want to lift (drag) your coffee mug to your lips, etc.
My dad had an interesting example of this: Much of the day he drives around London from place to place and listens to the radio. When he shares his car with someone he finds himself automatically reaching to the volume control if he can't hear them properly (or if he can hear them but doesn't want to!).
Maybe we need a word for this - some sort of "technology dyslexia" maybe?
hippo, Sep 13 2000
  

       When my cat walks in front of the screen, I frequently try to click on my windows to raise them in front of her...
egnor, Sep 14 2000
  

       I work as a graphic artist, and many times I have been drawing with a normal pencil on normal paper, and I've found my left hand reaching out towards the paper in front of me to hit Crtl-Z to undo some mistake I just made...
PotatoStew, Sep 14 2000
  

       Cutting and pasting changes the brain for sure. Pre-WP in the pen and paper days you had to think about what you wrote well ahead of time - doing all the structuring in your head beforehand.   

       With WPs you just write down (or can get away with)an unstructured stream of consciousness and sort it all out later with C&P. That's a big change.   

       Pen > keyboard input > voice recognition > thought recognition?
mkirksmith, Dec 12 2001
  

       The wizcon pen works, but not well enough for an actual application we were testing out. (for CP's).   

       There IS also an EXISTING pen which follows your handwriting on paper and sends it to the computer as text. I can't find the link now, and gotta go.
pashute, Oct 18 2002
  

       You mean the C-Pen. Was looking at those earlier tonight in an effort to ease typing... Quicklink is rated highest by Industry reviewers and Actual Users, though. Quicklink's *Super Pen* shows even more promise, as it holds up to 3000 pages(!), along with translation into 15 languages *and* usability in more windows OS *and* Serial, IR, USB connectivity.
thumbwax, Oct 18 2002
  

       Reality is catching up with this one (see link)
loonquawl, Apr 02 2009
  
      
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