Evan has been sharing some stories and insights about the early design decisions of the Tablet PC and its field trials. (Part 1, 2, 3).
One of the insights that Evan shares is that an early prototype version of Journal was more word-processor like than ink-as-ink which is Journal’s current form. Evidently you could insert inked words and sentences would rewrap–just like a Word. Sounds slick, although it might be disconcerting if ink boundaries aren’t determined correctly. It can be frustrating when the computer does something that messes things I’ve carefully laid out. In fact, in terms of design, often when you make something automatic–such as word wrap and snap to behaviors–you give up some flexibility elsewhere. A good design finds a comfortable and productive combination.
It’s interesting though, after using Journal I started wanting the ability to manage blocks of ink–a bit like records in a database. I’ve mentioned before a prototype app that I created which helped me record and organize lists of items. I wanted a bit more structure than Journal or even today’s OneNote, but yet still 100% ink flexibility within the records. Yes, OneNote has blocks, but I want something more rigid–more singly minded for the lists I want to create.
A few people have been after me to release some more Tablet apps. This would be a good candidate. I gulp when I think about the amount of code rot that there must be though 🙂