Stenotype?

[fkeidjn]

Just for the fun of it (and also dictating lectures so I can stay awake in class), I'm interested in increasing my typing speed not by means of faster individual key typing, but what court reporters do by a stenotype, as well as closed captioning and others that require such for transcripts and for the sake of the deaf and hard of hearing.  As those machines are clunky, take a while to set up, and make you look weird in class, does anyone know of any stenotyping software that I can use with my n-key rollover keyboards?

BTW, the Japanese do something similar.

[lowpoly]

I googled that some weeks ago. IIRC, modern stenotype keyboards come with flash memory so setup shouldn't be a problem.

The problem is the software needed to translate your stenotype text to 'real' text. It is very expensive. I haven't found any kind of free or open source software. Still, it may be out there.

Edit: Here is a little bit more.

[bhtooefr]

He doesn't want a stenotype keyboard, though, he wants software that lets him use a regular keyboard as a stenotype keyboard.

So, based on Wikipedia's image of a steno keyboard, and one other image of one...



Number bar is in yellow. Most of the keys on that layout actually won't be useful, but I left them in because they have system control functions as well. (Yes, even backspace. Ctrl-Alt-Backspace on X.org. Although, I took out tilde, and that's got system control functions on Mac OS, but I digress. This wouldn't be a remap anyway.)

The asterisk key (which is used for backspace on that layout) is double-wide so that the home keys can be used as the stenotype home keys.

There are more concessions that could be made to take advantage of the QWERTY layout's key positioning (such as moving the number bar down to the spacebar, or even just using the QWERTY number row for... numbers...,) but they wouldn't be accurate to the stenotype layout.

And, obviously, this would demand an N-key rollover board - at least 6-key, but you might need more than that.

[Chloe]

You could use AutoHotkey to detect chorded key input.

[lowpoly]

He doesn't want a stenotype keyboard, though, he wants software that lets him use a regular keyboard as a stenotype keyboard.

As I understood it he didn't want one because they're "clunky, hard to set up" etc. Not necessarily true anymore.

But whatever you use for input, the main problem stays which is machine-translating shorthand to real text.

[bhtooefr]

Nah, that's not the main problem, especially if you can just teach yourself the actual shorthand.

The main problem is finding a laptop with N-key rollover. And, it has to be a laptop with it, or otherwise you're lugging around an ancient laptop so that you can have a PS/2 port.

[lowpoly]

Nah, that's not the main problem, especially if you can just teach yourself the actual shorthand.

So you're not going to translate the shorthand at all... OK that would work.

The main problem is finding a laptop with N-key rollover.

When I started on the T5200 keyboard the idea was to replace everything with new technology except the keyboard. Which already has a diode in line with every key. You'd still have room for your books and lunch.

[itlnstln]

I am suprised that your Thinkpad does not have a PS2 port.  My new Dell has a PS2 (D620) combo Mouse/Keyboard PS2 port.  I would just bring the laptop and a HHKB or ML-4100 (I think they both have N-Key rollover).

[stenoknight]

This software now exists, though it's currently only available for Linux. It works with the $45 Microsoft Sidewinder X4 keyboard. If anyone knows of a laptop with true n-key rollover, though, let me know, because I'd pay a bucket of cash to own one. I'm the professional stenographer behind the development of Plover, the first open source steno software:

http://ploversteno.org

[quadibloc]

So you're not going to translate the shorthand at all... OK that would work.

Huh? You have to teach yourself the shorthand to type it, although you still need software to translate what you've typed into what you intend to type.

Of course, there are other alternatives, including the legendary Veyboard...

This software now exists, though it's currently only available for Linux. It works with the $45 Microsoft Sidewinder X4 keyboard. If anyone knows of a laptop with true n-key rollover, though, let me know, because I'd pay a bucket of cash to own one. I'm the professional stenographer behind the development of Plover, the first open source steno software:

http://ploversteno.org

Wow!

There may be patent or licensing issues that would prevent what I would consider the next most obvious enhancement, after allowing the program to work on Windows and the Mac - allowing alternate dictionaries and keyboard arrangements to be used, specifically Palantype and Velotype/Veyboard. And then there's the Japanese high-speed keyboard that I recently learned about on YouTube.

As one serious deficiency of the conventional keyboard, though, is that it doesn't lend itself to the simultaneous pressing, with one finger, of two vertically adjacent keys, perhaps the Stenotype keyboard should be available in a modified form to cope with that:

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 T P H   F P L T D
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  K W R   R B G S Z
     A O E U


[StevenBhardwaj]

Y'all are awesome.  Can't wait til I pass qualifying exams and I have the time to try this out.

I'm wondering about the possibilities this could have for the field of realtime interpretation.  I imagine a guy in Ecuador listening in on a town meeting in Vermont and translating it into Spanish, and the subtitles showing up on the projector screen in Vermont, all for $10/hour...