Wireless Jarne Prototype!

I'm a bit behind on device reviews -- I still owe Charley a review of the marvelous TinyMod Split he sent me a while back! But yesterday I got a prototype of a new wireless Jarne from Jeffrey Lim, the multitalented inventor of Javelin. This thing really packs a wallop! It's got embedded steno, tenting, Bluetooth, a steno/qwerty toggle switch, pretty multicolored lights, an embedded WPM gauge, onboard dictionary entry, a camera tripod mount, custom key mapping, you name it! I'm using it to write this blog post, and while the extra row of keys takes a little getting used to (I keep accidentally tapping the keys on the bottom row, which don't map to anything in steno mode), the touch is delightfully light and shallow, just the way I like it, and the firmware flashing process was pretty smooth, even for an inexperienced user such as myself. This lovely little device will definitely be going in my steno bag! Jeffrey asked me to emphasize that this model is still just a prototype, but I have to say that so far I'm very impressed.

Another Controller Steno Diagram

Back in September of 2022, I posted an infographic on how one member of the Plover Discord wrote in steno using an Xbox controller. I asked the Discord today what I should blog about, and someone suggested that I post this new diagram of controller steno, with the assertion that at least six people have now tried to learn it! I have to admit the idea still breaks my brain a little, just as it did two years ago, but clearly the idea has something to it!

A Hobbyist 's Guide to Stenography

A wonderful intro to steno by the ever-magnificent Aerick!

Open Steno in the New York Times!

The Long Case for Machine Shorthand appeared in The New York Times this week, and on the whole I have to say I was really happy with it! It mentioned steno as a fandom, talked about our 7,000 Discord members, and gave just a tiny hint of how fun steno can be. The author of the article interviewed two other stenographers as well, so there wasn't space for everything I put into our hourlong conversation (like the fact that if you add all the releases together, Plover has been downloaded 127,417 times!!), but I think it got a lot of the most relevant details. I hope it intrigues some readers into checking us out and joining our delightful little community!

Even More Javelin Updates!

Tharelia writes:

In the last week, Javelin has gained a number of features: Lookup, Paper Tape and Add Translation tools have had improvements to be more aware of what dictionaries and definitions are used and Paper Tape tool has a number of options that control the display. emily-symbols can also be reverse looked up now too. Grab a firmware dated March 17 or later for all of these!

Stenoknight's Steno Stash

Preparatory to my presentation at the kid's class on Friday, I decided to try to dig up all the steno machines I had in my possession. I know this picture is missing at least three, because I don't want to risk waking the kid up extracting their Javelined Uni from the bedroom, and my trusty wooden-backed StenoMod bag is AWOL, which is unsettling, since it tends to be my go-to backup machine. I also couldn't find the pieces of my late lamented Georgi. There might be still others tucked away in the messy recesses of my home office. But I'm pretty happy with this array nonetheless! Not sure I'll take all of them to the classroom, but it was fun going back down memory lane while excavating these beauties. How far machine steno has come in a little over 100 years! I can't wait to see what the future brings.

Steno Presentation to Second Graders

My kid's second grade class is reading the excellent graphic memoir El Deafo, about the experiences of a kid who lost much of her hearing at age 4 (i.e., postlingually) from meningitis. Since people of that general description make up a large part of my captioning clientele, I'm going to talk to the kids about hearing loss, realtime captioning, the ADA, and accessibility work in general, but I'd also like to give them a rundown of steno and how it works. I'll be bringing in my professional machine and a number of hobbyist machines for them to play with, I'll give a live demo, and I'll also probably print out some steno keyboard diagrams for each of them to take home. Can anyone think of anything else that might be fun to do with a bunch of 7 and 8-year-olds during an hourlong presentation? Suggestions extremely welcome!