Jarne Review for Walkaround Captioning

Many years ago, I demonstrated walkaround captioning in an art museum, with my Infinity Ergonomic resting on a Connect-a-Desk (a shoulder-mounted harness usually intended for laptops) captioning via Bluetooth to a Windows tablet running Eclipse, the proprietary steno software I was using at the time. It was rather heavy and awkward, and I didn't make a habit of offering walkaround captioning as a service after that, because it all felt rather impractical.

Today, though, I was transcribing for a client who was taking a walking tour of a facility and who didn't want to read captions in real time, but who wanted a transcript of the event after the fact. It seemed like the perfect opportunity to try out my new Jarne in the field. I dug out my old Connect-a-Desk, taped my Jarne and my phone to it, and spent the next two hours typing over 200,000 strokes at speeds up to 270 WPM (according to the Jarne's handy speedometer). For much of it I was seated, but for a significant amount of the time I was walking around, and I have to say the difference between this experience and my earlier attempts at walkaround steno was striking. The Jarne is vastly lighter, with a much lower profile. I was able to write to my phone via Bluetooth smoothly and ergonomically, since the keys are extremely light and shallow. Unlike the previous attempt, my shoulders weren't screaming at the end of the two-hour session, which seemed like a miracle. I'm very impressed and encouraged by this experience. It feels like a new mode of captioning has opened up to me.

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.