6.2. Take Handwritten Notes

Many years ago, I had a meeting at Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino. The Apple employee I’d come to talk to walked into a conference room with an armload of tech. He put his PowerBook on the table, followed by his Newton MessagePad. After a few minutes this guy realized that he needed to take notes on what I was saying, and guess which device he used—neither! He pulled out a paper notepad and started writing.

Regardless of how good a real or virtual keyboard may be, sometimes there’s no substitute for the immediacy and flexibility of pen and paper. So it should come as no surprise that quite a few iPad apps try to emulate the experience of writing in a physical notebook. And if you’re trying to remain inconspicuous in a meeting, “writing” on an iPad (perhaps concealed in a notebook) is less likely to attract attention than typing.