On the downside, using this program does slow down the handwriting recognition a bit. I tend to write fast, and the difference in speed was enough for me to notice. However, depending on how fast you write, it may not be a problem for you. So far, at least for me, the benefit of being able to write more naturally outweighs the loss of speed.

TealScript is also somewhat memory intensive -- it uses about 122K on my Palm organizer while active, and about 70K while dormant (i.e. with Enable Globally unchecked). Due to its large size, I had to use TRG's DeFragger program to free up enough contiguous space on my Palm organizer before I could install it successfully. If you don't already have it, DeFragger is a must have, and can be gotten from PilotGear.

I did experience one crash the day after I first started using TealScript, which required a hard reset of my Palm organizer. However, since then I have downloaded the newest version (1.24 beta) and haven't had any more crashes. It appears that TealPoint is working hard to fix the bugs in the software and improve its stability.

If you're not sure that you would want to buy the software but you think it might help you, you can download it and use it for free for on a trial basis. This will give you a chance to play with it and see if it can learn to recognize your writing the way you would like. I am personally satisfied with it, even though it seems to have a few rough edges yet. I've also found it very interesting to see how my handwriting looks to the Palm organizer, and trying to optimize my profile to recognize it accurately. If you have a problem with messy handwriting, this will really tell you which part of your writing needs improvement!

You may also wish to download TealPoint's TealEcho, if you don't already have it. TealEcho displays your Graffiti strokes as you draw them, which makes it a lot easier to tell how you are writing each character. Used together, TealEcho and TealScript can be very helpful, greatly improving your Palm organizer's usability by allowing you to write more naturally and accurately.

Scott Johnson is a graduate student in Computer Science at the University of Michigan. He can be reached at scottdj@eecs.umich.edu. His web page can be found at http://www.eecs.umich.edu/~scottdj/.