People who used the Utopen Stenoboard after using a regular steno machine, how is it?

[Harvey]

I'm gonna be able to afford $250 soon and I wanna buy either a used steno machine off ebay (I made a topic about this already) or maybe the Stenoboard. I wanted to wait for the Stenosaurus initially, but I'm too eager to get into steno to wait.

I've been weighing the advantages and disadvantages of getting the Stenoboard over a regular steno machine. It mostly comes down to the keys; I feel like a normal steno machine's lever keys would be nicer than the Stenoboard's clicky mouse button keys. There's also the fact that a lot of the old machines from ebay also come with tripods and carrying cases, but the disadvantage is that they're bulky and have things like paper trays. I only need the keyboard itself, not the extra stuff beyond that.

I want to eventually reach the standard 225 WPM. It's not necessarily for a job or anything, just a fun project for me to work on over the longer term. I'm looking for comparisons to see if the Stenoboard is comfortable enough to maintain speeds like that over long periods of time. I do transcribe audio for my job right now, so it would be really cool if I could transcribe audio at nearly 1:1 speed all day. Mostly, however, I'm doing this for the cool factor and because it makes more sense to me than a keyboard.

So what are you experiences? I know there aren't too many out there, but I'm hoping someone who has used both can chime in.

[Ben Tarkeshian]

re: "but the disadvantage is that they're bulky and have things like
paper trays."


A wise bouncer once told me "noone ever steals the pink one [referring
to guitars / amps / cases]"


Bulky, ugly, ancient == pain in the asterisk for someone to run off
with and head to the pawn shop, not any would-be thief's first choice

Shiny, small, sleek == attractive to everyone else, fits right in
everyone else's pockets


How much do you trust your fellow cow-orkers? :)

https://xkcd.com/705/


The paranoid (experienced) sysadmin always has a backup backup.


I tend towards 2-4 cheap $20 laptops and then they are throwaway
versus one modern one that will lose all its value in 2 weeks anyways,
but my needs are usually minimal. Same model == can share parts,
batteries, etc.

When something breaks, just swap.



http://www.businessinsider.com/why-snowden-had-4-laptops-to-hong-kong-2014-5

http://www.thenation.com/article/186129/snowden-exile-exclusive-interview


What would Snowden do?


"I describe myself as an indoor cat" -- Edward Snowden


You may say "but he got caught!" but doesn't matter, he
got the transcripts.



I would get "2 of the cheapest" or one of each, if you can swing it.



"So, if the Fish you Steal—the Cream you drink—
Ends in what all begins and ends in, Think,
Unless the Stern Recorder points to Nine,
Tho’ They would drown you—still you shall not sink."

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/24258/24258-h/24258-h.htm


See, if you get 2 stern recording machines, that gives you 18 lives!


You don't even want to know how many invisible tin foil hats I
round-ribbon between.


When a thief/spook/raccoon breaks in, you will be glad you have a
heavy, bulky machine to throw at them / attack them with.

Which deflects bullets and other projectiles better?

I rest my case.


My experience is rampant paranoia just makes everything more
fun for everyone.


One of each?


Whatever you decide, tell everyone 1/3 or so the opposite...directly
opposite is just too predictable.



"only weak people die"




http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073802/trivia?tab=qt&ref_=tt_trv_qu

Joubert: Condor is an amateur. He's lost, unpredictable, perhaps even
sentimental. He could fool a professional. Not deliberately, but
precisely because he is lost, doesn't know what to do. Unlike Wicks,
who has always been entirely predictable.

[Roslyn Sim]

Hi Harvey

I have owned my Stenoboard for only a couple of days, so please bear that in mind. Also, I have only been studying machine stenography for six months and I'm still learning theory, and not up to speedbuilding yet.

My first thoughts on Stenoboard vs the (manual) Stenograph machine they provided with my course:

1. Stenoboard is a lot lighter and more compact than my manual machine. It can be used on the desk facing the computer. A lever machine (in the same price range) needs to be used on a tripod, so you'd either be further away from your screen or side-on to it. These (older) machines are made for using without looking at what you're writing. That said, I think I've seen a laptop mounting tray on Stenograph's webpage - that might be a solution...
2. The 'touch' of the two machines are very different. As you've noted, the Stenoboard uses mouse-click buttons that travel less than a millimetre. My Stenograph machine is adjusted to its shallowest setting and the number bar travels about 5mm, while the vowels travel about 20mm.
3. I am getting better at it as I practice (I've only used it for about 4 hours on StenoTutor, so still early days), but I am still finding times on Stenoboard where my fingers are on the right keys, but not all of them are registering. I feel like it is easier to push (i.e. less force to actuate) the lever keys, although I don't have any actual measurements for that. I'm pretty sure that my accuracy on Stenoboard will keep improving with practice, but I think that it will still be more tiring to use than the manual machine. Now that I've put one together (that was me on the very long boring assembly video), I have some ideas of how it could possibly be designed a bit differently to reduce the force needed to activate the keys. As soon as I've figured out how to explain myself, I'll be communicating with Emanuele about it. Being 3D printed is such exciting technology!

While you are still learning steno, I suspect you would probably prefer Stenoboard. It is so much lighter and more compact - a machine on a tripod is huge in comparison and really takes over your office environment. Stenoboard would be a bit more tiring at high speed or for long periods, but the muscle memory you develop using it will be directly transferable if you decide to get a (more modern and smaller) lever machine later on. Also, if any of it breaks, it's very easy to get parts :-).

I hope that's of some help to you :-).

Ros

[Harvey]

This does help me, but I suppose the size of the older steno machine isn't much of a concern to me. I don't have a lot of room, but I will in the future. I did watch the video and noticed how tiny the utopen stenoboard is, and it's nice that' it's a split board. There aren't any old school split student machines out there.

I don't have a whole lot of money to spare, and I don't know if I'll be able to afford spending this much money in the future, so I'm gonna go all in and buy a used steno machine. If it's too bulky then I can buy a Stenosaurus farther into the future. I want to experience the lever keys and the ergonomics of having it near my lap on a tripod.

Thanks so much for such a detailed reply. I know a friend might want to get into steno and this kind of information is very helpful.