TOY BOX: The Logitech io2 has a future in writing

The Logitech io2 Digital Writing System is fun because it offers users a futuristic feeling.

It's a special pen that, when used with special paper, can capture what you write or draw and transfer it to a computer. The pen writes on paper with regular ink and has a USB docking station. The idea of being able to transfer handwritten notes from a meeting into a file has obvious benefits. After some initial glitches loading software on my computer, it all worked fairly easily. The problem I encountered was the handwriting-recognition software included in the system. Logitech notes that it's added a training module to the software since introducing the first version. You can supposedly train it to recognize your handwriting. That sounds like something I should try. Without it, even when I printed "Should I print instead?" the software read it as "Should I print misread?" A handwritten line, "this is my first test of" came out as "this is muffins, Leakey." If you can teach the software to recognize your handwriting, this could be quite a nifty gadget to have. Any suggestions for gadgets we should try? Send them to toybox@prweek.com

John N. Frank writes Toy Box. He is the Chicago-based Midwest bureau chief for PRWeek. Price $199.95 Available at logitechio.com, CompUSA, Staples (beginning in 2005), various retailers Specs Uses special paper pre-printed with tiny dots to form a light screen effect