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+ - How to Enter Equations Quickly In Class? 6

Submitted by AdmiralXyz
AdmiralXyz writes "I'm a university student, and I like to take notes on my (non-tablet) computer whenever possible, so it's easier to sort, categorize, and search through them later. Trouble is, I'm going into higher and higher math classes, and typing "f_X(x) = integral(-infinity, infinity, f(x,y) dy)" just isn't cutting it anymore: I need a way to get real-looking equations into my notes. I'm not particular about the details, the only requirement is that I need to keep up with the lecture, so it has to be fast, fast, fast. Straight LaTeX is way too slow, and Microsoft's Equation Editor isn't even worth mentioning. The platform is not a concern (I'm on a MacBook Pro and can run either Windows or Ubuntu in a virtual box if need be), but the less of a hit to battery life, the better. I've looked at several dedicated equation editing programs, but none of them, or their reviews, make any mention of speed. I've even thought about investing in a low-end Wacom tablet (does anyone know if there are ultra-cheap graphics tablets designed for non-artists?), but I figured I'd see if anyone at Slashdot has a better solution."
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How to Enter Equations Quickly In Class? More

How to Enter Equations Quickly In Class?

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  • I mean really, if you're that anti paper, just bring a camera to class and take a picture. Honestly, having a masters in Math and CS, you should really think about paper for notes with computer as supplement.
    • although, you would certainly get weird looks if you kept taking (flash) pictures of the whiteboard every few minutes. how about taking notes on paper and scanning them in and use OCR (maybe..maybe not with all of the equations. ymmv).
      • Could the submitter could just use a good quality webcam to record the lectures? It seems this would be the easiest means of referring back to the material later.

  • Seriously. Paper is a wonderful interface. You can put whatever you want on it, and you can adjust your writing speed as necessary to keep up with class materials.

    When you type up your notes at the end of class, you can consider that an extra review opportunity.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by Again (1351325)

      Seriously. Paper is a wonderful interface. You can put whatever you want on it, and you can adjust your writing speed as necessary to keep up with class materials.

      Copying and pasting is a bitch though. Everyone looks at me funny when I pull out my scissors and start gluing stuff from one page onto the other and then curse because I didn't mean to hit Ctrl+X.

      And let's not even get into the broken undo feature in this universe. It might as well not exist.

  • Wacom has a "Bamboo" line of tablets that start at around $100 and will do everything you want (they even support finger-touch and multi-touch, with gestures).

Stupidity got us into this mess -- why can't it get us out?

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