You Can Microwave This Notebook When It's Full - Then Reuse It Again (msn.com) 62
A new product wants to upgrade the act of taking notes in a spiral-bound notebook — with the resuable "Rocketbook Wave Smart Notebook":
You can write on it using any Pilot Frixion pen, marker, or highlighter, and once you're done, you can scan the notes, doodles, and drawings into the Rocketbook app to store them in a cloud. Used up all of its pages? No problem. Make sure you've scanned all your notes, and then throw your notebook into the microwave. Yes, the microwave. Throwing it into the microwave will erase everything you've written from the notebook.
To avoid getting into the science of it, let's just call it magic.
The notebook's pages are designed with grids, so it's perfect for either writing or drawing, and they actually feel like real paper, so you'll still feel the joy of handwriting. That's really a thing. Ask anyone who journals. Inside the app, you can use the smart search to quickly find something in your notes, according to date or a search term.
To avoid getting into the science of it, let's just call it magic.
The notebook's pages are designed with grids, so it's perfect for either writing or drawing, and they actually feel like real paper, so you'll still feel the joy of handwriting. That's really a thing. Ask anyone who journals. Inside the app, you can use the smart search to quickly find something in your notes, according to date or a search term.
old news (Score:5, Interesting)
Here's some prior art [wikipedia.org].
Better Without the Microwave (Score:3, Funny)
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The original uses the same pens. The new one just wipes clean with a damp microfibre cloth, included with each notebook. I used one for four years before buying my reMarkable and it was a great notebook. The reMarkable has completely replaced it though.
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Do you like the reMarkable? Are they physically durable? Based on the marketing I really want one of these.
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I have one of these and it's pretty spectacular. Although I kind of want the reMarkable II now.
I use it for customer meetings and I always get a wow from the participants. I just wish the back of the stylus worked as an eraser rather than switching draw modes.
The UI is a bit clunky at first, but once you get used to it, it's pretty quick and great to be able to upload sketches of network site reviews back to my pc so someone else at the office can make the final visio.... quite a bit more efficient than s
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Good point, and thanks for mentioning the newer alternative product. Though they are the same company, and sounds like both are designed to work with the same Pilot FriXion pens.
I believe you're talking about the RocketBook Core, as opposed to the RocketBook Wave this post is about. Both look interesting depending on how you use a notebook. The wave has 80 pages vs. the Core's 32, and microwaving means you can erase the entire book at once, rather than having to wash all the pages individually. So if yo
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I can just see those old images being used to claim ancient alien laptops... and with a quick google... I am not disappointed.
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Nothing sucks like a vax tablet.
I have used a Compaq Portable. It was approximately as portable as a VAX, but unlike the VAX, it had a carrying handle on the back.
scanning (Score:3)
Plus, have you ever tried to feed-scan pages from a spiral notebook? It does not work well. Three-ring binders FTW.
If it feels like paper then that would be a BFD (Score:2)
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Plus: I can't wipe my ass on a load of scanned images when I'm done with writing.
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Talk about it. This idea was on Shark Tank almost a decade ago. It didn't get any interest there either.
Sponsored post? (Score:5, Interesting)
I actually bought this product through Kickstarter years ago when it was new, was fun once or twice but after realizing how many notebooks I could have bought for the same amount, and also seeing how I don't actually used up that money notebooks per year, we'll, let's just say I wouldn't buy it again.
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What's the point? Real notebooks (with paper) are dirt cheap.
I'm sure if you're really into the joy of writing then you'll prefer to keep your old ones rather than scanning/microwaving.
What fun is a scanned, digital version? You can't flick through it randomly, it doesn't have any paper feel... etc.
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I keep seeing these things come up and keep wondering whether I'd like one. I typically carry a notebook around and mostly use it to draw diagrams and things when someone asks me a question. Then I rip out the pages and give them to that person so they can go off and refer to them. I replace the notebook when it has no pages in it, typically for free because everyone is always giving the things away at conferences.
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Where are these "dirt cheap" notebooks?
What brands offer "dirt cheap" notebooks?
My experience is that they no longer exist. The $1 Composition notebook only shows up during that "back to school" sales but not the rest of the world. Notebooks that do what I want, long-term storage, aren't cheap.
That ship has sailed!
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I was looking for the, "Available now to /.ers for a special discounted price of ONLY $29.99!!!"
Does it feel like paper? (Score:3)
Aside from the obvious environmental concerns (or if you're in a country like Japan that doesn't have easy access to large amounts of wood pulp) I just don't like shopping. If I could buy a $20 notebook once and call it a day that would be worth the money alone.
When my kid was still in school I'd often get stuck buying a few different brands of notebook until I got one that didn't just fall apart. For work I just carry one to meetings to make it look like I'm taking notes
Let's NOT call it magic (Score:5, Insightful)
To avoid getting into the science of it, let's just call it magic
That sentence is good enough in PopMech, but I expected some kind of technical explanation on a self-styled website for geeks.
Oh well... Not that I'm that interested: I haven't written anything with a pen since I left college decades ago.
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I haven't written anything with a pen since I left college decades ago.
So, how does that work signing important documents with crayon? Do they look at you funny?
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> I haven't written anything with a pen since I left college decades ago.
I had the usual collection of mechanical pencils as my go-to implements while getting my physics degree.'
And then as a player, it was *important* that things not change on a page; I actually banned my secretaries from eying having erasable pens in the office.
And then I took a couple of graduate economics classes--the real stuff, primarily math.
When he handed back my first test, the professor asked, "Have you ever heard of a pencil?"
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The ink goes transparent when heated. The pen has a plastic eraser that heats the ink when your rub it.
Presumably the paper in this notebook heats up in the microwave. Thing is it will still be creased from being written on. It's only good for corrections really, not full reuse.
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The ink is heat-reactive -- that's the "Magic".
Where are the Rocketbook servers? (Score:5, Interesting)
I had a look at https://getrocketbook.com/ [getrocketbook.com] and could not find that information (fwiw it redirected me to a .co.uk address), maybe I missed something. The FAQ does say something along the lines of "don't use our servers if you're afraid your data may be misused".
In the meantime I'm going to assume that the servers are in China, Arkansas or some other place I don't need my data to be uploaded to.
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They seem to use sendgrid.com to send emails through.
I use (dead tree) notebooks (Score:2)
Because they are very very cheap. Remove that and I am left with little reason to write with a pen.
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Year round, $1 notebook are impossible to find in my area. If one purchases low-quality, Composition notebooks during back-to-school sales (that only happen in the August time frame), one can find $1 notebooks but NOT any other time. A decent notebook is much more. Even a good 1/2 sized journal is over $10.
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YA GOT THAT?
Re:I use (dead tree) notebooks (Score:5, Insightful)
Dead tree notebooks biodegrade readily. Dead tree books are renewable and sustainable. And I hardly use them. I'm struggling to find a problem that needs a solution here.
preppers prefer dead tree paper (Score:2)
2020 has really set our expectations for chaos, when my power goes out this winter I can use the notebooks to light my furnace.
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I'm struggling to find a problem that needs a solution here.
This provides is a simple way to digitize and upload your notebook. That being said, I am not a fan of the pens they require.
The process of uploading a notebook looks good. One could abuse their app by printing the required barcodes on a transparency and then overlaying that transparency onto a regular notebook. Now you can upload notes taken on a regular notebook using their app. If the transparency causes problems you could also print the barcode / footer onto regular paper, trim the printout to si
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I don't want to 'upload my notebook'. I certainly don't want my notebook in your 'cloud service' because that might mean you now own it and in any case the government can demand it from you. The bigger problem with the 'cloud' is that it will probably be hacked and all of my notebook pages dumped online.
Since you like the cloud, I'll bet any pictures you take with your cell phone are automatically uploaded to the cloud. You already have a free app with cloud backup that can store copies of your notebook
Why the Ad?!?!? (Score:5, Informative)
What's up
Why are you letting people post crap like this?
Plus, reviews of the product make it another iteration of a concept whose time is yet to come. Lots of Red Flags in the Amazon reviews.
PS. The "magic" is in the Pilot Fixion pens -- which can be used with other (normal) notebooks.
The "science" (Score:5, Informative)
After going to the linked article, which is definitely more like an advertisement, it said I could purchase one on Amazon.
So I went over to Amazon and read some of the user questions and answers. The "science" behind this is mostly the Pilot FriXion pens, which use ink that turns invisible at about 140 degrees F. One user posted a question about if the ink would disappear in a hot car, to which at least one replied that it happened to them.
What the microwave (aka heat) doesn't erase are the indentations left behind. And since the ink turns invisible, the more you use it and microwave it, the ink residue builds up over time, so this isn't a buy once and use it for the rest of your life type product.
And at nearly $25 for a single notebook that has 80 pages about 8x9 in size, not to mention you have to use special markers/pens, I'll pass.
I come to Slashdot for news for nerds, stuff that matters, not advertisements.
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Was going to mod you, but decided to reply instead. Thank you for saving me some time, the "let's call it magic" line in the summary irked me. Really, this is Slashdot, let's NOT call it magic and explain how it works. I really yearn for the /. of old...
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Even off /. that line should set off warning bells in your brain.
When someone is trying to skim an explanation they try to give a rough simplification, "so basically X" "it's mostly Y" and usually paired with a faintly apologetic air, or faintly gracious for saving everyone time.
Which I think even snake oil hawkers understood instinctively. Did they ever resort to "let's call it magic"? It just reeks of misdirection and hand-waving. Those beg for subtlety, not self-announcing. If there's an advantage to dra
Re: The "science" (Score:3, Informative)
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I've owned one of these (the wipe-clean version) for about a year. The value isn't in the notebook itself, but in the combination with their digitization app that works well with it. (So, together, being able to take notes and digitize them easily at your convenience, since you have a bunch of pages to write on.)
I use it mostly for drawing up quick notes/diagrams to send to my team at work, and it works well for that. Easier to use for this sort of thing than Scannable or whatever it's called.
I'm surprised
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I downloaded some of their template pages and printed my own notebook (on real paper) with the scannable indicia. I'd used the "Everlast" versions of their product on and off. It's pretty lackluster. You can't erase the Frixion pens with the built in eraser and be able to write over where you erased - something about the ink makes it too slick for the ball to roll. When you erase a page with a wet paper towel, you have to wait for that page to dry before flipping over to other pages to erase, so it's a real
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Indents from prior aren't the only/real issue (how hard are you pressing?!).
Frixion pen ink can be restored by placing it in a freezer.
So, not only do you risk erasing your current notes if you leave it too long in a hot car, you risk having old notes become visible again and obscuring your current messages if you leave it in the car overnight in the winter.
New? I bought their second gen 3 years ago! (Score:1)
I used the heck out of their wipe-clean version for about 6 months, then just kinda peetered off using it.
No point in re-using paper (Score:5, Insightful)
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Yea, paper literally grows in trees (and usually, certainly in the developed world, PLANTED tress - it was funny that ecologists blocked for a while Berlin's Tesla factory because they were planning on partially cutting down a forest that was planted by the existing factory, that was actually making cardboard!).
Paper use (at least for writing/printing) is in decline for the last 5 years or so for the first time in history probably and it'll only go down. If need be it can be pushed to probably 10x or even 1
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It would be better to make a re-usable plastic product.
Actually, it would be better to make no product at all. A re-usable plastic product replacing a few paper notebooks is also a nonsense product and should be avoided.
Are you fucking kidding? (Score:3)
In what world and for which intended audience is ad copy like that not a straight-up insult?
I hope to god whoever came up with that marketing slogan lost his job for incompetence.
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This one, sadly. Most people don't want to know how things work, and they appreciate the snide implication that nobody else does either.
Re: Are you fucking kidding? (Score:2)
Kids have a new excuse... (Score:2)
My sister nuked my homework.
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Throw it in the freezer to restore (along with any erased errors).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]
Innovation or Advertising? (Score:2)
I've been using the washable version (Didn't like the sounds of having a heat-eraseable notebook that could be blanked in a hot car, or being too close to a laptop, or on a table above a heat vent.)
The washable version has been great, loved using it. But I've had it for years - this definitely isn't innovation at this point.
This is bordering very closely on just straight up advertising - although I'll grant it *is* a good product.
Wow (Score:2)
Welcome to slashdot (Score:3)
I can't think of anything that describes the modern management of Slashdot better than this.
Also, this product has been available for years. It was on shark tank years ago. So...good job there too, Slashdot.
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Yes, the microwave..... (Score:3)
''Yes, the microwave. Throwing it into the microwave will erase everything''
Works for kittens and bad children also. I wouldn't want to live life without one..
To avoid getting into the science of it, let's jus (Score:1)