This has been getting kicked around the blogosphere today and I wanted to chime in…
So evidently, Russell Davies had the idea of covering the surface of his laptop with chalkboard paint. I’ve heard nayasyers mentioning the chalk-dust would have harmful effects on the laptop’s long-term life (how long do I REALLY want to have this laptop for anyway?), mentioning how the writing surface appears to only be usable when the computer is closed (that’s what hinges are for), etc… I’m sitting at my desk now with a post-it on my laptop palm-guard, a few reminders push-pinned to my corkboard and a few UI diagrams sketched out on the floor-to-ceiling whiteboard to my right. Programs like SketchBookPro are cool and all, but for me the digital device can’t replicate and supplant some of my analog go-tos. I think it has to do with screen size and tactility. Now I don’t remember the last time I got into it on a chalk-board Beautiful Mind-style, but for me, surfaces/places to jot down ideas – the more the merrier!