NOTE – there are some current problems downloading v2. If you experiencing difficulties please let us know. These problems may persist until the 24th or 25th November

I did manage to download and get a version working on one of my machines and I have to say I’m really impressed.

Here are the points that I think stand out:

• The new look and feel is great – They have really added a lot to the user interface. It feels different – almost crisper. Clearly some work has been done on the back end as it seems to be loading multiple books faster than before.
• New Search Features – This is a great improvement as it now allows you to nominate how and where you want to search.
• Multiple Item Delete – this is the stand out addition to the Desktop. The option to now select multiple items and remove them from the Smartpen or the Desktop
• Proxy Server – this has been a constant issue for many of our customers – so I’m pleased that the app now includes options to configure internet access via a proxy server.
• Improved Zooming – this is a nice addition – the option to change the zoom when you look at a Livescribe book. It means you can zoom in and out, changing how many pages are displayed.

Overall, I’m giving the new version an 8.5 out of 10.

There are still a few navigation tweaks I think need to be included and some bigger ideas around how the content is organised.

But in the meantime – well done Livescribe team.

If you have upgraded to Windows 7 (we will be shortly) and you have a Livescribe Pulse Smartpen – then you’re in luck.

Livescribe Desktop v1.7 is compatible with Windows 7. To get Livescribe Desktop v1.7, simply go to the Livescribe website and follows the links through the Support section of the site.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to drop us a line

You can download the relevant update by docking your Pulse Smartpen – then accept the prompt to download the update.

Livescribe Desktop for Windows version 1.7

Livescribe made improvements to Livescribe Desktop for Windows to correct known issues, and improve usability. Livescribe recommend this upgrade for all users.

We’ve downloaded the new Livescribe Desktop for Windows – version 1.7 – note the attachment is 2.2MB

Livescribe Desktop for Mac OS X version 1.2

Livescribe has made improvements to Livescribe Desktop for Mac OS X to add new features, correct known issues, and improve usability. Livescribe recommend this upgrade for all users.

The new features include

• Support for Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard.
• Support for drag and drop installation.
• Support for handwriting to text conversion using MyScript for Livescribe from Vision Objects

We’ve downloaded the new Livescribe Desktop for Mac OS X version 1.2 – note the attachment is 3MB

There are some known issues with the new Mac version. Please contact me if you need further information

We’ve included the release notes here.

Livescribe recommends this upgrade only for customers using Snow Leopard (Mac OS X 10.6). This update is not recommended for customers using Leopard (Mac OS X 10.5).

New Features for MAC Snow Leopard Version

Livescribe made improvements to Livescribe Desktop to add new features, correct known issues, and improve usability:

• Currently supports Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard only
• Includes drag and drop installation

We’ll post a link to the documentation as soon as we have it.

Known Issues

• New installations of MyScript® for Livescribe from Vision Objects® are not currently supported on Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard. If you already have MyScript for Livescribe installed with Livescribe Desktop for Mac 1.1 and upgrade to Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard, it should run properly
• Sometimes, the displayed size of a recording is incorrectly displayed as 0 bytes when viewed in the List View. These recordings are not 0 bytes and will play back correctly
• Double-clicking on a page thumbnail in the Now Playing panel does not open and display the page in Single Page view

If you have any questions you can contact us via comments – or via Twitter – Smartpen or Livescribe

The user manual for v1.0 of the Livescribe Desktop for Mac has been released and is attached to this blog post for your reference.

livescribedesktopusermanual_osx

Firstly, a Beta version of the Macintosh version of the Desktop will be available. This is good news as we’ve had a lot of enquiries from Mac users and we have a number of customers waiting for this release. If you’re a Mac user, Gizmodo has already had a look at the Mac version and seem pretty happy.

The really exciting news is that version 1.4 (due this month) will provide OCR capabilities via a new release from MyScript (a Vision Objects product). The features of MyScript include:

• Send your handwritten notes directly from Livescribe Desktop to MyScript for Livescribe for conversion to text.
• Use your personal dictionary to add names, terms and abbreviations for even more accurate conversion.
• Convert handwriting, shapes, drawings and tables into print.
• Edit the resulting digital text directly in My Script for Livescribe application.
• Edited results can be sent to Microsoft Word or another word processor, to a text file, to your default email application or saved as a picture file.

We’re currently talking to Vision Objects about adding this application to our portfolio. Hopefully we’ll have some news on that shortly.

We installed the trial application earlier today and it doesn’t let you test any of your own content. So we’re installing the paid version and we’ll run some tests on the technology and let everyone know the results.

Finally, Livescribe are giving people the option of printing their own dot pattern paper with this release. I’m sitting on the fence on this one for a couple of reasons – the main one being the type of printer required to print the paper. I’ll also create a post on this on the 25th once we have the new verison.