The desktop software checks for updates over the internet. This cannot be disabled. Fair enough – they have some ‘online pen lovers’ community thing going and everyone is wired these days. But at work I have a firewall (like most schools, offices, hospitals, libraries, coffee shops – okay everywhere but home).

The CHECK for updates works – but the UPDATE ITSELF does not work through a firewall.

This happens EVERY TIME YOU CONNECT THE PEN TO THE PC – EVERY TIME. YOU CANNOT DISABLE IT. YOU HAVE TO CLICK ‘DECLINE’. Then it asks you if you REALLY want to decline the update you just declined. Yes – you have to click twice every time you connect the pen.

Now I’m mad. So I send an email to tech support.

They say that it’s not their problem – they send me links to other frustrated users who have written their own software to try and correct the issue. This doesn’t correct my issue, but then again it’s just another frustrated user trying to be helpful. So I send more email to the Livescribe support staff. They stop returning my emails. These are not CAP LOCK email, these are polite but firm requests for help. I even offer to beta test software if they have something that they think might help!

I post on the Livescribe blog – within seconds (really!) I get a reply telling me that they can help and I can expect some support soon.

Then they stop replying to my email – and they disable commenting on their blog. No kidding.

I’m not sure what to do now.

-Chris

Thanks

1. The battery life is very good. I attended a three-day conference just last month with a full day of speakers per day. I charged the pen every night, it takes about two hours to get to a full charge, so that it was ready to go when I went to the conference the next day. I did not get a low battery warning on any of the three days (with seven hours of recording and notetaking per day).
2. The sound quality is excellent. Even in the large conference room at the Anaheim convention Center I was able to hear the speaker very clearly over any of the background noise when I went back and reviewed my notes. I have used the pen to record and take notes on conference calls, meetings in conference rooms, and like I said, in the large conference room at the convention center. I have had no problems hearing the speaker in any of those instances.
3. While the paper may be expensive I would like to agree with one of the commenters above. My notetaking style has evolved since I began using the pen. I used to take copious notes so that I would remember everything that the speaker said, I now just put down bullet points to remind me where to go back to listen to what the speaker said. I use the pen almost daily and in my current notebook I began taking notes on 4/20/2009 and due to my shorthand I am only on page 57 of the notebook. (12 of those pages were from the three day conference).
4. The only occasion where I have had an opportunity to contact their customer service/technical support was when the first pen that I purchased quit working suddenly. I had left it out of the case and pen and got pushed back and no longer worked. I called their customer service, they sent me out a replacement pen and I returned the old one. No problems at all. That does bring up the point though that the pen does need to remain in the leather case when you are not using it because it is sensitive to damage, I think if you treat it like any other sensitive piece of electronic equipment you’ll be fine.

2) While I’m here, thanks to this site’s editors for the info!

3) Be careful when reading reviews. A workout with Google = the PC software was updated in Nov 2008, yielding some very positive changes.

No, the LiveScribe will not convert your spoken words to computer text. It converts your written notes into computer searchable text.