Rocketbook – Backerjack

The Backerjack Podcast, Episode 10: making music, cooking books, and thwarting thieves

It’s a bit of deja vu as Steve and Ross check out a very different kind of connected lock from the Sesame lock and a MIDI alternatives to Opho Keys, both discussed in Episode 9, In this first double-digit episode, the podcast takes on

the Artiphon INSTRUMENT 1, a MIDI instrumen t that not only offers a symphony full of sounds, but a multitude of ways to play
a new connected lock and alarm for bicycles and motorcycles called the Nokē U-Lock from the team that successfully funded (but has not yet shipped) the Nokē Lock
Rocketbook, a cheap and simple alternative to cloud-connected writing systems like that of Livescribe that lets you start anew by zapping the whole notebook in a microwave oven

Rocketbook connected notebook erases scribbles in microwave, literally cooks your books

As popular as tablets have become, many people prefer the experience of writing on paper. After all, the medium is tough to beat when it comes to cost and ease of sharing. But of course it’s difficult to distribute electronically.

The Rocketbook notebook uses paper with an invisible array of markers (dots) to allow the transfer of handwritten text and drawings and transferring them from the notebook to a companion app. On the surface, it’s similar to Livescribe, another system that uses dot paper. However, there are some distances between the two products. While the Livescribe system requires its own pen that can include audio, the Rocketbook can work with any pen. Also, the Livescribe system can relay information to an iPad or the cloud in real time as you write.

In contrast, Rocketbook pages must be scanned by the book’s app at some point via a camera-like interface during or after their creation. A series of seven icons, including things like an airplane and a fish, can be designated to route scanned documents to different folders and cloud services, but good old letters or numbers would be a welcome alternative.