Git is certainly capable of this, but I don't think that makes a service like Penflip that focuses specifically on collaborative writing superfluous.
I like to code and I like to write, but I'd be much more likely to put a Rails app on Github than, say, a short story on which I'd like to collaborate. It's not that Github can't be used as an effective tool for collaborative writing, but rather, that it isn't really the place for it.
I have a lot better chance of social interaction around code on Github versus writing because the primary social object on Github is code.
There is no question that good writing exists on Github and that it shines for particular forms of writing, but the dearth of writers to coders there seems to signify that a service like Penflip has a market that could be better served.
That's a good point, I hadn't considered the collaboration aspect. Out of curiosity, what kind of projects require this? I suppose a book with multiple authors is one good example, are there others?
Love this. Actually working on something similar ('GitHub for storytellers') as my first Rails project. I have to learn a lot more to get mine even presentable, though.
So bummed I couldn't make it in. Love that the talks are always live-streamed, but there's something about being in a room with a bunch of awesome individuals. Maybe next year.
This is likely true for those of us who have already become accustomed to typing using QWERTY, but there are many who are just learning or have yet to learn to type, most notably children.
If at some point an input method that is faster and more efficient than QWERTY gains real traction and is taught or exposed to our youth, I'd expect a shift away from what's become convention.
This is by no means something that will just happen overnight, but I'd be a little saddened if in the last years of my life, QWERTY remains as the dominant method of text input. It's certainly a good solution, but no where near an optimal one.
The "gaining real traction" part is exactly the issue. Of course, we'd all love our governments to force everyone to learn Dvorak or something similar, but usually, no authority worries about our keyboard layouts, and people just use what others use.
Swype was acquired by Nuance. Nuance has quite the portfolio for input entry whether it be by speech or typing.
Reinventing text entry/editing is something I've always wanted to do/see done. Wish there were more solutions that weren't based off of QWERTY, though. I realize it's been the standard since the typewriter, but if we really want to see huge gains in speed and efficiency, we should shift away from it.
I was always surprised that Apple did not acquire Swype. It is a fantastic input method, the kind of "magic" people expect from Apple. Now that the Google has implemented gesture typing for Android's stock keyboard, I assume Swype must not have patents strong enough to block imitators. Maybe that's why Swype was not acquired by Apple or Google.
