-
Website
http://www.ohgizmo.com/ -
Original page
http://www.ohgizmo.com/2007/10/03/ohgizmo-review-leapfrog-fly-fusion-pentop-computer/ -
Subscribe
All Comments -
Community
-
-
Top Commenters
-
Popular Threads
- Private: Animated Christmas Tree Cable Cars Are Yet Another Thing For Your Guests To Trip Over
- Private: Original Sound Track Educational Music Toy
- Ford Sync Adds Wireless Hotspot Functionality Next Year
- Private: MOON AUDIO’s Zero Gravity Magnetic Levitation Audio Shelf
- Private: Toshiba’s Escargot Vacuum Will Make You Ashamed To Have A Dirty Home
http://www.livescribe.com/
I think it will be very good, and they say that the paper costs will be comparable to that of regular paper (I noticed that the FLY paper is very expensive). I am not sure how accurate that statement is, (or if I actually read that on the livescribe site or a review site) but I certainly hope the paper would be less expensive because it is being marketed to college students. The journal software for this pen looks very cool, if I may say so. The price is supposed to be around $200, so for that higher price, I certainly hope the paper is less pricey than 7.99 per notebook. Anyway, just thought I'd give you a heads up about this product, and see if maybe you were going to review it as well when it is available. Have a good day! :)
"This accessory works only with the FLY 1.0 Pentop Computer, and is not compatible with FLY Fusion Pentop Computer."
As for charging the pen, with it turned off I just connected it to the USB port on my computer and it started charging automatically. The LED on top of the pen turned orange I believe, indicating it was in the charging mode. Keep in mind that a laptop running off a battery (ie not plugged in) may not charge a USB device. It could also be an issue with a v1.1 USB port, not that they shouldn't work the same as v2.0.
I would also be surprised if the old software and games still worked, again given the fact the old paper doesn't.
2. Like I mentioned in the review, the pen will only recognise very neat printing, it can not learn to recognize your unique handwriting.
3. Out of the box the pen can perform basic and advanced math operations, but I do believe you need to buy the software for specific areas like Algebra.
I've gone through and added a couple of '*Update' notes to the review, and have made corrections to my 'Conclusions' as well as the 'Pros' and 'Cons' to reflect my new findings. I'm kind of surprised the manual is not more clear about this functionality, since it provides considerably more added value to the device. But having just tested it here with the pen I can confirm it works pretty well.
So sorry for inconveniences my mistake may have caused.
On the question above about charging when connected to the PC I think it will charge but wouldn't it be slower if your pen is turned on?
Alecia - I don't see a problem using it for math class all the ink will be recorded.. not sure how it will convert to text thought :)
If so why not and so you think they will make it for use on macs?
this might help with the mac questions but as this guy says its not supported by the company
Can you really only use the Fly World software on one computer? I'd like to load the software on two computers and upload the pen files to the nearest one. The system saves each page as a separate file in a proprietary format. So far, I have not succeeded in using it on two different computers or in moving it from one to the other -- which is an issue because I'm about to switch systems.
Another really interesting thing -- the Fly World software keeps track of your page numbers. It knows which page contains which content. When you add new info to a page, it updates the computerized version. That is pretty cool and, I expect, will be very helpful to finding information later. Maybe it' does it using unique dot patterns on each page?
BTW, thanks for the detailed assessment and photos. I've been trying for several days to find a comparison between the "standard" notebook and the "starter" notebook.
The key is that ink uploaded while a guest does not get deleted from the pen. Thus, it is still there for your "home computer" to access, at which time it will be deleted. The intent of Guest was to support study groups, where friends might get together and share notes, yet still allow the pen's owner to have the ink for his home computer.
For moving your files to a new computer, it requires a bit of geekdom hacking. Open a Windows Explorer window. Go to the following folder:
Documents and Settings
All Users
Application Data
Leapfrog
Copy that entire folder to the same location on your new computer. Launch FlyWorld and you will find everything moved over.
-Documents and Settings
---All Users
-----Application Data
-------Leapfrog
With FLY 2 books, there is a sticker that can be touched to give you a huge range of identifiable notebooks (see the review above for details on this). Leapfrog sells 5 (or is it 6? I forget exactly) different color notebooks. Each has a different mapping, and shows up as unique notebooks when uploading ink.
If you use two different notebooks of the same color, you need to touch that dot to let FlyWorld know that you are really on a different notebook. Otherwise, it thinks it is the same book, and page 1 of each book will overlap when you look at it on the computer.
Thus the problem with using FLY 1 books. No such dot, so no way to distinguish two red books. Avoid that problem, and all is cool.
Hope that explains the issue without tossing in too much mud...
When you upload the ink to FlyWorld, it is captured as strokes. Whatever you wrote will be seen exactly as your wrote it. You do have the option of saving that to a file of your choosing.
When saving it, you can save it as an image, in which case your doodles and all are saved just as you drew them. If you choose to save as text, then FlyWorld will do its best to try and interpret your writing into text.
Experimenting with math gave me varying results. Sometimes it surprised me and got it exactly right. Most times, I decided that keeping it in image format was a better choice though.
As for the support for other languages (in addition to French and Spanish), the device got huge coverage in the Japanese press, so I'm sure talks of some kind are underway. We'll watch to see how things unfold, market-wise.
Each page has a unique arrangement of dots that tells the pen computer where it is in space. If two physical pieces of paper have the same dots, the computer thinks it is writing on the same page, and will then merge the results when you upload the ink to FlyWorld.
Thanks, RK
All answers appreciated! thank you.
The ink is just standard, everyday ballpoint pen ink. The refill is shorter than a "normal ballpoint" simply because the body of the pen is filled with electronics. When the pen stops writing ink, you can pop in a refill, which can be purchased from LeapFrog. I am not sure how long the cartridges last, but I have never exhausted one myself.
Fly Fusion captures your drawings and uploads them to a computer. You can then convert them to a drawing format (PNG) for editing in any graphics program, or convert to text (TXT) for editing in any word processing program. You can also search your uploaded text, even without doing any conversion. There are also more apps, more options, etc.
The biggest difference though is simply that Fly 1 was stand-alone, while Fly Fusion allows everything you draw to be uploaded to a computer.
does it have anything preloaded? - it comes with some games, calculator(on the notebook), spanish translator (1000 words)
How do you know if the pen is on mute? - I think hte only way is to touch something on the notebook covers andsee if you hear something :)
To answer the ever-asked question, How do you mute it, there are Volume Up and Down buttons on the inside cover above the MP3 player, so you turn it on, the onyl indication you have at this point is the Green light, by defaultr when I first turned it on, it just stayed solid Green, this means that it's on, after playing
around I found the Recording button, hit that, it said recording, and the Green light started flashing(one/second) now, if I;m in the middle of class and can't have headphones, all I have to do is turn it on(again, it turns on silent unless you ste a startup sound) and you hit the volume down button a couple times, just watch out for Volume test bleeps.
So recap,
1.Turn the pen on(Solid Green light)
2. Hit the Fly Notes On button(Green light flashes)
3. Hit the volume down button a bunch of times, until it goes silent.
Now you're golden, although the pen shouldn't makes any sounds if you're just writing, any that it tries to make will be muted.
BTW Although most other options are carried over from Power cycle to power cycle, the Volume does nos so watch out for that
More questions,
1 To erase something, you draw a straight line through it then double tap at the end(if you're replacing, strike-through, write above then double tap)
2. Not a question, but a note, when you get yours home, and get the software, go onto the CD, go into Documentation, open the User guide PDF(not the quick start) and take a look at the Color codes, they confused me at first.
Email me at lilpunk1302 AMPERSTHAND gmail THE THING AT THE END OF A SENTENCE com
Also, for those who still have the box, 2 questions,
1. Is it a Rectangle(or for the smartasses, rectangular prism) or was it a trapezoid type shape, mine was a trapezoid, but online pics show it as a rectangle
AND
2. On one of the sides, it shows screenies of Flyworld, and mine seems to show an older version of it with a bluish type skin, I find that skin to look nicer, any chance we, as the consumers could join together and get Leapfrog to bring back the blue?
Also, why do they make you get online accounts? what about those without internet?(I have internet, BUT) it's not like your notes are automatically uploaded to some online interface where you can access them from anywhere?
One last question to those that have asked, if one gets the $50 subscription pass(it came out very recently) what happens after the pass expires? Do all your apps die? or what?
Also, Poll, what did you buy with your $10 "FlyBucks" coupon?
Fly paper = $0.08118/Page
Regular paper(Based on Fivestar 300 page notebook) = $0.0132
So yeah, it's just a little over 6 times the price of regular paper, BUT that's teh Canadian price, if you order from the states, it costs $7.99 and adds up to
$0.0499($0.50) So yeah, quite a bt cheaper, just you know, a BIT like y'know ,like half?
lilpunk1302: I believe the online accounts are because the software is for kids and if you are a parent you can allow your kid to buy or not buy software.
is yours forever??? Sale at leapfrog 25% off plus free ship for packages and accessories!!!!
Toys r us $20 off this week??? online
As far as the keyboard, no, but why would you want to? It's used to create names for your Reminders and Alarms.
I don't completely understand your question, but if you don't want to hear the answer when you're writing out a question, then plug headphones in and keep them out of your ears.
Also, I'm curious about the word-wrap issue. One person above said that text will wrap if you fill the width of the page. Does anyone else have any experience on this?
Also if not feasible to erase an entire page, can one scan a blank sheet in order to reuse it for input?
One has high hopes for using this kind of product but the high cost of paper, possible lack of reuseability, and too frequent ink cartridge changing appears to be a deal-breaker. Any hope for the future ?
Rick
1. I have a nasty habit a switching back and forth from cursive to normal handwriting. Will Fly Fusion get confused?
2. If you make a mistake, can you correct it with liquid corrector or something?
3. Ink, is there a specific ink for it too or any ink cartridge?
4. How long does it last before it's "dead"?
1. Sorry, no it's not compatible with a mac, the software that comes with it is window sonly(and buggy :/ )
2. Can this person use a regular pen? This is pretty much just like a regular pen, just a little bigger and heavier, but you get used to it after a while, also, are you thinking of this as an IMing, general computer use approach, or a essay writing approach, because it only really makes sense to use it for essays(by the time you get it synched, etc.)
3. Word Wrap, I've written up a couple pages margin to margin, and it does seem to word wrap, but I don;t have enough experience yet to give a definite answer
4. No there is currently no feasible way to replicate the paper, scanning or otherwise. But the ink cartridges last a while, I'm in 9th grade, and last year(8th grade) I only managed to get through half of one full ink cartridge for a regular pen, this is about half, so it should last some time, depends on you much you really write.
5.Algebra. To use algebra, you have to buy the special $30 addon kit which includes the software, and a card that snaps into the notebook rings, it does actually give step by step instructions, you write out an equation, it gives the answer, then you can touch HELP and it'll explain step by step what to do(do THIS, then double tap) There's a video of it in action on the Leapfrog site somewhere, but I can;t find it so I'll post it a little later. Also, Geometry requires yet another addon pack, the FastComp PRO pack this is another $15, and I would recommend, at this point getting the $50 one year subscription, it gives you access to all the packs for one year(I'm not sure if they get disabled after the year or if they just don;t give you access to new ones.)
6. a. It doesn't get confused if/when you switch, unless your writing(like mine) is deadly messy, and yet it still manages to recognize more than I do when I go back to my notes :)
b.To clear mistakes, you have to just put a line through the word, is produces a very satisfying "ku-linck" sound to signify that word got deleted, then you can use whitout or whatever you wish to put something in it's place
c. There is a specific type of cartridge they are made of aluminum, and are skinnier than a regular pen cartridge, thus regular ones don't fit, I;m working on finding some that are cheap and fit, when I do, it's going on Instructibles, with a link coming here.
d. The ink is, and lasts about half that of a regular pen ink cartridge, which is quite a bit if you think about it. If you're talking about the battery, it lasts me the whole school day, recording notes, and listening to a song or 2 when I'm completely bored and my iPod gets tiring, and then some, but takes a while to recharge. The notes memory lasts quite a bit, i think about 4 pages 3/4 full add up to 7% of memory(battery life is measured in Full, Medium, and Empty, Notes memory is separate from the applications/MP3's memory and is measured in %)
Any other questions, hit me up here, I check back every couple days. Also, if you;re buying for a son/daughter, make sure they watch out for other kids, it gets pretty gruesome with people circling you yelling I WANNA SEE IT, SHOW ME, LEMME WRITE SOMETHING.
One thing parents might like, if someone were to write the F word in ScratchPad(the mode where the pen recites what you write) or in the translators, the pen just replies with either "I do not understand" or BLEEP(not that loud) other words such as sexual type words, don't seem to be bleeped out, and I haven't had the chance to try other words yet.
And they do not suport anything other MS, Bad Too Bad!
i checked out the website she listed and a feature i liked with that one was the voice recorded notes. by touching the notes you type with the pen, you can hear what was said in lecture in case you missed anything. does the fly pen do this also?
Thanks,
Me
1) when does the pen stop working? does it have a warrenty? I know other electronics work for, say a year or two, then you have to buy a new one. Is this similar to that? does it last longer? etc?
2) is the fly fusion pen sold at general walmart's and target? I checked at my local walmart store and couldn't find it anywhere...
3) and do you need a charger for the Fly Fusion? i know you needed one for the fly 1.0, but what about the fly fusion? and if not- how do you charge it?
4) oh, and does it really take a long time to upload software, or was that just some people's opinion? I don't have a really powerful computer, it has windows xp, but it sure isn't the fastest thing in the world. What do you need (computer wise) in order to download it? do you have to have any certain things?
5) is there a mute button? I would want to use it for school, in school, and defenitly would not want it talking in class.
6) is it true it says things like "good job!" or "you're getting it!" when you're writing with it? that's what i heard anyways...
7) and is this thing hard to figure out? I'm in 9th grade, its not hard for me to figure things like this out, but i've heard a lot of different views on that, would i have to spend a lot of time with it to get it started? (that wouldnt bother me, but just wondering)
8) and lastly... what do you have to do before you can actually USE the pen? do you have to download 'flyworld' first? or software? anything...?
Oh, and I'm apologizing in advance for whoever has to answer all these questions! sorry! :)
can you use the 'fly bucks' in stores? or just online? I don't really understand that yet... if you buy something online from fly-world, do you just download it to your computer? or is it shipped to you...?
I'll try to hold off on more questions.... :D
With the FlyBucks, you get a gift card type thing(just like the review pictures) and on the back is a 20-25 character ABC123 code(it's really a pain to fill in because there's so many characters)
Simple answer to the question, No, you can;t use it in stores, just through the Fly store within the FlyWorld app(I havn't tried from their online store)
More advanced answer.
You install FlyWorld, and you get 2 links, create a User account, and an Admin account, both require you to go online. You create the admin account, Login to it click the store icon thing. Then go through the catalog you can buy pretty much anything that costs under $10($9.99 counts) you click add to cart, then checkout, it gives you a line to enter your code, fill it in, and the balance gets deducted so you can then click download.
Now since I ended up buying French Translator Pro(I'm Canadian, and am taking French) I just "Paid for it, and it gave me a download link, then I logged into my induvidual user account, and copied it over.
I still don't know how they deal with things that contain materialistic items, such as Algebra and the Function card, possibly they don't let you.
So yeah, No you can only use the card on the online store, I don't know what they do with materialistic things, they don't take paypal (**Sadface**, I don't have a credit card, but a PayPal acct registered to my Debit)
Any other questions, keep them coming, I've got time.
1.I have no clue if you get the software to own, or to lease, I'm wondering that too.(In relation to the subscription) I'll send an email to LeapFrog asking them sometime today.
2.As far as sharing, I'm 75% sure you can, in 2 ways, 1. before you can create induvidual user accounts and everything for each pen, you have to create an Administrator(Parent) account with the LeapFrog site, so I would assume, when you install the software on each computer, and you log into your admin account on each computer, it should elt you download the software seperatly(If that makes any sense :) )
OR
There's a certain FlyWorld folder in the Program Files > Common FIles folder in your C:/ drive, and all the Pages, applications, everything should be kept in there, so theoretically you should be able to copy that folder over onto each computer and get access to it.
3. What type of errors is it giving you during installation? I run XP so don't know about Vista, sorry can't help you on this one.
4. What do you mean it takes hours to install, it took me 15 mins tops, I didn't even have time to figure out what any of the FlyCons meant by the time it installed...and I'm a fast learner...
And yeah, I find the fact that they MS whore a problem. But I have Office 07 installed so I don;t know how it acts on computers without it.
5. No, the fly does not record voice, sorry.
6. There is no such thing as a black Fly Fusion...is there...Unless you;re talking about the LiveScribe, which is the next generation, it's supposed to come out in 08 for "Under $200"
7. a. I've only had teh pen for about a month, so no clue.
b. The Walmart site is busted, so I don;t know, but the Target site says they have it. You should surf http://flyworld.com/findstore/index.html
There^^ for the complete list of stores, I purchased mine at teh Canadian Toys R Us
c. It has a Mini B usb port on the top, and you charge it from your computer. One thing I mist note though, once you plug it in, it doesn't turn itself on, the logo lights up red, meaning charging, you have to click the power button to turn it on and so that it can communicate with the computer(It flashes red, green and yellow when it's on and connected, and just turn off when charged.)
d. The only Mandatory requirement I've seen if having 512 MB of RAM, I've tried to install it on my dads computer with 256, and it refused. As far as speed, yeah it's sorta slow, it takes about 10 ish mins to transfer 15ish songs
e. As I've answered before, every time you have to click the volume down button a couple times until it doesn't give you any volume confirmation clicks anymore. The only time I've had it talk in class is when I'm drawing/writing something related to a circle( O's) and it says "Unknown FlyCon"
f. You only get the "Good Job's" If you buy the Algebra addon pack, possibly others, but I've only seen it with the algebra pack. But none with the existing software.
h. Not really, I'm also in 9th grade, and the hardest thing for me to figure out was to remember what the FlyCons do. Other than that, using the compass and that type of thing is easy.FlyCon tip, Create a FlyCon with a T in it, click it and it gives you the time(Oh yes, it tells you the time too)
i. Nope, you don't need to do anything, just open it up, put the FlyWorld CD in(it comes on a cd which automatically updates teh software itself when you install it) and while it's installing you can pull out the 25 page pad and try out some of the functions(actually pretty much all, the only thing FLyWorld let's you do that you can;t do out of the box is copy pages over, it comes preloaded with 2 MP3's)
that's what I did anyways.
So that's my answering streak for today, see y'all in a couple days when I answer more questions.
But PLEASE, for the sake of me, I answer every question in a long sentence, sometimes a paragraph for some, PLEASE, read over all the existing answers before asking, this is becoming a pretty concise guise, 4 people have answered the "can I mute" question(myself twice) and yet people still ask.
oh, and sorry about the mute question, i guess i'll read them over next time?
woahh- for anybody who just wants to know stuff about the pen, or anything, the following link is the (official) manual to the Fly Fusion, and it talks about, pretty much everything..!
*************
http://images.sharperimage.com/all/en/manuals/p...
*************
*************************************************************************************
My first language is French and I go to a French school.
The only thing I'm interested in is the notes thing which turns notes into text. I'm most likely to write in French. Does it change ANY language to type? I mean, will the FF get confused because it doesn't recognize the language? If not, there is no use to me. If not, is there a French Version, available in Ontario, NOT Quebec?
And it doesn't do Japanese
Allie, great idea, never thought about including the manual in a post.
And no, a paper manual doesn't come with it, after you put the CD in, open My Computer >(CD Drive)>docs(I think I don't have it at hand)>User Manual
And I have no clue if it'll convert into other programs, you might get lucky,
You can download Open Office V2
http://www.openoffice.org/index.html
There^^
And it can open Word(.doc) files, so I assume the Fly World software converts it into a DOC, and opens the "Default Application" which just so happens, after the OO installations to be Open Office.
I'm also 19 and in college and I just got my pen in today. I messed with it a bit and it seems like it is going to be a HUGE help with notes and stuff.
: )
So note to people buying, make sure the store'll take it back after you;be opened it.
I'll keep posting here with more answers to questions people have with the experience that I did have, but it seems more people are coming to help, so my duty's gonna be done in a little while.
For the long time on upload - it does take some time to upload but the pen has total of 64MB so it can hold quite a lot of software
All the manual are on the official website as well: http://flyworld.com/support/index.html
Exporting to Word gives you the capability of having a mixed image and text document, but you can always export to a text file as well.
This site has been really helpful in determining wether or not we're going to buy this for my daughter this Christmas. She's 10 and needs some help with her writing so hopefully this will motivate her. Thanks for all of the wonderful information!
"To clear mistakes, you have to just put a line through the word, is produces a very satisfying “ku-linck” sound to signify that word got deleted, then you can use whitout or whatever you wish to put something in it’s place"
The first half (put a line through the word, get a sound) is right but after that do *not* put whiteout on the page. You will cover the micro dots and render that portion of the page unusable.
Now, on to the reason I'm here. I'm having a couple problems with my Fly Fusion. Twice I've written several pages only to have them load as one overlapping page when I connect to the computer. Like all the words I've written are there but layered over eachother, making it impossible to open as a Word document. I didn't think this was possible, due to the supposedly individual pattern of each page. After all, that distinctive pattern is supposedly what prevents us from finding a way to print our own paper.
Another time some pages have simply not been there. I'm very careful about making sure I touch the Fly Notes On/Off buttons, and also the front cover notebook sticker. Despite this sometimes when I first turn on my pen the green light blinks as if Fly Notes are on.
Has anyone else had a similar problem or know what I can do about this? I've had my pen about six weeks and would hate to return it.
As far as ages merging, I have no clue why it happens, but it's happened to me a couple times too, as well as it not recording notes.
hey, lilpunk1302,
so you dont find it interesting anymore? (the Fly fusion)
i dont think anybody gives better info........ :o
dont leave!!! lol, jk...... not really... lol
I read in the manual that if it's off and charging, it'll be red (FLY logo on the pen) and when it's done it will turn off or whatever. And if it's on and charging, it's yellow.
I've tried charging it, on or off... sometimes left it over night, but mine seems to never get to "Battery level is: full." when I click the little battery status button on the notebook. Mine is ALWAYS at 'medium'.
Is there something wrong with mine? Help, pleaase? and thanks. =)
Aside from the ball point problem, EVERYWHERE here is also sold of paper. Does anyone have any ideas I where too look? I'm afraid if I order online he will run out before it gets here, and the word in the stores is no paper till after Christmas. Help on both of these!!
Reed - It has a little volume button on the notebooks. Press it enough times and the pen goes mute. The only downside is that every time you turn it off it resets this. However if you immediately go to the mute button all you'll get are two very quiet tick sounds. Then there's no more sound until you turn it off and on again or specifically turn up the sound.
Kelly - Mine charges fully, turns off like it's supposed to. Can you still exchange? I would.
Kathleen - I haven't had a problem with that. Why don't you try taking the cartridge out and twisting it manually? (Make sure you're twisting in the right direction.) Do you still have a problem when it's not in the pen? If so, it might be just a defective cartridge. If not, there might be something wrong with where the cartridge goes into the pen body.
Is there any way to change the setting of where converting your FLY writing, into text? Instead of opening it up to Microsoft Word, for example, to Microsoft Works Word Processor?
Is it possible? And if so, how?
Thanks!
So yeah, with that cleared up, I'll answer a couple more questions, I'm in a bad mood this week, and am getting sick, so I don;t feel like reading all the questions, but I will answer the last few.
Word documents
You should try downloading a piece of software called OpenOffice, i's a free open source copy of Microsoft office, set it as the default to open .DOC files, and try telling Fly World to read.
Software
Have her play around with the pen for a couple days, then ask her, personally, the app that I ended up wanting the most was Algebra, because we're doing ALOT of algebra in school right now(8th grade) and I needed it. But she;s younger, so in a lower grade, see what she needs help on and go from there.
Fly World Portable.
I havn't tried, but it seems to be very crudly coded(crashing my computer for the first time ever) and places things all over the Hard Drive(My documents, Common Files, etc) so probably not.
I'm not really going to go away for a while, I don't think so yeah, don;t worry, I might bring down my visit times, but I'm not leaving.
I looked at your printing example and the exported to Microsoft Word results:
Either you are paid by Leap Frog to fake the results, you have some sort of super computer, or my Fly Fusion is defective!!??
I have practiced for hours, improving my original printing to nearly an exact match to the recommended font, and there is still very poor recognition (50% at best). If I even touch printed letters, it is all over - no recognition. Any suggestions? Thank you.
I'm not sure what to tell you. The Fly Fusion's not perfect by far but it does a very good job of converting my writing. Most often it switches commas and periods and when I'm printing it often randomly capitalizes words, but a quick grammar check catches most of that. I have a very round, upright cursive and it's able to read that pretty well. Still problems with commas but not capitals. With both printing and cursive the conversion sometimes doesn't wrap text, instead inserting a line break. But it does the job.
I'm also not sure at all what you mean by touching printed letters. Could you clarify that? I have noticed that if you write something and then try to go over it again (like maybe if your ink was running out a little and you wanted to darken the word) it will either turn that word into gibberish or duplicate all the letters.
Same problem, If I try to open the program I get only they Fly symbol and have to use task manager to shut it down. I have been in contact with Leapfrog, but so far haven't received a fix. I actually got more / better help by emailing them, rather then a phone conversation. Hopefully they will find an answer.
Thanks for the response.
When I print words, and the letters come close or touch another letter (like the "tt" in letter), it does not recognize it and puts something like @ or $ or // or ?. It contantly alternates between upper and lower case. I have not been able to print 1 sentence (after 4 pages of practice) that anyone can read or make sense of it.
When I upload the writing it looks like a "perfect" photograph of my neat printing - amazing! However, saving as a Word document has been a complete failure.
I suspect that this pen is/was defective because it would not even take a charge from the computer USB connection. I returned it today and I'm looking into another writer's aid: Nuance's Dragon Naturally Speaking 9.0 Preferred. Have you heard anything about that software? Thanks.
i tried it 4 times, same problem every time, i tried it on my other computer, same problem?! the internet works, network connectivity was never lost, it works great, the pc isnt old, its pretty new actually.... whats the deal?!
THEN i tried to download thefly world application off of flyworld.com and it said 'internet cannot display this webpage' ?!
help!
Why am I getting this? I cannot install the cd software because I keep getting this error. I am running Vista Ultimate.
Any help woulf be appreciated. Thanks.
It seems a great shame that leapfrog didn't put at least a basic version of the application onto the CD instead of requiring you to download it. I guess it is so new they haven't experienced Christmas day before and didn't think ahead! It is also limiting for anyone who might not be connected to the internet - still happens!
Anyway, have a good Christmas - I think you can still plug it into the USB and recharge it.
I wonder if anyone out there has a downloaded copy of the application they could post somewhere?
Paul
Very frustrating!!!
Pretty embarrassing SNAFU for Leapfrog tech support I would think. Hope their shares don't plummet when the market reopens!!!
I really think they should point out on the box that 'internet access' is required to operate this device.
Paul.
it'd be great if someone could post a link to the application hosted on a freeshare site like Sendspace.com or Yousendit.com
merry xmas everyone!
when you say you used Orbit, what exactly did you download? I only ask because when i put in the cd and it runs it gives the network connection problem, so how would i get that to run through Orbit? Unless you dl'ed the same application I got from the Fly World page
a hassle? yes...ruin xmas? nah....stop being babies, we'll figure it out!
that would probably help out a lot of people here
From there I used my download manager to get the Flyworld application marked "download now" at this link: http://updates.flyworld.com/latest/FlyWorldLate...
From there, I can't be of any help yet, as I am still struggling to get through the registration due to too Leapfrog's lousy bandwidth.
Yousendit.com may allow that if you sign up for a free acct. I think their limit is 100meg's for a freebie. Takes an email and thats about it, no cash.
I think when i "downloaded" it before,it downloaded a partial file or something, because of the overload...So I'm trying now through Firefox/Flashgot/BitComet to download, it says theirs 1 seeder, which im guessing is the source of the problem itself...(and now after just checking it, i got a red x that ive never gotten before lol)
any help is greatly appreciated
so it just went to green and is downloading from 5 seeds, and its taking a little bit of time, which seems to be a good thing considering the last time i dl'ed, it took about 30 seconds...10% and going, ill keep ya'll informed
If asked to remove, I'm sure everyone would completely understand doing so..
If this works, everyone owed Pat a thank you...
notice how i avoided the obvious pat on the back pun? take notes writers...(i couldnt avoid that one,sorry)
This is a link that should work.
My program works to the point that I have set up Administrator, but I can't get in to set up the pen, You will all see. I will watch this post, to see the first successfull download from that link, after that, you all know as much or more than I. Good Luck!
im using Firefox as a browser and used the FireFox extension Flashgot to download the program through BitComet
hopefully the link is posted sometime today for all to (hopefully) enjoy
thanks for your help Pat
it seems to have worked...it says it couldnt connect,but then brought me to create my pentop profile.
Just log in your newly created acct from leapfrog.com into the user/pass for your Fly Pen.
-phew-
But now I am having trouble getting in as admin. Guest access limits what you can do with the device. You can't download mp3's etc. I was expecting this to work more or less like active sync or palm sync. Why is Internet connection avbsolutely necessary. FRUSTRATING!!! I keep getting the message that the flyworld server is not available - something wrong with my Internet connection! yeah, right! BTW I thought of creating an account on leapfrog and that worked. Still can't get past the initial screen! %$#@&^%!)
I actually got the pen over the summer for my birthday, and i love it. i dont use it so much for school for lack of paper and ink, but i use it for my writing(mostly fanfic and poems)
Anyway, i never had this problem, but i just got the Journal. I installed it, and everytime i try to put it on the pen and sync it, it says "Fly World coud not sync some, or all of the selected applications. this may be because your pentop is not managed by the admin account.The admin account can select your pentop for management by going to the Manage Accounts Tab."
But whenever i log onto the admin account, both the Manage account tab and Download store tabs are blank when i go to them.
What do i do?
I'm using this pen for college classes, my last one for my Bachelor's and hoping to carry it onto a masters. I bought this because I usually handwrite my notes before I type them in, organizing my thoughts, I guess. I just finished an assignment, and this is how it faired out for me:
One fully handwritten page every line, decent spacing, only skipped the top line. Word count came out to 247 words on one page. I had 18 translation errors into the word processor I use. 3 were my bad spelling. 4 were mis-translations were the translator messed up way off base, and the last 11 were the translator not correctly deciphering a lower case S, O, or C and an assorted number-letter mixup.
I am really excited this worked for me. I wish everyone luck with this!
Oh and by the way, I looked up the Live Scribe. Expensive and un-neccessary upgrade to this. Looks like they copied everything, and added the voice recorder. I don't feel that the voice recorder warrants an extra 120 dollars. Other than that, same product in my opinion.
And thank you to Pat for giving us that link to download from. It helped me tremendously. If only I could figure out what is wrong now... Any suggestions?
when you open your fly world thing on your computer and click on the pentop section you should have two boxes next to each other with arrows in between; one box titled 'applications' and the other titled 'pentop'. At first there were a bunch of things in the 'pentop' box, like the basic menu (flynotes, translator, games, test prep...) I clicked the arrow towards the 'application' box and it said it was syncing.
now these tools are gone and not in either box, making my pentop computer useless. it doesnt recognize any of the FLYcons.
PLEASE... DOES ANYONE KNOW HOW TO FIX THIS??
I have it sitting in a box. I got it for Xmas, but I already have 1.0.
If it doesn't work any better, I want to return it =P
This site worked great. We had been trying since yesterday to download. This loaded in less than 15 minutes and my daughter was able to setup her profile and is downloading her software. Don't waste your time trying to download from the CD or the flyworld.com. This will save you many hours of aggravation.
I've been to that site & downloaded the FlyWorld program from there, yet when it finished downloading, the pop-up box came back on saying I still need 512MB of RAM... any advice?
Try connecting via a wire-I did that and then it worked (I am now stuck on a different part...but whatever!)
If you get stuck on another part don't bother calling the people-just go to http://fly.custhelp.com click on Ask A Question and ask it...if you call them all they do is fill the info in for you!
Hope this helps!
please help
"This whole fly world download thing is absurd…. They were ill prepared, imo, to support this product. "
IMO, LeapFrog was not ill prepared to support this product but rather ill prepared for the success of this product. The response to it seems to be highly unexpected. Their marketing campaign was only of a moderate density and the Fly 1.0 came and went with hardly a ripple.
I will not download from there...I will just wait and wait and wait and wait and....
I wish someone from Fly/Leapfrog would actually give a good response!!!
http://www.flyworld.com/flyapplication/index.html
rather than the http://updates.flyworld.com .
I was able to download it from there.
However - I also deleted some of my applications (according to the Flyworld app) and i'm working to refresh those as well. They are there via the Main menu - I just can't activate them using Flycons - only via the notebook - which is not good enough for my uses.
1. Went to pograms and Uninstalled Flyworld and removed profiles
2. Went back to http://www.flyworld.com/flyapplication/index.html and redownloaded Flyworld.
3. Installed Flyworld
4. created new profile
5. waited and it up dated again and all the applications showed up in the computer window so I can move to my pentop
6. selected all the apps and asked to sync.
Step 6 failed the first time and gave me the "need an admin account" error. When I view the deatils is says I have "invalid license" for the apps.
Step 7 - went to http://www.leapfrog.com/en/login.html and created my own account. Tried to register my apps from there but that page doesn't load.
Stayed logged in on that web page and went back to Flyworld
Step 8. select apps on my desktop and picked arrow to push them to the pentop.
Step 9 run a sync
Success. My apps are reloaded and my flycons all work - including FC and CO
Happy penning
for the person with question about the deleted applications.. if you log in to Fly world and go to the Pentop tab all applications will be downloaded to your computer again. Since there are some server issues right now it might take a little longer then usual.
Everytime i install them to my computer, they dont show up with the rest of my applications. should i just keep installing them and uninstalling them till it shows up, or should i just wait a few days and try again. i mean, i know the server is messed up, but what does that have to do with my installing servers from a CD? i'm not buying them off the download store, so how come it wot work?
can the new software [like text converter to comp.] work on the old/original fly pen??
What a disaster with the website. Seems like they should have had the software on the CD to begin with rather than force everyone to download the software (causing a overload on the flyworld servers). Guess they were trying to rush it out for Christmas and didn't have the software written in time.
It was the same thing for me but I figured out how to get it set-up.
1. Create an adminstrative account. -I had to go to leapfrogs website and sign-in there and fill out a form before Fly would recognize my e-mail address & password.
2. Then if your haven't already done so plug in your pen, turn it on, & restart Fly
-After you sign in the admin. account their will be a "create pentop profile" icon- click that and fill-out the form
(You can also go to "help" and from there select "creating a pentop profile" and it gives you directions.)
The waiting is while the FLYfusion tries to open. When is does this it is updating/ reloading the applications to your pen. This allows the applications list to be refreshed and you should be seeing your applications again.
good luck.
have any OF the aforementioned problems downloading. I suspect Fly Word (should read World) was overwhelmed by the response and was (obviously) unprepared to deal with it.
And, for the most part, I LOVE 't! What a neat gadget, I've found the 740ns (should have read “Flycons”) easy to use (once I used them correctly!) and have been showing it off all over work. Yes, I'M a 42 year old mom who works in a school, and probably not their target audience, but I Love my toys.
To be honest, I have 2 minor gripes. the pen is too fat. I find it kind of tiring to use it .Labo (should have read “Also, it’s too) heavy, but I understand why). And it would be nice if some of the software was more appropriate for adults, proffered Use (should have read adults/professional use) .
By the way, I wrote this entire post by 714 (should have read “Fly”) pen, downloaded and Pasted it here. You can see how accurate it was. Alli
All corrections were added after conversion to Word. As an aside, I think it’s funny how it never recognized the word FLY!
I downloaded the FLY world application to my computer, but when I try to install the software, it doesn't work.
The first window that pops up has buttons that say, Back (which is grayed out), Next, and Cancel. When I click the next button, the window vanishes and nothing happens. My computer doesn't process the program. It's as if nothing is there at all. There is nothing to uninstall, just a shortcut icon.
When I contacted the Leapfrog Tech support, they said they would call me, or email me, neither of which has happened. I really want to be able to use this pen as I need it for classes and meetings.
Can anybody help?
Thanks!
I will post once I have the Fusion and hopefully a device that works as advertised.
After reading all the responses my questions are: 1. Where do you buy the paper? I am in Southern California. Any stores or if not online places to buy? 2. What stores are best to buy from. I found it at Toys R Us but they only have a 7-day return policy unless it is defective, and I would want at least 30 days.
Answer to Lorelie on 12-22-07: You asked about the Nuance Dragon Naturally Speaking 9.0 Preferred software. I bought it early in 07 and it is the best. Very accurate. I had an earlier version and you had to voice train so much that I decided I could type faster. This version they have all the bugs worked out. You only need to train the first time and that takes about three minutes. After that it is so accurate and easy to use, I just love it and would suggest buying it to anyone. It comes with a very good headphone also.
Andrew: maybe you should ask him to sit in on this comment thread.
Hey Lark? Just a coupla questions; maybe it will help you problem solve:
You have the minimum requirements to run FlyWorld yes?
Are you running Vista? It appears folks running Vista run into more problems getting things rolling (I'm running XP and had no probs).
I'm pretty sure the FlyWorld software is on the FlyWorld website; have you tried to load from there?
plantobuy: From what I can tell, one can purchase the paper online at LeapFrog.com (they make the FlyFusion pen). Not sure which chains are in your neck of the woods, but I've seen the paper available at Target and Walmart. I've also seen it on Amazon. Also, somewhere in the archives here is an article on a different pen by some guy who used to work for the FLyFusion folks. Supposedly he is part of a group making a new pen (more geared to adults) which works similarly; and claims the paper with the microdots for his will be cheaper. I'm hoping it is, and is compatible with the FlyFusion...
Alli
I have sent multiple emails over the past weeks and made a phone call today. No response. I sure am curious if anyone else has had success with those particular software applications???
Thank you so much for your response! I am so upset that I cannot get it to work!
I have tried both downloading it from the disc and directly from the Web with the same results.
I am running Vista, and That is probably the underlying cause of the non-installing problem.
Any suggestions?
I tried running it as XP but to no avail.
I will try again while awaiting a solution.
Thanks a bunch.
~Lark
Urgh...not sure then. The only other thing I can think of is maybe your timing is really bad? Apparently the website is unable to handle a high load of requests and folks have had success trying again at a different time.
And this may sound stupid, but have you plugged in your pen just to see if anything happens? if not, try it and let me know how it goes!
Alli
I have 1 more question.
What's the "lifespan" of the Fly Fusion. As in, how long will it last. 5 years, 10 years, 60 years?
I'm just asking because I was planing on using it for the rest of my school-days but I'm worried it won't last that long. I have 6 years left.
6 years of school left? good luck. :D i have 3. just keep going... its not all that bad. :)
For the Vista installation issue make sure you have the latest Microsoft updates installed. Also make delete your temporary files in the temp folders under user and windows. Not sure if it will help but its worth a shot.
My pen ran out of ink and before I buy a new ink catridge I was wondering were’s the ink inside my pen or were do I have to put the new one. Thanks.
To get to the cartridge, just Pull hard(Ish) on the Gray tip that you turn, the cartridge assembly comes out.
But don't do it unless you need to, as it becomes looser with every pull.
I purchased 2 of these pens along with two subscription passes for the basic functions of the writing and math programs. Neither will download, rendering our $400.00 investment (with all of the extra accessories) useless. I am INCREDIBLY disappointed and beyond frustrated with Leapfrog.
... Just had to vent!
the "blackjack" version is no newer than the "fly fusion" its the exact same model and everything, just... black (in color) its not exactly rare, its just only sold at target. its a 'target' exsclusive. and its not like its limited stock either, its going to be there just as long as the normal fly fusion will be. i myself have a fly fusion 'blackjack' version. i have looked ion ebay, and noticed several people saying 'blackjack version no longer sold in stores, extrememly rare, buy now!!' oh, PLEASE... what a scam. of course it is still sold in stores. please do not believe those people.
i just bought mine at target, its the same price as the normal fly fusion. but when i contacted fly fusion customer service concerning just a general question about the fly fusion, i stated that i had the 'blackjack' version, and they said they don't sell a blackjack version of the fly fusion.
so OBVIOUSLY they are not very informed about what they do and dont sell, because they do very much sell a blackjack version.
so i dont exactly reccomend contacting fly fusion support...not really any help (as many many people have already said)
your welcome. :) at least i can be of some help.
so whenever i turn on my fly fusion, its recording notes. (the green light is blinking.) how do i make it NOT be recording every time i turn it on??
also, i bought the "dailies" software off of the fly fusion download store. i have the 'spanish word' set for start-up. so when i turn it on, it automatically says the 'spanish word of the day'
its getting a little annoying....how do i undo it????
thank you!!!!
1. navigate to c:\windows\system32 right click on the application "cmd" and select run as administrator
2. type each one of these commands and press enter:
regsvr32 /u vbscript.dll
regsvr32 /u jscript.dll
regsvr32 vbscript.dll
regsvr32 jscript.dll
- these disable and then enable vbscript
3. try running the installer again.
You are a FLY saver!
After I ran the commands everything installed beautifully!
Thank you so much for posting this!
If I could hug you I would!
~Lark
The pen must be on to sync it.
i just got the fly pen the other day & i have windows vista which it is compatable with but when i try to install it it gets half way through & then stops & goes away...
is there anyway to fix this?
I'm wondering if it might be because I have Essay Coach and some of the individual Math applications, which are single elements of the Writing and Math Pro applications, that my pens think I already them therefore won't load. What happens is that I get the "Downloading" square for a second or two and then disappears. That is exactly what happens if you try to re-load something that you already have.
Is there a way to delete those applications completely from my applications so I can try to load Writing and Math Pro instead?? I can't find a way to do that... I don't mean just taking them off of my pentop and re-synching, if that makes sense...
I am going to try to cut and paste the email which also addressed some other issues that some have posted here .....
Please review the following in order to find your solution.
A) Unable to launch FLY World
We are working on releasing a new version of FLY World. In the meantime, we suggest using the Beta version of the software available on our website.
Simply uninstall the current version of FLY World and go to the following link. Download and install this Beta version and launch FLY World. If this new version will still not work for you, please let us know by replying to this email.
http://updates.flyworld.com/latest/FlyWorldSpec...
NOTE: The Beta version of the software is still being tested and may have unforeseen errors. We have had a great success rate with this version and are confident that it will correct your existing issue.
B) Unable to install FLY World on Vista
If you are unable to install FLY World on the Vista operating system, please follow these instructions.
1. In windows explorer navigate to c:\windows\system32
2. Find the application named "cmd". Now right click on "cmd" and select "Run as Administrator"
3. In the following window, type or copy and paste
regsvr32 /u vbscript.dll
Now press enter. You may receive a pop-up regarding DllUnregisterServer that it succeeded or failed. In either case, click OK.
4. Next type or copy and paste
regsvr32 /u jscript.dll
Now press enter. You may receive the same pop-ups regarding the DllUnregisterServer message. Click OK once more.
5. We will next need to type or copy and paste
regsvr32 vbscript.dll
and press enter. You may once again receive the pop-up window. Simply click OK to continue.
6. Finally, type or copy and paste
regsvr32 jscript.dll
and press enter. You may once again receive the pop-up window. Simply click OK to continue.
7. Try running the installer again.
C) FLY World not displaying software
If you cannot find the purchased or included software, you will need to delete the My Apps folder. This folder can be found in the following directory:
C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Leapfrog\FlyWorld\My Library\
Once the My Apps folder is deleted, log on to the Pentop User account and click on the Pentop tab. There should be no applications listed in the Application section at this time. Now connect the Pen and turn it on. The applications will download from our server and populate this section.
NOTE: The download speed for the applications depend on connection speed as well as the size of the application.
D) How can I find my Pen ID?
You can find your Pen ID by doing the following:
1) Log in to the Pentop Profile.
2) Connect the FLY Fusion Pen and turn it on.
3) Double click the FLY Icon on the top left corner of the FLY World application.
4) The Pen ID and FLY World version number will appear in the new window.
The FLY Fusion Team thanks you for your patients in the matter. If you find that your issue is still not resolved, please reply to us with the following information:
Admin Account Email Address
Pen ID
Current Issue
Great product, support for it SUCKS!
my fly pen doesnt have a USB port anywhere on it. do i have an old version? Is there ant other way to hook it up to your computer?
One more thing, Can i get the Product ID for the Fly Journal.... i lost the package. Can Anyone help me?
if you go onto www.leapfrog.com and search for 'fly fusion', an entire description of the product will come up. If you read it, it will cleary state that it has no mac support. If you read reviews of the fly fusion just about anywhere, (target.com, walmart, amazon, etc) almost everybody will say it has no mac support. Did you do research on it? You have to do research on just about everything before you purchase it. Leapfrog will not reimburse you simply becuase they stated on their website (and the fly fusion box) that you can't use it on macs. they don't have sympathy for people who don't follow their directions.
I'm not trying to be harsh on you, but do research on things in the future possibly? I have a fly fusion and I love it, I use it every day. I don't consider it to be garbage or crap or for leapfrog to have false advertising. Did you not read this Oh!Gizmo review before you bought it? because it says on here that it has no mac support. Obviously not, but then why are you on here after you bought it...?
Leapfrog and its products are no scam, and I happen to love them.
Just trying to set the record straight.
thank you!
the fly that is on clearence at walmart for $35 is the fly 1.0 version (the old one) so if you are looking for the fly fusion, don't rush out to walmart. Actually, at leapfrog, the fly 1.0 (the old one) and ALL of the fly 1.0 accesories are 60% off!! so if you are looking for a fun gift thats cheap, buy it! they fly 1.0 is still very fun, just not all that new. but then again, thats not that big of a deal! :)
the fly fusion and the fly 1.0 both have USB ports. so even if you do have the old one, you still have a USB port. its on the back of the pen, on the top. just a little port in it. both pens have the same thing..
as for your journal dilemma...I can't say that it'll work. :(
you need the box, and I would be happy to give you my code, but yours is different. every box sold has a different code. sorry. :(
i really reccomend the fly fusion. read the reviews on amazon.com! they're amazing! if you want to read my review (on amazon.com and target.com, its under the name "S. Thompson".
kim/jenn...
when you run out of fly fusion ink, simply buy new ones, and pull the old one out. you do this by tugging on the ballpoint part of the pen. (don't worry, you won't break it!!) you have to pull pretty firmly. when thats out, just put the new one in! :)
hi.
so whenever i turn on my fly fusion, its recording notes. (the green light is blinking.) how do i make it NOT be recording every time i turn it on??
also, sometimes it doesn't upload pages that i have recorded. its like it is 'iffy' or something....it usually does, but that last three times, it hasn't. and i know that i recorded them! please help?? anybody?
thank you!!!!
*********************************************************************************
http://www.ohgizmo.com/2008/03/28/ohgizmo-revie...
The EPOS is definitely in the same market as the FLY Fusion, and while it lacks a lot of the functionality of the Fusion (MP3s, translators, etc,) it has a much better form factor and is considerably smaller as far as the pen goes.
Thank you
Bottom line, I tried to ask about returning this and now they won't even reply to my emails!.
STAY AWAY FROM THE LIVESCRIBE!
Just opened the box to our new fly pen. It says that it pen uses one AAA battery. Where in the world would I find it??? How long does it take to charge? Is there some simple instructions somewhere to get this thing going? Thanks
I used my Fly Pen for a bit, then when i turned it on, the green light kept blinking, and i cant get it off that, and i cant do anything else either. What should i do, email me at farmshome@hotmail.com
As for struggling with writing, its a pretty normal thing the best advice would be to encourage her to write alot and get someone to review it, and keep in mind features like grammer check and spell check are useless tools unless you proof read the final result.
Some things that have helped me in the past with writing (my thesis prof passed a few on to me) include reading the whole paper again starting with the last sentence ,and reading the paper out loud. (this help the mind from filling in gaps in the sentence structure that you may miss while proofreading). it may sounds silly reading outloud but hearing the sentence sometimes helps you find mistakes. If your having trouble with reading out loud or you still add in missing words while reading you can use a text to speech program like microsoft sam or the one built in to adobe's pdf reader when the sentence is wrong these things sound really bad.
well i know its a month late but i hope some of this helps, tell her not to worry to much about it but still try her best at it (trust me half my gradeschool / highschool teachers wouldn't have belived i would have gotten an advanced degree with my writing in thier classes but i found somthing i loved and kept at it and the writing came with it )
April 4, 2009