Having missed taking Gregg shorthand in high school and not being a fast typist, note taking has always been a problem. I'm always amazed that some folks can take notes on a laptop almost word for word. My notes, on the other hand, usually wind up as indecipherable scribbles as I try and keep up.
Until the Livescribe SmartPen shipped early last year, I was resigned to go on scribbling.
I was an early adopter the this very useful tool and have found it's made a difference in my ability to take notes and sketch in meetings, usability tests and interviews. I'm much more relaxed knowing I've captured the essence of a meeting or interview.
With the SmartPen and special notepaper every word is recorded and synced with your notes. Using a USB connection, you can download your synced notes to your computer along with full audio recording which can be edited with LiveScribe's software.
I understand Microsoft's OneNote has similar capabilities, especially paired with a tablet PC.
For me the 'sketchy' aspect of the SmartPen is a great combination of old and new technology.

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