[thelist] OCR handwriting?

[Joel D Canfield]

> website for an elderly relative in the next few months, sort 
> of a memoirs 
> thang. He's said he'll write the stuff down for me, but I 
> suspect that means paper, pen and ink.
> 
> Is there software out there that can translate scanned images of 
> handwritten work to text? Even if the handwriting is 
> old-style cursive? 
> Free would be nice, since this won't be a for-profit venture, 
> or even a for-cost one.
> 
> If there ain't, I'll bite the bullet and type it up. Or 
> persuade him to dictate or something.

OCR is problematic even with scanned print. Handwritten printing is
really tough. Handwritten cursive would be almost impossible.
Handwritten cursive by an elderly relative? Not gonna happen. 

I have not yet seen a complex OCR task which couldn't be done more
accurately and faster by a competent typist. If you're interested in
hiring us to transcribe tapes or handwritten docs, email me offlist.

Dragon Naturally Speaking would be a good option, but requires quite a
bit of setup to be accurate, and requires some ongoing maintenance and a
bit of computer-savviness to really be good.

joel