comes the Write Here Suite that brings handwriting recognition software to the desktop, using PalmOS gadgets as the interface. Meanwhile, the rumours are not just that Apple is building handwriting software into OS X, but that the plan to "eliminate the need for a keyboard." Over coffee, this morning, I wondered aloud why no one had yet made -- or atleast properly marketed -- textured surfaces for digital tablets. There is a reason that artists don't all work on the same kinds of paper or canvas or stone and the fact that surface is imitated on the screen demonstrates that someone isn't paying very much attention to their customers. "Well, maybe the tablets are very sensitive," said my friend. "And an uneven surface would interrupt how much information it received from the pen." Exactly.