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Hakim writes:
> T9 on my Nokia series 60 phone learns words I input. But it doesn't
> like it, nosirree, if I have the gumption to input a word not in its
> default dictionary it'll only show it grudgingly, after first of all
> suggesting all the other possible words it knows, useful or not, or
> failing that, pulling some out of its arse: I want to type my name?
> Maybe I meant "Galio"? No? How about "Halio"?
I have a friend named "Hamish". For some reason, my phone (also Nokia,
but not series 60) thinks that when I type his name, I probably meant
"Gangsg". I am at a loss to conceive of what (dictionary, algorithm)
pair could propose that 426474 resolve to "Gangsg".
The really hateful bit here is that picking the user's own words first
is almost invariably a better bet than vice versa. People do tend to,
y'know, put their own and their friends' names in text messages.
> Neither, of course, even attempts probabilistic disambiguation of
> commonly botched pairs like good/home or me/of, never mind weighting
> mothers above members of female religious orders.
Not to mention room/soon ("see you room"), cup/bus ("just getting on a
cup"), or riot/pint. Yes, Nokia, I'm _far_ more likely to invite my
friends out for a pleasant riot of an evening.
--
Aaron Crane
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