Monroi was solving a problem that did not exist. I find this and like devices rather ridiculous. Moreover, it's easy to disguise a small computer as one and cheat: how many players are really going to demand to see what you're using? And how many TDs actually check? As cheating becomes more and more widespread (it seems), these are best banned and something used that has stood the test of time: a pen and paper.
Any Competitor to Monroi Chess?
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Eyechess wrote:
Brian, I have had and used a Plycounter now for well over 5 months. i have had no problems with it.
In fact I find it easier to use and more reliable than the eNotate system that I had and used on 3 different Dell Axim devices. Yes, the Dell Axims went kapow. And the software even had a glitch in it at the end, with the newest version. Alas, Sevan has passed away and I am sure there will be no improvements to that system. I also think his widow has shut down his Chess businesses and I am strongly suspicious that it is no longer available.
What glitch?
Spassky69 wrote:
Monroi was solving a problem that did not exist. I find this and like devices rather ridiculous. Moreover, it's easy to disguise a small computer as one and cheat: how many players are really going to demand to see what you're using? And how many TDs actually check? As cheating becomes more and more widespread (it seems), these are best banned and something used that has stood the test of time: a pen and paper.
While its possible to disguise a small computer as one, I would not in any way, shape or form call it easy. I've had both TDs and players ask to review the device, and I have always been happy to do so. It would actually be fairly obvious if questionable activity were happening.
I like the devices because of the easy transfer of games to a database after the tournament is complete.
ozzie_c_cobblepot wrote:
Couldn't the Monroi device be configured to send a bluetooth signal to a vibration-enabled watch/shoe or something else? Some of these tournaments have pretty good prize money.
I agree they are pretty convenient, and the one time I used it (tournament-provided), it was cool for some of my friends to follow online. I do remember though that for a paper scoresheet person such as myself, it messed with my thought process enough that I wouldn't want to use it again.
Monroi doesn't use Bluetooth or WiFi. It's on a separate signal.
Spassky69 wrote:
Monroi was solving a problem that did not exist. I find this and like devices rather ridiculous.
The practical value of these devices is without question. Trying to say otherwise just makes you look out of touch.
Of course, their use raises other issues of great concern to over the board chess players.
KBachler wrote:
Eyechess wrote:
Brian, I have had and used a Plycounter now for well over 5 months. i have had no problems with it.
In fact I find it easier to use and more reliable than the eNotate system that I had and used on 3 different Dell Axim devices. Yes, the Dell Axims went kapow. And the software even had a glitch in it at the end, with the newest version. Alas, Sevan has passed away and I am sure there will be no improvements to that system. I also think his widow has shut down his Chess businesses and I am strongly suspicious that it is no longer available.
What glitch?
During the post mortem and playing the game score back, the program would freeze at an arbitrary point and not proceed giving any further moves on the device. It did not always happen and it never happened at the same move or place in the game. However it happened enough to be quite annoying.
This was a definite software flaw as I tried it on 2 different devices with the same program iteration. And happened consistently at the same point in the same game at all times. It did not matter if I rebooted the device, re-saved the pgn and tried again or anything.
I had talked with Sevan about the problem 3 or 4 times, so he knew about it. His response was that it was indeed a glitch in the software. I even sent him the pgn for him and his programmer to look at, with no success.
I just quietly quit using the device and eNotate program for about 8 months. I had used it for about 5 years, going through 2 or 3 Dell Axims.
It was November of last year that I ended up buying the Plycounter and it has worked with no problems since.
Eyechess wrote:
KBachler wrote:
Eyechess wrote:
Brian, I have had and used a Plycounter now for well over 5 months. i have had no problems with it.
In fact I find it easier to use and more reliable than the eNotate system that I had and used on 3 different Dell Axim devices. Yes, the Dell Axims went kapow. And the software even had a glitch in it at the end, with the newest version. Alas, Sevan has passed away and I am sure there will be no improvements to that system. I also think his widow has shut down his Chess businesses and I am strongly suspicious that it is no longer available.
What glitch?
During the post mortem and playing the game score back, the program would freeze at an arbitrary point and not proceed giving any further moves on the device. It did not always happen and it never happened at the same move or place in the game. However it happened enough to be quite annoying.
This was a definite software flaw as I tried it on 2 different devices with the same program iteration. And happened consistently at the same point in the same game at all times. It did not matter if I rebooted the device, re-saved the pgn and tried again or anything.
I had talked with Sevan about the problem 3 or 4 times, so he knew about it. His response was that it was indeed a glitch in the software. I even sent him the pgn for him and his programmer to look at, with no success.
I just quietly quit using the device and eNotate program for about 8 months. I had used it for about 5 years, going through 2 or 3 Dell Axims.
It was November of last year that I ended up buying the Plycounter and it has worked with no problems since.
Odd, I've never had that happen. Any chance it was peculiar to a particular version of PocketPC? (I always did an upgrade to 6.0 through 6.5)
Ah, I didn't use a Pocket PC but a Dell Axim 51. It was probably due to that format.
When I first started with the program, in 2010, Sevan led me to the Dell Axim telling me the Pocket PC was a lot less common. And it worked just fine for 4 years or so. That is when Sevan had the program updated and the unit I was using quit, so I had to get another.
I didn't want to spend over $90 for a unit, especially since the Plycounter costs something like $180 while being a new device that is totally dedicated to scorekeeping.
My bad... I meant Windows Mobile (which succeeded PocketPC)
we have used the plycounter for the past year and kids take better notation than by paper. Issue is that 2 units broke down about the same time. touch screen issues and the other unit, the clock won't keep time. There is no way to contact customer support by phone!! Customer support by email is hit or miss. No response until the 5th email and that took 4 months.
While we like the plycounter and monroi electronic recorders, plycount customer service is poor. if I had another choice I would buy from anyone else than them.
And the problem is that there is no competition for this product. With only the Monroi and PlyCounter available we really need at least 2 more companies to come out with one of these devices.
Hello!
We recently released a digital chess players journal app for club and tournament players. Whilst it cannot be used at the board it does offer a really practical tool straight after a match for recording paper scoresheets up into the cloud for permanent storage.
Key features:
- Record paper scoresheets straight to phone or tablet
- built in engine
- PGN import and export for use with other chess software
- create and track personal improvement goals
- statistics across your competitive season
- available on both Apple and Android devices
More information is here: http://chessjournalapp.com
or our blog: https://thechessjournalblog.wordpress.com
Some players to n this thread might find it useful.
thanks
Jon
I bet they don't approve any smart device for this purpose for fear of some kind of cheating. like smartphones, ipads etc
I've been regularly using Blieb Chess Recorder Pro on my Android phone for informal ten-minute games at my local chess club. I tell any new opponent that it is only a recorder. The only kind of "advice" that the app gives is that it won't allow me to record an illegal move for either side. That sometimes shows us when a person is in check and we had not noticed. It is pretty easy to transfer the PGN files from my phone to my laptop via Microsoft OneDrive. On the laptop I can put them into any analysis engine and/or email them to my opponent for them to review.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bliebapps.bliebchessrecorder.pro
bill_starr wrote:
I've been regularly using Blieb Chess Recorder Pro on my Android phone for informal ten-minute games at my local chess club. I tell any new opponent that it is only a recorder. The only kind of "advice" that the app gives is that it won't allow me to record an illegal move for either side. That sometimes shows us when a person is in check and we had not noticed. It is pretty easy to transfer the PGN files from my phone to my laptop via Microsoft OneDrive. On the laptop I can put them into any analysis engine and/or email them to my opponent for them to review.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bliebapps.bliebchessrecorder.pro
Thank you Bill. Have you received any push back from TD or opponent on this? This may be very helpful for my son.
Now that you mention it - it was at the National Open one year, and they offered me that I would use their (tournament-supplied) Monroi devices. So yeah, they probably had their IT department set it all up.