Anyone who's tried to scan in a document and then have character recognition software convert it to editable text can relate to how tedious and unpredictable the task is. Doesn't make sense when all you need is a paragraph or two.

That's when the IRISPen express comes in handy.

The manufacturers claim this little device can, "simply scan printed information from books, newspapers, magazines, faxes, letters, spreadsheets, etc. and instantly see all the words and numbers entered in your favorite application, wherever your cursor is."

The IRIS Pen Express is available for both PC and Mac and is priced at around $130-150.00 US. It is really small so you can carry it around anywhere you want, whip it out in a library if you want and scan away till your hearts content lol.