Comparison to other shorthands
The principal difference between Lesshand and other shorthands is that Lesshand is lossless. This means that you can type quickly in Lesshand and have a computer program decode your shorthand to standard written English, making Lesshand suitable for composing emails, documents, messages, and more.
Another key differentiator is that Lesshand is alphabetic, meaning it doesn't use any symbols outside of what you'd normally find on a keyboard.
Lesshand also emphasizes memorability and ease of learning.
The following is a comparison between Lesshand and a few typeable shorthands. As you can see, Lesshand is considerably more verbose, but also considerably easier to read. Furthermore, the sample text pleasantly justifies the losslessness of Lesshand. There would be no point in writing this letter in these other shorthands: the recipient couldn't read it!
Dear Sir: In reply to your request of March 5, several of our sales catalogues are being shipped to you, under separate cover. Thank you for your interest in our organization. We appreciate your help. If we can be of further service, let us know. Sincerely,
Lesshand:
Dear Sir: In reply to ur rqst o mar 5, sev o our sales catalogues r beq shipped to u, under separate cover. Thank u f ur ist in our org. We appreciate ur help. If we c be o furth svc, let us kw. Sincerely,
Personal Shorthand:
ds n rpli t y rqst o mr 5, svrl o r sals ctlgs r bg spd t u, u sprt cvr. t u f y ntrst n r org. w aprsat y hlp. f w c b o frtr srvc, lt u n. s
drsr n ri tr rqz vmrc 5 sv v l sls kegs l bg ji tu xr wpt kq. hu qr nez nl lgc. wijt r lp. fwkb vfrh srvs qsn. swrl