What is the best way of setting up Character recognition for a non-tablet laptop?

[arozenshtein]

Hi all,

I've read a few threads where people buy a USB pad and use Microsoft's IME pad software. Is that the best way to do it, or is there better software/better hardware that you can use? Out of curiosity, is this type of input method popular in China and, if so, is there good software for that?

Thanks,

Alan

[yonglin]

In terms of input methods, do you mean to *write* Chinese characters or just to type them?

For the latter, the most common input methods in China are probably pinyin or wubi (五笔). Personally, I've only seen people use pinyin, but wubi is supposedly a lot more efficient once you've learnt it.