News Week of January 20, 2008

Grants awarded from the Sparta Education Foundation

The first grant for $31,509 is to provide the students and teachers of Mohawk Avenue school with a mobile wireless computer lab. Michael Gregory, Principal of MAS said, “A mobile computer lab will enable teachers to better meet the growing technological needs of our curriculum and better prepare our students with the skills needed to communicate and collaborate with teachers, peers, and experts both within the building and throughout the world.”

The second grant for $22,200 will be used to purchase 10 tablet PCs and 10 wireless projectors. This is to expand the pilot use of tablet PCs as an instructional tool to the elementary and middle school teaching staff. Currently, the district is piloting the use of the tablet PCs at the high school. The initial feedback from this project is very positive. The tablets are being used by the teachers and students during instruction. Along with the tablet PC, the pilot teachers also receive a wireless projector. The combination allows the teachers to utilize the tablet as an interactive white board.  (Source: The Sparta Independent)

Merkel and Bill Gates seal pact on school PCs

In a speech delivered at the annual Government Leaders Forum – Europe, organised by Microsoft in the German capital this year, the chancellor compared the innovation ushered in by the Internet and computers to the fall of the Berlin Wall. 

"I'm absolutely convinced that the fact that I am able to be here today with you, that there is no longer a wall dividing the city of Berlin [...] is indeed a direct consequence - a product - of information technology", Merkel said, turning to the guests of the annual Microsoft event.

The chancellor was speaking following the presentation by Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates of one of the company's latest products to be marketed on a large scale. The 'Tablet PC' is a small laptop designed for use by pupils as a comprehensive alternative to books, notebooks and pens.  (Source: EurActive.com)

Local Doctors Use Tool To Cut Down Mistakes

A hand-held tablet PC, the Motion C5 Mobile Clinical Assistant, helps doctors have access to complete patient records. Dr. George Reynolds said it reduces the time it takes to deliver medication to a patient, and minimizes the risk that a patient will get the wrong drugs.

"No more writing and handwritten-type nonsense. You enter the order. The pharmacist reviews it for accuracy, and to complete the order ,there are details that need to be done, validated, and it's electronically transmitted down to the pharmacy," Reynolds said. (Source: KETV.com Omaha)

Dell Latitude XT Tablet PC User Review

As many readers will recall, ever since 2007 rumors have been surfacing that Dell was working on a Tablet PC. Then comes December the rumor turns real with Dell announcing and confirming their entry into the tablet market with the Latitude XT. On top of that, their decision to integrate N-Trig's duel-sense touch screen also brings a lot of speculation into the community. Obviously, expectation is high since Dell does holds a very strong position in the corporate laptop market. Their philosophy (especially on the corporate-focused Latitude line) of platform-consistency and the way Dell handled hardware transition had won them great support from many I.T. managers over the years. 

However, Dell's new foray is not critique-free from the general publics concerns. Their lack of experience in such market space, and the extremely high price tag seem to spawn comments from all over the globe. In the end, is the Latitude XT a worthy opponent to the current contenders in this space? The answer will ultimately depend on what each user needs. Therefore, in this review I will share with you the reason of choosing the XT, my experience regarding it, as well as some personal opinions. I hope through this review I can help you decide if the XT will be right for you.  (Source: Wallace Lau, TabletPCReview.com)

jkOnTheRun review- WiBrain B1-H UMPC

I think the WiBrain meets the intended use of a companion handheld computer. I'd recommend the device to anyone on a budget who can deal with the high resolution on the small screen and is looking for a portable device mainly for visual Internet usage. As mentioned, you can use the device for full desktop apps, but you'll see a hit in the battery life and you'll need an external keyboard for serious text entry. The touchscreen won't help you much here because the device isn't running the Tablet Edition of XP and based on the high res, I'm not sure it would be a positive experience in the end even if you were running it. Audio quality is lacking and the the web-cam not working with Skype takes away one of my primary functions, but if you don't use Skype or other apps that use a web-cam, this should be a non issue.

There's no disputing that even with some shortcomings, the device is an incredible portable computing value. On price and spec alone, I think it's a better value than the lowest priced OQO Model 02, but price and value aren't everything. Still, I'd like to see a cheaper option that doesn't offer a touchscreen for those who wouldn't use or need it.   (Source: jkOnTheRun)

SUAMPRIPAD Holds Workshop On Table PC Technology

In an effort to enhance teaching in the classroom and expose teachers to tablet PC technology, Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Damit Arabic Religious Secondary Girls School (SUAMPRIPAD) yesterday launched a five day InTel workshop for some 90 officers, teachers and staff of the school.   (Source: Bandar Seri Begawan, NYL, BruneiDirect.com)

Axiotron’s Award-Winning Modbook™, the World’s Only Tablet Mac®, ''Draws'' the Attention of Thousands of Artists, Designers, Photographers and Technology Enthusiasts at Macworld Expo® 2008

Axiotron Wowed Macworld Attendees With An Up Close Look At The Apple Authorized Modbook’s Enhanced Functionality And Sent Three Lucky Booth Raffle Participants Home As Winners Of Their Own Modbook

EL SEGUNDO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Axiotron, Inc., a leading proprietary high-tech hardware solution provider, grabbed headlines at the recently concluded Macworld 2008 with a dazzling display of the unparalleled functionality of its award-winning, recently shipped Modbook, the only Mac-based tablet computer on the market. Thousands of Macworld 2008 attendees, exhibitors and media representatives flocked to Axiotron’s booth, at San Francisco’s Moscone Center, seeking a first-hand demonstration of the slate-style Modbook’s capabilities as well as a chance to win a Modbook of their own in the daily booth raffles.

In highlighting the Modbook’s enhanced usability at Macworld Expo 2008, Axiotron transformed its booth into an interactive, hands-on classroom with on-site seminars conducted by renowned comic book artist Kody Chamberlain, Emmy award-winning animator Shannon Tindle, award-winning photographer Caesar Lima, acclaimed architectural designer Matthew Brewster and Cal State Fullerton design professor Bryan Cantley.

“Our demonstration stations and in-booth guest presenters gave visitors a chance to really experience the full functionality of the Modbook themselves, and then get a glimpse of the Modbook in use by professional artists, designers, photographers and software experts,” said Andreas Haas, CEO of Axiotron. “It was absolutely amazing to see some of the artistic creations left by show-goers as they turned the demonstration stations into their own digital canvasses – a real testament to the freedom, flexibility and ease-of-use offered by the Modbook.”

Named Best of Show at Macworld 2007, Axiotron’s Modbook captured the attention of Macworld 2008 visitors with its seamless integration of a state-of-the-art Wacom® pen-enabled display and the Apple MacBook® computer’s legendary ease of use and design sensibility. Visitors were consistently impressed by the fast, accurate and intuitive user experience offered by the Modbook’s 512 levels of pen pressure sensitivity, twice that of any tablet PC on the market.

“Following the debut of Modbook prototypes at Macworld 2007, the Modbook’s subsequent designation as an Apple-authorized product gave us the ability to be at Macworld 2008 with a product that better meets the needs of the talented and inspired artists, designers and photographers that we had in mind when we first started developing our Modbook,” added Haas.

At Macworld, all Axiotron booth-goers were given the opportunity to enter a daily booth raffle for a chance to win valuable prizes. The daily grand prize raffle winners, Michael Hourigan of Petaluma, California, Robert Lew Jr. of San Francisco, California and Jon Trusty of Santa Clarita, California, were each awarded a brand new Axiotron Modbook.

As a fully functional slate-style tablet Mac, pre-installed with Mac OS® X Leopard, a 2.0GHz or 2.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, a built-in iSight® camera, an integrated 24x DVD Combo drive or 8x DVD SuperDrive with double layer support and a built-in Global Positioning System (GPS), the Modbook delivers a powerful user experience like no other tablet-style computer on the market.

Complementing the Apple MacBook base system is the Axiotron Modbook’s largest-in-class wide angle 13.3" widescreen display that offers wider viewing angles and a higher contrast ratio, resulting in darker blacks and more vivid, saturated colors while maintaining the same resolution and aspect ratio of the original MacBook display.

Both the Modbook’s top shell and interior display frame are built from top grade, aircraft quality magnesium alloy, providing superior structural strength. A triple layer of metal plating – nickel over copper and topped with chrome – results in an extremely scratch resistant and aesthetically pleasing surface, offered in standard satin finish (available immediately) or optional mirror finish (available in late February 2008). Chemically strengthened Axiotron ForceGlass™ protects the Modbook’s LCD panel, as well as offering an anti-reflective coating to create a brighter image and an etched surface to provide a paper-like drawing and writing sensation.

Now available and shipping, the Modbook comes standard with an Axiotron Digitizer Pen featuring 2 programmable side buttons plus a digital eraser, and 3 different types of replaceable pen tips that offer a wider range of drawing styles and sensations. As a Macworld special, every Modbook ordered before February 29, 2008 will include an extra Axiotron Digitizer Pen and replaceable pen tips.

Every Modbook comes with a one-year limited hardware warranty covering the complete Modbook solution and can be upgraded to three years.

The Modbook has a manufacturer’s suggested retail price starting at $2,290 and is currently only available in the United States and Canada through Axiotron Authorized Resellers (AAR). In the United States, the Modbook can be custom configured and ordered through Other World Computing (http://www.macsales.com/modbook). In Canada, the Modbook is available through Carbon Computing (http://www.carbonation.com/modbook).   (Source: Press Release)

Schools of thought

The laptop program started in 1995 and in 2001 the school installed a wireless network to give all students access to the internet, email and school intranet from any classroom. In 2006 it introduced tablet PCs, which 450 students will use this year.

"We are moving towards paperless classrooms," Albiston says.

"Students use the tablets in art to paint, in Japanese to write characters and in mathematics to draw graphs and diagrams. The tablets have a stylus used like a pen.  (Source: Blanche Clark, Herald Sun)

Experimenting with using a Tablet PC in a streaming presentation

I experimented a bit with using a Tablet PC with an external monitor in a live stream. It works OK, but I need a bigger monitor I think :-).

In this setup I’m writing on a Tablet PC using Journal and cloning the Tablet’s display on an external monitor so everyone can see what I’m writing while I’m on the webcam. I’m also using WebcamMax so that I can switch between a webcam feed and a live view of the desktop, which is useful for providing higher quality views of the display.  (Source: Loren Heiny,Incremental Blogger)

GETAC Weighs in with E100 Fully Rugged Tablet PC for Field and Customer Service Applications<

At Only 3 Pounds, GETAC’s E100 is the New Lightweight Leader, Offering Popular Rugged Features at a Competitive Price

TAMPA, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--GETAC Inc., a leading innovator and manufacturer of Rugged computers that meet the demands of field-based applications, today announces the addition of the ultra-lightweight but Fully Rugged GETAC E100 slate-style tablet PC to its growing roster of versatile Rugged mobile computing solutions. The E100 will be unveiled during the DistribuTECH 2008 Conference & Exhibition at the Tampa Convention Center (Booth #1938), and will be commercially available beginning in March 2008.

Weighing in at 3 pounds – making it the lightest Rugged tablet PC on the market – the versatile, easy-to-maneuver E100 is designed with field and customer service applications in mind. Despite its trim look and feel, the GETAC E100 is every bit as tough as the heavyweights: It meets MIL-STD-810F and IP54 standards for durability and protection against dirt, dust, water, motion, vibration, temperature and other factors that would severely damage or disable a commercial-grade PC.

The E100 offers workers in the field an 8.4-inch TFT SVGA transmissive display with integrated touch screen panel. Optional features include an Ultra-Bright sunlight-readable display and 800 Nit backlit LCD screen that delivers astonishing readability that is comparable to larger-screen models. GETAC also offers an array of expandable “mission boxes” designed for customized market applications that use RFID, barcode and magnetic strip readers or digital cameras.

“The E100 sets a new standard in lightweight Rugged mobility at a competitive price that makes it attractive for deployment to an entire field-based workforce,” said Jim Rimay, vice president of Sales & Marketing at GETAC. “It fills a tremendous void in the Rugged marketplace for a 8.4-inch slate tablet that is lightweight and balances on the palm of your hand, is easy to read even in the brightest sunlight, has the power and extended battery life to operate for long periods of time, and can be customized to meet a wide range of field and customer service applications.”

The E100 is powered by an Intel^® Stealey 512KB L2 cache processor that operates at 800MHz and offers up to five hours of battery life. The E100 includes 512MB DDRII DRAM upgradeable to 1GB and a 60/80/100GB shock-resistant HDD, all contained in a watertight Fully Rugged magnesium alloy case that is vibration and drop-shock resistant. The E100 includes 802.11b/g wireless LAN and Bluetooth 2.0 connectivity as standard features; EV-DO and GPRS/EDGE networks and integrated GPS are available as options.

The GETAC E100 Fully Rugged slate tablet PC also includes a number of security features – all standard – including smart card reader, Kensington lock and TPM v1.2.

The GETAC E100 will be available through GETAC authorized resellers. Please visit www.getac.com for more information.   (Source: Press Release)

GBM InkShow: InkSeine

"To seine is to fish with a net. To fish for results from ink is not insane, but rather InkSeine!" What a great definition for this prototype note-taking application being released by Microsoft Research.

InkSeine is a Tablet PC note-taking application designed and built from ground up around the pen, with the ability to easily search the web or your local computer directly from your ink. The search interface is unlike anything I've ever worked with in the past, with the ability to narrow or expand the results based on file type or date with a simple flick of the pen. It is such a joy to use an application where the box was built around the pen rather than making the pen fit the box.  As such, InkSeine is quickly becoming my go-to application for ink note-taking.

InkSeine will be free and will be released to the general public on February 15th. It is not a supported Microsoft product. The  best way to get support for InkSeine will be through the product page, Ken's blog, and through our GBM forums where Ken frequently visits and comments. There is extensive help and plenty of video tutorials on the product page and in the application itself, as well.  (Source: Rob Bushway, GottaBeMobile)