Asus R2H Ultra Mobile PC Video

The Ultra Mobile Personal Computer (UMPC) is a portable device sized inbetween a tablet PC and a handheld Pocket PC. I'm oversimplifying a bit, but the UMPC is essentially a slate tablet PC with a 7-inch diagonal widescreen display. It has built-in wireless, USB ports, firewire, video out, a hard drive and runs Windows XP tablet edition, which means that any software that will run on Windows should run on this unit. An on-screen keyboard of sorts is available for thumb typing and a stylus allows freehand writing on the screen with character recognition. Unfortunately, the first generation products are limited to a 2.5 hour battery life. Windows Vista, when released in the fall, offers battery life enhancing features that will be welcomed on the UMPC. Pricing for UMPC devices is expected to be somewhere between $600 and $1,000, depending on the vendor and features.

The possibilities are nearly endless in healthcare for such a device:

• View training videos anywhere
• Conduct supply inventory and order wirelessly on the spot
• Research data entry on the bench, in a patient's room or in the field
• Access the electronic library resources anywhere
• Transport visually rich presentations to conferences
• Record teleconferences while using the device to display accompanying slides
• Runs OneNote, Microsoft Office
• Will likely run most content creation applications, i.e., Acrobat and Premiere
• Accepts USB devices such as scanners, printers and barcode readers
• Accepts digital video work via firewire
• Laboratory, pharmacy, nursing, imaging, and support staff will all find uses for the UMPC

The device is expected to be available in April.

The Gizmodo crew conducted a video interview with an Asus representative at the CeBIT show demonstrating the Asus UMPC product. The video, to be honest, is horrible. The Asus representation is difficult to understand (poor English and just a lousy salesman using car keys instead of the stylus to touch the screen) and the camera work is an embarassment. However, there is information to be had so listen carefully and rub your eyes frequently.

OneNote 2007 Beta 1 Demo Video

Rob Bushway has posted a video demo of OneNote 2007 Beta 1 at gottabemobile.com that covers many of the improvements over the current version of OneNote. The show was made with the Camtasia screen capture application from Techsmith and runs a little over five minutes. Although the presentation is a bit dry at times and the captured screen is overly busy with icons and toolbars, the information provided is interesting.

Tablet PC Music Video

James Kendrick, a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional - Tablet PC, has made what one might call a "Tablet PC Application Demonstration Music Video" that highlights the use of several tablet PC applications - essentially a screencast set to music.

This all well and good, but I would have rather have seen narration of the activities with music playing at a low volume in the background.

Nonetheless, the video may help convince you that tablet PCs are useful in healthcare education and training.

The link to his blog is HERE.

Online PodcastUser Magazine Debuts

In what is a solid first issue, PodcastUser magazine has launched with discussions of all things podcasting. It appears to be a product of England and a bit Apple-centric, but I love british humor and my iPod so that's OK. The magazine covers material of interest to newbies and old hands -- from reviews of mixers and microphones, to podcast reviews, to how to get your podcast subscription feed going PodcastUser magazine looks very promising.

The magazine is currently available as a free PDF download and should be helpful to laboratorians working to offer teaching and training materials as podcasts.

Drag the orange icon to your aggregator to subscribe to PodcastUser.

Vlog It! Released

Serious Magic has finally released their new vlogging tool, Vlog It!, for immediate purchase via electronic software download (ESD). The CD version will be available for shipping shortly.

Vlog It! is a terrific application for those who wish to easily add video content to their blog.

I was a beta tester for the product and I can assuredly state that at $49 it's a bargain.

Watch my video preview of the trial version in iPod format HERE.

New Toshiba Tablet Almost Hits Home Run

Toshiba today officially made their new Portege M400 Tablet PC, the replacement for their popular Portege M200, available for order.

The unit has a near perfect weight and form factor for a tablet PC thats offers easy convertibility from notebook computer format to tablet -- at 4.5 pounds, students and healthcare professionals will find the M400 easy to carry throughout a long and busy day.

The tablet PC can be ordered with Intel's new Solo (single core) or Duo (dual core) processors, up to 2 GB of system RAM and a hard drive up to 120 GB in size.

Unfortunately, those who work with digital video and large image files will be disappointed to learn that the M400 offers only an integrated Intel graphics solution that shares system RAM; in other words, Toshiba has decided not to offer optional nVidia or ATI graphics chips with dedicated graphics RAM. In my view, this is a huge error in judgement by management. In addition, the Microsoft Windows Vista Upgrade is expected to release in Fall 2006 with increased demands on graphics hardware making the purchase at this time of a unit with an integrated or shared RAM solution somewhat questionable.

While the base M400 is priced fairly reasonably, a beefed up M400 with dual core processor, a GB of RAM and large, fast hard drive quickly breaks well over the $2,000 mark.

Personally, I will wait unti Vista ships before I buy a tablet PC -- there should be lots of updated tablets introduced at that time -- perhaps even a "M600" with stronger graphics processing.

However, for those who will use their tablet for modest content creation the Toshiba Portege M400 with its light weight and excellent form factor is worth considering.

Record Teleconferences To iPod 5G

XtremeMac has announced what looks to be a very useful accessory for the 5th generation video-capable iPod. The MicroMemo is a small device that plugs into the base of a 5G iPod and allows attachment of any 3.5 mm microphone or line for capturing 44 KHz/16 Bit - high quality recordings of teleconferences, meetings or just about anything. A removable mic with flexible neck is included. Built-in speakers allow playback to a group.

This is one of the first mic recording accessories to be announced that exploits the high-fidelity capabilities if the new iPod. Previous iPods were capable of only 8 Bit recording.

Now teleconferences, meetings and continuing education, once recorded digitally, can be stored and distributed (podcasted) in a high quality format. No more cassette recorders in the conference room, please!

MicroMemo is expected to be available in the spring at a suggested retail price of $79.95.

SnagIt 8 Released

SnagIt is a wonderful screen capture utility that is inexpensive, powerful and easy to use. Techsmith recently released a new version of the application that enhances the user interface and adds several great new features.

SnagIt, in my view, is an indispensible for creating instructional content. One can capture entire Web pages with active hyperlinks, application buttons, dialog boxes, user-defined regions, edit the objects, add interactivity and even publish the project to PDF.

Although designed primarily as a "still" capture and editing utility, SnagIt has a rudimentary ability to perform "video" captures of screen activity. I prefer using Camtasia Studio for video captures, but those on a tight budget might find SnagIt's ability in this area to be adequate for their needs.

Laboratorians will find SnagIt! useful when writing procedure manuals as screen shots can be taken of specimen login, culture workups and test reporting for insertion into bench procedures. HIPAA compliance can be maintained through the use of built-in editing features which allow fast and easy removal or masking of patient information. Research and test validation efforts can be enhanced through capture of vendor and reference Web pages, including active hyperlinks, and saved as PDF for filing or collaberation with colleagues through email attachment.

SnagIt is available in a free trial version HERE.

Techsmith maintains a support blog, The Visual Lounge, that is full of useful information HERE.

Drag the orange icon to your aggregator to subscribe to Techsmith's The Visual Lounge blog.

ASM Launches Video Podcast

The American Society for Microbiology will launch a weekly video podcast formatted specifically for the iPod, but also viewable on most desktop computers. The podcast is essentially excerpts from a PBS series called Intimate Strangers: Unseen Life On Earth.

Drag the orange icon to iTunes or your aggregator to subscribe to Intimate Strangers: Life On Earth.

Canon Digital Rebel and Flash Microscopy

Ken Vernon discusses his photomicroscopy work using a common and inexpensive Canon Digital Rebel SLR. He also describes adapting electronic flash lighting to obtain superior images. A very good read.

Excellent OneNote 2003 Overview Video

Chris Bertelson is a widely experienced OneNote user and trainer. In a 45-minute video presentation, he discusses the basics of using OneNote 2003 as well as several tips for more experienced users.

OneNote has huge potential in laboratory medicine. As a single facility to organize and store all one's notes, information never gets lost or misplaced. Applications include research and test method validations, inventory, library and Web searches for relevant documents, quality control documentation, etc. Notes can be augmented with digital images, video, audio and screen clips.

When combined with a tablet PC, OneNote brings its functionality to a platform that can be carried and written upon like a clipboard with paper.

All educators, particularly those in healthcare, should be seriously looking at deploying tablet PCs with OneNote to both instructors and students.

Vlog It! Release Delayed

While at CES, Serious Magic demonstrated their new vlogging tool Vlog It! and discovered that there might be an issue with the program's functionality and some of the features offered by new digital video cameras also on display at the event. Rather than follow through with a formal release of Vlog It! at CES, Serious Magic made the decision to not begin sales long enough to address these issue.

Once the program is offered for sale, a full review will be posted.