My initial impression of Microsoft’s Surface RT Tablet

First and foremost I haven’t purchased a Surface RT tablet. While traveling this week for work I found an opportunity to stop by a Microsoft Retail store in the area and finally get my hands on one for about half an hour. There is no question about  it, Microsoft has done themselves proud with the Surface hardware. The tablet is beautiful from the kickstand to the angular features and even the touch cover, which is surprisingly nice to type with and gives the tablet a finished look when closed. The UI works great on the tablet and everything operates smoothly. I put it through its paces by opening as many programs as I could and just bouncing around from a Word document and SkyDrive to taking photos and video. I even spent time browsing the web from within the new IE. Everything worked as advertised.

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Saturday morning coffee [October 27 2012]

So much happens each and every week that it’s hard to keep up sometimes. Here are some of the tabs that are open in my browser this morning along with some random thoughts….

The coffee mug to the right is from Galveston, TX. Galveston is an interesting place. It’s a beach town, but unlike any beach town here in California. Galveston has the warmest ocean water I’ve ever been in. Almost like bath water. That may sound like a negative, but it’s really not. Instead of having to inch my way into the water I was able to jump right in and spend some time with the kids without freezing half to death. It was a nice change of pace from the California coastline. The other distinct feature of the beach is that it has a gradual slope into the water from the shoreline. I was able to walk more than 100 yards from shore without getting into water over my head. It made for some great fun as my wife and daughters joined me and we played in the water for quite some time. I hadn’t been in ocean water for a long time. It felt good. By the time we were finished at the beach I was sticky with salt, worn out and slightly burnt. In other words, perfect.

Paranormal Activity 4 was #1 at the box office last weekend. It’s that time of year again. Because we’re nearing Halloween we’re seeing a whole slew of scary movies hitting the box office. Not my thing.  I’m not a big fan of Halloween in general. Give me Thanksgiving or Christmas every time. You can keep Halloween and the movies that go along with it.

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Clinical documentation: composition or synthesis? [article]

A recent article in the Journal of American Informatics Association (JAMIA) takes a look at note-writing practices of medical residents while using an electronic health record (EHR) system. Through the use of time-and-motion studies the authors concluded that there was “a high level of fragmentation of documentation activities and frequent task transitions [when using an … Read more

Combination lock to prevent blood transfusion errors? Why not

medGadget: “Typenex Medical, a Chicago, Illinois company, has created a solution that pretty much eliminates the possibility for errors. The system utilizes a combination lock on the blood bag that will only open using a code printed on the patient’s armband. If a clinician accidentally attempts to open the bag using another patient’s code, it … Read more

Microsoft Surface RT is a great looking tablet, but I’ll be holding off for now

“The difference between men and boys is the price of their toys” – unknown I had a Microsoft Surface RT tablet in the shopping cart. I was this close – holding my thumb and index finger very close to each other – to pulling the trigger. Had the trusty credit card out and permission from … Read more

Cool Pharmacy Technology – Kirby Lester KL1Plus

The Kirby Lester KL1Plus is a piece of technology designed to count medications in a retail/outpatient pharmacy setting. The device was introduced at the recent National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) and Department of Defense Joint Forces Pharmacy Services annual conventions in San Diego, CA.

The KL1Plus is based on Kirby Lester’s KL1 tablet counter combined with new verification software. It’s small enough to fit in your hand and uses barcode technology to provide medication verification during the counting and filling process.

The is pharmacy technician scans the barcode on the patient label, then scans the corresponding stock bottle or package when counting.

What I really like about this technology is that it’s simple, it’s small, it fills a niche, it uses barcode scanning for verification, and uses touch screen technology. It’s a smartly designed product. I like it.

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KoamTac adds scanner cases for Samsung Galaxy SIII and Samsung Note 2

KoamTac makes some pretty cool BlueTooth barcode scanners. I’ve used their KDC300i imager with an iPod touch. It’s small, light and fast. Historically KoamTac has been almost exclusively aimed at Apple equipment, i.e. iPhones, iPod touches and iPads. It’s nice to see that they’re including other popular smartphones as well. I’m particularly excited to see … Read more

Saturday morning coffee [October 13 2012]

So much happens each and every week that it’s hard to keep up sometimes. Here are some of the tabs that are open in my browser this morning along with some random thoughts….

The coffee mug to the right is from The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Tx. My family and I spent some time there during our summer vacation in Texas. One of the things I really wanted to do in Dallas was visit Dealey Plaza and the site where JFK was assassinated. Well, I finally got that chance as my family and I spent some time walking around the plaza area, visiting the location of the assassination and spending a little time at the book repository and museum. JFK is one of the few men in history that I would have liked to have met in person.

Taken 2 was #1 at the box office last weekend. My wife and I saw it last Saturday. Not bad. If you decide to go see it make sure you don’t want a good story line or incredible acting range. Just enjoy the senseless violence and be entertained. Hotel Transylvania was #2 at the box office. I saw that last night with my wife and youngest daughter. Good, clean humor. Worth seeing especially if you have little ones.

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More on the meningitis outbreak caused by contaminated steroid injection

Things just keep getting worse: death toll rose to 14 and people affected was up to 172 in 11 states as of this afternoon. It’s difficult to find accurate information on the exact cause of the meningitis, but it appears that most of the cases are related to either Aspergillus or Exserohilum. Fungal infections are … Read more