My family and I just returned from a few days in Las Vegas for a little rest and relaxation. During our visit, we had dinner at the new Hard Rock Café on the Strip. This particular Hard Rock features an interactive Microsoft Surface wall on the second floor as well as Surface screens at each booth in the dinning area and a couple of Surface tables near the wall. Of course my daughters and I spent quite a bit of time playing with the Surface wall and the Surface screen in the booth we were seated at for dinner. Well, I should say my daughters had an opportunity to play with the Surface screen at our table. I couldn’t get within a foot of it because they were having such a blast with it.Â
Hardware
Roadside drug test anyone?
Technology Review: “Later this year, Philips will introduce a handheld electronic device that uses magnetic nanoparticles to screen for five major recreational drugs. The device is intended for roadside use by law enforcement agencies and includes a disposable plastic cartridge and a handheld analyzer. The cartridge has two components: a sample collector for gathering saliva … Read more
Cool Technology for Pharmacy
Radio-frequency identification (RFID) printers. RFID refers to small electronic devices that consist of a small chip and an antenna. They are capable of carrying quite a bit of information. To retrieve the information an RFID device must be scanned much like a barcode. While barcodes require a “line of sight” to be recognized by the … Read more
End-user virtualization in a hospital.
InformationWeek:”Norton Healthcare, the largest health care supplier in the Louisville, Ky., region, has adopted end-user virtualization as a means of giving doctors and nurses a desktop that follows them on their rounds. The five-unit acute-care hospital chain and supplier of 11 neighborhood clinics is in the process of providing 1,000 thin clients to end-user end … Read more
New LCD technology may be the solution I’m looking for.
A week or so ago I made a comment wishing that someone would make an e-ink screen for laptop or desktop use. E-ink would be an ideal solution as it offers several advantages over current screen technology. Screens using e-ink offer a great reading experience even in bright light environments, they don’t put undue strain on the eyes and draw very little power (e-readers like the Kindle can last up to 40 hours on a single charge). No longer a wish, a company called Pixel Qi has developed new technology that isn’t quite e-ink but definitely a step in the right direction. Their new LCD technology is viewable in full sunlight and looks very similar to epaper. To see what I’m talking about take a look at this video comparing Pixel Qi’s new LCD screen to the Kindle’s e-ink screen. Of course this new technology shouldn’t be confused with the Kindle’s e-ink technology, but it still looks fantastic.