The Interlocutor
We have the following products up for review at SmallBizWindows & AbsoluteWindows:
Quite a full plate, eh?
I have been using Windows 7 Release Candidate, or RC, for the past two weeks, both in x86 (32-bit) and x64 (64-bit) versions.
This release is an upgrade for me, since I have been using Windows 7 as my primary operating system since PDC2008, last October...(read more)
“I pity the fool”, used to be a phrase spat out in derision by the fictional character Sergeant Bosco Albert ‘B.A.’ Baracus on the 1980’s TV show, The A-Team.
In these current days, the fools in question are those who take the opinions of ignorant and...(read more)
Zero Percent!
Just got a memo that HP is offering 0% financing to small and medium businesses for, get this: Workstations, notebooks, desktops, servers, storage, printers, monitors, etc. the entire shebang!
Talk about standing out in these troubled times...(read more)
26 sites around the world will be giving away the Pantech Matrix Pro, a Windows Mobile v6.1 smartphone.
Furthermore, you get $100, in the form of an AT&T gift card, to get your Matrix Pro experience going.
Tools for Thought kicked off the contest...(read more)
Imagine this scenario: You faithfully have your personal medical data entered into, or imported into Google Health.
Something (medical) happens, and you depend on that data to see you through to good health.
Meanwhile, due to some automagic translation...(read more)
Recently, I was in Houston, Texas, for the 2009 HP Tech Day for the HP ProLiant G6 Servers.
Most of the event took place in a super-secure conference room on the HP facility, and guess what?
The wired network was for HP employees only!
I know, I know...(read more)
The Pantech Matrix Pro is a dual-keyboard, dual-slider smartphone running Microsoft Windows Mobile v6.1 Standard.
This is truly a world phone, with quad-band GSM, and tri-band UMTS radios.
I have been using the phone as my primary phone for the past six...(read more)
Sometimes, the truth is waaaay stranger than fiction.
Really stranger than fiction!
Case in point is the news about GM and Segway coming together to create a new vehicle, currently nicknamed P.U.M.A., picture below.
I will wait while guffaws subside....(read more)
Last week, HP released eleven, yes, eleven new ProLiant servers, targeting all sizes of businesses from the small business to the enterprise.
This range of servers are comprised of tower, rackmount, and blade servers. I had the good fortune to be part...(read more)
Just got back from Houston (Texas), where I was part of HP’s ProLiant G6 Servers Tech Day events, and participated in the HP Web Jam for the ProLiant G6 earlier today .
My head is chuck full of information that I will start to divulge here, and in The...(read more)
In my preview here, I announced the CradlePoint MBR1000 WWAN router.
Well, the MBR1000 was joined by the CTR500 and PHS300 mobile routers.
These three devices have performed beyond admirably.
The CradlePoint MBR1000 Router
This is a Superstar product.
In all our tests, one feature replicated across the line of CradlePoint devices was the ease of use.
The CradlePoint routers are plug-in easy, and come with a browser-based setup that is just easy.
Written for humans, this is a welcome departure from the techno jargon generally found in user guides from lesser companies.
I am still impressed by the fact that you plug in an already activated cellular mode, open a browser window, and Bob’s your uncle. Simple as that. If setup is required, a wizard and/or a simple web page allows you to do just that.
This is a high performance device, and it actually increased the perceptible response of the cellular modem.
For this and all mentioned in the preview, we are giving the CradlePoint MBR1000 the SmallBizWindows Superstar Award.
For any business, and anyone for that matter, in an area without broadband, the only device you should consider is the CradlePoint MBR1000 Router.
The CradlePoint CTR500
In a conversation with Don, a VITO (Very Important Top Officer) at CradlePoint, I mentioned that I might be taking the MBR1000 on the road with me for mobility. He laughed, and pointed me in the direction of the CradlePoint CTR500 and PHS300 devices, letting me know that they have me covered. Subsequently, I received both devices for review.
For the CTR500, I decided to test for reception as well as mobility.
Location: Holyoke, Colorado.
For this review, some providers from Mediklabs perform a clinical outreach in Holyoke to the underserved of our populace. In order to do so excellently, the providers need to be in contact with the servers back at Mediklabs.
However, in their assigned offices, the only spot where a cellular 3G connection cam be made is at a far corner right at the window.
Into this comes the CTR500. Plugging the 3G modem into the CradlePoint CTR500 created an instant Wi-Fi hotspot that worked throughout the assigned offices.
The providers looked at me like I was…..
This same experience has been replicated several times over the past couple of weeks all over rural Northern Colorado.
It is a device that extends your productivity past the end of the broadband line, and it is very welcome.
As a result, it is the recipient of the SmallBizWindows Business Ready Award of Excellence.
The CradlePoint PHS300 Router
For the past several months, I have traveled to Utah performing rainmaking duties for a project we have been working on.
Since it involves a lot of proprietary numbers, both sides in the negotiations have experienced some trepidation allowing me the use of their computer network while I am on their premises.
Enter the CradlePoint PHS300.
Upon entering the client building on the two occasions over the last few weeks that I have been there, I turned on the PHS300, which, incidentally, measures only 3x5, in got to work.
It is safe to say that enquiring minds wanted to know what we were talking about.
Even while in their data center, reception from the PHS300 was steady, and in all instances, the CradlePoint routers excelled in performance, even better performance than the stock 3G modems.
In the car, pickup truck actually, for the 2-hour trip back to the airport, my assistant and I were able to continue working through just one modem.
We are also giving the CradlePoint PHS300 the SmallBizWindows Business Ready Award of Excellence.
This kind of productivity enhancement does not come by accident.
In targeting this space, CradlePoint is innovating in a very neglected, however soon to be extremely important sector of the economy.
As more people disconnect their landlines and move to 3G and soon, 4G networks, the ability to take that broadband connection with us will be a boon to our productivity goals. CradlePoint is well positioned to help up make that leap. Which I am sure will be appreciated by some deep-pocketed company.
Finally, we are making the CradlePoint MBR1000, CTR500, and PHS300 essential components of the Logikworx Small Business Toolkit. Immediately.
The Pantech Matrix Pro is a dual keyboard, dual slider smartphone running Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.1 Standard software. I have had a unit for the past few weeks.
The device is compact, comes in an attractive gunmetal blue case, and seems sturdy. (Then...(read more)
One of the divisions at Microsoft that continues to underwhelm me is the Windows Mobile team.
Forget, for a second, the fact that they sell over 20 million licenses yearly….(read on)
For the past several weeks, I have been reviewing the Epson WorkForce Pro GT-S80 sheet feed scanner.
While we all strive for the paperless office, the reality of it is that the current inventory of documents has to be digitized, or at least scanned, into the respective e-document repositories of their owners.
Into this scenario comes the high-speed scanner.
Epson WorkForce GT-S80
Announced in November of 2008, the WorkForce Pro GT-S80, hereinafter called the scanner, is a sheet-fed, single-pass duplex scanner designed for small and medium business environments, with a bias towards smaller environments.
It is spec’d at 80 pages per minute in mono mode, and has a 75-sheet sheet feeder.
While we do not use dedicated scanners of any sort at Logikworx or Logiklabs, I have clients and prospects that need them, especially in the healthcare industry, more evident now that everyone is moving towards implementing electronic medical records and/or electronic practice management suites.
Accordingly, I was able to obtain a copy for review at Mediklabs.
Unboxing
The GT-S80 came in a smallish box.
While signing for it, I asked the FedEx courier if there wasn’t Part II to the package. No, said he, and went on his merry way.
I opened the package to see a small device, the size of a large toaster, and a power supply.
A USB connector, user manuals, and a software CD completed the package.
I connected the parts, inserted the disc in the test system, installed the software, got an ‘install success’ dialog, and got to testing.
The Review
The included software suite for the WorkForce Pro GT-S80 is pretty extensive. You get the primary Epson Scan software, Abbyy FineReader Sprint Plus OCR software, ScanSoft’s PaperPort, and NewSoft’s Presto! BizCard software.
I changed the default output to PDF files for this review.
I inserted ten (10) double-sided sheets into the scanner’s sheet feeder, clicked on double-sided scan, and proceeded to doubt what transpired next.
The scanner fed the papers so fast through the machine that I took the output and waited for the software to prompt me for the second side.
After none was forthcoming, I decided to look at the saved output to see what exactly was going on.
To say that I am impressed is a gross understatement!
The scanner performs high-speed, duplex, color scanning.
Repeat, the WorkForce GT-S80 performs high-speed, duplex, color scanning.
It is truly a high-speed scanner.
I then ran it through several paces, using different materials up to large photographs and at very high resolutions.
The GT-S80 breezed through it all. In fact, the holdup was with the post-scan processing on the default installed (computer) system for the high resolution scans. (A change of host systems to a high-powered desktop system solved the post processing, cutting the time involved to mere seconds.)
In the subsequent weeks, users of the scanner came away impressed with the performance, and numerous output formats this device was capable of.
Conclusions 
The Epson Workforce Pro GT-S80 is one serious Business Ready device.
In fact, I believe that it probably wins any price/performance test hands down with any other scanner, especially in its price class.
How much do we like it? Since sending the review unit back to Epson, staffers here at Mediklabs have gone into scanner withdrawals, and I am looking to purchase a copy for use here.
Accordingly, we have decided to give it the SmallBizWindows Business Ready Award of Excellence.
At SmallBizWindows, we get quite a few products sent to us for review.
We also solicit for products that catch our eyes and fancy – as described in the PR blurb, or by word of mouth.
Based on the product, it is either reviewed personally at the Orbiting...(read more)
Since Kylie Emma is only three months old, she probably has no need for a system right now.*
However, Disney’s Baby Einstein series is something she seems to relish listening to. As a result, she has scored a TV and DVD player. Close...(read more)
Déjà vu all over again…..
….shades of Intel’s cruel behavior against AMD.
For the younglings too, ahem, young to remember:
In the nascent days of personal computing, this is how the original Intel vs AMD started.
It is the same series of moves from their...(read more)
Sometimes, Christmas does come early!
Looking at the specs for the newly-announced Pantech Matrix Pro smartphone, three things I want/need in a phone stand out:
i) A large screen,
ii) A QWERTY keypad for composing stuff, and
iii) A numeric keypad for...(read more)
