Lenovo confirms ICS for ThinkPad Tablet coming this Spring

Lenovo has said that it is future proofing its devices and it looks like they are holding true to their word. The Lenovo ThinkPad Tablets are an interesting family of Android Tablet devices that I think will fit in well with the Corporate world. The update to ICS (Ice Cream Sandwich) should be available in May and will be coming automatically over the air.

These 10.1 inch tablets run from $499 – $699 and have the NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor. They are available in 16GB, 32GB and 64GB models and you can add optional 3G to complete the experience. They sport a large 1280 x 800 display.

Optimized for business.

From the makers of the revolutionary ThinkPad line of laptops comes the anything, anywhere, anytime DO business machine. This powerful Android™ 3.1 tablet delivers a professional multimedia and unbeatable entertainment experience.

• NVIDIA® Tegra™ 2 Dual-Core 1GHz processor
• 10.1” WXGA (1280x800) 16:10 IPS panel with Corning® Gorilla® Glass
• Multitouch display with digitizer input
• Starts at 1.65 lbs, with up to 8 hours of battery life (with WiFi enabled) and 32GB storage
• Corporate email and security features like network passwords for safe communication inside and outside your network
• Protect all of your confidential data with robust security features, including full device and SD card encryption, lost device disablement and anti-theft software
• HD display and HDMI output for crisp and defined presentations on large monitors
• Fully supports Adobe® Flash® for online media
• Native USB 2.0 and micro-USB ports
• Integrated cloud sharing and storage to easily move large files between team members and offices

Related resources

• View ThinkPad Tablet product tour
• View Stay sharp video
• View Work smarter video
• ThinkPad Tablet User Guide
• ThinkPad Tablet Accessories

Tech specs

ThinkPad Tablet Tech Specs (31.86KB

How Competitive can a Intel/Win8 Tablet be?

Can Tablet Manufacturers get below the $600 price barrier to successfully compete against Apple’s iPad line? Unless Intel and Microsoft lower their pricing on Clover Trail and Windows 8 probably not. So will the manufacturers opt for the less expensive ARM technologies and suffer the incompatibility of windows programs and ARM processors. This week we have been getting some tidbits from Microsoft talking about what Microsoft Programs will be available for their ARM based Windows 8 but unless other software manufacturers port their programs to this chipset they will not be compatible and thus will work on an Arm based Windows 8 Tablet. Will Microsoft Office be enough for user’s or not?

Ever since Steve Ballmer made that surprise announcement at CES 2011, there has been a lot of speculation about just how Microsoft would be bringing Windows to the ARM architecture. Would it be a whole separate line? Would it be compatible with old applications? Would it be cheaper? Many of these questions have been answered in a long and technical post on the Building Windows 8 blog today, as Steven Sinofsky explains how they developed (re-developed, really) Windows On ARM, or WOA, and why they made the choices they made. Some major points, for those unwilling to read: WOA will be totally incompatible with x86/x64-based applications; it will include a desktop only for Office apps and file management; it will be focused on portability, battery life, and "integrated quality."

Sinofsky describes WOA as “a new member of the Windows family, much like Windows Server, Windows Embedded, or Windows Phone.” It’s not meant to play games installed on operating systems from a quarter of a century ago. It’s meant to be a point of access for the current, and only the current, Windows ecosystem. It is similar to the “full” version of Windows 8 only in those parts that have been developed specifically for Windows 8.

Think of it this way. Windows 8 for x86/x64, in a way, includes Windows 7, Vista, XP, 98, 95, and so on. It is built with compatibility in mind, as part of a venerable line of operating systems. Windows On ARM includes only Windows 8. It’s as if the last ten versions of the OS never happened — though there are echoes.

This breaks the OS for some people — me, for example — but it could be a breath of fresh air for many. This OS is at once bare-bones and all-inclusive: it comes with a familiar version of Office, it will almost certainly be cheap and easy to deploy by the hundred or thousand, and it’s absolutely a known quantity.

Apps for WOA will all come from the Windows Store, and will all be Metro — except for Office (and a few other trusted programs), which will be able to run in the traditional desktop environment for productivity purposes. It’s a bit puzzling, this admission that the traditional desktop is superior for productivity, but it’s also the truth: an all-Metro productivity suite would be unfamiliar to Microsoft’s base. They’ll make it optional for now, and drop the other shoe later.

The focus on tablets is made plain: “you don’t turn off a WOA PC.” You don’t have sleep and hibernate modes. Like a phone or tablet, you just hit the button and it goes into a newly-developed low-power mode in which the battery will reportedly last weeks. These tablets, while they won’t run the “real” Windows 8, will be totally functional (it runs “super well”) access points to the Windows ecosystem. And with the increasing focus on cloud storage, web-based apps, and mobility, that limited access may start looking less like a bug and more like feature as time goes on.

It’s still early and this discussion seems to be changing daily right now. It will interesting to see what kind of price this type of tablet will be able to be launched at and how well it will be accepted by consumers.

Intel’s Thunderbolt initiative coming soon on a PC near you

Acer, Asustek, Lenovo expected to begin adopting Thunderbolt this spring and are expected to initially have this connector on their proposed ultrabook devices. All three PC makers are expected to introduce new Ultrabooks incorporating Intel's Ivy Bridge platform with support for Thunderbolt.

Intel's next Ivy Bridge chip platform, the successor to Sandy Bridge, includes native support for USB 3.0, but does not support Thunderbolt across the board. Support for Thunderbolt increases the cost of PCs by more than $20.

As a result, Thunderbolt is only expected to be adopted among high-end notebooks or desktops in 2012. The new Intel-driven standard for PCI Express data paired with DisplayPort video is however expected to be fully standardized by 2013.

Apple aggressively rolled out support for Thunderbolt last year, adding it to all of its Mac product lines apart from the Mac Pro, which already has PCI Express slots. Thunderbolt hard drives and other devices have started to trickle into the market behind Apple's own Thunderbolt Display, with docks and external PCIe slot enclosures being shown at CES last month.

HP states that it doesn’t see the value proposition of the Thunderbolt Technology and intends to exclusively support USB 3.0.

DigiTimes reported Tuesday that Thunderbolt and its 10Gbps data connection speed could "greatly affect" adoption of the competing USB 3.0 port in the future. It said that in addition to Apple, which added Thunderbolt to its latest line of MacBook Pros, Sony is also said to be considering adopting the technology into its high-end notebooks.

Last Spring, Intel publicly said it planned to support USB 3.0 alongside Thunderbolt. But sources reportedly said that Intel is simply hedging its bets by adding USB 3.0 support to its next-generation chips, code-named "Ivy Bridge."
"Sources believe Intel's strategy of adopting both technologies into its next generation products is to minimize the risks of placing all the eggs into one basket," the report said.

People in the PC industry reportedly believe that USB 3.0 is a "transitional product" with legacy support for older USB devices. Thunderbolt, on the other hand, is viewed as the true next-generation successor.

Formerly code-named "Light Peak," Thunderbolt has data transfer speeds that are 20 times faster than the current market standard, USB 2.0. Thunderbolt's 10Gbps speeds are also twice as fast as the USB 3.0 specification.
For comparison, a FireWire 800 port is 800Mbps, while an Express Card slot has bandwidth of 2.5Gbps.

Thunderbolt's speeds are accomplished with copper wire, though previous versions of Light Peak were demonstrated with fiber optic strands allowing speeds of up to 100Gbps. Thunderbolt was co-developed by Intel and Apple.

Targus has introduced a USB 3.0 Dual Display Adapter

Peripherals major Targus introduced the ACA039US, a USB display adapter that takes advantage of the USB 3.0 SuperSpeed interface, and provides two display outputs, supporting two displays. Based on DisplayLink DL-3900 chipset, the ACA039US relies on USB 3.0 for both host connectivity and power. It gives out two display outputs: DVI-I (single link) and HDMI 1.3. Each connector supports display heads at resolutions up to 2048 x 1152 pixels, even though the DL-3900 chipset supports 2560 x 1600 (over dual-link DVI). The HDMI 1.3 connection gives out 5.1-channel audio, and is HDCP 2.0-compliant. The ACA039US from Targus will be released to market soon, at a price of US $99.99.

Logitech M600 Touch Mouse–Where are the buttons?

I haven’t seen it hit the shelves yet in distribution but it is coming soon….

The Logitech M600 Touch Mouse is an interesting new design that uses

Is your current wireless mouse not up to snuff? If that's the case, you may want to take a look at the Logitech Touch Mouse M600 that lets you do your navigating via a touch surface instead of buttons. The peripheral is outfitted with the company's Flow Scroll software that Logitech says has a similar feel to scrolling on your touchscreen smartphone. by sliding your fingers across the top surface of the mouse you can scroll in any direction through your window’s aopplications. The M600 works just as well for lefties once click areas are reconfigured with Logitech's SetPoint software. If this seems to be something that you are interested in, look at the details in the PR below.The suggested retail price is $69.99 and the mouse should be available later this month.

Press Release:

Logitech Creates a More Touchable World with Logitech Touch Mouse M600
New Mouse Lets You Swipe, Scroll and Surf Like Second Nature
FREMONT, Calif. - Feb. 8, 2012 - Today Logitech (SIX: LOGN) (NASDAQ: LOGI), the world's leading manufacturer of mice, unveiled the Logitech® Touch Mouse M600, a mouse featuring a touch surface that lets you navigate intuitively with your fingers.

"People are growing accustomed to using fingertip gestures to navigate on their smartphones and tablets," said Todd Walker, brand manager for Logitech. "In fact, for many people these gestures have become second nature. The Logitech Touch Mouse M600 reflects this evolution in how we interact with the digital world and extends to the computer what have become natural, intuitive motions."

With the Logitech Touch Mouse M600 you can scroll, swipe and surf wherever your fingertips rest on the mouse. With its modern design, smooth edges and designed-for-comfort curves, this touch mouse feels comfortable in your hand and looks good wherever you use your laptop.

Logitech Flow Scroll software gives you scrolling that is fluid, much like scrolling on your favorite touchscreen smartphone. Slide your finger along the touch surface to experience immediate, continuous and free-flowing Web page scrolling.

The mouse's unique shape is designed so that it feels great doing exactly the tasks you do most – pointing, clicking and scrolling. And it's a perfect choice for right- and left-handers alike, with click areas that can easily be reassigned with Logitech SetPoint software. Additionally, the Logitech Touch Mouse M600 includes the tiny Logitech Unifying receiver, which can connect up to six compatible mice and keyboards through one USB port. Add a keyboard, switch between mice, mix and match to fit your lifestyle, without having to change receivers or sacrifice another USB port.
With smooth feet, advanced optical tracking and supreme ease of use, this sleek mouse is everything you'd expect from Logitech, and more.

The Logitech Touch Mouse M600 has been named an International CES Innovations 2012 Design and Engineering Awards Honoree in the Computer Peripherals product category.

Pricing and Availability
The Logitech Touch Mouse M600 is expected to be available in the U.S. and Europe beginning in February 2012, for a suggested retail price of $69.99. For more information please visit www.logitech.com or our blog.

Canon unveils two more AirPrint printers

Another printer manufacturer joins AirPrint crowd. Canon thinks you should print more from your iPad and is offer two choices of printers to allow you to do so.

Canon's offering up the Pixma MX512 and MX432, two all-in-one inkjets that offer up Apple AirPrint support, letting users wirelessly prints photos, docs and the like from their iPad, iPhone and iPod touches running iOS 4.2 or later. Canon also used the announcement to reaffirm its commitment to the technology, ensuring as before that it "will be available with the majority of Canon PIXMA Wireless All-In-One inkjet printers launched from this point forward."

AirPrint allows users to wirelessly print photos, emails, web pages and other documents without the need to install device drivers, saving time and making for a seamless user experience.

Airprint is also available on the PIXMA MG8220, MG6220 and MG5320 as well with the installation of the lastest firmware installed.

Buy Microsoft Office Home & Business before Feb 27 and get Microsoft Publisher as a free download!

if you have purchased Microsoft Office 2019 Home and Business between January 15, 2012 and February 26, 2012 you have until March 23, 2012 to download your free copy of Microsoft Office Publisher.

Downloading Publisher is 1-2-3 easy!

Accept the terms and conditions

Enter your 25-character Product Key from Office Home and Business 2010

Follow the on-screen instructions

If you haven’t purchased your copy yet, do so now before Feb 26th to qualify for a free copy of Publisher.

Frequently asked questions

See the terms and other details of this offer.

Get details regarding promotion dates and deadlines by country

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/buy/microsoft-office-and-publisher-FX102655579.aspx

Just loaded the new MSN App on my iPad, very nice

MSN has setup to make a run at the likes of FlipBoard with its MSN App that takes the current day’s news that they have published at the MSN Website in very nice and easy to use format. They have setup groups to provide easy access to the current flow of stories and also provide a search through Bing to access information that isn’t shown in the current view.

The APP is currently free and can be downloaded from iTunes.

The new MSN app is carrying the same UI interface as the popular Pulse newsreader for iPad carries. Microsoft has simply copied the whole user interface of Pulse app, and powered its MSN app for iPad including with its new Metro UI elements. MSN for iPad also supports the Bing search engine built-in.

The MSN APP for iPad provides you an efficient way to take around the MSN published content, and to get updated yourself with all the news, sports entertainment and other articles and videos. The application also allows you to share your favorite liked comment on MSN with your friends and buddies around the other social network’s sites like Facebook and Twitter.

Interesting article at InformationWeek discussing Meaningful Use requirements.

With Meaningful Use Stage 2 requirements just around the corner, a CSC report says IT managers should prepare with a more robust system that addresses care coordination and patient engagement.

With the whole reason for the emphasis on installing the infrastructure to collect and share patient care information to provide a path towards better/safer patient care we need to make sure we are ready for the follow up of Meaningful Use Stage 1. If you haven’t started implementing an EMR/EHR Solution in your practice you are going to want to investigate what is available to you.

InformationWeek’s writer Nicole Lewis wrote:

Health IT executives at hospitals and physicians' offices should start working now to implement technology that fosters greater patient engagement, enhances patient care coordination, and advances their organizations' ability to electronically capture data for quality reporting--all three of which providers will need to compete in the upcoming pay-for-performance market. That's the conclusion of a new report published by CSC's Global Institute for Emerging Healthcare Practice.

Table 1 — Summary of Requirements for Stage 1 and Proposed Changes for Stage 2.

Requirement	Stage 1 Minimum Requirement	Stage 2 Minimum Requirement
Maintain medication, problem/ diagnosis, allergy lists	80% of patients have an entry or indication of none	No change
Demographics recorded	50% of patients	80% of patients
Vital signs recorded	50% of patients over 2	80% of patients over 3
Smoking status recorded	50% of patients over 13	80% of patients over 13
Computerized Physician Order Entry (CPOE)	30% of patients have a medication order	60% of patients have a medication and a lab order; at least one radiology order placed
Info on advanced directive	Menu option for hospitals — indicate if patent has advanced directive for 50% of hospitalized patients 65+	Expanded to include 25 patients for eligible providers; add information on how to access the directive
Drug-drug and drug-allergy checking	Enabled	Added capability to modify drug-drug checking
Drug-formulary checking	Menu option	Required
Medication reconciliation	Menu option, performed for 50%	Required
Requirement	Stage 1 Minimum Requirement	Stage 2 Minimum Requirement
e-Prescribing	40% of prescriptions for eligible providers	50% of prescriptions for eligible providers, 10% of discharged patients for hospitals
Summary of care record transmitted between providers at transitions in care	Menu option, performed for 50% of transitions (can be on paper)	Required, added that must be electronic for 10% of hospitalized patients; 25 patient transitions for office practice
Searchable physician (NP, PA) note	No requirement	30% of hospital days, 30% of ambulatory visits
Secure messaging	No requirement	25 patients have sent messages to eligible providers
Electronic medication administration	No requirement	One hospital unit
Encounter summaries	50% of office visits within 3 days	Changed timing to 24 hours, pending results within 4 days
Electronic copies of discharge instructions	50% of hospital patients who request it	Replaced by requirement that 10% of patients have used the capability to access and download their information
Electronic copies of health information	50% of patients who request it
Incorporate lab information as structured data	Menu option, 40% of patients	Required, hospitals must return electronic lab orders as structured data
Provide patient educational materials	Menu option, 10% of appropriate patients	Required, 10% of all patients
Send reminders for preventive, follow-up care	Menu option for office visits; 20% of patients under 5 or over 65	Required, 10% of all patients
Patients have access to their information	10% of patients have access to view information for office visits	10% of patients have used the capability to access and download their information and 20% have communication preferences stated
Electronically exchange patient information	Perform one test	Replaced by specific requirements
Decision support rule	One rule	Use to improve performance
Lists of patients for quality improvement	Menu option, one list	Required, multiple lists
Report clinical quality measures	Specified measures	Expanded list
Submit immunization data	Menu option, perform one test	Required, submit data
Submit reportable lab results (hospitals only)	Menu option for hospitals, perform one test	Required for hospitals, submit data
Submit syndromic surveillance data	Menu option, perform one test	Required for hospitals, submit data
Conduct security analysis	Conduct analysis	Expanded to include encryption of data at rest

To see the full article click on this link: http://www.informationweek.com/news/healthcare/clinical-systems/232600583

For more information on Allscripts MyWay Electronic Medical Records product please don’t hesitate calling me at 1-800-640-7506 and ask for Bob Appleby. I will be more than happy to discuss the product and provide you with information on how you can implement this solution in your practice. One of the first questions I am asked is whether anyone has received payments yet. It has been reported that $2.5 billion was paid out for meaningful use in 2011. Stage 2 requirements are being drawn up now as you see in the table above but they have not been finalized as of this date. You need to be proactive and should be focusing on providing capabilities for engaging patients, coordinating care and capturing the data for quality reporting. These requirements are essential for qualifying for meaningful use payments and for new CMS (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) payment incentives and for succeeding under accountable care.