Printing my iThoughtsHD Mind Maps with the HP ePrint Technology

Just this past week I updated my version of iThoughtsHD to Version 2 on my iPad and had a chance to create some great maps for some projects I am working on. One of the really great features of iThoughtsHD is the fact that it can open and export to a wide range of mind mapping formats. So regardless of which mind mapping application you are using on your desktop you can be sure that you will be able to open it with the leading mind mapping desktop applications. After I created a mind map with iThoughtsHD I realized that I wanted to be able to print it out on my new Hp D110 ePrint Printer. Since iThoughtsHD does not support printing at this time, I simply emailed the map to my HP D110 printer and within seconds my map was printed. Every Hp printer with ePrint technology has a unique email address which makes it  easy to mail all kinds of documents to. When you are ready to print from your computer or mobile device simply enter the the Hp email address for the printer and your are good to go. Talk about an easy way to print your iThoughtsHD mind maps.

Tazzle IT Updated Features and New Pricing!

I asked my friend Bruce to share with you some updated information about his innovative solution called Tazzle IT which I have written about in some previous blog posts. Tazzle IT is an innovative solution for printing, sharing and now controlling your presentations on a standard Blackberry phone.Brian
---

Controlling PowerPoints® and other presentations from your BlackBerry is not a new idea. However,  with other solutions you compress versions and load them into your handheld. Tazzle lets you control full fidelity presentations with, embedded movies, soundtracks, any transitions, and all fonts. Tazzle IT turns your BlackBerry into a remote control for presentations like PowerPoint, PDF, or cloud-based Google Docs that run on PC’s.

Set up Tazzle’s receiver software on anyone's PC in a couple of minutes, and the next time you want to connect, the setup time is literally 10 seconds. The 3 main control buttons are easy to use.



             



The presentation interface on your BlackBerry is simple and to the point. Click the right arrow to advance, click the left arrow to reverse. Avid presenters will appreciate the ability to toggle screen-to-black by either clicking the screen blanking button or hitting the phone’s space bar. These new features have been added to the already amazing view, print and send features of the Tazzle IT, just as the retail price drops to $59.95!

Readers may recall that the Tazzle IT lets you print wirelessly to any PC's printer. Just plug it into the USB port, make sure the software is engaged and you’re off. Send email content right to the PC to open in Word format. "Tazzle" your attachments, like PDF's, spreadsheets, and photos and view them on the computer screen. And leave nothing behind on receiving PC's unless you choose to. The Tazzle IT key provides a secure hardware firewall between your phone and the PC, and gives you instant authentication when inserted in any PC running the Tazzle software.

Groups can now purchase a box of 50 Tazzles and receive a handy discount. Check it out at www.tazzleit.com

PS- Tazzle has extended their online PROMO, so take another 40% off while it lasts!!

Using WebspirationPRO for Brainstorming Ideas

I recently started using WebspirationPRO, which is a software as service application from Inspiration which allows me to brainstorm and think visually in the cloud. As  along time Inspiration user, I feel right at home using WebspirationPRO since many of the conventions used are those that can be found on the desktop version. To this day, RapidFire remains one of my favorite tools when I am brainstorming- it is easy to use and very efficient when you want to get your ideas down. WebspirationPRO supports RapidFire and within minutes my ideas were literally shooting out around my central idea. While WebspirationPRO has a nice library of pictures and clip art it does allow you to bring in your own graphics which was easy and straightforward to do. When it is time to share my visual map I was able to use the Sharing feature and publish it to the web with a unique URL. Once you publish your visual map you can also capture the embedding code that is handy to paste into blogs and wikis making it easy to share. You can see visual organizer above.

Once you start using WebspirationPRO you will swear that it feels just like a desktop application until you realize that you can now access your files from any computer connected to the internet that has a browser, and that is what makes this application really stand out. Having access to my files from any computer is the new law of the land for me. The more I work with the computers - the more I want my files available 24/7 to me from anywhere I am connected. In this sense applications like WebspirationPRO become even more important to me- now if it only worked on the iPad. But yes, I know it is on the road map!

PS: Coming Soon - information about a 1 day iPad Summer Institute to be held in New Jersey

RFB&D Releases App for the iPhone, iPad, & iPod Touch

I finally had a chance to download the RFBD app to my iPad last week and download some audiobooks to give the app a test run. There are two steps to the process: first you must download the DAISY Audio file from the RFB&D website to the RFBD Download Manager, and then once the audiobook is downloaded you need to open iTunes on your computer and add the audiobook zip file into the RFB&D app within your iTunes library. Now synch your iPad and voila your book comes across the device and your are ready to listen to it.

The audiobooks are all human narration and it is possible with the RFB&D App to have the reader slow down or speed up as well you can also bookmark the page for future reference. Because the audiobook is a DAISY file the book allows you the freedom to navigate by levels and pages numbers if you wish. The quality of the audio is excellent when listening to the audio  book on my iPad. This is a big step forward for RFB&D to have the app running on iOS devices and I hope that in the future we will be able to download books without the need to use the Download Manager- like we do when downloading from the Apple iBooks store or from the Kindle Bookstore.

The RFB&D app is a great step forward for the organization but more so, for all the students that rely on audiobooks and want the convenience to be able to play them on their favorite iOS device. The RFB&D App costs $19.99 and can be downloaded from the Apple Apps Store.

New Digital Pen & Paper Solution from AssistiveTek, LLC

Over the years I have delved into the digital pen and paper arena to find a rich set of powerful and easy to use solutions to address both personal and business needs. Whether-I am using Livescribe Echo pen to record my notes or Xpaper to prepare my signed documents or PaperShow for Teachers to do my lectures and presentations - I always find that each digital pen affords me the opportunity to enhance what I am doing and make my work flow that much more efficient. In this light, I recently began to explore some new digital pen solutions from a company called PenData Solutions from California. PenData Solutions offers a rich set of solutions that is built upon Anoto functionality that takes the digital pen and paper solution to the next level.

Side by Side View: Handwriting on Left and Processed Form on the Right
Click on Image to Zoom In

If you work in an environment that demands that you collect information on traditional forms and then you have to re-key the data then you are a perfect candidate for using a digital pen solution. Working closely with Pen Data Solutions, AssistiveTek, LLC can build a custom solution that meets your business or organizations needs. Imagine all of the time saved when you can fill out the paper form with a digital pen and then when you get back to the office have the information flow seamlessly into your computer ready to be processed. Using state of the art handwriting recognition software your forms can be checked and validated and outputted as a Microsoft Word or PDF document. Better yet we can design the form so that each data point can be mapped to your internal database for further analysis. Think of the times savings that will occur when you institute this type of solution.

One of the factors which has always drawn me to this technology is ease of use. As a consultant, I spend most of my time training others on how to use hardware and software. To tell you the truth, if you know how to use a pen and paper you are set to go. The pen operates like an ordinary pen except for the fact that it can make sense of where it is on the page with its built-in camera which is oriented by the microdot pattern on the paper. As a mobile user- you can simply complete the form and when you are back in the office dock your pen to complete the process. The process is easy and seamless and just works. Think of the hours saved on data entry and think about the reliability of the data coming into the system as compared to when users are manually re-keying in information they are pulling off of forms.

If you are working in environments that still dictate the collection of data on paper forms- then you really owe it to yourself to take a look at the latest digital pen and paper solution that is being offered by AssistiveTek, LLC. If you are interested in a free demo to see if this is the right solution for you then click here to register and I will get back to you on a time and date that we can meet over the web. Come and learn about the advantages of using digital pen and paper solutions in your business or organization and how it can help solve your needs.

Inspiration Launches Webspiration Pro

It was really exciting to learn about the launch of Webspiration Pro from Inspiration, which is geared for business professionals and college students. Launched as software as a service all you need is a browser an a account to get started to access this feature rich tool for visual thinking. Webspiration Pro is sold as a subscription and if you act now you can get some really great deals on the pricing. Webspiration is ideal for brainstorming and collaborating with colleagues when working on shared projects. Using Webspiration it is easy to invite, comment,  chat with collaborators as you are working on your ideas. You will find Webspiration to be easy and intuitive to use with the right mix of features. I have always enjoyed using Inspiration on the desktop and now with the release of Webspiration it affords the capability to share my ideas and collaborate across time zones. When I'm ready, I can publish my maps to my blog or web site with the provided URL and embed code. So if you have the chance take the time to look at the release of Webspiration Pro. There is a free 30 day Trial - so get started and let me know what you think? And by the way, Inspiration is working on an iPad App for Webspiration which should be pretty cool! More to come.

How Would You Use PaperShow for Teachers In the Classroom?

I came across this handy tool from Lino which lets you create an interactive bulletin board for others to post. In this activity I am asking you to think about creative ways you could use PaperShow for Teachers in the classroom. If you have some ideas please feel free to create a sticky note with your ideas.