Issue Seven - Conversations on Technology, Business and Society

USB wall socket
There was a time when charging a device
meant plugging it into the wall socket for
a few hours. Then more and more devices
became available with USB charging as an
option or the only charging option. So sometimes
you have to leave your computer running
because you need to charge your iPod or
mobile phone.
Our Chinese friends of course came up
with plugs that have USB ports but unfortunately
they don’t last long, and sometimes go
with your device in the process. A moment of
silence for my Blackberry…
With the arrival of the USB wall power
outlet you can charge your power hungry
devices directly from Umeme even when your
friend has borrowed your laptop. It looks and
fits into the wall like any other socket, just
that it has USB ports instead of the usual 3pin
configuration. It gets better; there are some
models which have both the 3pin and USB.
Although I have not yet seen them in Kampala
shops, they are available on ebay.com for
less than $10
While we are talking about USB chargers,
Mobile Digital Scribe
The Mobile Digital Scribe is a digital pen
(or smartpen) that can capture what you have
written in plain ordinary paper and can download
it into a PC. It doesn’t need a special
notepad or ink to do this function. It includes
software that allows you to download and edit
what was captured in your notes.
The IOGear Mobile Digital Scribe works
through the following:
You take down notes like what you do
with an ordinary pen (clip the reciever on the
paper)
If it is your first time to use the pen, you
need to install the software to your PC.
Connect the pen to your PC and download
what you have written into your computer
Review, edit, or send what you have written.
While this digital pen is not very new, it
offers some featues that distinguish it from
the rest of the pack. Some of those features
include:
It can naturally capture handwriting. You
use it the same way that you use a traditional
pen. It wouldn’t feel alien to
the user. Even people who are not
updated in the newest gadget
will not have difficulty in using
the pen because of this
feature.
THE DOUBLE ISSUE | www.pctechmagazine.com
you should also look out for the USB car charger
which plugs into the cigarrete lighter and
has 2 USB ports for those times when you run
out of power on the move.
No need to continuously buy special paper
digital paper or ink. Other pens like the Lightscribe
one requires special ink and it could get
costly in the long run.
It comes with software (OCR software) that
converts your handwriting into digital text.
The software lets you cut on your typing
time of your notes. Gone are the days
when you have to rewrite your
notes on your computer. The
software allows you to edit
your notes.
So if you have some
extra bucks on you,
this is a good
way to spend
some of it!
SEPTEMEBER - OCTOBER 2010 | PC TECH
WHAT’S NEW 17