We are testing a new comment system called Disqus. This new comment system will allow for threaded discussions, and help cut down on the amount of comment spam we get. In addition, readers can create a profile and have their avatar show up next to their comments.

All old comments previously entered will still show up, and the old form for entering comments will also be displayed (for parallel testing) for the next couple of days. Please begin using the Disqus system so we can test it out and prove its worth.

Let us know what you think.

UPDATE: I've already found one big problem - disqus returns url parameters when comments are added, something dasBlog doesn't like. I have a support ticket it at disqus and on the dasBlog support forum to see if anything can be done to fix it. If it isn't fixed by tonight, I'll turn disqus off until the problem is fixed. Besides that one bug, I'm really liking disqus. I like that it allows you to edit your comments - very cool!

UPDATE 2: I've turned the disqus system off until I can get a fix on the dasblog side to not error out when url parameters are passed or to get disqus to customize the return variables to accept #disqus_thread instead of url vars. Looking promising though. I like the system a lot. Disqus support is slow to respond at this point in their support desk area.

Interesting reading from PC World / IDG News on Microsoft's ULCPC program, and their decision to exclude touch screens from the ULCPC effort. It is quite puzzling to me why Microsoft would exclude touch screens from the ULCPC area. JKKMobile offers up his own commentary.

Here is a snippet from PC World.

Microsoft is launching a program to promote the use of its Windows OS in ultra low-cost PCs, one effect of which will be to limit the hardware capabilities of this type of device, IDG News Service has learned.

Microsoft plans to offer PC makers steep discounts on Windows XP Home Edition to encourage them to use that OS instead of Linux on ultra low-cost PCs (ULPCs). To be eligible, however, the PC vendors that make ULPCs must limit screen sizes to 10.2 inches and hard drives to 80G bytes, and they cannot offer touch-screen PCs.

The program is outlined in confidential documents that Microsoft sent to PC makers last month, and which were obtained by IDG News Service. The goal apparently is to limit the hardware capabilities of ULPCs so that they don't eat into the market for mainstream PCs running Windows Vista, something both Microsoft and the PC vendors would want to avoid.

In this GBM Shortcut video, I talked about how much I'm struggling with typing on the Lenovo IdeaPad U110. it is probably the least comfortable keyboard I've used to date, and I've found it to be a very frustrating experience.

I thought I'd give a little more info, as well as some pictures ( click them to see larger resolutions ). Please keep in mind that these are my experiences. As keyboards are normally a very personal issue, your experience may be completely different than mine.

• With the keyboard being very glossy and slick, my fingers slide very easily on top of the keys
• There is not a clear delineation between the keys, thus there is no easy way to find where one key ends and another begins. The space separating each key is rather narrow. I can't emphasize this issue enough, as it is the primary culprit as being a bad keyboard for touch typists.
• Each key is indented with a slight angle to the right. When the keys are pressed, my fingers get caught under the corners of the keys around it. Thus, I'm not able to type as fast as I normally do on the Latitude XT, X61, and other Tablet PCs.
• The track pad is also slick and glossy, thus I've found it harder to control the mouse with.
• The touch controls, which are used to launch applications, is a cool implementation. However, they are not practical. The touch controls light up when pressed and dark when not being used. Thus, it is hard to know where to press on the dark bar in order to launch the applications. The design lends itself to accidentally launching the wrong button. It would be nice for Lenovo to design the unused portion of the dark bar to actually turn the lights on so the main touch controls can be seen. Generally speaking, I'm not a big fan of touch based controls for volume and such. I'd rather have a physical button to press for volume, applications, etc. That's just me, though.

I will say this, though - my eight year-old daughter came up to me a while ago, pointed to the bright red etching on the case and said "Oh, that is pretty. Can I use it?"

Notice the indentation in the keys	Notice the indentation in the keys
	Notice how the edge on the keys angle from left to right
touch controls when not used	touch controls when pressed

In this GBM Shortcut, I test out the web cam on the Lenovo IdeaPad U110. You'll immediately notice that the voice and video are initially out of sync, then get better as the recording goes on, and then get out of sync again. The recording was done using Lenovo's Easy Capture application. I tried to use Vista's MovieMaker, but MovieMaker didn't recognize a valid camera. In the video, I talk about other issues with the webcam, my experience with typing on the U110, and battery life with the 4-cell battery.

This recording was conducted while running on battery using the Balanced Power Plan.

Needless to say, I don't think I'll be using the U110 to record any Shortcut videos.

DigitalHomeThoughts.com is next up with their 31 Days of The Dragon contest. Their contest starts today through May 17th.

Look for details on DigitalHomeThought's contest to show up later today. They are finishing up a server move.

Here is some work that Microsoft Research's Ken Hinckley collaborated on with the University of Maryland . They explored the interaction between paper and digital pens, and demo a prototype solution called PapierCraft.

Read more about PapierCraft here.

It looks like things are finally looking up for InPlay Technologies, as they have signed a development agreement with Blue Cube LCD.

InPlay Technologies (NASDAQ: NPLA), a developer of innovative human interface devices for electronic products, has entered into a development agreement with Blue Cube LCD, a leading display integrator. Under the agreement, Blue Cube is utilizing InPlay’s integrated digital pen and capacitive touch input solution to design computing platforms for OEM customers.

“We are pleased to enter this new relationship with Blue Cube, a company known for its innovative custom solutions. Blue Cube serves a roster of well-known OEMs, making this a strong validation of our technology,” said Ramesh Ramchandani, president and COO, InPlay.

InPlay’s design integrates its patented, active digital pen and multi-finger capacitive touch input, allowing the user to choose the most natural and effective input means. The active digital pen optimizes handwriting recognition and allows for added digital features. The capacitive touch screen offers a quick, proximity sensing, intuitive interface for cursor selection and navigation.

“We always keep an eye toward the latest technology,” said Jason Meyer, Blue Cube CEO. “InPlay provides a compelling package with its digital architecture, progressive roadmap for touch integration and feature enhancement capability. This unique technology allows us design flexibility and gives our customer a leading-edge interface solution.”

InPlay’s patented digital computing system allows the user to communicate directly with the computer or other electronic device via an active RF signal. The digitizer behind the LCD screen employs bi-directional electromagnetic technology to communicate with the pen as it moves across the surface, reporting the tip status, sensitivity, pen position, and other details. The active digital pen optimizes handwriting recognition and allows for added digital features not easily achieved with analog products. InPlay offers OEMs the choice of battery-powered or battery-free, cordless or corded pen products, all designed to meet a wide range of markets from smartphones to tablet PCs.

About Blue Cube LCD

Founded in 2003, Blue Cube LCD is a premiere display integrator for customers in a wide range of industries including avionics, marine, industrial, medical and automotive. Blue Cube is dedicated to excellence in display products and has introduced a number of technological advancements in the field. Its headquarters and manufacturing facility are located in Charles City, Iowa. For more information, visit www.bluecubelcd.com

We’ve written about, but not had the chance to review, LiveScibe’s new Pulse Smartpen. Maybe we’ll get our hands on one of these at some point in the future. But in the meantime, David Pogue of The New York Times did get his hands on one and gives it a once over. In case you don’t remember the LiveScribe Pulse Smartpen contains not only a digital pen, but also a camera, a microphone, and a speaker, along with a small screen to display messages.

Check out the review here.

Loren Heniy links to a couple of interesting demos for those interested in multi-touch. Both feature some adventures in physics. The first is a video featuring Crayon Physyics. The second is a series of photos located here. The third shows yet another video on how to create your own multi-touch box.

Also of note, apparently Google is supporting some multi-touch efforts through student summer programs. Interesting.

Daniel Escapa lists a handy tip for OneNote 2007 users who also use Office Communicator 2007.

OneNote joins the party: Communicator and your phone have never been closer; in fact, for some, they are one and the same. Since no phone is ever far from a notepad, we integrated Communicator with Microsoft Office OneNote. If you have OneNote installed on your computer, you can launch it from any conversation; the conversation context will be automatically stamped into the note page, and the notes you take will be linked to the conversation. If you later restart this conversation, click the OneNote button to find your notes, which you can review or update. Similarly, if you open a previous conversation from the Conversation History folder in Outlook, click the OneNote button in the toolbar to open the notes for this conversation. 

Sounds like a handy productivity tip.

This video from HP Education Solutions was put up on YouTube a couple of days ago and I thought it did a good job of describing a Tablet PC.  It might be a nice video to point people to if they would like to know what can be done with a Tablet PC.  Well, all but the pouring the coffee on the keyboard part  don't have them test that one...

Face it - as much as we like to go as paper-free as possible, there are business needs that dictate we print stuff off. That is fine and dandy when chained to your desk and have access to a network or desktop printer, but what about those times when you are off living the carefree life of a mobile warrior? What do you do?

Share with us your solutions for printing while mobile - do you have a service you use, a favorite mobile printer, a work-around business process you use, etc.

View our previous Weekend Discussions here.

CarryMobile.com sent me a case for the Nokia N810 Internet Tablet to review. I'm not that big of a case person, but it is a pretty nice one. It is also priced right at $28. In addition to looking at the CarryMobile.com case, I demo a case I'm using for my iPhone from CoZip.com.

Enjoy!

Though I have been doing good the last week or so, this might make me do much better...  This is a short video I found on YouTube that might be something for everyone to try.  I wonder if something like this keeps your mind off the exercising.  Any readers out there do anything like this - adding their 'geekyness' to their exercise?

Head over to Digital Lifestyle, where the fire is hot and they are ready to giveaway an HP HDX Dragon.

Warner, Matt, Sierra, and I had the pleasure of meeting Ian Dixon, the site owner, this past year at CES and highly recommend his site to you!