Posts Tagged ‘Hardware’

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Will Microsoft Make a Tablet Come Back?

Friday, September 16th, 2011

Earlier this week all the tech blogs were ablaze with news about Microsoft Windows 8.  I personally read about 6 – 7 articles about their new operating system.  Before you get too excited, it’s not ready yet and will not be ready until some time next year (and I suspect later next year).  Yesterday Microsoft released a developer preview for software engineers to download and start playing around with.  By far the best article, and the one I agree with the most was entitled “Sorry Apple, Windows 8 ushers in the post-pc era“.  The author captured my exact feelings about the current state of tablets right now.  Good for certain tasks, not for others.

Good for Inspection Software

The current generation of tablets are great for tasks that are intended to be conducted in the field as well as casual computing and note taking.  Job site audits are a great example of a task that works great on a tablet device.  In general, inspections and quality assurance tasks are something that works very well with tablets.  That being said, wouldn’t it be great if you were using your tablet to run your safety inspection software and then you could have full PC functionality to work on that whitepaper or proposal?

Bad for Writing Essays

Have you ever tried to write a long document on a tablet computer such as the iPad?  It just isn’t that suitable for that type of task (in my opinion).  Sure, some people will argue that you can get a keyboard for it and some sort of app for Word documents, but it’s not ideal for power computing.  Let’s assume you could squeeze out a simple Word document.  How about running Photoshop?  Not happening.

What Windows 8 could (hopefully) represent is 1 platform to rule them all.  A great tablet user interface and a form factor that would allow me to run all of my full featured applications is something I would pay for in a heart beat.  It may be just what Microsoft needs to get back in the tablet game.

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Barbecue Safety

Thursday, May 12th, 2011

As spring time floats us by and April showers are in the past the next natural step in the earth’s rotation around the sun is the summer solstice. As the earth’s axial tilt reaches its maximum 23° 26′ and the sun starts to reach its highest position in the sky only one thing creeps into my mind, its barbecue season in Toronto. So dust off that patio furniture, plop in that over sized umbrella, uncover your barbecue and make sure your barbecue is safe and ready.

Most propane barbecues are not dangerous but unfortunately propane accidents do happen, and I know this personally. Propane is a highly combustible hydrocarbon gas and proper safety measures should be followed.

Below is a list of How To’s and tips to keep your next family barbecue safe.

The Propane Education & Research Council and National Propane Gas Association have compiled a list of propane gas grill and cylinder safety tips:

Propane Grill Do’s:

  • - Follow all of the grill manufacturer’s instructions and keep written materials and manuals in a safe, accessible place.
  • - When not in use, make sure all grill burner controls are turned off and that the valve cylinder is closed.
  • - Keep grill covered when not in use. Make sure the grill is shut off and cooled off before covering.
  • - Always use or store cylinders outdoors in an upright, vertical position.
  • - When you fill or exchange your cylinder, have your supplier check for dents, damage, rust or leaks.
  • - Before lighting your propane gas grill burner, use a leak-detection solution to check all connections for tightness. A soapy solution around the valves and tubing can be an effective leak detector.
  • - If there is an uncontrollable release of gas or a fire, call the fire department immediately and move all people and pets away from the unit.
  • - If you experience difficulties in the operation of your gas grill, contact your local propane provider for service.

Propane Grill Don’ts:

  • - Do not smoke while handling the propane cylinder.
  • - Do not allow children to tamper or play with the cylinder or grill.
  • - Do not use, store or transport your cylinder where it would be exposed to high temperatures. (This includes storing spare cylinders under or near the grill.)

Installing & Connecting a Propane Tank to your Gas Grill

By following the proper steps and procedures this barbecue season can be the safest yet. So enjoy the sun, patio life and cold drinks. All the best from Field ID.

Source: Propane Education & Research Council and National Propane Gas Association

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A new Breed of Rugged Mobile Handhelds? Introducing the Casio G’z One Commando

Tuesday, May 3rd, 2011

GzOne Commando for Safety InspectionsDid Casio just come out with future of rugged mobile hand held computers?  They are certainly pushing the boundaries with the G’z One Commando.  I am not sure about that name, but this hand held looks incredible.

Very Rugged

There have been smartphones in the past that claim to be rugged, but all too often this means they are heavy, slow and somewhat dated.  Not the G’zOne Commando, it definitely appears to have the rugged part down.  This device has a MIL-STD-810G rating which pretty much means that it can stand up to almost anything.  I am not sure if this is available in intrinsically safe environments.  Mashable made a great video of this device taking a beating.

Android

This hand held is running Android 2.2 with some customizations from Casio geared towards active people as well as the workforce that are in tough environments.  You will get the great user interface and speed of Android along with the ability to easily get your email and make phone calls.  For those who do not know Android is a smartphone operating system for phones and tablet devices made by Google.  There is currently not a Field ID application for Android, but we are really hoping to provide one sometime this year.   Android plus the GzOne Commando provide you with:

  • - GPS Mapping with Google Maps and Compass
  • - 3.6″ WVGA Touch Screen Display
  • - 5 mp Auto Focus Camera
  • - Pre-installed 8G microSD Card

Notably missing is NFC support, but hopefully this will be added in future as the technology matures. As much as we see Android taking over the commercial smartphone market, it has yet to really penetrate the rugged space. Hopefully the G’zOne Commando is a sign of things to come for safety inspections.

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RFID in your Favourite TV Shows

Thursday, March 3rd, 2011

Good morning Bloggers! As you all may now, I do very much enjoy my television time. It’s a great way for me to relax after a hard day’s work and keep my apartment from being a little too quiet. You would think that after a long day’s work, I would avoid thinking about things like safety compliance or RFID, I mean, I think about it everyday at work. To my surprise, this is not the case. I was sitting on my couch, watching an episode of The Big Bang Theory (I just started watching it recently, so please disregard the tardiness), when this scene came across:

Needless to say, I found myself smirking at the short skit. RFID to track your packing materials sounds rather excessive, but this is a great video for those of you who don’t quite understand how RFID tags work. Although the show presents  RFID as an excessive tracking system, they do demonstrate the amazing tracking capabilities of RFID. Maybe we don’t need to tag our clothes with RFID technology, but I think the lesson here is: if its important to you and you need to keep it accessible at all times, you should probably tag it with RFID.

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The Future of Touchscreens for Mobile Inspection Devices

Tuesday, February 15th, 2011

Imagine trying to do a safety inspection with safety gloves on with a small screen.  It’s really hard right now because the mobile device’s screen is either too small or not sensitive enough.

One of the biggest problems we hear about at Field ID is the ability to use gloves while using Field ID mobile.  Most of our users are in industrial rugged areas where they are using gloves to do work.  Some of our devices have a big enough screen to be able to work with gloves, but a lot of the smaller devices are extremely hard, if not impossible, to use gloves with.

I just read a great blog post about some of the new developments in touchscreen technology.  A company called Synaptics is developing new technology to allow touchscreens to be much more sensitive, even when using something like a glove or stylus.

Effective touchscreen usage with a glove

During a demo, they showed how even after stacking 10 business cards on top of screen, the newly enhanced screens could still detect touches.

This is great news for everyone conducting inspections and audits in the field using mobile devices!  Let’s hope this technology finds its way to mobile devices soon.

source: TechCrunch

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