San Francisco's Federal Reserve CEO "Cautiously Optimistic" on Economy. I'm Very Optimistic on Her!

My schedule didn’t allow me to travel to Davos last week; however, on Friday I attended San Diego’s Economic Forum which featured Mary Daly, President and CEO, San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank. Listening to her voice of reason gives me hope for our government officials. She was fantastic – if you ever have the chance to meet her, take it. Here are my takeaways:

·         Based on current data, she is cautiously optimistic about the economy.

·         The dual mandate objectives of the Fed are in balance.

·         Her work at the Fed is guided by three principles:

o   “The economy is about people.”  You need to talk to people.

o   “The data are plural – like a pointillistic painting.”

o   “Every voice, every lens, every perspective matters.”

·         What’s your process for making policy decisions?

o   “I’m curious.”

o   “I’m confident”

o   Be humble and go back to step one.

·      The potential threat/risk to the economy this year from the commercial real estate reckoning is primarily class B office space.

·         “Public trust is our most important tool.”

Full disclosure, I’m a fan (and have been a fan) of Fed Chair Jay Powell. It’s gratifying to know he’s not the only voice of reason at the Fed and that she is also optimistic about the San Francisco Bay / Oakland Area's future.

How Do You Recharge on Weekends?

As busy, always-connected business professionals, how do you recharge your batteries? For me, during the week it’s growing an emerging company and on the weekend it’s growing wine in the backyard vineyard. The vineyard work is exhausting manual labor. Friends say I’m living a dream. But to me the chores often seem a penitence for my transgressions. Like jogging – always painful during a long run – it feels good when you stop after 8 hours toiling in the vineyard or bottling wine. On the other hand, concentrating on planting, growing, nourishing, trimming, watering, netting, harvesting, fermenting, bottling and pruning on weekends provides quiet time for the mind to think about solving the challenges that face our growing business. We literally wine down on weekends. How about you? How do you recharge your batteries to prepare for a new work-week in the office?

As I think about our wine hobby, which has now reached the point of a small family business 10 years after taking that first step down the slippery slope stomping our first grapes, I notice many analogies between vineyard overseer and high-tech entrepreneur, and that lessons learned from the business-world apply equally to our weekend hobby, or should apply.

Entrepreneur passion. If I had known how much work a vineyard would be, would I still do it?
You can make a great wine, but without sales & marketing effort there are no sales.
People do “judge a book by its cover” in the wine industry. The importance of packaging.
The power of pricing: price high, and the perception is it’s better. With wine, higher priced wine tastes better in the consumer’s mind.
What I like in wine isn’t what you like. The opportunity of niches.
Social media marketing and Facebook advertising works in wine and business.
Customers like cute animals on the label.
Pruning makes the vine stronger – true also in business. Pruning non-performing sales partners and when necessary staff.
Sustainability in the vineyard: building a business to last.
Here’s a little chart I came up with thinking about my "leisure time" as a weekend wine warrior compared with my work as a road warrior.

Interested in a virtual visit to our vineyard? Here's a quick little movie we stitched together for you. Cheers!
 

At Last, a Document Camera Solution for Chromebooks

As more and more school districts deploy or plan to deploy Chromebooks, a stumbling-block has come up: How do you connect a document camera to a Chromebook?

Traditional document cameras have VGA or HDMI output connectors and can’t be connected to Chromebooks.  Newer document cameras may have USB out which can be connected to a Chromebook, but unless the document camera incorporates the right kind of video interface and has a web-based version of its software it won’t function with Chromebooks.

The HoverCam has a solution.

Our Solo 8 document camera has USB out and is engineered to output an uncompressed YUV video signal which is Chromebook compatible.  So, it’s easy to plug the HoverCam Solo 8 into the USB port of a Chromebook and to have an image appear on the Chromebook screen.  Furthermore, we have released a web-based version of our HoverCam Flex software called HoverCam FlexWeb, allowing users to control a HoverCam document camera and its functions via a standard Internet web browser.

Functions supported via a web browser using FlexWeb include taking snapshots, scanning, recording video, live zoom, panning, annotation and more.  To make the Chromebook and HoverCam combination wireless, simply connect Google’s Chromecast dongle to the HDMI input of a projector or large screen display.  Using Chromecast, the HoverCam’s camera image may be displayed without a cable from the Chromebook to the projector or flat screen.

HoverCam FlexWeb is available without charge to registered HoverCam customers and may be accessed from http://hovercamflex.com/ For additional information about the HoverCam, please visit www.thehovercam.com

New Document Camera Designed to Fit on Teacher's Desk, Fold into Drawer or Pack to Go. Introducing HoverCam Solo 8

The HoverCam Solo 8 (on right)
 is designed for everyday desktop
 use and has a significantly smaller
footprint than traditional
document cameras (left). 

The “traditional” document camera has a large platform with many connectors making it cumbersome to move around the room, put in a drawer, or take home to do class preparation. As for fitting on a teacher’s desk, traditional document cameras with their large base aren’t practical because they take up so much space.

Enter the HoverCam Solo 8, which has a small, weighted base trim enough to sit comfortably on a desktop without hogging space. It is the first fully-featured document camera designed to fit on a teacher's desk, fold and put into a drawer or pack to go. “Why isn’t my document camera this small!?” teachers ask me when seeing the HoverCam for the first time. The HoverCam Solo 8 is powered by a USB cable connected to the computer - there is no power cord or power adapter - so the HoverCam Solo 8 is always connected to the computer and is always available to use. Use it for a quick demonstration; a quick show and tell; to show a lesson on a tablet or smartphone; to make a quick scan of a document – saving a trip to the office; to take a quick snapshot; to video record a student presentation or a “flipped” lesson. The HoverCam Solo 8 is four pieces of equipment in one – a scanner, an HD video recorder, and HD webcam and a document camera – and sits right on the teacher’s desktop, always available to use, and its price is affordable for many schools at just 349 dollars per classroom, including the software.

The HoverCam Solo 8 is not a piece of equipment to keep in the closet to pull out for occasional use. It’s designed to be on a teacher’s desktop all the time, taking up very little space. And, it folds up flat when not in use. It weighs just 2.2 lbs. and can easily be folded and taken home to create lessons when school isn’t in session. And, because it’s small enough to be on the desk ready to use anytime, it is used. Principals find the ROI of a HoverCam is high and so is teacher satisfaction.

Have an old, clunky document camera in your room? Want more space on your desk? Consider trading it in for the HoverCam Solo 8, the world’s first SuperSpeed USB 3.0 document camera with 8-megapixel resolution and a 30 frames/second refresh rate designed for desktop use. For additional information, please visit www.thehovercam.com

The Only Document Camera Designed To Scan: Introducing The HoverCam Solo . Yes, It's a Scanner, Too

From its debut in 2010, the HoverCam was designed as a new kind of “top down” scanner to scan documents with a camera positioned above the paper on a stand instead of below a glass platen. The design was so innovative it was awarded several U.S. patents. Unlike traditional document cameras with VGA connectors designed to connect directly to projectors, the HoverCam is a USB computer peripheral with a high-resolution sensor and scanning software that allows users to crop an image, straighten and scan directly to PDF. There is an auto-timer allowing scanning at specified intervals – for example, every five seconds – and even a motion-sensor that triggers scanning a set number of seconds after motion is detected, such as placing a paper down in the scan area. Using the motion-trigger function and HoverCam’s “Flex” software included with every unit, it’s easy to scan multiple documents into a single PDF file, saving a teacher time and trips to the office. And HoverCam’s software allows easy sharing of documents through email, drag-and-drop into another program, and uploading to Evernote or Dropbox.

HoverCam’s Flex software also includes a simple OCR – Optical Character Recognition –function that allows the user to scan text from a document then edit the text and paste it into a Word document. This makes it easier for teachers to create some lessons. Then there is the text to speech function, which reads out loud in selected computer voices the text that was scanned – useful for language instruction and also a few laughs depending on the voice selected. Traditional document cameras could always take a low-res photo or a low-res snap shot with their low resolution cameras, but from the beginning, the HoverCam was the world’s first “document camera” that was also truly a document scanner so schools were getting four pieces of equipment in one: a document camera, an HD video recorder, an HD webcam and a scanner.

Once again, HoverCam has changed the game with the new Solo 8, the world’s first document camera to incorporate an 8-megapixel sensor that scans text even more clearly than earlier models. The Solo 8’s camera scans 8-megapixel resolution images that are “uncompressed” which means that scans of text are cleaner with fewer artifacts and OCR accuracy is improved. The typical storage size of each scan is about 1MB so it’s easy to share files. And, the Solo 8 works great with leading OCR software packages, such as ABBYY Fine Reader. For additional information, please visit www.thehovercam.com

A New Document Camera Designed to Record Video for “Flipped Learning” and Classroom Instruction. Say Hello to Solo 8

Use of video recording in schools is increasing, with more teachers “flipping” their classroom and video used as a tool to assess how well students present and comprehend material. At the Illinois Computer Educators Conference in Illinois in February, spotlight speaker Richard Colosi, an educator from New York and winner of two national video contests, urged conference attendees to record student presentations and play back the recordings.  “It’s when you record the material you find out if the students really understand what they’re talking about,” he said.

A challenge when recording video with a smartphone or tablet is stability – and a tripod or stand may not always be available. Also, once you record the video on a device – or snippets of video – sometimes there’s a need to edit the content into a more coherent lesson, and that often means transferring the video to a computer to use the best editing tools.

The HoverCam Solo 8 was designed from the ground up with the latest microprocessor power and highest sensor resolution to record HD 1080p video at 30 frames per second over a USB cable directly to a computer’s hard drive.  It is the only document camera available today that does that over USB – with most other document cameras recording at lower resolution, lower speeds and with video recording time limited by the size of inconvenient SD cards. With the Solo 8, instructors can record hours of video footage directly to their computer, without the extra step of transferring video to the computer. Furthermore, the Solo 8 allows annotation over video while recording, to further enhance a lesson.

The Solo 8 weighs just 1 kg – 2.2 lbs. – and has a small base so it’s easy to pick up the camera and swivel it in any direction.  It has a flip-up camera head that is fully rotating and a bendable arm to record video in almost any direction.  It can be used to record video of students at the back of a classroom – or up-close to reveal amazing features of objects - and it records and plays back in HD 1080p resolution with the speed and clarity you expect to see from an HDTV broadcast. And, when using a USB 3.0 cable, the video is uncompressed YUV video – for an even better HD image.

The HoverCam Solo 8 is more than just a “document camera.” It is becoming a teacher’s best friend for easily recording and playing back high-quality HD video using the computer and for “flipping” the classroom. To find out more, please visit www.thehovercam.com and click on the video below.

Finally, A Document Camera Designed for Easy Use With Interactive Whiteboards. Introducing The HoverCam Solo 8

At education technology trade shows around the country teachers seeing the HoverCam on display walk up to me and say, “I can’t figure out how to connect my document camera to the interactive whiteboard.” Sometimes the teacher admits “the document camera just sits in the closet.” Traditional document cameras were designed to output video through a VGA port directly to the projector and lacked the connectivity to communicate with interactive whiteboards - IWBs.  And, even as traditional document camera manufacturers added USB connectivity to their products, the video streamed over their USB cables is either low-resolution, unacceptably slow, or both.

The HoverCam Solo 8 is the world's first

SuperSpeed USB 3.0 document camera

with 8MP resolution and a

30 frame/sec refresh rate at high-resolution. 

It's designed to work with 

Interactive Whiteboards.

From its initial conception five years ago, the HoverCam was designed to work with computers and to connect to PCs and Macs with a USB cable, just as an IWB connects to the computer via USB.  The HoverCam represents a whole new philosophy in document camera design.  The HoverCam is a “computer peripheral.” It didn’t take long for school principals and district IT directors to learn that the HoverCam being a USB “document camera” is an advantage, because it allows easy connecting and use with IWBs. Moreover, the HoverCam design – which uses a high-resolution sensor instead of bulky, expensive optics – has a clearer image and costs significantly less than traditional document cameras to produce. Not because it’s cheap - because it’s innovative and incorporates advanced, patented technology.

Not only is the HoverCam hardware ready for use with interactive whiteboards right out of the box, the HoverCam “Flex” software included with each unit is also compatible with IWB software.

There are four ways to import HoverCam images into IWB software:

·        Drag-and-drop any captured image or photo from HoverCam’s software window into the IWB software.

·        HoverCam’s “Slingshot” feature which allows an image being shown by the HoverCam to be captured and inserted into any software program – including IWB software – with just one click without leaving the IWB software.

·        HoverCam’s “Whiteboard Connector,” a flash-app that allows the camera’s live streaming video to be displayed within the IWB software.

·        Using the “transparency” feature of the IWB software to display HoverCam’s live, full-motion, 30 frame/second 1080p video image inside the IWB without installation of any additional software, app or driver.

It’s easy to connect a HoverCam to any computer for use with any IWB, and best of all, the new HoverCam Solo 8 delivers clearer images over USB than any other document camera costing less than 3,000 dollars with its true 8-megapixel resolution and full-motion, 30 frames per second video. For more information please visit www.thehovercam.com

HoverCam Leads Way Again with Solo 8 - World's First USB 3.0 Document Camera with 4K Resolution and Full-Motion Video

In 2010, HoverCam launched the world's first USB document camera shaking up the document camera market for K-12 schools. Four years later, the company is about to re-energize the declining document camera market with the Solo 8, the world's first SuperSpeed USB 3.0 document camera outputting uncompressed HD video up to 4K resolution at 30 frames per second. 

This is the first USB document camera with no image delay, ghosting or latency when displaying live video on commonly used 1080p resolution displays. USB 3.0 has about 10x the bandwidth of USB 2. The benefits of this breakthrough to teachers will include:

·      * Teachers can now show live video images of solving problems, working worksheets, modeling and more in full motion video with the convenience of a small document camera connected to their computer.

* Teachers can easily record high quality HD videos at their desk for "flipped learning".

* Since the Solo 8 is also USB powered, no additional power cord is required. And, because the footprint of the Solo 8 is small - about 2 inches by 2 inches - it can sit on a teacher's desk without taking up much space, available to use any time.

*    * Connecting the document camera to the computer via USB makes it more convenient for teachers to us camera images with their SMARTboards and other interactive displays. Moreover, with HoverCam's software, it's convenient to scan documents as PDFs directly to the computer.

          Other Key Features of Solo 8: Record and play back full motion, HD video at 30 frames/second. Annotate over video, even when recording.

·       Solo 8 incorporates an 8-megapixel sensor that outputs uncompressed YUV video at up to 4K resolution.  See close up details with amazing clarity. See text of an A3 double-page document more clearly than ever before.

·       Backwards compatible with computers with USB 2 connectors. Over USB 2, Solo 8 delivers MJPEG compressed 1080p video at 30 frames/second

·       The world’s first implementation of ASR (Adaptive Sensor Resolution) in a document camera. This method allows Solo 8 to use all 8MP of the camera resolution at all times and allows the camera to zoom using ASR maintaining outstanding image quality. 

·       Improved version of HoverCam Flex Software called “Flex 10” – which operates natively on Windows and Mac computers. The new software delivers maximum camera performance and improves the end-user experience. (Previous versions of the software were coded on top of Adobe Air.)

·       Improved OCR (Optical Character Recognition) performance for scanning a document into editable text.

·       Additional features: USB powered, small footprint and powerful software for scanning, recording video, slingshot, integration with interactive whiteboards, taking photographs, and more.

·       People are saying Solo 8 has higher performance than Elmo, Aver, Lumens and SMART document cameras at half the cost.  The Solo 8 MSRP is $349 and it begins shipping in April.

HoverCam have been demonstrating a Solo 8 prototype at trade shows this winter and the response has been enthusiastic, according to company officials. Teachers and tech directors appreciate the image clarity and smooth video images, they say. For additional information, please contact www.thehovercam.com

(The writer is VP of Sales for the HoverCam.)

Could the Future of Scanning be a Top Down Approach?

Fujitsu ScanSnap SV600. A new
"top scanning" design. $895

The direction of document scanning in the future may be top down. Literally. Four years ago, a company in San Diego, CA named Pathway Innovations & Technologies, Inc. developed the first "top scanner", a device in which the camera is on a stand and points down at a document, whereas traditional scanners incorporate a camera beneath a glass platen. The traditional flatbed scanner is slow. The "top scanner" is fast, scanning a page in less than one second. And, with top scanning, there are no paper jams and no ripping of paper. As the resolution of "top scanners" made by Pathway, which it calls The HoverCam, have improved, so has the quality of the scans. The company has been awarded both a U.S. design patent and a utility patent for the HoverCam invention. Although annual sales are still relatively small at less than $10 million a year, Pathway is a young, emerging company and is growing. What's interesting is that the top down scanning approach was recently validated by Fujitsu, the 800 lbs. gorilla of the scanning market, which introduced its own top scanner model called the ScanSnap SV600.  The Fujitsu model's main purpose is scanning, and, it's not cheap, with a $895 price tag. By comparison, the HoverCam Solo 5x (and the soon to be released Solo 8) model is more than a scanner; it's also a document camera used to show images during live presentations and training sessions. In addition, the HoverCam Solo 5x document camera is also a HD high-definition web conferencing camera, a video camera that records video and voice with its built-in microphone, and has a flexible camera head so that it can be pointed in any direction and used as a USB camera. And, HoverCam has come to market with portable version of the top down scanner - the HoverCam Mini - so small it weighs less than 6 oz and fits in your pocket or evening purse. (In April, 2014 HoverCam will release the Solo 8, the world's first 8-megapixel, SuperSpeed USB 3.0 document camera with up to 4K resolution and a refresh rate of full motion 30 frames per second video.)

HoverCam Mini 5 document
camera and scanner. It scans, records
video, takes snap shots and is an
HD webcam. $249

The shape of scanning in the future could be top down, with Fujitsu and HoverCam leading the way with the new "top scanner" approach. Office products retailers such as OfficeDepot, Staples and OfficeMax have shown interest in the new concept and have picked up the HoverCam products. In Fujitsu's marketing video of the SV600, the scanning giant fired a direct competitive shot at the HoverCam design, validating the top scanning approach. If Pathway Innovations and its HoverCam are able to do to the scanning market what they did to Elmo Manufacturing Corp. in the document camera market for education -- in which HoverCam was disruptive with its patented new approach selling over 100,000 units in less than 3 years to schools-- then be on the lookout for changes in the future of scanning.

(About the author: Craig Justice is VP of Sales for Pathway Innovations, maker of The HoverCam.)

Must Have Tool for "Back to School"

The HoverCam T3. The first
high-resolution document camera
that changed everything.

 A high-quality document camera is a must-have tool for any classroom teacher.

HoverCam, the technology leader in USB document cameras for schools, changed everything with the introduction of the T3, the world’s first USB document camera with high resolution, a fraction of the size and fraction of the cost of traditional document cameras. More than just a document camera, the HoverCam T3 is also a scanner, grading machine, video recorder and high-resolution web camera. Talk to teachers who have one and you can sense their passion for the HoverCam and all it does.

Over 100,000 HoverCam T3s (priced at $219) are in use at schools across the country. The company offers a newer model called Solo 5 which includes all the features of the T3 but is 5-megapixels, has a fully rotating camera head and is priced at $299.

Scan Right At Your Desk

HoverCam includes software for scanning and managing scanned images. Scan pages from a book, newspaper, magazine, kids’ homework. Use the motion sensor to scan multiple pages into one PDF file. Convert and stack scanned JPEG images into PDF. Email scanned images, post them to your website, organize them in folders or save them to Dropbox or Evernote. With the HoverCam, you’re getting more than a document camera. You’re also getting a scanner. No more trips to the school’s administration office to scan. Now, scan right at your desk.

HoverCam's Solo 5 features
a rotating camera head, giving it more versatility
when recording video. $299

Create Instructional Videos for Flipped Learning
The HoverCam includes a built-in microphone. Use the HoverCam’s software to conveniently record HD quality video with audio directly to your computer’s hard drive. With the HoverCam, it’s easy to create your own instructional videos for the flipped classroom. Upload videos you record to your website, Evernote, Dropbox, YouTube, Facebook or Picasa or email them. With HoverCam’s software, it’s easy to share files with students.

Save Time Grading Tests

Use the HoverCam you teach with to also grade tests. The HoverCam includes a free, one-year license of GradeCentral, a software program for creating and grading multiple choice quizzes and tests.  After students complete the test, place the tests under the HoverCam camera to scan them and record the grade in seconds. This will save you time grading. Data and test scores captured with GradeCentral software may be saved as a CSV file and shared with your school’s grading system.

Save Desk Space

The HoverCam has a small foot-print (less than 4” diameter) compared to traditional document cameras and doesn’t take up much desk space.  It’s always available to make a quick scan or use to present to class.  When not in use, the HoverCam may be “telescoped” or folded into a flat position to easily put away in a drawer or carried to another classroom. Because the HoverCam is USB powered, it’s easy and fast to set up and start using.

Striking Picture Quality
Expect superb image clarity from the HoverCam when compared to document cameras three times the cost. The HoverCam allows you to zoom in and out in real time with the spin of the mouse wheel. Combined with the ability to click and drag the image as needed, you have maximum versatility when presenting and teaching. It’s a great way to show worksheets, book pages, and even your iPad or tablet screen.

Industry Leading HoverCam Flex Software
HoverCam Flex is regarded as the best software of any document camera. It allows you to scan, record video, manage and share files. Whether you’re recording a “flipped classroom” video lesson or dropping a scanned image into a PowerPoint presentation, HoverCam Flex makes it easy. It even works with interactive whiteboards, allowing you to easily show captured images and live video on your interactive board. And, the software is embedded inside the unit, making it easy to install anywhere without having to download from the Internet or find a misplaced CD.

HoverCam Flex Software Features Include:

• Audio and Video Recording
• Screen Capture
• Annotation
• Picture-in-Picture (with the webcam on your computer)
• Interactive Whiteboard Integration
• Image Rotation
• Auto White Balance, Brightness, Contrast, Saturation, Freeze Frame
• Zoom and Scroll
• Archive Manager
• Drag-and-Drop Images or Videos
• Time-Lapse Photography
• Motion Triggered Scanning
• Video Conferencing (with HoverCam Connect)
• Compatibility with Skype, GoToMeeting, Zoom, WebEx
• Image stacking, conversion to PDF, and more

Improve Distance Learning & Remote Conferencing

The HoverCam image appears in a window on your computer screen, which means high resolution images of documents and objects can easily be viewed during remote conferences and distance learning sessions with Skype, GoToMeeting, Zoom, WebEx and other web conferencing programs in “screen sharing” mode. In addition, the HoverCam includes HoverCam Connect, a beta software feature that allows two HoverCam users at remote locations to share each other’s viewing screens over the Internet. The HoverCam provides much sharper, clearer images during remote conferencing than using a typical low-resolution webcam.

LED Lighting That Never Needs Changing
Have a dark room? No problem. The HoverCam camera works well in low lighting, and if your room is completely dark, the unit incorporates long-lasting LED lights. For the price of the replacement bulb of a traditional document camera, you could simply buy a HoverCam.

Engineering Masterpiece

The HoverCam was cleverly designed to leverage the processing power of the computer to zoom and control most functions, so the HoverCam doesn’t incorporate the large and expensive optical parts found in traditional document cameras. The result is a new form factor that’s compact, portable, durable and affordable. Moreover, with HoverCam’s strength as a software developer, the HoverCam software allows you to scan, record voice & video, remote conference and manage files which is why the T3 is so much more than just a “document camera."

For Mac & PC Users

HoverCam is compatible with Macs and PCs. Included with each HoverCam camera are:  1.3 meter USB cable, positioning mat, carrying pouch, HoverCam Flex Software and a one year free license of HoverCam’s GradeCentral grading software. 

For additional information about the HoverCam and to find out more about the company’s test-drive free-evaluation program for schools, please contact www.thehovercam.com or tel (858) 750-3499.

Full Circle With USA TODAY

The USA TODAY was first published the year after I graduated from college. I was excited about it because one of our university's visiting instructors John Seigenthaler, publisher of the Nashville Tennessean at that time and a member of the Gannet family of newspapers, was the USA TODAY's first Editorial Page Editor. I also liked the concept of taking the headline news from each state, and laying that out in a full page spread. I had an inspired idea to see the same thing done for international news--a country by country news summary--and even applied for a position at the paper.

Review of HoverCam Mini, May 1,
2013 USA TODAY. We even shared
the stage with Mel Brooks &
Carl Reiner.

Although I never worked at "the nation's newspaper" it has always held a special place in my conscience, and each time I see the paper on display or pick up a copy to read I pause to give thanks to John Seigenthaler, who was such an inspiring, thoughtful guest lecturer and seminar leader on Duke University's campus, and to Professor Bruce L. Payne of Duke's Public Policy School, who organized the course on "Public Policy & The Media" and lured John to campus to share his experiences and wisdom. Bruce clearly deserved the "Teacher of the Year" award he received soon after.

We recently launched a new product (the HoverCam Mini) at our start-up company (the HoverCam). The first significant media outlet to properly test and review our product was USA TODAY. Technology reporter Ed Baig writes: "HoverCam Mini 5 is cool."  Life doesn't get much better than that. I've come full circle with USA TODAY.

Here's Ed Baig's video review of the HoverCam. The HoverCam material appears after the sponsored ad. Glad to see that the USA TODAY is finding ways to embrace new media to extend its advertising reach to stay in business.

HoverCam: An Ideal "Document Camera" For Higher Education

HoverCam Solo 5x closed (l)
and open (r)

The HoverCam, based in San Diego, CA., makes document cameras, a product that's the modern equivalent of the obsolete overhead projector that used to be in every schoolroom and many conference rooms. Until now, almost 90% of the HoverCam's sales have been to the K-12 education market. That could change with the introduction of two new products, the desktop Solo 5x document camera and the ultraportable, pocket size HoverCam Mini 5.

The Solo 5x has unique features making it ideal for use on college campuses. Namely, its small footprint, high resolution, USB connectivity and multi-function capability including the ability to scan, video conference, record video and to present allow it to be used by college faculty numerous ways.

Here’s a list of the main features and uses on a college campus:

* Solo 5x has a small footprint -- it sits on an instructor’s desk in the office without taking up much desk space

* Scan documents and articles at the desk (without having to go to the photocopy machine down the hall)

* Use for instruction in class to show books, articles, iPad (tablet) screen – anything

* With its small footprint, the HoverCam Solo 5x doesn’t take up much space on a lectern.  It can be folded flat and easily put away

* Record instructional videos to post to a website for flipped classroom learning

* Incorporates a high-resolution, 5 mega-pixel camera, ideal for remote learning and "virtual office hours."  HoverCam works with Adobe Connect, GoToMeeting, Zoom, WebEx, Skype to show clear images during video and web conferences

* Take the HoverCam Mini 5 (the pocket-size version of HoverCam) to the library or on the road to scan multiple pages quickly and accurately. Ideal for scanning archive documents, rare books and other precious resources that may not be removed from the library.

* The HoverCam Solo 5x costs only $299 and the ultraportable HoverCam Mini $249, making either affordable for every instructor on campus to have their own HoverCam camera-scanner.

For additional information, please visit the HoverCam website at: http://www.thehovercam.com/products/solo5 and http://www.thehovercam.com/products/mini-5

The New Retail Package For The HoverCam Mini Has Arrived!

Here's the new retail package for the HoverCam Mini 5 camera-scanner. Click the video to see how the package flap opens. The Mini is the perfect tool for scanning multiple documents on the go. Not just a scanner, the multi-functional device is also a camera, video camera, high-resolution webcam and a document camera. It includes software for scanning business cards and allows direct upload of scans and video to Evernote (a great way to organize ideas), Dropbox, Facebook, YouTube and more. It fits in your pocket or bag and costs $249. For more information, please visit the HoverCam website: http://www.thehovercam.com

Which Document Camera Is Most Portable? Your Choice.

It was late in the day after another record day of HoverCam sales and Neil pulled out his new phone to show off. Ji shoe-d us his phone and then Art showed us the HoverCam Mini. Which is the most portable document camera and which are the pretenders? Where's the beef? Is this the new HoverPhone?

HoverCam vs. iPad Clamped to a Stand

     

iPad shown with an optional mount. Is
this the best way to use an iPad in class? 

Some teachers ask, "Why do I need a document camera when I have an iPad?" True, you could clamp or mount an iPad to a stand, much as the one shown in the image. But is this the best use for an iPad, and, is it cost effective for the school?

The traditional document camera - made famous by a company called Elmo - is a dinosaur. In fact, Samsung - one of the leaders - has announced it's quitting the document camera business. But, a San Diego based company called Pathway Innovations has come out with a device called a "HoverCam" which has "reinvented" this stodgy product category. The HoverCam Solo 8 is the world's first SuperSpeed USB 3.0 "teaching camera" with 8 megapixel resolution and full-motion, 30 frame/sec speed over USB. Which means teachers can record full-motion HD video directly to their computer, and share it with students and parents. Calling the HoverCam a "document camera" doesn't do it justice, because it does so much more.

Why is the HoverCam Solo 8 an alternative to an iPad on a stand?

      HoverCam Advantages vs. iPad Clamped To a Stand

      * HoverCam is designed to be used as a document camera for classroom use. It is rugged and includes a stand and a lamp. The total cost for HoverCam’s flagship model Solo 8 is $349.

·       * iPad ($499) + optional stand ($50 - $99) is over $550, over $200 more than the cost of the HoverCam Solo 8.

·       * The iPad is designed to be used as a hand-held, portable tablet.  It’s best used that way.  By fastening it to a stand (making it stationary) the iPad’s functionality - and mobility -  is restricted. A school wastes money purchasing an iPad and tying it down as a document camera. If a teacher's iPad is clamped to a stand how are they going to bring the tablet to the other side of the room? Time will be lost unclamping it.

·        * The HoverCam’s camera head is moveable – the camera can be quickly pointed in any direction when recording video, or showing live images. Fastening an iPad to a stand makes the iPad’ s camera less flexible. As a video camera, the HoverCam is more versatile than the iPad and an optional stand.

·       *  HoverCam Solo 8 includes LED lights so it can be used in a darkened classroom.

·       *  If you drop the HoverCam on a hard floor, it’s likely to keep working.  If you drop an iPad on a solid floor, it could break.

·        * The HoverCam has a small profile, even when showing a double-sided, A3 size book.  The iPad + stand combination, as shown above, could block the view of some students.

·        *  The HoverCam – with its fast refresh rate and true 8 megapixel resolution – is a great way to show and train students how to use iPad apps. By placing an iPad under the HoverCam students can see the teacher’s hand movements and learn faster. The Solo 8 can be used to record an instructional video of how to use an app, which can be easily uploaded to a teacher's website.

      The ideal classroom would include both HoverCams and iPads working together. This can be accomplished with Splashtop software, which allows streaming of a HoverCam image to an iPad or tablet anywhere in the room, which increases mobility.

The HoverCam Solo 8 is a multifunctional scanner, document camera, video recorder and grading machine for classroom instruction, & corporate training, presentations, scanning and flipped learning. It can also be used as a USB 3.0 webcam for distance learning and virtual field trips.

(Note - this post was updated December, 2014)

退一步，海阔天空. Why Not Take a Step Back?

My colleague Ji Shen, Founder and CEO of The HoverCam who is originally from China, just shared we me words of wisdom: 退一步，海阔天空。 Tui Yi Bu, Hai Kuo Tian Kong. It means, roughly: "Take a step back, and the sky opens before you."  Often in business - especially in "start-up" mode, we tend to charge ahead in our work, sometimes getting stuck in a rut. Instead of plowing forward, why not take a step back? New options, new paths as wide as the sea and sky will appear. 

How To Use HoverCam With An iPad

I’m often asked, “How can I use the HoverCam with the iPad?”

Here are some ways to get the most out of your tablet and your document camera.

The HoverCam is a great
way to show images on an
iPad and train how to use apps.

First, the HoverCam is an excellent way to show a large screen image of a tablet (or smartphone) screen.  Just put the tablet underneath the HoverCam, and the high resolution, true 5-megapixel sensor of the HoverCam Solo 5 displays the tablet screen crystal clear. The advantage of showing the tablet screen this way is the audience (or class) can easily follow the instructor’s hand movements, making it easier to comprehend how the teacher is using the tablet.  And with the Solo 5 being the world’s fastest 5-megapixel USB document camera, there’s not much blurring (and less blurring than there would be with high-resolution USB document cameras from other manufacturers).

If you’d like to use the iPad to control a HoverCam, a great way to do that is with an app called Splashtop, which allows you to control your computer screen with the iPad.  With the HoverCam attached to your computer and with Splashtop installed on your iPad you can control all HoverCam functions with the iPad. The camera images can be simultaneously seen on the iPad, the computer and the projector and you can annotate and manipulate the HoverCam image with the iPad.  Splashtop also has an app to turn the iPad into an “interactive” tablet / whiteboard.  Our technical service department has thoroughly tested Splashtop. The application installs easily and works perfectly.  We recommend it.  (Of course Android tablets such as LearnPad that are Splashtop compatible also work well with HoverCam.)

We occasionally run into a person who says, “I don’t need a document camera.  My tablet has a camera.”  We believe – as do our customers – that both products can co-exist in the classroom.  A blogpost next week will explain why.

Sweden To The HoverCam: "Det Ar Bra!"

My favorite things about Sweden are herring, midnight sun, cross country skiing and the teachers.

Each year in January we attend a conference called BETT, which is not just the largest education technology trade show in Britain, but all of Europe. And one of my favorite things about BETT is the Swedish teachers, almost 4,000 of them, who travel to warm winter London to see our products.

Our European Sales Manager, Anders Wik, is from Gothenburg and with “Gotteborg Humor” entertains the Swedish visitors to our trade show booth with tales about our products. It’s good fun and by the end of the 4-day exposition I’ve heard his

Anders setting up the HoverCam booth

at BETT in the UK, January 2013.

spiel so many times I’m speaking Swedish.

  This week, we will launch the HoverCam Mini 5, the world’s smallest document camera, in Sweden at SETT, Scandinavia’s largest education technology conference.

SETT is an acronym for Scandinavian Educational Technology Transformation. This is the 2^nd year for the conference, which attracted 4,500 teachers, ICT (Interactive Communications Technology) instructors and school administrators from 3 countries last year.

The goals for the conference are to introduce new digital technologies to the classroom to increase student achievement.

According to HoverCam’s Swedish resellers, the Mini is ideal for teachers who instruct at multiple schools, because it weighs less than 250 grams. The HoverCam Mini allows instructors to scan paper documents, and also to capture images with the camera that can be shown on interactive whiteboards in class.

“Many teachers are using the HoverCam to create instructional videos,” says Anders.

The HoverCam Mini 5 will be displayed at SETT by the Swedish instructional technology integrators AV Huset and ITM, which will highlight how HoverCam can be used by teachers as an instructional technology tool. (One of the highlights of BETT – the UK show – is meeting up with AV Huset and ITM on the streets of London for a concert, samplings of British ale and good stories.)

HoverCam’s products will also be showcased by two companies highlighting the HoverCam’s capability to work with OCR (optical character recognition) software, ICAP and Svensk Talteknologi.  OCR software allows text from book pages scanned with the HoverCam to be converted from text to speech, which is useful for students with visual impairments. The scan quality of the HoverCam works well with OCR software.

“The HoverCam is user friendly,” says Anders. “The software is in Swedish and easy to install since it is embedded in the unit,” he said. HoverCam products appeal to teachers in Sweden, Norway and Denmark because of the good video quality, ergonomic design and multi-functionality. “Each HoverCam is also a scanner and a video recorder,” says Anders, “And it’s affordable for schools.”

HoverCam products were first introduced to North America in 2010, where 100,000 HoverCam units have been installed in schools. We began working with Anders and  exporting HoverCams to Sweden in May, 2011.

This is how I sound after speaking Swedish for 4 days. (Full disclosure: I hired a Swede to play the part of me in the video.)



For additional information about the HoverCam in Sweden, please visit the company’s Swedish website www.thehovercam.se For additional information about the SETT Conference, which runs April 17 – 18 please visit www.settdagarna.se/en For additional information about HoverCam products in North America please visit www.thehovercam.com or email contact@thehovercam.com