Will the netbooks help or hurt the UMPC market?

The demand for the Asus Eee and the HP 2133 is growing so fast these days, especially as students get ready to go back to school.

I wonder if this netbook craze will hurt or help the UMPC market. Are consumers choosing netbooks over UMPCs? Or, are they getting drawn to ultra-mobile computing and discovering that a UMPC may be a better option?

Certainly, more consumers are looking for something small, light, and battery-efficient. What will this netbook craze look like when the holidays approach?

What will Gustav do to New Orleans?

Is this going to be another devastating event? What will Gustav do to New Orleans?

Ocean biology

Biology is a fascinating subject. It amazes me when I think about all the creatures that live in the ocean. We are constantly discovering new species and diving to deeper depths with sophisticated equipment. Someday, it would be an incredible adventure to explore the depths of the ocean floor. I wonder if we will find creatures that ate larger than whales living at the very bottom.

nanobatteries @ MIT

Researchers at MIT are working on nanobatteries that are small enough to fit in a cell. They have built 2 of the 3 key components for such a battery. Such microbatteries could be used in so many different healthcare applications such as implants, devices, etc. Can't wait to see this in action!

Namesake: Dr. Joe Kim

Dr. Joe Kim is an associate professor at Rider University in the department of marketing. He indicates that his research interests are in: Health-care marketing; international marketing.

Background Information

Doctorate of Philosophy, 1979, St. Louis University, Marketing, Finance

Master of Business Administration, 1972, Yonsei University, Marketing

Bachelor’s of Art, 1969, Soong Sil University, South Korea, English Literature

Someday when I retire...

Someday, when I retire, I want to make movie props and drive them around my neighborhood. Some dream about golfing, while others love fishing. I love to build things. Wouldn't it be great to have so much time that you can build your own Batman Tumbler?

Asus R50 UMPC

Asus has recently gotten a lot of attention because of their successful Eee netbook. Many people may not realize that Asus also makes UMPCs like the R50. This tiny device looks like a nice balance between size and functionality. As long as the battery life is respectable, doctors working in busy hospitals may be willing to slip one of these in their coat pockets.

Apple Tablet? Return of the Newton?

Is Apple getting ready to come out with a Mac Tablet? That may be the case based on this patent application. Of course, I doubt their tablet will resemble the old Newton Messagepad.

I had a Newton while going through medical school. It was an amazing piece of technology and I wrote my notes on the touch screen. The digitizer and the handwriting recognition was unbelievable for its time. Then, Apple killed the Newtown. Those were some sad days.

So what type of tablet computer will Apple create? The bigger question is: when will we see this thing?

Samsung X360 notebook

It's great to see some really thin and light notebooks popping up these days. These are great for doctors and medical students who are often going from one hospital to the next.

Samsung has a great new laptop coming out. The X360 is very light and thin. If priced right, it may do really well. Will it beat the MacBook Air or the Thinkpad X300?

Academy of Pharmaceutical Physicians and Investigators

The Academy of Pharmaceutical Physicians and Investigators (APPI) now has a website. You can visit them here: http://www.appinet.org/

This organization used to be called the American Academy of Pharmaceutical Physicians (AAPP) and they had a website at www.aapp.org

In 2005, The Association of Clinical Research Professionals (ACRP) and the Academy of Pharmaceutical Physicians and Investigators (APPI) - formerly known as the American Academy of Pharmaceutical Physicians (AAPP) - signed a definitive agreement signifying a formal affiliation between the two groups and their related Education Foundation activities.

The academy also offers certification as a Certified Physician Investigator (CPI). If you're heavily involved in clinical research, this may be something worth pursuing.

Dreaming of Windows 8

Wouldn't it be great if Windows 7 was designed to be more efficient than Windows XP? Vista was built with security in mind. Windows 7 is being built with performance in mind. Will it out-perform XP? With so many netbooks popping up, slower processors are being used to save costs and increase battery life. XP currently seems like the best OS for most of these devices (unless you're running Linux).

So what will Windows 7 look like? Will Microsoft actually release something that has lower system requrements than Vista? I doubt it.

Choosing a PDA and/or Smartphone for medical school

Medical students are often asking: how should I select a PDA and/or smartphone?

I currently use an XV6800 with Verizon, but if I were on AT&T, I'd probably switch to the Treo Pro.

When you look for a PDA and/or smartphone:

1. Always get a touch screen device so that you can effectively run important applications such as epocrates.

2. Go for Windows Mobile. the Palm OS has been dying a slow death.

3. Get a device that has Wi-Fi. This way, even if you don't purchase a data plan, you can still use your PDA/phone in the hospital during your rotations.

4. Get a built-in hardware keyboard. Here is where the iPhone falls short. When you're using certain applications, it really helps to have an actual keyboard.

5. Get something where you can easily remove the battery. Once again, here is where the iPhone falls short. During some of your overnight rotations, you may want to have a spare battery with you - since you may never get the chance to plug your phone in and charge it.

Everyone's loving the Palm Treo Pro

Everyone seems to be loving the Palm Treo Pro. All the different reviews are raving about this phone that's made by HTC.

I see more and more physicians and medical students using the Treo these days. Traditionally, the Palm OS has been more popular among doctors. Younger medical students are using the iPhone, Windows Mobile, or RIM/Blackberry. Will the traditional docs make the switch to Windows Mobile?

Since medical students are often required to run applications that are only built for either the Palm OS or Windows Mobile, they're more likely than ever to go with the Treo Pro over the iPhone.

Faster low-cost SSDs by Samsung

The buzz is real. Affordable SSDs may be right around the corner. These SATA drives are being made by Samsung primarily for netbooks and UMPCs. I can see these going into small tablet PCs that would be ideal in hospitals.

Doctors, nurses, and pharmacists working in hospitals should have very easy access to mobile devices. Whether they use tablets of UMPCs, their devices should use SSDs since devices often get dropped. It will be great when someday all mobile devices use FLASH memory instead of spinning hard drives.

Remember the days of monochrome screens?

Someday when I retire...

Someday, when I retire, I'd love to have the time to build something like this...

I love building things. I also love Star Wars. When you combine those hobbies, what do you get?

Official Verizon ROM Update for XV6800

It looks like the official Verizon Wireless ROM update is here for the XV6800

This is supposed to update the operating system to Windows Mobile 6.1
It also adds EVDO Rev A capability.

RUU_TITAN_VZW_WWE_3.57.605.1_RS_TITAN_3.37.75_OM_VZW_Ship.exe

The old ROM is version 2.09.605.8
and the new ROM is version 3.57.605.1

Unfortunately, GPS is NOT enabled for you to use on other applications like Google Maps, TomTom, etc. Hence, if you wish to use your phone as a GPS navigator, then you better learn how to install a custom ROM.

Go here to download the upgrade:

http://support.vzw.com/phones/index.html?p=3411

or, here:

http://handsets.utstar.com/view_phon...&bID=89&sAct=0

Self-Assembly of Microchips

MIT professors and graduate students have come up with a way that may improve microchip assembly. Block copolymers are self-assembling systems. By leveraging this technology, these researchers have come up with a way to consistently generate polymer nanostructures. A combination of properly placed nanopillars, nanoanchors, and block copolymers may lead to an efficient self-assembling chip structures. This project was funded by the National Science Foundation, the Semiconductor Research Corp., the Nanoelectronics Research Initiative, King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology and Alfaisal University, and the Singapore-MIT Alliance.

Washington couple sentenced for medical fraud

Wow, this is scary. According to the Seattle Times, a couple living in Mount Vernon has been sentenced for medical fraud. The Brandt couple operated a clinic using a "Vibe Machine" which supposedly uses radio frequency to cure ailments. At least one person (a 32-year-old man) died while being treated by this Vibe machine. According to court documents, Donald Brandt posed as a medical doctor and treated patients who were dying from terminal diseases such as cancer. The couple plead guilty to a misdemeanor in federal court and were recently sentenced.

So many people want holistic medical care and they are into alternative medicine, herbs, etc. People need to be warned that some of these therapies are "sham" therapies, and others may indeed be harmful. Want to learn more? You may want to visit the American Holistic Medical Association.

Do nuts and popcorn cause diverticular disease?

Great news if you've been avoiding nuts, popcorn, etc. to avoid developing diverticular disease. Researchers have found in a large, prospective study of men without known diverticular disease that nuts, corn, and popcorn consumption may not increase the risk of diverticulosis or diverticular complications. This was recently published in JAMA.

So what happens if you have known diverticular disease?