WebOS Game Changer Preview: Touchpad on HP's eStation C510 Printer

Erica Ogg, a CNET News reporter bemoans WebOS's lack of developers, programmers in an opinion piece last week "Can HP Make Developers Care about WebOS?".  I would have agreed with her on Friday, but not today.  HP has figured out how to best Apple and RIM dominance in the handheld marketplace. 

This part may seem like a non-sequitur but soon the tie in will become apparent.  I've got a couple of  HP all-in-one units.  Even though both units function well as printers, now for a number of years, I'm contemplating purchasing a replacement.   Running on Vista is the problem as has  HP hasn't updated the drivers for scanning, so I can't get aspect  function at all.  If I want to move to Windows 7, it's a given, I've got to get a newer unit.  Over the weekend I wandered through one of those big box stores.  As I checked out printers, my synapse slammed shut; I 'got' it. 

Built into new printers were a few touch screens.  To my astonishment, one unit had a portable.   So I picked up this 7" color touchscreen from it's cradle in HP's eStation e-All-in-One Printer.  Nice, I can preview photos before spilling valuable ink.  What, whoa, it does more!  That's when it struck me, the device seems so WebOS.    

This Zeen, as it's called, is very much upwardly mobile, kinda heavenly.  It's a digital companion, capable of accessing the internet -- hello Picassa photo album.  It sports both a USB 2.0 port plus a SSD media card slot.  With 800MHz, 512MB of RAM, and 4GB of internal storage, it's good to hold an estimated 100 apps, with 35 pre-loaded including MapQuest, Facebooks, and a weather app too.   I like the built in docking station ready to recharge the unit.  All in all, it looked to me like an wannabe grown-up version of the soon to be released Touch Pad on WebOS. 

Here's why I see this as a convergence of technologies worthy of a big Wow!!!  

As a harbinger of disruptive change, this is pure cutting edge. Although this is built on Android, this unit has a similar feel of WebOS running my Palm Pre.  HP is clever in terms of manufacturing.  This seems to be a pilot release, before both Pre 3 and Touch Pad hits the streets.  
 
Clearly this is a physical manifest of HP's magnificent business plan already in play.  Apparently HP has figured out their unique position and intends to use their printers as leverage to conquer  the handheld wars via WebOS integrations.  It's got more linkage that surpasses Apple's proprietary system.  HP's move into smartphone and tablet dominance via integration is clear.  Here's my list of how HP has already proven the Zeen is their bleeding edge:

1.  Like cell phones, pads are deeply personal units.  Since this Zeen unit is comes with the printer, it moves into your home easily.  Because this printer is aimed at households and personal usage; it's clearly designed as a product placement in order to break open a larger market for pads.

2.  Deep market penetration is planned.  Our constant need for a new printers given the aforementioned need to get full function drivers -- the Zeen does networks, wireless and Windows 7 - 64bit too.

3.  Low cost, Zeen doesn't seem to add to the cost of the printer. It's a spectacular value for what you get. Meanwhile an iPad sets you back $500.

4.  As an adjunct to the printer, it's got function that the iPad never contemplated including cross platform print functions with iPhones and iPads.  Otherwise, Mac users must seek out a Mac network or OS to print.  This is at the heart of HP's challenge to the underbelly of Mac iPad.

5.  Although print via wireless or via network are taken for granted, e-print is itself a multi-functional solution -- e-mail your photos and print from anywhere. 

6.  Entertainment options open up on the Zeen.  Play music, movies, and use virtually every file type from the SD card. 


7.  Read your morning newspapers or magazines and books from the Barnes & Noble app built-in.

Do I really need a new all in one device?  Humm, or am I just eager to scope out the Zeen.


Did I mention I really like the price -- Amazon lists: HP Photosmart eStation All-in-One (CQ140A#B1H) Buy new: $488.00 $269.99


One thing is for sure, after reading the reviews, this device seems to be on the bleeding edge which in a technical sense may be interchangeable with the term with 'beta'.

QuickBooks 2011 Release R6 on March 21st, 2011 - many new features = bug fixes

Here's what we have in terms of fixes and improvements in the R6 release of QuickBooks 2011, Pro, Premier, and Enterprise versions. 

In terms of security, admin password reset option has been strengthened, a significant improvement, so make sure you keep your QuickBooks application up to date, use the latest version and release. 

Collections Center	QuickBooks will now allow users to delete a Customer Note before sending emails from the Collections Center.
Form Templates	Importing and customizing sales form templates will no longer cause the unrecoverable error 14867 99905.
Help	Send troubleshooting information to your support agent Sends data from QuickBooks in-product browser and makes the data immediately available to agents. Data sent includes OS, disk space, options in use, size of tables and more. Integrated Help (available in Pro+, Premier+ & Premier PAP) A search box and button have been added to the QuickBooks menu bar to allow quick access to online help. A single search now queries the QuickBooks in-product help, the Intuit Communities and the QuickBooks support website for answers. Built in Password Reset QuickBooks can now reset your company file admin password from within the program. Correct registration and license information is required to complete the process (to verify your identity). Enhanced the way Help displays when changing the default Windows 7 font to a larger font. Enhanced display issues when loading graphics in Help. QuickBooks Automatic Data Recovery (not available for Premier Accountant and Enterprise Solutions at this time) QuickBooks Pro, Pro +, Premier and Premier + now automatically create a copy of the data file. This can be used to do automatic data recovery should the file become damaged.
Intuit Data Protect	The Intuit Data Protect System Tray icon will no longer load for unsubscribed users.
Intuit Payment Network	Batch invoices will now have a selection to add the Intuit Payment Network link to them. QuickBooks will no longer become temporarily unresponsive when selecting Allow Online Payment and Send Invoice Via Email while creating an invoice.
Inventory	The build point of an Assembly Item will now reflect properly on the items Reorder point. QuickBooks will now display the "You don't have enough quantity to sell" message when appropriate while generating an Invoice from an Estimate or Sales order. Added the ability to remove line items from Inventory Adjustments after the document has been saved.
Invoices	Batch Invoicing for Time and Expenses (Available in Premier+ and Premier Accountant PAP.) Users can view billable transactions for multiple customers and view the billable amounts for time, expenses, mileage, and purchased items. Select the customers to be invoiced, generate invoices, and select delivery options (email or printed).
Memorized Transactions	Memorized Transactions Improvements (Available in Pro+, Premier+ and Premier Accountant PAP.) The prompt to enter memorized transactions when opening QuickBooks has been replaced with a list of memorized transactions ready to be entered. You can now choose "Do not display in the future" when prompted to enter a memorized transaction.
Payroll	The Print checks window now correctly show payroll checks in the print queue. QuickBooks should no longer incorrectly display Error PS036 when you try to validate your payroll subscription.
PDF	The XPS Document Driver will now install properly if .Net is already installed on the computer.
QuickBooks Connected Services	Intuit Data Sync (Sync Manager) will no longer fail to connect to company files that have special characters in the Company Name inside QuickBooks. Launchpad Improvements (Available in Pro, Premier, Premier Accountant, Pro+ and Premier+.) The launchpad feature can now be updated without a QuickBooks release patch. Launchpad can track unique users within QuickBooks Desktop based on the company file name. QuickBooks can now detect new Connected Services Applications that have not been setup yet and prompt the user to set them up. "
QuickBooks File Manager	You will no longer see the "Files Assignment May Change" dialog when you remove your client list and then update it.
Reminders	Inventory Items without a description will no longer display the description of the item above in the Inventory to Reorder section.
Reports	The transaction journal report now displays the Debit and Credit columns automatically in more cases. When you combine multiple Profit and Loss reports, inactive accounts will no longer appear on the report. Custom field views for MLI will now be available in OBDC reports. Multi Location Inventory (MLI) views are now available when creating reports using ODBC. New columns have been added for ODBC reporting.
SDK	Unit of Measure will now correctly import when there are more than 2 digits to the right of the decimal point in the conversion ratio.
User Interface	The transaction journal report now displays the Debit and Credit columns automatically in more cases. New tab on Transaction pane for information specific to the current transaction (Available in Pro+, Premier+ and Premier Accountant PAP.) See who created and edited a transaction When it was emailed What transactions were related to it New ability to create notes on supported transactions