SMART Technologies is a leader in concept mapping software for the Windows operating system. The company offers a broad array of products that let you visually represent your ideas.

SMART Technologies’ product line up includes classroom solutions that aim to make learning inspirational, along with corporate products that drive speed, clarity and collaboration and government products that aim to enhance group communications and expedite training.

There are other makes of interactive whiteboard products, but SMART Technologies is by far the leader in the market and worthy of your attention when scouting the field for interactive presentation solutions. In fact, SMART Technologies announced its one millionth SMART Board interactive whiteboard will rolled off the company’s production line in August 2008. SMART has sold about 70 percent more interactive whiteboards than its closest competitor.

According to first-half data for 2008 for the interactive whiteboard product category, SMART Technologies has a 53.3 percent global category share, up from 45.5 percent in the first half of 2007. The information comes from Futuresource, an industry-leading global research company that has tracked interactive whiteboard sales for the past eight years.

For more than 15 years, SMART Technologies has continued to develop and refine its SMART Board interactive whiteboard by improving hardware design and upgrading software. SMART Technologies predicts it will produce its two millionth SMART Board interactive whiteboard within the next couple of years.

What’s more, SMART Technologies won the Comenius EduMedia Signet 2008 Award for its Senteo interactive response system and the SMART Board 600i2 interactive white board system. SMART Technologies has received this award three times. SMART Technologies’ notebook software also won the 2008 Worlddidac Award.

SMART Technologies is not resting on its laurels, either. The company continues to innovate. One of its most recent introductions is the ability to add interactivity to plasma displays. On the corporate front, SMART Technologies has recently introduced three new product platforms for collaboration purposes.

SMART Technologies’ platforms leverage integrated data conferencing to enable fast and simple connections and a more collaborative environment than traditional data conferencing. SMART Technologies’ breakthrough innovation provides a robust level of interactivity in a single- or multi-display room where everyone can easily participate, regardless of location.

Have you ever heard of smart technology? Do you know what smart technology is? It’s easy to make a guess, and you may be at least partly right. But if you don’t understand the promise of smart technology, this is a good time to brush up on your tech education.

Smart technology is indeed smart, but it’s not about home automation. It’s about business efficiency. That makes leveraging smart technology a smart move for your company.

SMART is actually an acronym. It stands for Self-Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology. Smart technology really is smart. Some of the world’s leading hard disk drive manufacturers developed the concept of smart technology in a move to increase the reliability of drives.

What if your PC could predict the future failure of hard disk drives? With smart technology it can. That’s why smart technology has become an industry standard for hard drive manufacturers in today’s market.

Here’s how smart technology works: It actually monitors your hard drive on a continual basis. What’s it looking for? Anything that doesn’t seem to be operating normally.

If the smart technology system finds something awry, it documents the issue and then analyzes the data. Smart technology can even notify you or your system administrator when there is a problem. This is especially valuable in corporate environments where hundreds of PCs are on a network.

More specifically, smart technology monitors your hard drives from top to bottom. It monitors your drive ends, the drive spin-up time, recalibration, CRC errors, faulty sector, drive temperature, distance between the heads and the disk platters, motor and servomechanisms, characteristics of the media and disk performance.

What’s amazing about smart technology is its success rate. Smart technology can detect approximately 70 percent of all hard drive errors.

Smart technology is a great benefit for PC owners because it creates an alert that there is an issue before that issue grows worse. Since smart technology can tip you off to any potential problems, it can save you time and money by avoiding a digital disaster before it happens.

A SMART whiteboard engages audiences with an interactive presentation – once you learn how to use it. But don’t worry. SMART whiteboards are really easy to use.

In fact, the company promises that if you can use a computer you can use a SMART whiteboard. We’ll use the SMART Board 600 series interactive whiteboard as an example.

Here’s how it works: There’s a touch screen system in place. So you simply touch the screen to control your computer. You can write, erase and even perform mouse functions with your finger, a pen or an eraser. Folks, this SMART whiteboard technology was on the market long before Apple’s iPhone. The SMART whiteboard has perfected it thanks to the company’s innovative approaches.

A SMART whiteboard also lets you pick up a pen and write, or pick up an eraser and erase. Here’s the neat part: The SMART whiteboard has a pen tray that automatically detects whether you’ve picked up the pen or the eraser.

How is that possible? Because the SMART whiteboard has optical sensors. You are essentially writing with digital ink with a whisper-tip stylus. You don’t have to worry about pressing too hard on the SMART whiteboard. It has a hard-coated polyester surface that’s tear proof and optimized for projection.

What’s more, if you choose not to use the stylus, the SMART whiteboard is also compatible with dry-erase markers and you can clean it off with a whiteboard cleaner.

Once you’ve written on the SMART whiteboard, you don’t have to erase your brainstorming brilliance. You can save your ideas. The SMART whiteboard software lets you save what you’ve written as a screen shot that you can edit. All you have to do is connect your SMART whiteboard to your computer with a USB cable.

You can also use the SMART whiteboard software to save your notes directly into your computer. You can choose from one of several applications, such s Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and Excel. You can also save it into AutoCAD software. The SMART whiteboard also comes with whiteboarding software that lets you create, organize and save notes, drawings and screen captures.

There’s always a learning curve with new technology and a smart white board is no exception. But never fear – there is training available to teach you how to use a smart white board. In fact, there is plenty of free training available in many different mediums to suit your learning style.

You can find a lot of helpful information on SMART Technologies’ website. But for our purposes, you can begin with the smart white board interactive basics. This article, based on info from SMART Technologies, will give you an overview of the information you need to use a smart white board.

Before you get started, you will need to make sure that the smart white board software is installed on your computer. You’ll also need to make sure the smart white board and projector are connected to the computer you are using.

Now, turn on the projector first and your computer second. The smart white board will take its power from the computer and will activate itself automatically when you turn on the computer. You’ll soon notice a ready light that indicates your smart white board is awake.

What’s cool about a smart white board is that your finger is the mouse. If you want to open an application, like an Internet browser, you just double press the application with your finger, just like you would double click a mouse.

If you want to write over your desktop image or application, you can simply pick up a stylus from the pen tray and write on the smart white board. If you want to write in a different color for contrast, you can do that with a smart white board the same as you would with a traditional dry erase board. What’s really nifty is that the color recognition comes from the optical sensors in the smart white board’s pen tray rather then the actual pens.

You should keep in mind that the smart white board only recognizes the last tool you removed from the pen tray. So if you already have your pen in your hand when you and you pick up the eraser, it will erase no matter which tool you use against the smart white board. There is much more to learn about smart white boards, but these are the basics of set up, writing and erasing to get you started.

What’s really unique about smart boards is not only the fact that you can write in many colors and erase with a few strokes – or even the fact that you can use your finger as a mouse. Yes, those are breakthrough technologies in smart boards that have served the corporate world well in recent years. But the ability to write on smart boards and then capture that information on your hard drive is an invaluable innovation.

SMART Technologies has the leading smart boards on the market. With this technology you can easily save the notes you’ve written on smart boards so you can refer to them again and again. You can also save them for the people watching the presentation. Imagine tapping into the power of smart bards to save your notes and then hand out a copy of them to everyone who attended your presentation or training class. That’s a powerful value-add smart boards can offer.

Here’s how it works, based on SMART Technologies’ example.

First, pick up a pen from the pen tray. The Digital Ink Layer boarder will appear on the smart board’s screen. If you want to save what you wrote on your smart boards, all you have to do is press the capture writing button in the top right corner of the border. What you’ll wind up with is basically a screen shot – an image of your screen and the writing on it is saved into a “Notebook file” from your smart boards.

It gets even better. Let’s say you want to capture a specific area of the screens of your smart boards. All you have to do is press the SMART Board icon in the Windows Notification Area in the bottom right of the screen on your smart boards. Then, choose Other SMART Tools > Screen Capture Toolbar from the menu. This will launch the Screen Capture tool bar on your smart boards.

Now, press the Area Capture button on the Screen Capture toolbar to save a selected area of your notes on your smart boards. Then press the board and drag the selection box to the area you want to capture with your finger, using steady pressure. The Notebook software will automatically open and your capture will be saved to a new Notebook page. You gotta love the technology in smart boards – and it’s always getting better.

Who needs a projector installation company? You may not, if you are the least bit technically inclined and have some spare time on your hands – or know someone who does. Projector installation, after all, isn’t rocket since. It is, well, projector installation.

Whether it’s a home theater system or a corporate board room, projector installation is a vital piece of the equation. You can’t get the show up and running until the projector installation is complete and if it’s not mounted steady you could be in for crooked viewing experience.

After spending so much time and money choosing the perfect audio visual components for your home or office, why fall short on the projector installation process? Armed with some simple instruction, you can accomplish a projector installation with the best of them.

The first step in projector installation is to decide how you want to mount your projector. You might think the projector installation should be in the center of the room, but that’s not always the case. You just need to make sure it is mounted in an area where it is not obstructed. If your equipment is very heavy, the projector installation may be a little more complicated because you’ll have to go beyond an inverted mounting system to mounting on a load-bearing surface.

If you are going to mount the projector onto the wall, your projector installation strategy needs to take into account the need for a set of wall studs or a ceiling joist that can support the weight of the projector. What if you have a cathedral style ceiling, you ask? You can still do your own projector installation if you have the right accessories and hardware to mount the equipment.

During your projector installation you’ll also need to find the best position for the equipment. A good rule of thumb is this: the closer the projector’s lens lines up with eye level, the better off you are. Of course, there are some exceptions to projector installation because eye level can have many obstacles in the viewing path. Oftentimes you have to accomplish your projector installation at an angle that avoids ceiling fans or chandeliers.

If you survey the room, take measurements and make sure you have all the hardware and accessories you need before you begin the job, your projector installation will go smoothly.

Considering purchasing Polycom PVX software? It’s a smart choice. This video conferencing software application works hand in hand with your Polycom system to deliver high quality audio, video and content sharing to your PC and USB camera.

Polycom PVX is the perfect solution for classrooms, healthcare settings, government offices, corporate cubicles and other venues where you need to quickly share data with conference participants.

Polycom PVX is by far the best solution for remote offices, including telecommuting employees, traveling workers and others who need to keep in touch through conferencing and collaboration solutions.

Polycom PVX offers plenty of advantages. Besides offering the highest quality audio and video experiences available, it also offers DVD-quality video resolutions and 14kHz audio. Polycom PVX is the only PC application that delivers VGA resolution with secure communications and People+Content. With Polycom PVX you also get iPriority features that let your PC deliver video conferencing over IP networks.

Polycom PVX works best as an integrated component of the Polycom Office system. With it, you can use your PC to conduct one-to-one or one-to-many conferences. The Polycom ecosystem, which includes Polycom PVX, saves you time and money with user-friendly features. It’s simple to set up and manage from your desktop.

In fact, the Polycom PVX graphical user interface is presented in 11 languages. That makes it easy for your global business partners and associates to tap into the power of video conferencing and collaboration in the language of their choice.

The Polycom PVX software also offers multiple monitor support that expands your desktop viewing and rich content sharing. That means you can do more than share text files, you can also share audio, images and video with this system. The Polycom PVX software features Polycom Siren 14 audio and H.264 video compression for optimal performance.

With the Polycom PVX software system, you don’t have to worry about your communications being compromised. The software comes with standard-based AES encryption, which includes H.235 v3 for interoperability across IP networks. The Polycom PVX is truly the industry’s best system.

Polycom is a major name in conferencing. In fact, if you walk into any enterprise conference room you will most likely find a Polycom conference solution. The Polycom conference solutions enable companies all over the world to collaborate and communicate conveniently and efficiently.

Forget flying your business executives to China every month. With a Polycom conference you can let your execs gain a competitive advantage in the marketplace by quickly doing deals through a video or audio conference rather than setting up meetings at a later date.

Yes, there is still an element to face to face business that’s important. But once relationships are established, a Polycom conference can make doing business more efficient for all parties. Both sides of the deal will appreciate the many benefits of a Polycom conference.

A Polycom conference also comes in handy for virtual global teams of engineers working on major projects. A Polycom conference can give organizations what’s called a telepresence on the desktop. The Polycom Telepresence experience is an end to end solution that’s designed to give smaller groups the ability to collaborate in real-size, life-like dimensions with extraordinary realism.

If you have a large conference room, a Polycom conference can accommodate your needs with audio and video solutions. Whether you are in a lecture hall or an auditorium, a Polycom conference can optimize your face to face communications with life-like high definition broadcasts.

A Polycom conference offers the ultimate in productivity and real-time collaboration. When you choose a Polycom conference you are guaranteed high-quality presentations so you can focus on discussions and decision-making rather than faulty equipment and connections.

A Polycom conference is also scalable to meet your needs. If you choose the PC-based desktop video software application your user an create contact lists from a corporate directory and quickly launch a Polycom conference just by clicking on contacts. This type of Polycom conference also shows presence details, such as online, offline, available, busy, etc.

You will also be doing good for the environment with your Polycom conference solution because you are reducing your carbon footprint by meeting through video instead of flying, whether that is across the state or across the world.

Plasma displays are all the rage – and for good reason. The quality is outstanding for corporate events and home use alike. But let’s face it – plasma screens are delicate. That’s why you may want to opt for a plasma hire instead of buying one and trying to install one of these high-priced displays yourself.

A plasma hire can let you rest easy instead of worrying about budgets to purchase plasma displays and technicians to install them. Plasma hire companies have plenty of experience choosing the best equipment for the job and getting it installed properly so it performs at an optimum in any setting.

To be sure, a plasma hire could make or break your event. If it works, it will make your event memorable. If it has technical issues, people may not forget that, either. A plasma hire is the fastest, most efficient way to deal with these high-tech, high-quality displays.

Be honest. It can be difficult to set up a cable television box into your home entertainment system. It’s even more difficult with plasma screens – but a plasma hire can take all the headaches out of choosing and installing equipment.

The truth is, a plasma hire can offer up a list of suitable equipment for your event and tell you what works best in which setting for your budget. Once you make a decision, the plasma hire can install it for you professionally.

In fact, a plasma hire can help you avoid major losses. Plasma displays are high-risk products because they break very easily. Can you imagine investing many thousands of dollars into one of these displays only to damage the screen before you ever use it? A plasma hire can rent you equipment or sell it to you, then install it so you won’t have to watch your company’s audio visual budget go down the drain thanks to a punctured screen.

A plasma hire can also help you manage the equipment during the event. A plasma hire has been specifically trained to handle this gear, so these professionals understand the pitfalls you could stumble into as you try to select and install plasma displays for your event.

If you want the wow factor, you want motorized projection screens. Motorized projection screens impress your clients at the corporate presentation site, get the attention of students on college campuses, and make your friends admire your home entertainment system all the more.

If you want the best of the best, try tensioned motorized projection screens. What’s the difference between tensioned and non-tensioned screens? As its name suggests, tensioned motorized projection screens have tension on them so it helps to keep the screen material as flat and as wrinkle-free as possible.

Motorized projection screens are much more convenient than the old fashioned pull down screens – and sometimes it’s the only possible solution. If you are in a venue where the ceilings are very high, such as an auditorium or church, using motorized projection screens might be the only practical way to get the screen up and down when you need it.

Of course, you first have to get motorized projection screens installed up in those high ceilings before you can benefit from them. But that’s a one time job. Once you hard-wire motorized projection screens once, you don’t have to face that challenge a second time.

What’s more, many manufacturers of motorized projection screens are developing plug-and-play versions of their products that eliminate the need for hard wiring. That makes motorized projection screens more convenient to install and use than ever.

Installing motorized projection screens is a matter of mounting the gear externally to the ceiling with brackets. If you want an alternative approach, you can flush mount the gear with recessed cases that actually hide the equipment within the surface of the ceiling. You can easily operate motorized projection screens with a remote control. There are also wired three-way switches you can install to operate this equipment.

The bottom line: motorized projection screens are gaining momentum, replacing the old pull-down screens, because they are convenient, offer better quality, and are easy to use.