Tech Trends

Sceptre 34-Inch Curved UltraWide LED Monitor ($349.97, Sceptre)

Large monitors have been the domain of gamers; however, office users are turning to this deceptively useful piece of hardware to increase productivity. The extra screen space allows for more magnification of images, more information to be displayed and more windows to be opened. In a practice where space is at a premium, these advantages must be weighed against a large monitor’s cost, capabilities and size. Sceptre, a Chinese electronics company, has made it its mission to offer affordable monitors with incredible specifications. This review focuses on the Sceptre 34-inch curved 100Hz ultrawide LED monitor tested with a Lenovo Thinkpad P15 connected through HDMI on a USB-C laptop dock.

For those who have not used a large monitor before, first impression out of the box is that a 34-inch monitor is comically huge. Thankfully, it is not comically heavy, as it weighs 16 pounds, but its creaks and groans cast doubt on its durability and build quality. The monitor is easy to set up: Just plug it in and go. It comes with VESA-compatible mounts for those looking to mount it on a wall. The screen can comfortably fit two windows at near full size, allowing for enhanced multitasking. The display is crisp and does not have motion artifacts until pushed by video-game-level graphics. While the 100Hz is a decent specification to boast about, it is not truly noticeable in productivity applications where images are not moving quickly (e.g., looking at CBCTs, typing, intraoral photographs, 4k videos). Two unexpected but welcomed features are its antiflicker and blue light shift technologies that can combine to reduce eye fatigue. From a pure price-to-performance standpoint, the Sceptre 34-inch monitor is a rare product that boasts an impressive handful of features for an affordable price.

— Alexander Lee, DMD

Journal, Microsoft Garage (free, Microsoft)

An abundance of apps is available for tablets and touchscreen laptops that integrate a digital ink pen for handwritten notes and drawings. Many of these apps make use of typing as the primary method of input and are supplemented with pen markups. Journal, a Microsoft Garage app for Windows, provides an ink and touch experience for tablets and two-in-one devices that uniquely combines handwritten digital pen input with gestures and AI technology to take journaling and productivity to another level.

Journal interacts with users taking notes through digital pen input only. The home screen displays a simple interface where users can create journals customized by name, color and icon. Inside each journal, users can choose different page styles and spacing of lines and/or dots for every page. Users can choose from pen, highlighter or pencil input tools with customizable tip sizes and colors. There is also an eraser tool to correct mistakes. Page scrolling is easily accomplished with a finger swipe.

Beyond basic notetaking features, Journal utilizes ink and touch gestures to enhance its use. Users can select their handwritten text or drawings by simply tapping on it with their finger. Tapping on the selection again increases the size of the field. Similarly, users can also lasso with the digital pen to select their ink. Once selected, users can choose to copy the ink as displayed or copy a text transcription to the clipboard for pasting in their favorite applications. Selected content can also be dragged by finger or pen to other pages or applications. Users can import images or PDF documents into journal pages for markup. Headings in pages can be created by underlining ink, which users can organize and search for within a journal. Bulleted lists are automatically detected for quick reference. Items can also be flagged for search by drawing a star next to it. Microsoft 365 work or school users can mention people in their organization in a page by drawing an @ symbol, which pulls up a person picker. Mentioned users do not get shared access to the note, but are simply used as a reference for search. Users can search for any keyword or filter within a journal, but cannot search all journals combined. Additionally, drag and drop of selections between applications may vary based on compatibility.

— Hubert Chan, DDS