SmoothBoard 1.6 is Awesome!

We are continually impressed with the work of Boon Jin and his latest version of the SmoothBoard software is no exception! SmoothBoard 1.6 comes with an outstanding feature that he has called 'SmoothConnect'. Once installed, all the user has to do is click on the desktop icon, put the wiimote in discoverable mode, and the software does all the rest. This feature moves the whole wiimote interactive whiteboard system onto an equal footing with other commercial products.

The only catch is that SmoothConnect is configured to work with standard Microsoft Bluetooth. Boon Jin has done this because of the very wide range of Bluetooth software in the market which all have their own particular requirements. The easiest way to ensure your computer is using the Microsoft version, if you're a 'non-techy' user, is to simply plug in a small Bluetooth dongle (pictured above) and let Windows find and install it (sorry Mac users, SmoothBoard and SmoothConnect are written for Windows based computers). 3pi can supply you with a dongle that will work or you can source your own. We are so impressed with this new development that we are now going to add a dongle to our kits so that customers can have the simplest software solution possible. (Our kits include a licensed copy of SmoothBoard with SmoothConnect.)

Connecting the Wiimote to a Computer - Part one

This is the first step in using your wiimote to create an interactive whiteboard. It is also the step that seems to cause new users the most difficulty. However, once achieved the first time, takes only a few seconds after that.

As you probably know, the wiimote 'talks' to computers via Bluetooth (a wireless system widely used in devices such as cellphones, microphones, music players, etc). Obviously your computer needs to have Bluetooth installed before you can connect the wiimote. In New Zealand, teacher's laptops come with this feature. If your computer does not, you can add it simply by plugging in a Bluetooth dongle. These small devices plug into a spare usb port. 3Pi have tested a lot of dongles from various manufacturers and the one we supply works with minimal hassle - you simply plug it in, and on Windows XP and Vista computers, it installs itself and is ready to use. It works on Apple Macs as well. There are many other dongles that work too, but our tests show that there are also plenty that do not.

This photo shows the tiny device sticking out from the side of a tablet computer.

We will go over the actual process used to make the connection in a post soon.