Product Review:
Innovative's LCD Arms
by Mitchell Levine
The benefits of flat panel screens are subtle, but they're there. One of the biggest obstacles to technology deployment, especially in the schools that need it most, is space. Cathodes take up desk room that's in short supply in most education environments in New York. Due to better use of resolution, they're also easier to read.
Those excellent qualities, however, don't necessarily mean that they're easy to use, per se: they're large and flat. With the many mandates for accessibility created by the provisions of the No Child Left Behind, schools must be prepared to offer the differently abled exactly the same opportunities for techno-literacy mainstream students receive. Of course, the advantages of flat-screen displays definitely complement these efforts, but the disadvantages are an equal liability to them. Is it possible to have all the benefits without the headaches while trying to deploy Apple's flat-panel monitors?
Thanks to Innovative Office Products LCD Arms accessory, the answer is now a resounding "yes!" The product is a shock-mounted swivel arm for 20" and 23" Apple Cinema Display (a separate product also services 17" monitors) that suspends screens 18 vertical inches, with a full 27" of complete extension.
The arm also routes all cables within its housing, keeping clutter to a minimum. While sturdily holding screens and maintaining lateral stability, our review model-which I was able to set up in only 15 minutes, probably an office record-allowed for over two hundred degrees of display rotation, exceeding the manufacturers stated claims. Once in place, the monitor can easily be adjusted with a single hand, and pulled in and out of position in much the same way.
The ergonomic plusses of this configuration are easy to see, and, considering the fact that our current generation of students are the very first to actually grow up with extensive in-class computer usage, these features should be carefully evaluated: no one really knows exactly what the true long-term effects of sustained use of technology by young people will be years from now. Taking extra care to attempt to ensure that our current best estimates of what is kinesthetically reliable should be a priority for technology buyers, and this product may provide that in addition to its advantages for those with special needs.
The company's website, www.lcdarms, not only details a wide variety of products designed for different manufacturers displays', but, on their education-specific page, offer a number of units pre-configured for various types of school users; librarians, public spaces, info kiosks, etc.#
For more information, as well as on-line ordering, log on to the above URL or call the company toll-free at (800) 524-2744.
