About Laser Pointers, Optical Pointers, Tablets and General Remote Mousing Posted on May 3, 2014 By Lisa Feierman 1. The 2014-2015 Classroom Projector Report: Special Features and Considerations - Table of Contents: Things to Consider!2. About Ultra Short Throw, and Very Short Throw Projectors - About Ultra Short Throw, and Very Short Throw Projectors3. About Interactive Projectors - About Interactive Projectors4. About Laser Pointers, Optical Pointers, Tablets and General Remote Mousing - About About Laser Pointers, Optical Pointers, Tablets and General Remote Mousing5. About Pocket Projectors - Pocket Projectors - They Have Come of Age6. About Solid State Light Engines - About Solid State Light Engines7. About Interchangeable Lenses - About Interchangeable Lenses8. About PC Free Presenting, BYOD, Presenting Over Network - About PC Free Presenting, BYOD, Presenting Over Network9. About HDMI (or DVI), USB, DisplayLink USB Interfacing - About HDMI (or DVI), USB, DisplayLink USB Interfacing10. About Picture Quality – Brightness, Color Fidelity, Accuracy, Color vs Brightness - About Picture Quality – Brightness, Color Fidelity, Accuracy, Color vs Brightness11. About Cost of Operation, Maintenance, Filters - About Cost of Operation, Maintenance, Filters - Cost of Installation - Cost of Replacement Lamps - Cost of Replacing Lamps - Filter Costs12. About Wireless Networking - About Wireless Networking13. About Wired Networking and Networking Protocols - About Wired Networking and Networking Protocols14. About Cloud Presenting/Teaching - About Cloud Presenting/Teaching15. About Presenting / Teaching from iOS and Android devices - About Presenting / Teaching from iOS and Android devices16. About Active and Passive 3D In the Classroom - About Active and Passive 3D In the Classroom - Active vs. Passive17. About Cost of Operation and Ownership - Upfront Costs - Post-Sale Costs - That's A Wrap About About Laser Pointers, Optical Pointers, Tablets and General Remote MousingLaser pointers built into the remotes of projectors are generally considered a bad idea, if the teacher is going to pass control of the remote to students so they can show their work. As a result many companies have dropped including laser pointers, and instead added an optical pointing system – basically remote mousing, so that a graphic pointer can be selected (it might be a red dot to look like a laser, or an arrow, or whatever the manufacturer can think of). The advantage of the laser is that it is fast and precise. With optical pointing and mouse movements few projectors offer control beyond four arrow keys, and rarely have the ability to move diagonally. Thus, the laser works the best, but due to safety concerns, is less likely to be an available option. Adding to the choices these days are the use of tablets such as the iPad, to annotate, or point onto the screen. We’re seeing more and more wifi equipped projectors suitable for schools, and apps available that allow tablets to work with them.