Now That’s Magic: 13-Month Old Demos HP TouchSmart

Dennis Hodge, the winner of Notebooks.com’s HP Magic Giveaway contest agreed to give two of the four PCs in the package to Oakland Children’s Hospital and Research Center in memory of his stepfather and my nephew, both of whom lost their battles with blood cancers recently. Today my cousin, wife and I drove over to Oakland to setup the computers in the playroom reserved for patients under 11 that are undergoing chemotherapy and other cancer treatments.

The theme of the contest was “Share the Magic” and I thank Dennis for agreeing to share more than I’d expected anyone to.

My cousin OJ (left), Rebecca of Children’s Hospital and my wife.

The HP TouchSmart is replacing an outdated desktop computer that’s running Windows 2000 and has a floppy drive. The HP Mini will be made available for teens and families to check out and keep for the duration of their admissions. This will make it easier for students to complete their school work and communicate with their friends while getting better.

The TouchSmart was an instant hit with a couple of little girls. A 13 month old took over the TouchSmart pretty quickly and got a hang of the touch interface before her mom or anyone else in the room did. She showed off some dance moves to the Web cam and her eyes lit up every time she saw another animal or flower on the screen.

A 5 year old girl mostly observed and enjoyed watching her new friend play with the videos and photos. Both of them watched Kung Fu Panda after they’d exhausted all of the stock images and videos.

This experience was definitely a highlight of this holiday season for me and I thank HP, Microsoft, Buzz Corps and Dennis Hodge for making it all possible. The children at this hospital are fighting uphill battles and somehow manage to smile through excruciating pain and uncomfortable treatments.  I know the hospital, its staff and patients will put these computers to good use.