The $800 eBeam System 3 includes a USB-based infrared receiver and four color-coded eBeam pen holders. The battery-powered pen holders transmit positioning information to the receiver through small IR emitters near the tip.

When loaded with a dry-erase pen of matching color, writing or drawing with an eBeam marker triggers the emitters and the receiver begins tracking movement. The eBeam software digitally re-creates every stroke of the marker on the whiteboard in real-time. Just in case, the System 3 includes an eBeam eraser that removes errant marks from both the physical whiteboard and its digitized clone.

The System 3's lightweight receiver impressed us with its accuracy and user-friendly 15-foot USB cable. A removable suction-mounted bracket offered firm support for the receiver on standard whiteboard surfaces. Adhesive and fastened bracket options are also provided for affixing the receiver more permanently.

With only the suction-cup bracket used during our testing, we were especially impressed with the eBeam System 3's pen-tracking ability. Electronics for Imaging claims that the System 3 is accurate down to 1 mm (+/- 1 mm) and we found it very good at capturing our text and drawings. An included plastic shortcut strip placed anywhere within the tracked area provided quick access to printing and new page functions.

Calibrating the eBeam System 3 is accomplished within the software via a simple wizard. By attaching the receiver to a corner of the whiteboard and touching two opposing corners with an eBeam pen, you're ready to go. The eBeam System 3 can track a whiteboard area of up to 6 feet by 4 feet. We were able to extend the area of coverage by about half a foot in both directions before the receiver lost track.

Combine the eBeam hardware with a digital projector and you can turn a whiteboard into an interactive desktop. Replacing a dry-erase pen with an included non-marking insert unleashes the eBeam Mouse. After projecting a Windows desktop on a whiteboard, a quick calibration allows the eBeam Mouse to control the contents of the image with full click-and-drag capabilities. The eBeam Mouse frees a person from a PC during a presentation and allows new forms of interactivity with the Windows desktop. Unfortunately, there is no Mac support for this feature at this time.