SEM related info from M&M 2009 c/o Microscopy and Analysis Blog
A couple of interesting SEM related items posted to the M&M blog at Microscopy and Analysis.
One about the JEOL ClairScope SEM/Light microscope hybrid here. The system uses and electron transparent thin film membrane to allow for the direct imaging of wet materials from below and an optical microscope to allow light imaging to be done on the same areas simultaneously from above.
Another about the Novelx mini-SEM here. I'm not sold on the "desktop" SEM yet, they've been around for a couple of years and can do imaging through a simple interface that almost anyone can walk up to and get started on. They are lacking in microanalytical capabilities and your sample has to be pretty small. Granted your sample should be as small as possible for traditional SEMs but large sample chambers allow for much more flexibility. Sub-10nm resolution from a FE system isn't much to brag about IMO, but I also don't have any idea what the price is for one of these.
The rest of the Microscopy and Analysis coverage from M&M 2009.