Working Anywhere

iPhone Owners Road Warrior Tips

The Unofficial Apple Weblog's Aron Trimble has a series of tips that make the Apple iPhone an essential tool for the Road Warrior.

I'll add a few more apps that I like which make my road warrior like existence much easier to digest:

Fight Stats--without question this helps keep track of what's happening with your flights, plus gives you the options when I flight gets delayed or cancelled.

TSAwait-- this is a great planning tool. Take a look at what the wait time is on average. If you're early and the lines are short, you may make an earlier flight or, just surf the web using

Boingo Mobile--this app connects you to thousands of hotspots around the globe.

Truphone-like Boingo, they are a client, but the app save you money when you use it via WiFi or via their recently updated Truphone Anywhere service that provides call through service at really low rates per minute which for international calls is hugs savings.

If you visit London much and take the tube Tube Status is invaluable as is there are various London Tube routing apps available too. They make it easy to get around. I've also use the apps for Madrid and Paris with great success.

Teleworking Tips For The Homebound Worker

While the focus of the site I found is about the Working Woman, the tips in this post are very much on target and on point when it comes to working at home for man or woman.

In many ways they mirror what I've told my own staff for the past few years, but I've yet to find anything as concise and so well presented.

Bottom line, if you work at home, it is work. Don't view it as "play" or a "staycation." If you housemates don't think of it as work, you're dead from the get go, so establish the right boundaries and make it a "workplace" not a playground.

How Politics Stops Progress

I'm a fan of the concept of metro-wide WiFi and have been for some time. Unfortunately, the Earthlink model (which was really a model dreamed up by consultants) never worked. As a matter of fact, it failed.

But there are some good examples of Muni or metro WiFi working, one of which is in the city of Minneapolis, where the private company has achieved an 82 percent coverage penetration in a few years time. Compared to how long it took the same area to be addressable by cable and you have warp speed at work.

But, local politics is at play, and the open and public parks seem to be holding out over what I'll call politics vs. common interest.

At the end of the day, the parks will have coverage. It's just a matter of time.

The Economist on In Flight Cell Phone Use

I'm one of those fliers who remembers when GTE had seat back phones on airplanes and offered a flat fee for year's use of calling. What a deal.

But over time, the in seat phone, along with their not always perfect sound connection disappeared from the flying tubes. In today's era we likely don't need seatback phones, as WiFi in the sky and a service like Skype (if permitted) would enable the same (or better) experience.

My view on in flight phone service? Create a phone zone in business class. Charge more. Give the business traveler what they want, and let them pay for it.

You can read a perspective on this over at Gulliver, the Economists business travel blog where they pondered the question about using mobile phones in flight.

Om Doesn't Like NetBooks

Om Malik is a Mac fan through and through. So I have to wonder if he changes his opinion of NetBooks and joins the rest of us who have embraced them already when (if) Apple comes out with one of their own.

You see, there are times for my Mac Book Pro or Mac Book Air, and there are times for the Netbooks I use, either the Acer Aspire One with 3G built in or the Asus S101 (which is still the sexiest of Netbooks and would match Om's current favorite coat nicely) as they are so featherlight I can use them as I wander around most cities.

We'll see if Om does a flip if the Apple Netbook arrives in January until then I guess he'll play where the Air is rare.

Disposable Broadband

Dean Bubley hits on the value of Pay As You Go Broadband with the 3 USB dongle that is both Windows and Mac compatible. Dean nails it for the occasional visitor to the UK who needs connectivity where WiFi isn't or is so expensive the USB dongle is the better deal.

Note: I have one. Have used it alot on the last two trips to London and have to agree. This is one sweet deal from 3.

Cabs, Trains, Subways, Light Rail and Buses Can Go WiFi

Over the past month or so, both in the USA and in Europe I've been a big user of public transportation. Whether it has been a cab, private town car, the light rail or even the underground/metro or subway, I've been taking advantage of whatever mode gets me where I need to go the quickest.

Yesterday I took the CalTrain from San Francisco down to San Jose. I used a 3G connection from AT&T but quickly came to the conclusion, after looking around that the CalTrain folks were missing an added revenue source, and what's more, another reason for more people to give up their car commuting and jump on the rails.

The answer is WiFi on the rails, and the concept which the MBTA in the Boston area has undertaken is clearly one that is on the right track. They use the WAAV router which marries two 3G cards together and creates a wireless cloud for the riders.

This type of approach means shared bandwidth for the riders, and provides them lightweight connectivity for web browsing, email and IM. While I know you can also Skype or SightSpeed over this kind of technology, as I've done that on the Heathrow Express, more importantly, the MBTA provides the framework to let commuters truly be working anywhere.

Taking Stock of My Accounts

Over the past 20 months my travel has swelled from now and then to almost every week. It used to be I would worry about how I was going to go so far away and still stay in touch. But that's all changed. Over the past few years I've amassed both knowledge and a ton of accounts that let me stay in touch. Ok, I admit I'm very connected. Maybe too, connected. As a result I've sat down and looked at what I have that helps me stay connected in the hopes that you too can stay connected too:

Landlines

Two-AT&T

VoIP

AT&T CallVantage (2 Lines)

Junction Networks OnSip

Televolution PhoneGnome

Inphonex Unlimited Calling to my SNOM 380s

Skype via a Phillips Desk Phone

PhoneFusion Fusion One

A Jazinga Box connected to OnSip

Softclients

Gizmo5

Skype

Bria on PCs

EyeBeam on Macs

Truphone on Nokias, iPhone and iPod Touch

Direct InBound Numbers

UK

Skype

VoIP User

France

Gizmo Project

Skype

Spain

CallCentric

USA

AT&T CallVantage (3)

Skype (3)

Gizmo Project (1)

Junction Networks (1)

InPhonex (1)

CallCentric (1)

GrandCentral (1)

Mobile Phones USA

Verizon Wireless Blackberry Storm

AT&T Nokia N95 (on a GoPhone Pay As You Go SIM)

AT&T Nokia N95 8GB 3G

AT&T iPhone 3G

T-Mobile Blackberry Curve

T-Mobile Google Android G1

Mobile UK

T-Mobile Nokia E90 or E71 using a Pay As You Go SIM

3 SkypePhone2 (two of them for the company's use) On Pay As You Go SIM

Mobile Internet Devices

Sony Mylo (2)

Nokia N810

Nokia N800

Nokia N770

Apple iPod Touch

Mobile France

Transatel Le France Mobile Pay As You Go

Mobile Spain

Yoigo Pay As You Go SIM

Telefonica Pay As You Go SIM

Mobile Portugal

Vodafone Pay As You go SIM

Global Roaming

MaxRoam SIM

Wireless Data

Mobile Calling Services

MobiVox

TruphoneAnywhere

3G Cards

3 UK only 3G USB Modem on Pay As You Go SIM

AT&T 3G on a Novatel Wireless 950 HSUPA 3G USB Modem

Two Sprint EVDO Rev A on a Novatel Modem (one used with Cradlepoint to share broadband at meetings)

Two Verizon Wireless EVDO cards used by team members

AT&T 3G inside the Flybook PC

WiFi Access

T-Mobile HotSpot Service

Boingo Global Roaming (2 Accounts)

Boingo Mobile (3 Accounts)

StarBucks Gold WiFi Access

iPass Mobile

DeviceScape logon client Easy WiFi

Digital Camera

Panasonic with EyeFi WiFi SD Card

What does this all mean? It means I pay a lot to stay connected. I'm the exception, not the rule. As a global nomad I've figured how, for a price, to stay very connected and reachable. I've also figured out how to patch together my own network of connectivity in the countries I frequently visit the most. By taking advantage of SIP DIDs, local access numbers, call through services and using WiFI based calling, I use very little local minutes when I roam internationally on a a local SIM, listen to voice mail, return calls, etc. What's more, using local Data SIMs on a Pay As You Go basis means great connectivity at low prices. Add in services from T-Mobile and Boingo and that means my WiFi bills are low. In hotels many that I stay in offer free WiFi or in Europe discounted plans for frequent guests with rock solid Internet Access. I travel with my own travel routers (Apple Airport Express and Asus Travel Router) which means multiple devices over one connection.

I doubt everyone needs as much connectivity as I tend to have, but when you need to be connected on the road, pretty much I've figured it out.

Me and My Kindle

I'm a Kindle fan. Ever since pal Jeff Belk turned me on to his one day flying from Las Vegas to San Diego I've been hooked. I have some regrets though. When I was in Europe I couldn't update it and that was a bummer. I only wish it had WiFi in addition to the Whisper Network from Amazon and Sprint.

But that one hurdle aside, I've become a Kindle fan because not only does it let me read books without carrying them, I can also read business magazines and newspapers while traveling without the added weight.

Larry Golob of the GIPS team penned a piece yesterday about the Kindle and brought up a very interesting point near the end where he wrote:

At Global IP Solutions, we are seeing significant interest from customers developing real time voice and video applications for the mobile market. Maybe we will soon see a Kindle with real-time voice and video for those unable to attend their book club in person.

This is in alignment with my divergence concept written about after Telco 2.0 last April. Basically, you take a device which is designed to do one thing exceptionally well and add in additional, and complimentary, functionality. Larry's suggestion of adding voice to the Kindle is a dead on the mark application of my suggestion.

From my perspective, the Kindle can be a lot more than it is today and my guess is that it will be more than what it is in the very near future.

Amtrak-Take Note

As the economy sours and as we all become more ecological or "green" one of the trends that we're seeing on both coasts here in the USA is the increase in ridership of trains, both commuter and long haul.

Growing up on the east coast I regularly took the Metroliner between Philadelphia and New York City for meetings or to see my girlfriend at the time who lived in Manhattan. Here on the west coast the Amtrak Surfliner is a regular mode for me to get to Los Angeles or Santa Barbara or the Capital Corridor train from Sacramento to San Francisco or San Jose. I also take the train from SF sometimes depending where meetings are in Silicon Valley vs. always driving.

So this story out of Japan is very timely. You see, with an increase in ridership on trains, comes an increase in business riders. That means there is the need for WiFi on trains, especially since the coverage for 3G along the rails is so spotty here.

I've had first had experience on the Heathrow Connect via T-Mobile in London. It works. 15 minutes of high speed travel and connectivity from Heathrow Airport to Paddington Station. The sheer feeling of clearing out my inbox, changing a lunch reservation or reconfirming a meeting is so relaxing. But so is making a Skype call or even a SightSpeed video call from the moving train.

The folks at Amtrak should take note. Some WiFi operator or mobile operator likely wants the business. Hopefully they give it to them because staying connected on the trains means more business and business traveler for Amtrak.