Working Anywhere

Connect To WiFi Easily

SF Bay Area based Devicescape have rolled out EasyWiFi, a simple to install, easy to use WiFi and Access Point login aggregation application that stores your usernames and passwords safely in the cloud, and logs you on automatically. DeviceScape works with both mobile handsets that have WiFi as well as Macs and PCs.

For those of you who use multiple hotspots, like Boingo, T-Mobile, BT OpenZone, The Cloud and others, plus have your own access points at home and in the office DeviceScape is a simple and easy way to stop the constant "what are my log on detail" maladies. It's also FREE.

I've used it a lot in my travels, and in conjunction with client Truphone, it's a fast and easy way to log on and make VoIP calls.

I've also used the Boingo Mobile Client from Client Boingo and find that now with their roaming relationships with both AT&T and T-Mobile rolling out, that Boingo Mobile meets most of my needs. The one benefit with DeviceScape is it manages your other providers as well. So get a Boingo Mobile account, then decide which app you need.

Pat Phelan's Travel Tips for the Recession Era

MaxRoam's founder, Pat Phelan, picks up on my thread of how to be a better road warrior/Global Nomad with his recession busting travel tips.

In many ways Pat picks up on some of my earlier tips, including client Boingo for hotel WiFi where he writes:

Finally and most importantly get a Boingo account, Boingo were good enough to give me a test account on this trip and I have used wifi which I would normally have to pay for in Dublin, Chicago, Dallas airports and The Westin, this is a huge saving.

He also riffs of a proven model I use of taking my own travel router with me. I carry both an Apple Airport Express and and Asus travel router in my bag. Why both? Some hotels like to use the 10.xxx.xxx.xxx IP while others use the 192.168.xxx.xxx range. Having both with me means no fooling around with settings.

Meeting Room Confusion Solved

A new service out of Dublin Ireland's Active Online called BookMeetingRoom.com looks appealing to those who have to manage and organize meeting rooms and conference rooms.

While it's a tad pricey, the concept is very useful, and I can see the application of this with online web conferences, video conferences and audio conference booking. As we travel less and do more virtual collaboration in real time, keeping things organized and all in one place becomes paramount to maintaing a sense of order and balance.

A service like this benefits the virtual administrator who has to keep things on an even keel and minimize the confusion of whose using which room, physical or virtual.

Hat Tip to Emily Chang of eHub.

Mastering Better Working Anywhere Experiences

Having now spent almost a year on the road non-stop while my house and community goes through a major restoration, renovation and upgrade process I pretty much have mastered the art of working anywhere.

Here some tips that go beyond simply making technology work for us.

1. Don't be cheap

2. Don't try to cut corners

3. Be savvy, but spend wisely

4. Stay in boutique hotels like those found in TabletHotels.com or properties where you can create a relationship with the hotel GM and staff as they treat you better.

5. Don't fly economy for flights over 4 hours. Flying business or first class means your body feels better for it and your mind is sharper.

6. For stays of over four nights consider a corporate apartment with living room and kitchen. You don't get cabin fever and you also feel more like you're not on vacation.

7. For places you visit regularly, buy a pre-paid SIM card, avoid roaming rates. If you visit multiple countries get a travel sim from SIM4TRAVEL or MaxRoam. If you are in WiFi environments a lot, get an account with client Truphone. Bottom line is you will save money and be more connected.

8. I can't stress enough the value of well made, well constructed baggage and bags. I prefer Eagle Creek, Swiss Army (Victorinox) and Crumpler, but am always on the look out for more brands or unique one offs like those from Mandarina Duck and Waterfield Design.

9. Shoes-forget about just looking good. Be comfortable. My brand and shoe of choice is the 1803 slip on loafer. I've worn them now for almost three years and find them great for dress wear, tradeshow walking or just wandering anywhere. They're never out of place and they are SOOOO incredibly comfy.

10. When traveling with colleagues rent a two bedroom two bath apartment. You'll collaborate more and find that you end up learn more about each other.

11. Include your spouse when you can. My wife can get around well on her own. By day I'm working. At night, we're dining and spending time together.

12. Enjoy the airline clubs. Nothing beats the Virgin Clubhouse in London's Heathrow airport where you can get a haircut, shave and massage, eat like a king or queen and work over WiFi. But other clubs have their benefits, but most of all you not standing around near the gate waiting for your flight, plus you're more relaxed. Travel is stressful enough.

13. Take you vitamins, carry you meds and use anti-infamatories if you need them. I'm a believer in some homeopathic solutions but I also carry and take Advil. For some reason it helps me relieve muscle stiffness from carry bags and sitting in a confined space too long, and overcoming the occasional bad bed.

14. Socks and under garments. My wife gets credit for this. Find a local discount store like Burlington Coat factory and buy as you travel and toss away old stuff. It's cheaper than buying full retail or paying for hotel laundry.

15. Walking, Cabs and Public Transit-if the weather is good, walk. If you're carrying things take a cab. If you just need to go point to point and don't have to change too often use public transit. In London and Paris the underground/Tube or Metro are fantastic. So is the subway in Madrid and Lisbon as are trains in most of Europe. In the USA I prefer to rent cars and drive, take the Amtrak to avoid traffic jams or use a hired driver and car service when it's more than me or I'm going one way. Why? I can get work done. Lots of work. You may pay more than you think a hired car and driver is excessive, but its both safer and much more relaxing.

Want WiFi In SF? Check Out This Summary Listing of Whose Hot

Jason Brooks at the San Francisco Technology Examiner has a great post today that tells residents and visitors to the city by the Bay where they can find WiFi and which operators serve up the best access.

He lists links to T-Mobile, AT&T, Boingo and FON.

Boingo Get's High Marks

Client Boingo received high praise from the folks at ZDNET today.

In a post about trying out the service, Dennis Howlett, tabs Boingo as "a traveler's lifesaver" saying that it is "an easy way to avoid all those ludicrous $X per day charges that hotels and airport operators try to gouge out of you when on the road and especially when out of range of your home network provider."

I agree. Even before Comunicano began representing Boingo, I was a multiple account holder. It's always been Working Anywhere Approved and deserves to be. With folks like the independent voice of Howlett and others, it seems to be approved by more than me.

A Very Common Sense Approach To Virtual Working

This is a very good read as the article weaves through the plusses and minuses of virtual conferencing including video and web based.

What I like about the article is that the author has brought a sense of reality into the equation by suggesting that some meetings still need to be done "in person" not only face to face.

Portable Hotspots Critiqued

ZDNet's SOHO Networking writer Sean Portnoy has taken a good look at two of the applications that make it easier for you to tether a laptop to your cell phone to get 3G connectivity.

He profiles my favorite, JoikuSpot, and a second product called the Walking HotSpot from Taproot Software.

Joiku has been a lifesaver of late. It works flawlessly on the Nokia E71 I am using and provides multiple people with 3G access. I've used it in hotel lobbies and coffee shops when everyone didn't have access to the WiFi that was being offered.

Hotel Broadband--How To Be Ready For Prime Time

Jonathan Greene reports his hotel bandwidth is quite poor. He's staying at the Sheraton Harbor Island in San Diego for the Demo 2008 Conference. This is a hotel that is located directly across the street from the San Diego Airport and is very close to one of the main fiber rings in San Diego.

Access to higher speeds at that property is totally possible, but the issue is such that the hotel's parent brand, Starwood, and the property's ownership group tends to not really understand what the current "connected" traveler needs in the way of bandwidth and connectivity. They can survey all they want, the simple problem is when a group like the DEMO crowd arrives, they can't supply what they need and the conference has to bring in their own connectivity.

Sure, JG and others like him, including me, are resourceful enough to use 3G data, but even that at times, especially in a large resort or hotel complex even that isn't going to cut it. The totem pole effect still impacts 3G and sometimes walls, glass and other structures simple make that not work. Yesterday for example I watched my signal go from 3G to EDGE, back to 3G while sitting still in Ocean Beach, so the 3G argument isn't the answer.

Here are the things that matter which hotels and resorts would be wise to consider:

1) 45 Megabit Connectivity for a hotel up to 300 rooms

2) Low latency, such as a ping time to the ISP Network Ops Center of under 10 milliseconds

3) Wired and Wireless to the guest room

4) Single log on to both wired and wireless networks, including public areas

5) Wired and wireless capability in the conference areas, with different SSID's and a subnet that carves out some portion of the bandwidth

6) No less than 1.5 symmetrical speed to each user.

7) Ability to get more bandwidth on demand to meet the needs of the current guest load

8) No port blocking

9) True SMTP, Exchange, POP and IMAP capability, without the need to modify any settings (i.e. be standard)

10) A competent IT manager on duty at least two thirds of the day, the same way an engineer is on duty.

Blogger RickySays Offers Tips for the Road Warrior

I'm always happy to see another "Brother of the Road" posts about their Road Warrior Travel Experiences, especially when they get down and really test out things.

On these two posts Ricky shares his experiences with SightSpeed (an agency client) and with USB rechargeable batters (AA for now).

What I liked about his review is Ricky has already done the math and told his readers that SightSpeed worked better than AIM and Skype and with which equipment. That's part of self-selective decisionmaking by consumers and why blog posts like his are so helpful.

With the USB rechargeable batteries, I see many use cases. But for devices with rechargeable batteries other than AA, my favorite recharging device is the Proporta USB Mobile Recharging Device. I use it to keep my Nokia N and E series (N95, E71) phones powered up and also a few other devices including the Nokia N810, a Blackberry Curve and even an iPod now and then.