Being a remote professional often involves travel and work in… ahem… unusual locations. You may find yourself working on the road, in your car, at a library or coffee shop, onsite with a client, or anywhere in between. Desktops are great,  but they will tie you to a single work spot. They are usually stable and cheaper than the portable alternatives. That is, until recently.

If you are a power-user and you need to multi-task, keep a slew of windows open, and often push the limits of both your CPU and your RAM, your mobile options won’t be low cost.

If, however, you have started using some or many of the online options for thinks like book keeping, email, calendar, etc., a netbook may bridge the gap between portability and pocket-sensitivity.

For under $400 (and even below $300, as of today) you can now get an amazingly lightweight, highly portable, low-power computer with longer battery life than was possible just a year ago.

The first netbooks were rather light on HD size, but there are better options today and 120-250 gig drives aren’t uncommon. Promises of upcoming (June 2009) Ion-based CPUs will make these lightweights heavy-hitters in the remote professional market. Dual-core netbook options are rumored to be in the works and should be available by year end.

Some options have optical drives, others require a USB drive to load software. Alternatively, you can drop the CD or DVD into a network drive and load software via Ethernet or wireless connection.

If you can’t wait that long, look at the sale on the ASUS Eee PC 1002HA 10-Inch Netbook at Amazon (with a $50 rebate) — which has recieved excellent reviews from customers and techies alike. Today, Dell has released their own low-priced netbook called the Mini 1011 Bear with a base price of $299 and several upgrade options, according to a review article on Engadget.

So, if you plan to buy a portable machine in the near future, your options may be more diverse than they were the last time you looked. Weigh all your options and come up with the best option for your needs. If you buy a netbook,  be sure to get a 6-cell battery and max out the RAM options (2 gig minimum), for the best performance in these machines.

Have fun!

I’ve been through a slew of iPhone cases in my quest for the perfect one. SLEWS of them. I love my iphone, ask anyone who knows me… but, trying to keep it safe and in excellent working order isn’t always easy when you take it everywhere. (Heck, I even listen to music on mine in the bathroom while taking a shower — so I needed a moisture-resistant, shock proof, tough case for it.)

Yesterday, the ideal case finally arrived. I got mine on eBay, but it’s available on Amazon too. I got myself an Otterbox Defender Semi-rugged Case for my iPhone in girly pink. It’s also available in white, in black and in black with yellow trim, for those of you who aren’t that interested in going all girly.

It doesn’t maintain the sleek, thin lines of the iPhone. It adds a great deal of bulk and weight — but I don’t care. I love it. It seals it from the elements and from my daily abuse. It’s even got a well-functioning screen protector (unlike those that inhibit my ability to use the touch screen on those ever-so-delicate game sessions when I’m waiting in line or in a waiting room). These things matter!

The holster is also pretty cool. I wish it had been available in pink too — but the pink case comes with the standard issue black holster. It’s quick and easy to slide the phone in and out to answer it, and it keeps it protected and at the ready.

The holster clip can also be adjusted to become a defacto easel back so you can watch videos in landscape mode (which is really nice!)

The only thing that bugs me about this solution is how hard it is to get it in and out. It no longer slides easily into my iHome for extra speaker boost, and it’s required me to get more creative with the Griffin WindowSeat Windshield car mount I just got for my car. Aside from those small issues, it’s the best protection I’ve ever seen. I’d probably not even have a heart attack if my precious iPhone went skidding across a parking lot now — so long as it was in the case.

It’s also uber-easy to find in the bottom of my cave-of-a-purse with the bright hue!

If you are looking for the best possible protection for your iPhone, check it out. It really rocks!

Ok, my new printer is a nice one. It’s an all-in-one and does everything but serve my lunch. It is a wonder of modern technology… so why do I hate it?

• I have determined that there are some areas where I am exceedingly simple.
• I discovered recently that printing is one of those areas.
• I don’t want any more wiz-bang in my technology than I can properly appreciate — and not a whit less, either.

I love the networking/wireless feature. That’s way cool! But other than that…

I think that the rub here is paying all that extra money for the fancy printer and the expensive multi-part inks all to end up not being able to print a single sheet of black and white text simply, quickly and in a fashion that if it gets a little damp — it won’t run in rivers, which leaves my text MIA.

(What’s with the sounding like a plane on the tarmac revving engines for a full two minutes before the first sheet of printed material finally emerges? I’m an instant gratification gal — I don’t like that.)

So, while I love most of my technology, I long for a compact, inexpensive LASER printer that can meet my needs economically and simply without all the noise, expense and hubbub.

Seriously, is that too much to ask?

While recovering from a case of the creeping-crud, I’ve spent many hours over at the apps store catching up on what’s new and cool. I’m not BEING very productive lately, so I’m researching productivity (and other) apps. (Hey, at least I’m accomplishing something!)

In particular, I was looking for:

• a better way to handle my to-do lists
• a way to maintain standard packing lists
• a quick-launching notes program
• a running diary for those “when did I do that?” queries
• a grocery shopping list-maker
• a way to do my @ lists (loosely based on GTD philosophy — VERY loosely)

I found one of the most incredible database programs to date for the iPhone. It’s called iDB Datamaster Pro (there’s a free version and a lite version, but I wanted a limitation-free option). It was developed by Evince Technologies, Inc specifically for the iPhone and is not a port or a re-write of another program.

It literally replaced half a screenful of other apps on my homepage — and we all know how precious that space is!

The layout is good and the templates (which I hope will continue to expand) handle most of what I’ve needed so far. I like the integration with the native apps which permits one-tap phone calls and web site launches from within the databases.

The best features?

1. A powerful search across ALL the databases. (Really nice!)

2. The ability to “pause” the database and return to the exact same place next time the app is launched saves taps and frustration. (Small feature, huge impact on usability.) It even has time-stamped logs for locating what was done when.

3. I particularly like the fact that I can backup the databases to my own computer in CSV format — but need to play with this a bit more to learn how to backup and restore effectively.

It’s a little more expensive than the standard .99-4.99 apps, coming in at 12.99 for the pro version, but it’s worth every penny, IMHO. I’ll review a few more of my best finds over the next few days, including writer’s tools for the iPhone and (hopefully) a decent replacement for some of the standard apps (like calendar).

In the meantime, go download the free version of this DB app and give it a try. I think you will like it as much as I do.

I’ve been collecting a host of twitter tools for a blog entry for some time now. Although this is not an exhaustive list, it may be enough to help expand the usefullness of one of my favorite social media platforms. Check them out for yourself:

Twitter rank – Like pagerank for twitter users.

Twitter search – Want to look for particular terms (or your own name, brand or competition) on twitter? This is the tool!

Twitter Fan Wiki: Apps – Want to find the best of the twitter platform apps for your own use, check out this exhaustive list.

Twitter alerts: TweetBeep – Would you like an email when someone on twitter mentions you or your products or your company — or even your favorite topic? This is the tool… but beware, too-general terms will overflow your inbox in minutes!

Twitter pictures: TwitPic - Expand the platform from 140 characters to include photos with this service.

Tweet from Firefox: TwitBin – If you love Firefox as much as I do, and would like to twitter directly from there, try this addon.

Twitter in groups – Want a way to narrow the collective into groups and specific conversations/discussions? Try tweetworks.

Tweet-grid – Select a handful of topics you would like to follow and create a browser-based grid to hold them all. I tested this during the election and found it to be quite useful.

Twitter directory – get listed here and find people with similar interests!

Prettify your twitter – grab a twitter background to rise above the norm.

Twitter hashtags – a way to group specific keywords/topics when trying to stay on top of twitter speak.

Tweet clouds – ever wonder what you tweet about most often? Find out!

Twitter cost – once you start following some of the bigger names, you may find that you don’t have the time to read all those microposts. Check the guy/gal here before committing to a follow — or do a vanity check on yourself. Are you worth the cost? Are they? (Also shows the political index of any twitter user.)

And, if all this talk of Twitter is like Greek to you, try Jason Hiner’s excellent Twitter article as your intro to this platform. It’s from May of this year, but is a great starting place for those new to twitter or twit-wanna-bes.

I’d welcome any additions to this list, so tell me what you guys use!

(Note: Bluebird photo courtesy of gracey of morguefile.com)

The much touted one laptop per child project is hitting the streets next month. The project can be found online at Laptop.org and features a durable laptop running a Sugar OS. Amazon is featuring a Buy one, get one laptop program and the items were made available for preorder starting yesterday!

They will be shipped on December 16th (just in time for Christmas for a little one in your life — while you give to another little one across the globe!)

Not quite the $100 laptop originally sought, these $199 laptops do meet the other qualifications like low power consumption (10% of normal laptops), built to take abuse and keep working with a rugged exterior, built-in wireless, and a screen that can be viewed in direct sunlight. For more information, you can visit the One Laptop Per Child News site or you can watch a thank you message from an XO recipient.

Donate one and you can say…

Ok, I’m loving the way the platform for the iPhone is constantly expanding. Holding up the device to a radio and using an app (Shazam) to identify the song, artist and offer the ability to buy that song… well that’s just cool. It works pretty well, I had it on my iPhone for awhile.

(I took it off to make room for more apps I wanted to test. I don’t really NEED to know a song that often, but it’s cool to have when I do.)

Being able to scan a barcode and look up the product online, complete with price comparisons to get the best deal… that’s a great concept as well (It’s on my list of apps to try, but I’ve not done this one yet — I’ve heard it still needs a bit of work). I’ll wait for the next version.

One that I did recently download (a paid app) that is uber cool is called the Ocarina by smule. This has GOT to be one of the coolest expansions of the different parts of this device for a completely new purpose.

The mic is used as a “reed” to blow into in order to play the instrument. The touch screen offers combinations of four virtual “buttons” to make a multitude of tones and sounds. And if having a little instrument in your pocket isn’t cool enough… they’ve also taken the social networking aspect to a new level by broadcasting (with your permission, of course) the music of all players all over the world.

So you can watch on a globe of the earth as someone far away struggles with those beginning chords of amazing grace, or triumphs over the final chords of Greensleeves. If you get tired of listening to one new-iphone-age artist, you can hit the next button and the globe spins and picks up another player somewhere else in the world.  Hit the heart emblem to give props to those you like — everyone has their own username.

Yeah, I know that the iPhone has had mini-piano programs (I got the free one to play) and drums and guitars, and some that are a whole band in your pocket… but this is different. This is something completely new.

It’s an instrument FOR the iPhone and it’s worth the 99 cents just to play with the expansion on this smartphone’s overall concept and what it can do. Very cool. Try it.

I hope that an expanded play list will be added to this great new resource for those iPhones and iPod Touch models availing themselves of the use of a wi-fi connection.

Hollywood Pocket is a website offering Quicktime movies that download and play beautifully straight from the website. The selection is rather small now, but I hope it will grow.

This resource is a great example of what could be done with the the wi-fi access of these pocket devices. Since I get most of my television shows from the Internet these days (through Hulu usually or straight from the TV websites), I’d love to see iPhone-friendly layouts for those.

Wouldn’t it be great to be able to cruise to the latest episode of Bones or Life or Gossip Girl (yeah I watch it, so sue me), or a dozen other great options — all on my iPhone?

If the idea is to increase viewership, I’d hope that one of the executives realizes that there are some of us who would not only use the service, but would wax poetic about it if it were available.

In the meantime, check out Hollywood Pocket and see what (I hope) the future will hold.

Until recently, even if you didn’t have a “network” enabled printer, you could putz around with the thing and get it to work… especially if you have a dedicated server to run it through.

Those days are over.

In the same way that the win-fax modems put the stupid in a periperal, the printers are now relying on the CPU of the host computer to run the things. This means that they need a constant connection with that host computer.

Thus, if you try to “share” it across a network, a whole host of ugly (and hard to troubleshoot) things can occur… like intermittent printing, endless spooling, and serious wait times — I’m talking up to 12 minutes to print a simple .txt file!

So, if you think that a printer you are going to buy now might EVER need to be on a network, do your research carefully and skip on over to Best Buy and New Egg and CNET for the reviews and the ratings (stars for BB, eggs for NewEgg) and read what others say about the products.

Like I just told my “social networking naysayer” father — social networking isn’t just about Twitter and Facebook… it’s about using the collective knowledge to make better choices. (He still resents that I call his time spent on NewEgg as “social networking” time — of course he’s just a lurker, he never actually leaves any reviews of his own.)

I’m wearing him down.

So, save yourself the headaches, stress and frustration — do the research first and don’t assume that the old “tried and true” methods will work. You can’t simply add a printer or even lock it in via TCP/IP or, set it up as a local printer by specifying the IP address and share name of the printer.

Times have changed.

Also, the drivers for Vista are not all created equal. Very few of the lower-end printers have decent drivers for Windows Vista 64-bit machines. (They do well to support standard 32-bit machines).

And before you buy, Google “problems with ________ (insert the model you plan to purchase) with __________ (the operating system(s) you plan to use) on a network.” Then read and be scared… very scared.

That just about does it for my rant’o the day. It’s late.

My disappointment that Wowio went from a free to a paid model a few months ago has now been replaced with awe that there’s an iPhone optimized version. Why?

Because all the content is still available to be read online. You can use wifi, 3G or Edge — and now the whole library is available from wherever. How nice. View yours here: http://www.wowio.com/iphone-wowio.asp

The comic books are particularly pretty on the iphone screen (check out the Grimm’s Fairytales).

You will be required to register to gain access to the free content, but it’s worth the effort. I’d love to see an app for this, so the settings are stored and so I could have access to some of the content when I don’t have a connection.

Is anyone at Wowio listening?

Ubiquity, by definition, means being everywhere (or at least seeming to be everywhere) at once. That’s the dream I’ve tried to fulfill for decades. Now, even though I’m more about “slowing down” and taking life a bit easier — I’m still a stress-monger when I’m online.

When I’m on the web, I always juggle a dozen things (at least) at any given time. So when I find a tool that promises some relief… I’ll take it!

I find that my online workstyle is a bit schizophrenic — I’m so many different people, going in so many different directions. The problem is compounded now that I’m participating in several social networking groups. It’s hard to get all the different versions of me synthesized back into a single entity once my workday is over.

Life seems a bit fractured. Between you and me, carrying an iPhone everywhere doesn’t help, but I won’t eliminate that complication — I’m addicted.

A new Foxfire addon, Ubiquity, promises to whittle away at my problem. And the way it does it — by using standard language commands to do a whole slew of tasks online from inside your browser window — is simply awe-inspiring!

With a shortcut command (the standard is alt-space, but you can set it to anything you like), a grease-monkey overlay pops up and you can use plain language to do what you want. Like… “Twitter I’m testing Ubiquity and am loving it!” and it updates your twitter. Ditto for the steps to update Facebook. Other platforms are probably planned for the future.

I’m still just testing this little gem, but so far, I’m loving it. It’s still under development. It’s free. And, it promises to be just one more reason that I’ll never give up Firefox.

The only thing that I don’t like is that it’s still limited to Google Calendar and Google Mail for the quick launch apps (and I’m using Google Apps which doesn’t play the same way.) Learn more on the Ubiquity Wiki. Then download Ubiquity and try it for yourself!

I try to keep on top of the iPhone apps store. It’s like an addiction… maybe an affliction. But, the very least I can do is share the cool stuff I’ve found. Right?

My favorite aspect of the iPhone is how much of the cool stuff I love, use, need and want can be put in one pocket-sized place. Of course, that’s probably why I had a dream the other night that my iPhone exploded. Don’t get all Freudian on me… I don’t know why. All I remember (from the dream) is that I was all panicky about how I’d replace it — since I don’t want the new 3G. (My 1st generation iPhone is cheaper on my data plan, has SMS messages included, and my area doesn’t have the 3G coverage — so I’d be paying more for less.)

Now, back to the cool stuff I’ve found…

Say Who – A voice dialing app that simply works. Warning: You do need to enunciate and be sure you pause between each word. Run-on commands don’t work very well. You can set it to auto-dial the number or wait for your approval. Free.

Fifteeen – a fifteen square puzzle that’s free. I know it’s not horribly high-tech, but this is one of my all time favorite games (I even have the old classic metal version around here somewhere.) Now, I can always have it with me.

Air Mouse – I can now use my wifi to control my computer from … you guessed it… my iPhone. This one is a WAY cool app. I don’t like the air mouse feature as much as the air “touch pad” feature. The touch pad is easier to handle on the iphone and is amazingly responsive.

Ah.. Moemory Lite – Beautiful graphics on this free flip-card style memory game.

Easy Relax – I like this one better than the paid Ambiance “sound machine” that I purchased a few weeks ago. I can mix my own “white noise” sounds and set them to play for a specified time. My personal rain mix has already helped to calm my monkey-mind enough to drift off to sleep. Free.

iBowl – This is a wii-style bowling game. Price is right (free), and it’s fun. I did remove this from my iPhone fairly quickly simply because I’m afraid that I’m going to fling my iPhone across the room playing it. Please see above reference to exploding iPhone dream.

iDicto – Best dictation recorder for the iPhone I’ve seen to date. Easy to use, intuitive, cool graphics. Only issue is that this free app is now marked with a banner stating “free trial” which makes me raise an eyebrow. I’m hoping that I’ve not downloaded an expiring “bait and switch” app. I hate that stuff.

If Found Please – An easy, quick way to add a “call if found” number to your iPhone wallpaper. I made mine and then immediately removed the app. The resulting wallpaper is stored in your photo gallery on the iPhone, making it uber-easy to set up and use. Free.

Contacts Fast Add – Don’t fumble around trying to quickly add the basic info on a new contact. Use this little gem to avoid the “going to the phone app, then realizing that I need to be in contacts to edit and add” conundrum. I keep this little baby on my first screen, always at the ready. Free.

i.TV – This is a feature-rich and beautifully executed app to show you what’s playing when in your area (and on what channel). I’m not much into television myself, but I like this app and found it for my father to use on his phone because it shows “airwaves” TV information as well as cable. It’s a great way for him to set his TiVo and determine which talking-heads show he most wants to watch. Free.

I “heart” Radio – Cool way to get radio talk shows on your iphone. Helps balance out my Pandora app, my iPod functionality and my podcasts. I like having options. Free.

Around Me – I use this little app more that I’d ever thought I would. It’s a great way to locate nearby businesses, hospitals, coffee shops, etc. With just a couple taps, I can call local-to-me businesses to get the information I need. It is quicker and easier than using the yellowpages app and will also give me a map and directions on how to get there. Nice. Free.

Fring – a great little all-in-one for IM and Skype (including the ability to place Skype Out calls when you are in range of a strong WiFi signal). Using the iPhone with Skype was something I was seeking before I found this. It’s nice to have. Hint: Use the + sign (hold down the zero to access it) and a 1 before adding your numbers for Skype Out, or it won’t work. Free.

Go to iTunes and look each of these up by name to learn more… or (if you have your iPhone handy), just go directly to the apps store and download them from there.

iPhone to Thunderbird Sync Client.

I’ve not tried this one myself, since I use Google Apps now, but it looks like someone found an easier way to make this happen than what I’ve seen to date.

Check out the full info page here:

Sync your Thunderbird to your iPhone.

There are many things that the iPhone is, but there were a few nagging things that the iPhone wasn’t. This holiday weekend, while helping my father set up his iPhone, I found a few of the missing pieces.

First and foremost is a decent and FREE ebook reader. I wanted one that would permit me to read the classics AND my own library of ebooks. Enter the winner…

Stanza – you can pick it up in the apps store and you can go to Lexcycle.com and download a desktop version for your PC or Mac. It even handles Kindle formats! I’ll be playing with it more later, but I wanted to share it with any of my readers who have been seeking a quality ebook reader.

Pages turn with a tap in either direction (or a finger-swipe) and you can adjust the size of the font without being required to scroll left to right on the iphone to read the lines. It breaks them for you automatically.

It’s a sweet little app that allows you to download free books from a sizable online library when you are out and you can personalize the contents on your iPhone by adding your own if you pre-plan enough to load them up before leaving home.

And did I mention it was free?!?!

YOUR ebook library now showing on your iPhone

Sending Instant Messages on the iPhone

Another missing piece was a good multi-platform IM manager. Enter Palringo – Vocal Instant Messaging.

Granted, the lack of background apps on the iPhone are a pain for this type of “always on” platform — but I’m just happy to have a non-web-based app with which to shoot off a quick note to my clients/peers/family. I tried a couple of the earlier attempts, and found them sadly lacking. This one seems to be solid, responsive and pretty as well. I’m still playing with all the options.

Taking Notes on the iPhone

I’m less than impressed with the notepad that Apple ships with the iPhone. It takes forever to find and load my old data (and it’s not that I have tons of pages, I only have two or three entries at any time). I wanted a note taking app that would take my info in whatever format I wanted to use — typing, scribbling, voice, whatever.

Wishes do come true… YouNote (in the Apps Store) gives me exactly what I need. I only wish I could get these out of my iPhone and onto my desktop or sync them with a web app so I could use them on my Mac too. I’m just now discovering this little app, but I’m already in love. The drawing feature using a fat finger, produces an impressive thin, responsive line. Bravo!

More Cowbell… errr… Games!

As far as games go, I’ve discovered a few cool ones this weekend as well. Check them out by name at the apps store:

• Hanoi – great ancient (classic) puzzle. Free.
• Asphalt4 – Not free, but worth the bucks (and I have NEVER liked driving games). I just wish the iPhone was actually the steering wheel, that would be even cooler.
• reMovem free – This one is terribly addicting. Pop all the bubbles to clear the board. Curse when you get down to one lone bubble. Rinse. Repeat.

Enjoy!

I have been studying my Mac OS book today, along with doing some searching online for specifics I needed, and I even got an email from a peer’s son on how to overcome my frustration with the Mac’s lack of a right button.

I was in a generous mood, so I figured I’d share the ones that were cool enough that it made me go ‘ohhhh!’ outloud. Since I don’t notice when I do this, I rely on my daughter who immediately comes in from her desk (using any excuse to escape her math sheet today) to ask me what I’m ‘ohhh-ing’ about.

1. The mouse DOES have a right button! I’m going to copy my email from my friend Bron Robertson’s son here, hopefully it will help others with this frustration. Never occured to me to look in preferences on this, it really didn’t:

Hi Angela,

Basically I read your blog about the iMac and you said how you can’t right-click without using the command key/two hands. This really annoyed me when I first got my iMac about a year ago, but I figured out after about half an hour that it’s really simple to change.

I assume you have the mighty mouse (as you got your Mac recently or at least more recent than me and I have it) as opposed to the old one. With the mighty mouse there are four buttons even though they’re covered so it just looks like 1. There’s a left button, a right button, a middle button under the scroll wheel and the side buttons on either side which you squeeze. As a default factory setting, and I don’t know why this is, Apple assign both the right and left buttons to do the same thing. In order to assign it a new function, you need to go into the setup, go to ‘mouse and keyboard’ I think it’s called (I don’t have my Mac here and can’t remember exactly) and then assign buttons on the mouse.

There’ll be an aerial view of the mighty mouse in the middle with arrows coming off. Just to give you an example, The controls I’ve assigned to my buttons are: ‘click’ for the left button, ‘command click’ for the right button, and ‘show all running apps’ for the side squeezy ones. For a click on the middle button/scroll wheel, I’ve assigned the ‘alt tab’ function you’ll probably be familiar with from Windows, just as a quick way of cycling between programs.

Hope this helps, all the best.

Josh

2. Clicking the title bar on any window twice makes it minimize. This saves me an enormous amount of stress while trying to get used to the controls on the Mac’s windows being on the left, rather than the right. Now, maybe there is some way to set a preference to have the sides swap, I don’t know. But, if I’m going to stay with the Mac I want to just learn the standard layout for this OS. (Also, using the options button and the double click on the title bar will shrink everything down to the dock at the same time. Nice!)

3. Keeping my desktop clear. I was searching for a program to do this last week, before I found out that it’s an easy fix using the preferences in Finder. Just go there and click on the general tab and uncheck the boxes you don’t want to see on your desktop. Keeping Finder in your dock means you can see all the disks hooked up to the Mac with a single click. I also changed the preferences on where my downloads reside. Since there’s already a downloads folder, I created my own “Repository” folder and put a shortcut on the dock. Using these two tricks keeps my information close and my desktop is clutter free!

Well, after buying a bunch of cool apps night before last, I’ve essentially decommissioned my iPhone. Not only does this “upgrade” make all my applications crash seconds after they attempt to launch…

I no longer have music, videos or audiobooks on my iphone! Yesterday and today (despite an all-night synch attempt) I have been stuck with an iPhone that is JUST a phone. I’m hating this, and according to reports online, it will be sometime in September before this is fixed.

If anyone knows of a place to download iTunes 7.7 for Mac OSX (or if anyone has their old copy of 7.7 still hanging around), please let me know. I’m desperate!

I’ve been looking for a more attractive, easier-to-navigate layout for my WordPress sites recently, and I found a couple interesting resources to share:

Magazine Theme – a unique layout for a WP site with a cutting edge style and directions for customization by the designer.

SEO Themes – nearly 50 websites that have been SEO’ed by Court of Internet Marketing School. Nice!

I had such high hopes for Apple’s “cloud.” I believed (I really did) that it would be the answer to my mobile dreams. For years I’ve searched for a way to get what I need quickly and easily from anywhere. I’ve tried sync programs, I’ve tried web apps. I’ve used a laptop, a Treo (or two or three), a Tablet PC, and now an iPhone.

I’m so in love with my iPhone, I just assumed MobileMe would be another fantastic product from the mind of Apple. I’m glad Newton wasn’t under the tree when this Apple product fell. History may have been quite different.

I don’t want to use Outlook and although I’ve been seriously considering buying an iMac, I’ve not done so yet (despite the rather suspicious “second chance” offer on that one eBay iMac that I nearly won). Mobile Me won’t let me upload my information from Google. Nope, I can’t upload my calendar, not even in iCal format. I have to Sync it. That means I’d have to either load up Outlook on my computer again (ain’t happenin’) or hand enter all the calendar items (that’s probably not going to happen either.)

I love Gmail as a “cloud” app — the search ability is obviously without competition, the spam filters and the ability to avoid viruses and not have to maintain alot of extra CPU-devouring programs on my system is made possible by Gmail. I adore using Gmail with only a few caveats (notably the “sent of behalf of” addressee information) and I think using Google Apps may address those. I’ll know soon.

I want to keep Gmail. Does the Apple email program have the same quality of spam filtering, virus protection and search? Doubt it.

But I can’t upload my email to MobileMe from Gmail either. If there’s a way, it’s some convoluted backward, third-party app sort of methodology. I’m no longer interested in finding a difficult way to get things done. Nor am I willing to change the way I do business to facilitate the use of certain technology. I’ve done that for years. It’s over.

So, the simplicity that is the beauty of the iPhone is completely lost on MobileMe. Suddenly I don’t really want to be “mobile-me” I think I want to be “mobile-somebody-else” — somebody who has an easier way to make the cloud, the iPhone, and the computer play nicely.

Aside from the lack of functionality it’s SLOOOOOWWWW. I mean creeping. Like molasses in January… outside… during a particularly cold snap… in Vermont. It’s THAT slow. And, it throws errors after making you wait.

I’m going to give it a full 30 days out of my 60 day trial period before making a final decision. I hope I’ll be eating crow… Maybe there will be enough of an uproar from people like me that they will add some real-world functionality to the product… but somehow I doubt it.

I had hoped MobileMe would be my “IT” app. It isn’t.

I’m loving the new iPhone apps. I love that many of the best ones are free.

Freebies Worth Gold

Pandora - Now I can have my Pandora tunes in my pocket! I only wish I could have them playing in the background while I did other things, like I can with the tunes on my iPhone through iTunes. If you already have an account at Pandora.com, it takes seconds to connect and start enjoying.

Morocco – Because I love “reversi” games and can’t get enough of having a computer kick my butt.

Picocalc – I use this tiny program as a way to keep a running balance on my checking account. No muss, no fuss — I always know where I am.

Light – Although there’s a paid version of this, this freebie is better. I use my iPhone’s considerable backlighting power to “light my way” quite often, and this tiny app makes it easier — I no longer have to find a screen that’s bright to use, this one is an all-white screen. You will be amazed HOW bright this thing is.

Shazam - A music identification tool that actually works. Hold it up to the speaker when a song is playing and it gives you the complete stats (artist, song, album, etc.) along with the option to buy it on iTunes.

eBay - bidding from the iPhone on the day’s “must have” items just got simple… maybe too simple! I’ll probably go broke!

Twitterriffic - An easy way to twitter on the go. Beautiful interface. It’s like having twhirl in my pocket. Driving has never been so dangerous! A paid version is available that will remove the ads. I’m ok with free for now. (Tried another Twitter client, but it kept throwing errors.)

Puluwai – A real estate tool that should capture the attention of all real estate agents. I tested it on some of the most rural areas of Kentucky with great results. Love this thing!

Weight Tracker – An easy way to face the horrible truth, right there on your iPhone… EVERY TIME YOU TURN IT ON! Has online sync and standalone options. I’ll keep my info to myself, thank you.

Zenbe - nice little “to do” list app that’s free, and (supposedly) works with the Zenbe.com website. After syncing my iphone, I don’t see my to do lists on Zenbe.com yet… but maybe that’s something they are still working out. After all, it’s just been released. Even as a stand alone, it’s a nice list app.

Spinner - Infuriating game that promises to become addictive. Uses the iPhone as the controller, twisting and turning it to get the arrow to the goal location.

Cube Runner - Another infuriation masquerading as a game. But, I like the abuse.

Blip Solitaire - great for the old computer folks who remember playing pong. It’s like lonely-girl pong. I like it, but my fingers seem to get in the way of seeing where the blip is when I whirl it 360 degrees.

Rotary Dialer - Cool little app. Fun, if useless. Allows you to low-tech your high-tech iPhone into a standard rotary phone. Animations are nice and the touch screen lends itself well to this use.

Molecules – this will be a cool app when Alex gets to that section of her science studies. Allows the 3-D virtual manipulation of a string of dna. (At least I THINK it’s DNA!) Offers a great view of what’s possible with 3-D rendering for this device.

iPint - because it’s funny and amuses me. I don’t even like beer, but the idea of “drinking” it from an iPhone is something I find cool, for some reason. It’s a free version of the iBeer and the iMilk type applications. Why pay for novelty if you can get it for free?

NYT - Nice way to peruse the headlines in the NYT quickly on my iPhone — and the ability to read the whole story with a single tap. Ad block at the bottom isn’t too bad. Is worth it to get this info for free.

Am still playing with “Pocketpedia” and “Mobile News” and “PayPal” and “Facebook” apps. No determination on those yet.

I’m going to be playing with “Where” and “VoiceNotes” and “TruPhone” and “eReader” programs over the next few days.

Purchases:

I purchased a few things too. I must say that Monkeyball makes me crazy. I can’t seem to manipulate that marble anywhere I try. I will never get past the second level. Ever. I think I hate it… but if I ever get any good at it, my attitude may change. The graphics are quite impressive.

FuelGauge- Helping me to keep up with gas mileage (with an eye toward conservation) on both my car and my moped. Simple easy to use interface that simply works. (.99 pricetag)

VoiceRecorder – May be helpful, but it’s awfully low, even with my mouth right next to the iPhone. Since buying this, I’ve found several other apps with this as one of the features, so it may not last on my iPhone.

iGotchi is a cute Tamagotchi immulation (and cheaper than the physical version), but it does take the “parenting” of the little thing seriously. If you get five warnings for neglect, your little fluffy-fuzzy guy goes away and you have to EMAIL the company and explain why you should have another chance to do better before it’s returned. Not sure about that! (But if my daughter had an iPhone, I’d think this would be a great way to pre-test prior to an actual pet!) My daughter is NOT getting an iPhone, however.

While the price of doing business (and everything else from driving a car to buying groceries) continues to soar, there are several new developments that make it easier to do business from any location.

Many of these mobile tools are remarkably effective and some of them I consider essential. Even better (considering today’s economy) many of them are low-cost or free!

Take advantage of online apps

You all know about some of the more popular online web-apps like Google’s suite (Gmail, Google Docs and GCal), but you may not know some of the more recent additions.

Desktop: Interested in having a web-based desktop that you can customize and access from anywhere you can launch a web-browser? That dream is now a reality thanks to the good folks at eyeOS. A simple log in will create your personal desktop that is universally accessible. It’s an awesome idea, and it’s brand new.

Music: Pandora lets you carry your favorite music with you and listen from any browser. You can sample your favorite artists and get exposed to new ones based on your tastes. By ranking the songs in your personal “radio stations” the system learns what you like. I work with music and this helps me to feel “right at home” anywhere I’m working. It’s wonderful — and it’s free.

Accounting/Timer: Keeping the books and keeping up with your billable time has never been easier. I can work from any Internet capable machine by simply logging into my Cashboard account. The timer keeps my records, and I can shoot off invoices and get an instant overview of my accounts (who owes me money and who I owe time). Working somewhere else isn’t the hassle it once was. This one isn’t free, but it’s reasonable and it adds enormous flexibility.

Thumb drives are cheap and convenient

If aren’t an early adopter, you may not have an ongoing love affair with your own personal “lipstick” (aka “jump” or “thumb”) drive yet. Today, with the prices plummeting on these little gems and the available storage space moving up, it’s time to begin the romance.

Owning one will open up new mobile worlds. If you are buying your first one, get the largest one you can comfortably afford. An 8 gig is ideal.

If you are worried about security, consider TrueCrypt. It’s not a simple setup, but it’s bulletproof. Be sure to back up your thumb drive to your computer once a week.

Keep your personal stuff with you

Bookmarks: If you feel lost without your Firefox bookmarks, you can now take your bookmarks with you too!

You can use Foxmarks to sync your bookmarks from anywhere to anywhere else or you can use a portable version of my favorite browser to carry it all with you on your thumb drive, external hard drive or iPod. I’ve tried several bookmark sync extensions over the years, but none are as sweet as Foxmarks and you can access them from any webbrowser (even IE) by logging into My Foxmarks, once you set up your account.

Quicklaunch: The bookmark toolbar in Firefox is probably one of the most productive tools I’ve ever set up. I use it to keep my most often visited sites a single click away. Syncing with Foxmarks or using my portable Firefox means I have this information at fingertip access. I use this for my Google calendar, Remember the Milk (task list program that merges with GCal), Cashboard, twitter, Facebook, financial sites, Pandora, W3 validation site and my own websites.

Email: By setting up IMAP email, and running it through gmail, I’m able to take full advantage of the superior spam filtering and search options offered by Gmail and I an access my email from the web from anywhere. I can also check it from the portable version of Thunderbird I keep resident on my thumbdrive.

IMAP means that I’m looking at the most up-to-date version of my email from everywhere. The changes you make on one machine are visible anywhere you log into your email accounts. Ask your host if IMAP is available for you. It’s a bit tricky to get it set up, but once it’s running, it’s maintenance free.

Research: I adore Zotero! If you do online research and use multiple machines, get Zotero and store your database on your thumbdrive and take it with you wherever you go.

As such, I can point my Linux Firefox browser to the same collection area that I use in my Windows Firefox browser. If I’m at someone else’s machine who doesn’t have Firefox, I can boot my portable Firefox and use the same database from inside my thumb drive without leaving a trail of personal information on a machine that doesn’t belong to me. Unfortunately, for IE lovers, this genius Addon is available for FireFox only.

Passwords: Do you find that you often get out and need tiny snippets of personal information, usernames, and passwords? KeePass Portable to the rescue!

I use the same method for keeping a central (and always up-to-date) database in KeePass as I do in Zotero — I have the Linux version and the Windows version both point to the database on my thumbdrive. I also carry a portable copy of this secure, opensource program on my thumbdrive, in case I’m using someone else’s machine when I realize I need the info. It really is one password to rule them all!

As open source programs, web-based apps and compact media storage continue to improve, so does the ease with which technology workers can live and work. Now that’s nice!