Work Smarter While on the Move

Work Better While on the Move

Your work increasingly demands that yoube able to get things done no matter where you are - so the bigger your mobile tech toolbox, the better. We'll take a closer look at some of the tech tricks and tools that'll have you working better, smarter, and faster on the go. Use these tools and gizmos that’ll help you to stay connected and in command whether you’re trekking in the Sahyadris or crossing time zones. We give you advice on using the right mix of tools, tips and tweaks to supercharge your personal productivity, intelligently multitask and balance your work and life better. Wherever you are!

A Smarter Phone

Smartphones can do a lot more than just look bigger and more complicated than normal cell phones but rarely do we make the most of the features on offer. Most of the smartphones allow you to view office documents while some also allow basic editing. If you are on a Windows Mobile based smartphone, you have the advantage of a familiar interface and extreme compatibility with office applications like mail clients, messengers and browsers. You can also enhance the functionality of smartphones by installing third-party applications that offer superior features than the bundled applications. While buying a smartphone, check if the device supports EDGE and offers Wireless LAN connectivity as well, this will ensure you are connected to the internet while travelling and also allow you to log-on to high-speed Wi-Fi networks when sitting at airports or cafes that offer Wi-fi based connectivity.

Travel Worry-Free

Your laptop has a lot of sensitive data on it, and an unfortunate loss or theft of the laptop can result in a catastrophe. If someone should grab your laptop and gain access to your fles, the actual loss can be far greater than that of the hardware. Encryption can give you another layer of protection. With Windows XP and Windows Vista you can choose to encrypt files and folders. Then, even if someone gains access to an important file, they can't decrypt it and see your information. The current generation of operating systems like Windows Vista offer built-in fle encryption tools.

If you need to leave your laptop in a room or at your desk, use a laptop security cable to securely attach it to a heavy chair, table, or desk. The cable makes it more diffcult for someone to walk away with your laptop.

Ultra-Mobility

The Ultra Mobile PC (UMPC) is the latest avatar of mobile computing; they are full-fedged hand-held PCs capable of almost the same functionality as a laptop computer while being a fourth of the size and weight. The advantage of UMPCs is that they operate on regular mainstream operating systems and hence are capable of running all office and multimedia applications, something even the best of PDAs cannot do yet.

Do Everything on the Web

Google Docs & Spreadsheets is a very good web app that is offered by the Google empire (docs.google.com ) and is one of the easiest and most full-featured data and applications hosting services available today. It easily rates as the most trustworthy online host for documents and spreadsheets. It’s free, too. all you need is a Google account. Transferring your data into and out of Google Docs & Spreadsheets is easy. An upload system accepts files one at a time and can export them in such formats as Microsoft office, open office, HTML, and PDF. Google even provides an e-mail address for sending text or attached documents.

Boost Battery Life

While you will eventually run out of juice for your laptop, you can ensure that the battery lasts for a longer time by tweaking the laptop to use minimal power while not compromising on performance or functionality. Most laptop vendors offer special power management software to manage power, but they are seldom made use of. Make sure you apply the relevant power saving scheme to extract the most juice out of the laptop, Acer for example provides a very simple and effective tool with their laptops, it loads at start-up and gives you easy access to change the power schemes. Besides using the tools you can get an even greater beneft by smartly using the laptop components. For instance, you can lower the screen brightness and turn off the wireless LAN and Bluetooth if you are not making use of it or even detach any USB devices attached to the laptop if they are not in use. For pure road warriors we recommend an upgrade to a higher capacity battery pack, the investment is well worth it and you can keep the existing battery pack along with you as a backup option.

Store Data Online

One popular and easy way to take advantage of the Internet is to use it exclusively for raw data storage. When you store data online, it is always backed up automatically. And giving other users access to your files with these services is easy. You can send the files via e-mail, share folders with other users within the interface, or post the files to a public Web site that anyone working from a Web-connected computer can link to. Unlike hosted application services, online storage services like Xdrive (www.xdrive.com) don’t care what kinds of fles you store on their sites, giving you more freedom to stash whatever you want there.Xdrive’s Windows Explorer plug-in lets you access online fles from your desktop directly, without launching a browser. The service provides 5GB of free storage, upgradable to 50GB for around Rs 420($10) a month.

Your PC Anywhere, Anytime

If you do not wish to run the risk of carrying all your vital data with you or host it on any online storage service, you can leave data on your system at home, and simply avail on-line services that let you connect to your Pc from any location on the globe. a free service - GoToMyPC (www.gotomypc.com) lets you connect to your PC from any PC with internet connectivity. you simply need to install the software on the host PC (the system where the data resides), and leave the machine on when you’re away. To access that PC from any other computer, just visit the site, enter your user info, and select the system that you want to connect to. an identical version of that computer’s desktop will appear in a window, giving you full control over the PC, as if you were sitting in front of it. GoToMyPC sells a single level option, with prices starting at about Rs 840 ($20) per month for access to one PC. A similar service, logMeIn (www.logmein.com) offers various levels of service, including a Pro version that costs approximately Rs 3000 ($70) per year per Pc or about Rs 550 ($13) per month per PC.

On-Road Privacy

Working on sensitive information while travelling is never easy, you are always uncomfortable with the prospect of someone peeking at your screen. Don’t let the frustration of not being able to work even when you have the time for it get to you, use privacy filters. These flters help prevent people from peeking over your shoulder as you work in a public place. This is especially helpful when you're traveling or need to work in a crowded area. 3M is a popular vendor selling privacy filters in India, many of the notebooks from Lenovo and HP come with special provision to attach privacy flters without much hassles.

Pack Them Right

Avoid packing in your notebook in that checked-in suitcase while travelling by air. You may have taken the utmost care in packing your notebook. Airlines often load bags on top of one another in the cargo hold of your flight. Your baggage may be loaded with hundreds of other bags, with possibly several on top of yours. Hundreds of pounds of pressure in conjunction with high altitude and the resulting low temperatures create an ideal environment for laptops to get damaged. Stashing cell phones, mp3 players, chargers, accessories and flash drives in the front pocket of the laptop bag is the easy way out, but it’s definitely not the most secure option. Right from the security check to the final step of loading the laptop in the overhead cabin, the front pockets of your laptop bag take a lot of beating and there is a good chance that you might end up cracking the screen of your iPod or damaging the connectors of your phone charger. It’s advisable to carry a separate pouch that you can strap it on your waist, ensuring that all your gadgets are safer and easy to access as well.

Portable Apps

Do you find yourself frustrated while on the go, without all your applications and data? copy this software suite to a USB fash drive, iPod, or similar device, plug the unit into a Pc, and all your apps -- plus your contacts, documents, and bookmarks - are available. Portable apps is a 100% free utility, it contains no spyware, there are no advertisements and it isn't a limited or trial version. There is no additional hardware or software to buy. you don't even have to give out your email address.The suite contains offce suites, browsers, mail apps, image editors, media players and lots more. you don’t have to download the applications as well; it’s sitting pretty on the DVD.

Datacard is a Must

Connectivity is always handy and hoping for connectivity wherever you go is a gamble that’s just not worth it. Cell phones do offer internet connectivity but not all of them are high speed capable and hence speeds aren’t guaranteed. Datacards offer internet connectivity anytime anywhere using either GSM or CDMA networks. These devices are easy on the wallet and the service providers offer a variety of plans to suit every possible kind of user. You have an option of choosing between Reliance, Airtel, TATA and Hutch as your service providers, almost all of them have recently launched USB-based devices, offering same service. This provides the additional flexibility of using the service even with desktop PCs.

Laptop Bag Upgrade

It’s not compulsory to stick to the same default bag that came with your laptop, in fact most of the times the default bag that comes with the laptop provides bare minimum functionality. We recommend upgrading your laptop bag to a slicker and smarter bag that will not only be a bit lighter on your shoulder but also go well with your personality. You have an option of backpacks that are very convenient and less stressful on the shoulders; they distribute the weight evenly, and hence make the laptop feel lighter. You can also consider notebook sleeves; they are slim, light and compact padded cases that can be used if you plan to carry your notebook in a normal office bag that does not have any cushioning for protection.

A Handy Gadget

This Gadget can be a life saver and hence we recommend you add it to your shopping list when you are travelling out of the country, it’s not available yet officially but we are sure if you hunt hard you might stumble upon a similar device in the local market as well. It’s an emergency battery pack that takes AAA batteries and can charge your cell phone via all the common connector heads provided with the device. next time you go on a weekend trek, you don’t have to save your cell phone battery for an important call, count on the emergency charger to provide a full charge, freeing you of all those battery blues.cellboost is one of the known vendors for instant power solutions for portable devices, they even make laptop chargers which claim 4 hours of back-up on a single charge.

Online While Offline

Do you find it cumbersome to go online frequently to visit handful of web sites or prefer reading news on a website but can’t get them while travelling by air? You can download the entire website on your hard drive and then read through the website at your leisure even when you are offine. This can be done using applications like Web2Disk, it downloads the entire website on your PC, allowing you to browse through using your browser just like you would do while being online. It also syncs with the website when you go online, updating the content to ensure you get the latest all the time. You have an option of using the free version that has the limitation of having just one website in offine mode. Go for the paid version that lets you save an unlimited number of websites on your hard drive. You can get more information about the product from http://www.inspyder.com/products/Web2Disk/