Scarlet Umbrella|Adventures in Mobile Technology

I am writing this post on my lovely screened in porch enjoying the summer weather and the benefits of a ceiling fan. Feel free to feel jealous.

I’m not posting to gloat (well, not too much). I am posting to do a bit of evangelization to the crowd that still feels it is okay to lug around an 8 pound notebook everywhere. It’s not. I am always bemused to see someone walk into the local Panera lugging a huge go bag, and pull out a desktop replacement, mouse, smartphone, ipod, and assorted other gadgets. This is NOT a healthy mobile lifestyle. I can’t even imagine how much stress that carrying all that weight is putting on a person’s back.

Today I am going to talk about a concept that I like to refer to as samurai mobility. Samurai mobility is a software-based approach to cut down on the amount of “stuff” that you carry around on a daily basis. Samurai mobility warriors do not need to carry around every gadget imaginable to get the job done.

The first step in samurai mobility is to leave the desktop replacement at home. I know you have all of your important documents and applications exclusively on it. Well, that is going to change now. With the many Web 2.0 applications out there, you have no reason to have all of your files stuck in one place.

To kick off the discussion of samurai mobility, let’s talk about online storage. Online storage options can range from free plans with limited options to deluxe plans with the ability to edit your files “in the cloud.” Here is a selection of some of the best storage solutions:

Box.net Box.net is a comprehensive Web 2.0 style storage system. They offer three levels of storage from free (1 GB) all the way to corporate (15 GB) pricing. The free storage plan comes with limited functionality but the other plans offer file sharing, the ability to edit photos and images online as well as the ability to edit Office documents.

Omnidrive Omnidrive is setting itself up to be a major competitor to Box.net. Currently in a closed beta, Omnidrive offers free storage up to 1 GB. Included in this is the ability to edit your files including Office applications and media. They also offer a Pro level with supposedly unlimited storage. Omnidrive is preparing to roll out version 1.0 at which point they will open signups again.

openomy openomy is another new storage solution. Currently, they offer free storage up to 1 GB. Files are organized by tag rather than folders which may help with searching. openomy is being closelipped about future plans. A pro plan is reportedly in the works. They also have developed an API so interaction with other applications is in the works.

GMail GMail gives you tons of free storage. Why not use it to store files? A comprehensive look at using GMail to store your files is beyond the scope of this post but several software solutions to upload files to GMail are a google away. However, unlike the previously mentioned solutions, GMail was not designed for file storage so use at your own risk.

file, file storage, GMail, mobility, online, online file storage, web 2.0, web2.0

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With Dell’s recent announcement, I hereby declare this the summer of the mininotebook. What is the mininotebook you ask? Well, it seems to be the emerging name for the EEE PC and its various competitors.

Dell’s new entry adds even more confusion to an already confused market. The EEE was so successful because the product was designed and marketed with a clear vision. First, the form factor was familiar and, with the various shades, customizable, and (I cringe to say this) “cute.” Second, and most important, Asus set the right price point. From the outset, the EEE was geared at consumers.

With the addition of the HP Mini-Note, the market became a little more confused. Unlike the EEE, the HP is clearly not a mass-market device. Rather, it is a new attempt to revive the somewhat dead subnotebook market here in the States. Remember, folks, subnotebook are NOT a new idea. Anyone remember the Toshiba Libretto? Historically, subnotebooks have been plagued by their high prices. Although the Mini-Note is not astronomically high in price, a maxed out Mini-Note still costs quite a bit more than your average laptop.

Dell may have the power to make or break this market. Dell has a history of competitive pricing so I am hoping that they set the price for their new mininotebook at the right price point.

Although I am concerned about the lack of a clear direction in the market, I don’t mean to sound completely gloom and doom. I am actually thrilled that we are beginning to see reasonably priced subnotebooks or “mininotebooks” here in the US. It’s no secret that my daily workhorse is a Panasonic R3. Given that a low-end Panasonic R7 retails around $1799, I am very excited to see competitors in this market with lower prices. Keep ‘em coming guys.

Asus, dell, EEE, eee pc, laptop, mininotebook, notebook, subnotebook

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I am going to let you in on a deep dark secret: I still use a paper agenda. I know it’s shocking. I’m a self-professed tablet freak and typical technophile. However, I still need my paper agenda.

I have tried to get rid of a paper agenda several times. Among the tools in my mobile arsenal have been the Palm Tungsten E, the HP Jornada 728, and several web-based applications.

I love the ease of electronic todo lists but until inking tasks becomes as nontrivial as jotting down a note in a paper agenda, I really am tied to an paper agenda. I currently use a Franklin Covey agenda with the Simplicity planning pages.

I like the Simplicity planning pages because they do not have specific blocked off appointment times. I very rarely have appointments so appointment pages were always a waste of paper for me.

While Franklin Covey makes nice templates, they can get expensive. for the true paper agenda aficionado, the first stop in setting up a planner should be diyplanner.com. I currently use several templates from the classic kit and the DIY/GTD Teacher Kit
.

franklin covey, hp jornada 728, lifehacks, luddite, palm tungsten e, productivity, technophile

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Life changes. Once I had finally gotten the hang of grad school, it was time to leave and join the real world. As with any major change, my tech needs changed as well. I decided to take inventory and research the necessary changes to restore my efficiency.

As a grad student, my Panasonic CF-R3 was my mobile nerve center. I carried it with me every day to and from lab. Like most large universities, free wifi was available everywhere. I flirted with other technologies, but my laptop was really all that I needed.

I am currently an adjunct professor and professional tutor. I use my R3 to prepare lectures, worksheets, and maintain my gradebook. I have a home office but I work in a variety of different places some of which have internet access but most don’t. Since email is my lifeline, I have become increasingly frustrated by the lack of access to my email. I now need a smart phone and a plan that would potentially allow me to connect my laptop to my phone.

As part of the relaunch of Scarlet Umbrella, I am going to begin with a series of posts concentrating on my current mobile lifestyle. Yes, it is somewhat egotistical but since I always like to learn about how the big tech guys use technology and software to improve their lives, I figure I may as well share how one of the little people uses mobile tech. Planned topics include paper technology, my panasonic CF-R3, my Asus EEE, my gear bag, and my current quest for the perfect smart phone and phone plan. Welcome back to Scarlet Umbrella!

Asus, asus eee, computers, franklin covey, mobile, mobile lifestyle, nerve center, panasonic, r3, smart phone, technology

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Hugo Ortega has a great set of videos up describing his use of a Samsung Q1 which has been his only PC since before Christmas. What’s really nice is that he also goes into the various accessories available to improve your UMPC usage and the solution he has developed to the short battery life problem which has plagued UMPCs since their introduction. I’ll let you watch the videos to find out the solution but let’s just say that he can get a full day’s work done!

Unfortunately, Hugo has also convinced me that the Q1 is the way to go for UMPCs (and that I need to get a UMPC) and the UMPC fund (now at $200) has been officially renamed the Q1 fund. The question now is Celeron or Via?

gadgets, mobile, origami, samsung, samsung Q1, UMPC

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Maybe it’s because of my recent Zune woes but the Sandisk Sansa Connect really caught my eye. Engadget has great video coverage of the Sansa Connect. Among the features that I found interesting are the ability to “recommend” music (send music) to your friends and supposedly acquire the license via wi-fi so the song won’t disappear after a few days. The Connect also has microSD slot so the unit can be expanded. Best of all, you can supposedly access and download music using any wi-fi connection. Looks great!

Edit: here’s the correct link for the Sansa Connect video coverage.

mp3, mp3 player, Sandisk, Sansa

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Welcome to the first part of my new series: Susy’s list of the Best of CES. Unfortunately there aren’t scholarshipships to CES (sponsors take note!) so I was unable to attend. Still, like every other neophiliac, I have been monitoring the CES coverage and trying to get a hint as to the upcoming cool gadgets. What follows is an eclectic list of gadgets that are useful, interesting, awe-inspiring or just caught my eye for whatever reason.

Nokia’s N76 is Nokia’s first entry into the thin cellphone area.  At first glance it looks like a RAZR knockoff but the N76 has some nice features which separate it from the RAZR clones.  Among these features are expandable memory up to 2 gigs via microSD, a 2 megapixel camera, video at 15 fps, music, FM radio, and all the benefits of Symbian S60.

Here’s the reasons it made my list:

• style- one of my main problems with smartphones is that the one area that such phones seem to lag in is working as an actual phone.  The N76 is thin and light which makes is easy to put it up to your ear and use it as an actual phone.
• a better camera than the RAZR
• video capability
• Symbian-finally a slim phone that can run serious applications
• color- just kidding, but it is nice that it comes in black and red

cellphone, CES, consumer electronics show, gadgets, nokia, smartphone

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My Christmas present to myself was a shiny new brown Zune to replace my 3G iPod. (Pictures will be forthcoming once I return from being out of town). My initial impression was very favorable: the Zune is lightweight, attractive, and the finish is very nice. The finish is actually kind of difficult to describe- the best I can come up with is smooth and velvety. The color screen is also clear, bright, and easy to read.

I wish my impression of the installation process was as favorable. The first run of the software installation process stalled midway through so I was forced to do my first reinstall. Following my first reinstall, I tried to add music to my library. My Zune did not recognize any of my mp3 files which are located on my C drive (I even put them into the My Music folder). I tried to rip a CD to see if the software would recognize it- also a failure. I then reinstalled the software following Microsoft’s own recommendation for a clean install. The Zune software still did not recognize my music. I took off the software and I cleaned out my music. I reinstalled the software and then imported my music back onto my computer. This is where I am currently and my Zune software is still not recognizing my music.

I would be inclined to say that this a bug with my machine but I’m not the only one who has blogged about problems with Zune software. James Kendrick and Aran Johnson among others have blogged about problems with Zune software installation. I’m going to try my luck with technical support when I get back home. I have to say that overall the installation of the Zune software seems to be hit or miss. This is particularly worrisome for the success of the platform. Coming into the market so late in the game, the Zune really needs to have all the bugs ironed out. Most consumers aren’t willing to go through multiple installs to get a product working. I’m hoping that Microsoft releases a software update soon that gets most of these bugs ironed out.

Microsoft, mp3, mp3 player, software, Zune

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By now, most tablet PC enthusiasts have heard about Virginia Tech requiring incoming freshmen in the engineering program to purchase tablets. This requirement has been met with enthusiasm among us tablet PC aficionados but concern among the student body who wondered if the program would actually utilize the tablets enough to warrant the cost in purchasing a tablet.

The university I attend has a program with a major computer manufacturer to provide students with laptops at a discount. Students are strongly encouraged to purchase a laptop and laptops are supposed to be incorporated into every course. The problem with laptops is that they aren’t really optimized for student activities such as note-taking. It’s typical to see students lugging around textbooks, notebooks, and their laptops when I can’t help but think it would be better to encourage the implementation of tablets instead of laptops.

The problem that most students complain about is that it is difficult to integrate notebooks into the classroom and that they end up lugging around dead weight. It is difficult to integrate notebooks into a classroom. The typing gets distracting and the temptation for the student body to use the time for activities other than the lecture is there. Having taught some myself, I understand this concern. This is one of the main reasons I encourage universities that have technology programs to start suggesting the use of tablets instead of laptops. Tablets provide transparency. You are no longer creating a shield around yourself, everyone around you can see what you are doing. This helps alleviate some of the distraction aspect of laptops and encourage professors to be more willing to allow new technology into the classroom.

To provide more use for tablets for students, software needs to be provided for them or they need to be shown where they can get the software to improve the classroom experience. At the bare minimum, tablets should come with the Microsoft Education Pack
installed. The Education Pack comes with GoBinder Lite which is a simpler version of the more powerful GoBinder which among its features includes Blackboard integration so it can download syllabi, class schedules, etc.

This situation is frustrating to me as a tablet user. To be fair, my university does offer tablet PCs at a discount with a nice software package including Office and OneNote. However, this offering is not emphasized enough and it is not recommended to incoming students in the brochures they receive about the university’s technology program which I find bizarre.

education, software, tablet, tablet+pc, tabletpc

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Since I’m stuck at home with a lovely case of bronchitis on a major U.S. holiday (Memorial Day), here are some interesting bits for today:

After scouring various fora, I have come to the conclusion that my hardware issue with my TC1000 is a somewhat common issue due to a loose connection between the power input and the motherboard. The best recommendation (from Tablet PC Buzz) I have found is to get a docking station which feeds power into the system from a different socket. The other solutions seem to be paying for another motherboard or soldering the thing myself.

James Kendrick has a hands-on video review of OneNote Mobile. I’ve been excited about OneNote Mobile since I have heard about it although since it was designed for smartphones it doesn’t have ink support. I’m a fan of the OneNote team so hopefully they will find a way to add this feature. Some features I am excited about are the ability to easily add pictures and record audio messages on the fly.

Also, most readers of my blog have probably figured out that I think that OneNote is the greatest thing since sliced bread so if you want to get on the OneNote bandwagon and have more limited funds, Alienware is offering OneNote for $79.98.

Wridea seems to be an interesting online project management software. The core component seems to be “ideas” which can be organized into categories and pages. Pages can collect related ideas with different categories. I’m currently having fun playing around with it.

Finally, online battleship. The best use of Ajax EVER!!!!!

tablet+pc, tablet, OneNote, Web+2.0, Ajax, productivity, games

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