Access your files remotely; sharing them

Ever have this problem? You're away from your office, and you need to access some of your files. Or this one: You need to give colleagues or clients access to some files? Here are some options:

• You may use a backup service like dropbox (getdropbox.com). This backs up all the files/folders you want and then allows you to share whichever ones you want with whomever you choose. [It also will synchronize files between multiple computers].
• You can rent space on a file sharing service and put some of your files there.
• You may use Apple's Mobile Me service (or related service from Microsoft, live.com)
• You may use a small inexpensive device, like Pogoplug (www.pogoplug.com). This costs $99, and you may attach one or more disks to it (usually on your home network). This makes whatever files you put there available via the Internet. You may share what you like.

Note that none of the above options require you to leave your home office computer powered on while you are away.

WiFi at 35,000 feet

I had the opportunity to use WiFi on board an Airbus 319 operated by Virgin America. The cost was $7.95 for SFO to IAD (Washington, DC), based on my using an iPhone. It apparently costs about $13 if you want to connect via laptop.

Was it worth it? In a word, yes. Being able to stay on top of email and news saved me a lot of time on the ground. One problem: Don't expect Skype or other VOIP services to work well. Virgin doesn't seem to be blocking these, but the lags and dropouts made Skype unusable.... You could always watch a movie, on the screen in front of you, or on your notebook, netbook, or phone. A business expense? You decide.

Office documents on the go

http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-19512_7-10273139-233.html

That's a nice link to some Office-like document editing tools available now on the iPhone.

When you travel, you have a choice (in theory) of what type of computer to bring/use:

• Smart Phone
• Netbook (about $350 - $450)
• Traditional Laptop

There are obvious trade-offs in price, weight, power needs, ease of use, screen size, etc. On an airplane, if you need to deal with email, Office documents and want web access (assuming WiFi is available), a netbook might be a nice compromise.

Traveling

When I travel, I make some business preparations:

• Make sure there are online, secure copies of any documents I may need. There are many options available, including zoho.com, google docs, and various online and syncing services (e.g., getdropbox.com)
• Leave the Internet connection on, if I know I may need to access something on my home LAN. [The home LAN has to be carefully secured - future posting will discuss some How-Tos].
• Change Voicemail greeting, as appropriate. [If you're struggling with figuring out how to let people reach you on your various phones, consider Google Voice, voice.google.com. There are a lot of features here very useful for home office and small business people.]
• Power off any system that will not be needed.
• Lock up or shred any confidential paper documents
• Let business contacts know when I am traveling and how to reach me
• Clean up the work space. It's hell coming home to a messy desk.

Electricity, 2

Are you using surge protectors (or else plugging all your office electronics into a UPS)? If not, put them on your shopping list, next time you buy supplies. Any office supply or electronics store will have them, at $10 - $25 dollars a piece. An electrical surge can ruin your hardware. Surge protectors are cheap insurance.

Electricity

Got backup? Backup electricity, that is. Are you prepared for whatever may happen if, or rather when, the next power outage occurs in your home office? While it's not as likely as it used to be, you could lose a lot of work, not to mention time, if the AC power goes down. I have all my critical office systems plugged into UPS, uninterruptible power supplies. You can get these at office suppliers and electronics stores, and online stores like Amazon and Buy.

What they are is batteries that get charged up by house current. Then, when there's a power outage, they supply electricity to the electronic devices you plug into them. Buy the best/biggest you can afford to maximize the time they can supply power during an outage. And don't plug in power-sucking devices like printers.

Remember to plug in any DSL or cable modems and routers you have. If/when your house loses power, the telephone lines and cable systems usually still are live.

Oh, yea.... If you work after dark, doesn't hurt to have a small flash light on your desk.

Calendars

I used to use a calendar application on Palm. It would sync with my computer, and I had easy access to my business schedule.... I've since moved on to using the Google calendar (http://calendar.google.com). The main advantage of Google is that it's available anyplace where the Internet is, and there are several apps that will sync with it, if you prefer another interface (e.g., Apple's calendar).

An additional advantage of the Google calendar is that you may create multiple calendars (e.g., business, personal) and share whichever you like, with friends or business associates. You may also import their google calendars, along with readily available public ones (like US holidays).

Like most other calendars, Google's may be configured to alert you of upcoming events. Email and text messages are supported.