Use 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!
On the move
These are the tools and gizmos that’ll help you to stay connected and in command whether you’re trekking in the Sahyadris or crossing time zones.
1. A Smarter Phone
If you happen to lug your laptop to every business trip that comes your way, its time you consider a smartphone and free yourself from lugging the laptop to every business trip you make. If you already own one, there is a good chance that you aren’t making the most of it. Your smartphone 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 additional 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 6.0 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.
Opera Mobile is an excellent browser for smartphones, it gives you most features found in full fledged browsers like importing bookmarks, support for flash based websites, ability to open multiple windows and also tabbed browsing. While buying a smartphone, make sure the device supports EDGE and offers Wireless LAN connectivity as well, this will ensure you are connected to the internet while traveling 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.
While 3G connectivity is a good option to have, there is no point chasing the feature right now, since 3G is yet to arrive in India and even after it arrives, it will take a while to mature. The latest breed of smartphones also allow you to mix business with pleasure by throwing in multimedia capabilities like built-in 2MP cameras and ability to playback audio and video files.
2. 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 files, 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 file encryption tools. If you want more options you can get a list of encryption utilities such as:
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| Encrypt your e-mail messages and ensure they are not intercepted by snoopers. |
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Keep hard-to-remember, hard-to-crack passwords in this encrypted database.
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| Prevent others from seeing hidden information in your Office documents. |
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 difficult for someone to walk away your laptop.
3. Ultra-Mobility
The Ultra Mobile PC (UMPC) is the latest avatar of mobile computing; they are full-fledged 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.
The Sony VAIO VGN-UX27GN is currently available in India and is one of the best UMPCs in the market; it runs Windows Vista Business and comes with 1GB RAM and 40GB of hard drive space, almost matching the latest laptops in storage and performance while being just as big as a mega-zoom digital camera. It supports Wi-Fi and offers a built-in VGA camera as well, to enable video conferencing. The unit is priced at Rs 79,990.
4. Do Everything on the Web
Google Docs & Spreadsheets is a fairly recent addition to the Google empire (docs.google.com) and is one of the easiest and most full-featured data and applications hosting services available today. Though it doesn’t yet include a presentations editor, 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 o u t 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 (no spreadsheets yet).
5. 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 benefit 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.
6. 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 don’t care what kinds of files 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 files from your desktop directly, without launching a browser. The service provides 5GB of free storage, upgradeable to 50GB for around Rs 420 ($10) a month.
7. 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 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 l eave 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 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.
8. On-road Privacy
Working on sensitive information while traveling 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 filters 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 filters without much hassles.
9. Pack Them Right
Traveling with multiple gadgets is never easy; packing them smartly reduces the risk of damaging them or even losing them in transit. These basic guidelines should help you minimize the risk. Avoid packing in your notebook in that checked -in suitcase while traveling 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.
10. Go Ultraportable
Hunting for that perfect ultraportable is not easy, with every vendor claiming to be superior; it’s easy to get lost in the quest for the perfect on-road companion. We give you three options for three distinct types of users, plot yourself against the right profile and go get it!
If you want to strike a balance between mobility and performance, the Lenovo ThinkPad X60 is the perfect choice, it’s got the latest technology, compact foot print and comes with a virtually never ending battery life (8 hours). With a dual core tucked inside its petite frame, the ThinkPad X60 managed a commendable 88 on our WorldBench 5 tests, translating into a very capable machine that can handle those multitasking sessions with ease. For power users, we recommend the Dell XPS M1210, it gives you a dedicated graphics processor with 256MB of video memory and 1GB of 667MHz memory configured in dual channel. This one gives you desktop level performance in an ultra-compact form factor.
If looks and style is all that you dig, the Sony VAIO TX47GP/B is your best bet. It’s the lightest and most stylish ultraportable that has passed through our test labs and all that style is well complemented by a 6.5 hour battery life; thanks to the LED based 11.1-inch screen and a power saving Ultra Low- Voltage (ULV) processor.
11. Data Card 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.
12. Use ReadyBoost
If you are on Windows Vista and are carrying a high-capacity (2GB and above) thumb drive with you, you have a few tricks up your sleeve to boost your laptop performance.
The ReadyBoost feature in Windows Vista can take advantage of the Flash drive and boost the main memory available for the operating system to load applications. Thus you have an option of giving a small shot of vital boost to your
13. Portable Apps
Do you find yourself frustrated while on the go, without all your applications and data? Copy this software suite to a USB flash 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 office 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.
14. 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.
15. A Handy Gadget
This gadget can be a life saver and hence we recommend you add it to your shopping list when you are traveling 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 AA 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.
16. 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 traveling 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 offline.
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 offline 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 here.
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Working from home isn’t a big deal if you use the right gear. We show you the stress-free way to replicate your office in a cozier environment.
17. Don’t Spend On Office Suites Doing your office work at home should not mean, you actually spend for it! Office suites don’t come cheap – if you choose the rather omnipresent MS Office for your home, it could leave quite a hole in your pocket.
Thankfully there are free alternatives that work just as fine. This brings us to one of our long time favorites, OpenOffice.org (OOo). This office suite does most things that Microsoft’s Office can do and most users will not miss any feature using this free software.
In OOo, the Writer, Calc and Impress do the job of Word, Excel and PowerPoint respectively. Besides this there are other specialized modules. The look and feel of OpenOffice.org is similar to MS Office and the transition from one to the other will not take much time or effort. Sun has recently made its Star Office free as well. If all you want is a light weight word processor, AbiWord is a good choice.
18. Make Your Data Portable A flash drive works well with syncing tools to keep your Word and Excel files updated, but you won’t be able to use the same drive for lager files like .pst (Outlook's email archive) or for fun – videos and music. There is only limited space.
Portable hard drives are an ideal solution here – with 80GB and above storage at much lesser cost per GB than flash drives. With these drives it'll be long before you run out of space – and you can even had an element of fun, using it to copy large media files.
Being highly pocketable, these drives are powered by USB 2.0 ports and are rugged enough for portable usage. With 80 gigabytes of storage space you can have an image of an entire partition of your office PC on it and use the bundled software to keep everything up to date on the portable disk.
Seagate's FreeAgent Go series of portable drives come with a very powerful feature rich software that can do a multitude of backup and syncing tasks. The drive capacities range from 80 to 160GB with the 80GB version priced just below Rs 5000.
Similar software is available on most small form factor drives meant for backup process. Coming to flash drives, Kingston provides the Migo software with some of its flash drives, while SanDisk goes with the popular U3.
19. Go Wire-free Now! One of the best things about working from home (and home in general) is the ability to move around at will. That’s of course not possible if you are tied down to your desktop or laptop with all its cables.
If you have a laptop, give yourself some flexibility (read luxury!) with a simple and inexpensive wireless network at home. You can then browse and work from your patio, terrace or even your kitchen, if you fancy that!
All laptops have built-in Wi-Fi adapters, so you only need to buy an access point (starting at under Rs. 3,000) to connect to your Internet modem. You will then be able to browse without being tied down to wires. You can also access files on your desktop with this configuration. Enable WEP / WPA security to prevent an overly inquisitive neighbor from snooping around.
20. Work Securely Wireless networks can be incredibly convenient. At the same time, you don't want unauthorized persons accessing your files, or running up large phone bills on your broadband connection.
Securing your Wi-Fi network is not an option, it's a must! Follow the tips below, and you'll have a safe and hassle free wireless network. Change default password and SSID: Most wireless devices come with simple passwords that are easily guessed. Ensure that this is changed to something that is easy to remember, while being difficult or impossible to guess. Avoid commonly used words, like the name of your company, spouse, or children.
Mixing numbers and letters is a good idea. The SSID is the name of your network. This is generally set to the manufacturer’s name, and that can lead to an attacker trying to exploit a specific weakness. Set it to something that does not give away too much information.
Use WPA in place of WEP: While WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) sounds secure, it is an old standard that has been widely cracked. An attacker can break into a wireless network protected by WEP in a matter of minutes. Most wireless devices support a newer form of wireless security, called WiFi Protected Access (WPA) or WPA2. Check your device manuals for detailed information on how to enable this. If you can't find any information in the manual, check the manufacturer's website for a firmware update. Most manufacturers have released updates to allow WPA security. Use Static IP's instead of dynamically assigned ones: While dynamic addressing is easier to set up, it also hands out addresses indiscriminately.
If you only have a few devices accessing the wireless network, consider setting static IP addresses. Also, set your wireless access point or router to allow only specific clients to connect. This can be done by enabling MAC address filtering.
21. Send Fax from Your Home PC If there is an urgent fax you need to send out – that’s no reason for you to rush to office on a holiday. Do it right from home using Internet fax services. Some of these services are free and ad-supported, meaning, if you are sending this to your client, you’d want to think twice. If it’s to that colleague, they must understand the urgency!
There are several sites that offer this service and it is hard to tell which of them is best, but nearly all of them help get the work done. An example of a paid service is Fax1 which works on the basis of buying credit. You can buy credit from fax1.com for a minimum of $10 (about Rs 420) and use this credit to avail services like sending a fax.
You can also try eFax which gives you a virtual fax number based in Mumbai (for Indian users). The site also has a 30 day trial offer. Since the quality of these services can vary, we suggest you do a dry run on a monthly basis to ensure it works the way you want it to, before trusting it for a rainy day.
22. Boost WiFi Range Wireless networks are great; except when you just can't connect to a weak signal! To increase the range of your wireless router, follow these rules. Start by placing your router near the center of your coverage area. Make sure it's high up and far away from tube lights, microwave ovens, or cordless phones. If you have other wireless networks around, try changing your router's wireless channel. Instructions on how to do this are usually found in the manual. Keep the router away from thick walls. If possible, try placing it near a door or window. And do ensure that the antenna is properly connected to the router. If it's rattling around, then you need to tighten it up. If none of this helps, you could try getting a wireless repeater. These inexpensive devices simply repeat a wireless signal, and are a handy way of ensuring that you have wireless access at the back of your home or office.
23. Transform into a Desktop While the space constraints are justified in office, when it comes to working home on a laptop, the compromise in terms of the cramped keyboard and a “touchy” touchpad can be overcome. You have the option of either getting docking stations for your laptop or simply attach a USB-based keyboard and mouse to the laptop and get the convenience of a responsive full sized keyboard and optical mouse to work quicker.
If your work involves a lot of browsing and / or working with documents, you will benefit from a keyboard that has shortcut keys to launch a browser, mail client, for cut-copy-paste functions, even volume and track control when you are listening to music. These keyboards don’t burn a hole in your pocket – they are available for about Rs 500.
A mouse is now a lot more than a pointing device. Some of these rodents include special buttons for side scrolling, which is very useful when working with large spreadsheets. And if you can spend a little more, we recommend wireless keyboard and mouse combos, they aren’t as expensive as they used to be and a basic wireless combo can be bought for under Rs 1,000.
24. Backup Bandwidth Reliable Internet connectivity still eludes most homes. Losing Internet access must not become a hurdle to your productivity. It always helps to have a 'Plan B', especially for something that is as important for work and coordination as Internet connectivity. Laptop users have had a backup option by way of data cards that use CDMA for Internet access. These cards were predominantly PCMCIA based, which means, only laptops could benefit from them. These data cards are now available with USB connectivity.
Desktops and laptops will be able to make use of this for backup Internet access. These are not recommended as a regular connection option owing to their lower speeds. Tata Indicom has 'Plug2- Surf' plans starting as low as Rs 150 per month for 300 minutes of access. The card costs about Rs 3,000.
25. Get the Ergonomics Right This is an extremely important consideration, not only from the point of view of comfort and productivity but also health. A lot of research is being conducted in this area and all of them point to the fact that physical comfort boosts productivity and can prevent RSI (Repetitive Stress Injury).
Ergonomics start right from the chair that you use to your keyboard and mouse. With chairs, there is no single size or style that fits everyone. Pick a chair that is comfortable for you. Many medical experts recommend a seating posture that your back upright rather than leaning.
Similarly, the desk on which you place your keyboard must be deep enough for you to place the ends of your forearms while typing. Leaving your hands suspended in air while typing is sure to result in a bad shoulder ache. A clear indication of a wrong posture is aches in your body, especially neck, back and shoulders. Correct your seating style immediately and yes, do get some exercise!
26. Stay Powered!
While shopping for one, bear two factors in mind – the kVA rating (higher the better) and service. As for the latter, go for a known brand and buy it from a nearby store that you trust. When you need to get it serviced, the job is that much easier. UPS' are available for about Rs 2,500 today and this is not too heavy an investment when you keep productivity in mind.
These basic devices offer only limited backup – typical about 20 minutes for a desktop. When you use them for a laptop, this duration increases significantly, giving you about an hour’s worth of juice (in addition to your laptop’s battery backup). If you are on DSL connection, you can access the Internet even during a power cut, but just powering up the modem. If you connect your modem to a fully charged UPS, and leave your laptop on is own battery, you can access the net for as long as your laptop battery lasts!
27. Conferencing to Coordinate An office is at times as much about coordination as it is about actually working. When you are Internet enabled, it is extremely easy to be in touch with your colleagues. This is effective once you have a rapport developed with your colleagues – and once you get used to it, you will be surprised at the amount of collaboration you can do online. Something as simple as an IM conference can be used to discuss matters.
For better interactivity and personal feel, add a webcam. Even a modest 128kbps connection will be able to cater to a webcam video on IM. If you are to explain features of a software by demonstrating it, you can use a screen grabbing tool like Camtasia to select a Window or a part of it and stream it as webcam video on Yahoo! or MSN. The users at the other end don’t need any special software to view your feeds.
28. Connect Remotely To Office PC Having your files and email synchronized helps a great deal, no doubt. But what if you need to use an application on your Office PC? Or, let's say, you forgot to sync something before you left for home? This is where the remote desktop feature comes in handy. This let's you access a PC from some other location – the desktop of the PC you are accessing will be displayed to you and you can work on it as well. So it is quite literally a ‘remote’ desktop.
Do note that some organizations block this feature due to security concerns, so check with your IT department before trying this out. Remote Desktop is available in Windows XP natively. A detailed step by step guide is on Microsoft’s website.
For someone whose only requirement is to have some files accessible, the simplest thing to do is of course to just copy them manually to a removable drive.
29. Office Mail At Home Apart from using a mail client like Outlook, most organizations implement a web-based interface as well – you can type in the name of the mail server in your browser and use your user id and password to get access to new mail.
However, mail already forwarded to your Outlook will not be available in most cases, neither will your Outlook (or OE) Address Book be accessible. Another method is to setup your mail client at home with the POP3 and SMTP address of your mail server. Remember to explicitly tell your software at home to ‘leave new mail on server’ or ‘don’t delete mail from server’. Otherwise, those mail that appear at home won’t be available in office!
Many flash drives provide mail syncing feature which can keep two or more computers in sync with email. This of course requires you to carry your pen drive with you whenever you want to sync mail.
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