Our home office road trip up the Eastern Seaboard was made possible by a few things — an RV, my laptop, my wireless phone, and my broadband access service.

But was the last element even necessary?

Many teleworkers and road warriors already know this: If you’ve got a smartphone, you have Web access. With a USB cable and a piece of software, you can tether your laptop and surf with freedom.

Read Peter Wayner’s NYTimes review. Then, read your service agreement. With a simple download, and possibly a monthly fee, you might no longer need Wi-fi, a wireless broadband card, or much more than you already have in hand to access the Internet. And frankly, it’ll be safer than surfing in a public Wi-fi location, where snoops and other malcontents are perpetually seeking new laptops to ferret their way into.

Check it out. Then log on…

As home officers, road warriors and teleworkers pursue paperlessness, there are instances when “strictly digital” just isn’t an option.

Sometimes when I’m editing a large document, the screen is good. But when I need to mark it up, Track Changes just doesn’t cut it. I’d prefer to review on paper rather than on a computer screen.

During Home Office Highway, I had to print, fill out and sign a W-9 for a client. I didn’t want to leave my RV park just to print at a Design Print Ship Depot. So I powered up our portable printer. Ditto for when I had to ship a couple of packages.

For the trip, we were traveling with an HP OfficeJet 470. It completed the office in a compelling way.

GottaBeMobile had a pretty thorough review of the unit. Another was posted at TabletPCBuzz. My own thoughts would focus on portability (it was small, neat and easily retrieved and stashed again), speed (22 pages per minute in black, and 17 ppm in color), and functionality. It was plainly a power tool. It’s simple to set up, easy to power up, and equally easy to power down and stash away.

When space, speed, power and portability are important — in a device that costs around $250, the 470 is a pretty cool power tool.

Ever wonder how your wireless phone works?

Of course not. Just like a car or an Apple Computer, we don’t wonder about these things. We just turn them on, and they work. Miracles abound, but we don’t really think about them.

I had a chance recently to think about — and actually see — how my wireless phone works. It was pretty impressive.

I visited the Verizon Wireless switching facility, “Mobile Telephone Switching Office” or “switch” in Orlando. It’s a fortress where all Verizon calls to and from Central Florida feed through. This otherwise non-descript building, with its brick trim and secured entrance, represents the brain and spine that mean when I hit “Send,” my call gets sent. Or when I log on with my broadband access card, Gmail comes to my laptop. It knows all.

The name “Hal” came to mind.

My first impression, though? Cool. Read More »

Which road tracking and map tech to use was always a toss up in our car.

We’d traveled for years with traditional GPS devices, that British lass barking out orders and seemingly venting frustration whenever we’d ignore her suggested turns. She was good and reliable. As the kids always warned, “Trust the technology.”

Then along came the Verizon Wireless and its VZ Navigator Version 4 application.

Our “traditional” retail GPS would just tell us, “Make left in 2 miles.” No street name audibly announced (thought it’s there in print on the screen). I have to admit, though, the British voice was something last summer when we took an impromptu detour onto the Blue Ridge Parkway — and she couldn’t convince us to “Make the next available turn…” Frustrated, she was. Read More »

I’ve planted my flag and staked my claim to the front-facing perch of the dinette table in our mobile home office. It is here I’ve created my workspace. And I’m settling in quite nicely.

With a few common supplies, a couple of hardware gadgets, and a little ingenuity, I’ve made it my own

My Foray Mobile Workmate has packed with my laptop (a killer new HP Compaq 2710P tablet ultraslim notebook) and my accessories abound. I’ve got several cameras (a Sony Cyber-shot 8.1 megapixel, and my two-year-old HP Photosmart 5.1 megapixel. Nicole brought her Casio Elixim. And the phones have cameras(of course). The Workmate fits perfectly between the driver and shotgun seats while moving. And when I’ve relocated to my office, it opens right beside me.But what’s really cool are the little tweaks I’ve made.

With a pair of inch-square patches of Velcro, I mounted the Ativa surge protector to thee wall behind me. Up and out of the way, it’s become the power charging station for the phones, cameras, printer, laptops and all our other accessories.

The other occurred in that place where A-Ha! meets the right-designed product. The dinette table has two cup holders set in holes routed out from the wood. I popped out one of the holders, unscrewed the in-desk USB hub, and slip the top through the wood. I then screwed the backing behind the table, screwed it into place and — Viola! — I had an in-desk USB hub.

Working from an “alternative” home office requires a bit of make-shift thinking, a few epiphanies and some luck. More tweaks and creativity to come.

It’s positively a unique experience. Except Sponge Bob’s on the cable. So I guess it’s not that unique at all…

Plates and utensils? Check. Bedding and toiletries? Check. Clothes, food and other necessities? Check, check, check. Once the mainstays of an RV trip have been bought, gathered and stored, then you turn to the office supplies.

When I leave on a business trip, I try to remember all the accessories and accoutrements I’ll need — lest I go without something or have to buy a replacement on the road. But what will I need for a three-week RV trip that seeks to truly replicate the office?

Let’s review the stuff… Read More »