Monthly Archives: September 2008

Great Spin Control by HTC :-)

Great spin control by HTC who has made the, IMHO, the best Windows Mobile devices for years now and now produces the first Google Android based phone – the T-Mobile G1

Android and Windows Mobile smartphones are complementary, says HTC

Given their track record in producing very appealing Windows Mobile hardware, I can’t see Microsoft turning their backs on them for manufacturing the G1.

Asus Eee PC 1000H 802.11n WiFi Works

I’ve found two wireless access points (WAP) that Asus Eee PC 1000H will not connect to so far. I have not ID-ed the hardware. My Acer Aspire One connected to both of these WAPs. So, if WiFi compatibility is important, I would stick with the Aspire One. That said, I’m enjoying use the Eee PC 1000H in general and took it over to my brother-in-law’s home earlier today. After getting the WPA2 passcode, I connected to their WAP and noticed I had a 135Mbps connection. I only have an 802.11g WAP in my home, so I never thought to check what the 1000H supported.

Since my MacBook also supports 802.11n, I guess I should consider springing for an 802.11n WAP for my home one of these days.

Acer Aspire One Runs Cooler Than Lenovo IdeaPad S10

Engadget reports that the Lenovo IdeaPad S10 (not yet available) runs what looks like an average keyboard-side surface temperature of 104 degrees F. If accurate, this is incredibly uncomfortable to use. My old Dell Latitude D600 notebook used to run about 100F on the palmrest area over the hard drive. It was so uncomfortable at that temperature that I ended up getting a USB keyboard for my office (it was my main computer). The Dell Latitude D620 that replaced it a few years later ran at much cooler and more comfortable temperature (around 90F, if I recall correctly).

My Acer Aspire One has gotten up to 96F which is pretty warm itself though a considerably cooler than the Lenovo S10. The one advantage both netbooks have over full-sized notebooks like the D600 is that their small keyboards mean that you will probably not actually use the palm rests. So, these surface temperature are not as much of a problem as they are with notebook PCs.

CNN: Bosses worry if telecommuters are really working

CNN asks…

Bosses worry if telecommuters are really working

This is the question that always came up in discussions over years and different employers. I actually telecommuted one-day per week when my child was an infant. That was great. But, the technology to work effectively from home wasn’t in place in my office or my home back in the mid-90s. Today, the technology is here, but the real issue comes down to management trust.

I telecommute full-time now as Editor of MobileAppsToday. The main thing that is needed, IMHO, is some kind of reasonable metrics. There needs to be some way to measure quantity of work, quality of work, and some kind of ROI on the part of the employer. In my case, quantity is easy: If stuff doesn’t appears on the MobileAppsToday blog, I’m not doing my job. The quality part is, of course, more difficult to get a handle on. And, I don’t have control over the ROI (are my employers getting enough value from their investment in the cost to employee me?).

Are you telecommunity full-time like me? Part-time? Tried it but gave it up? Want to try telecommuting?

I worked remotely when I managed the Microsoft Network (MSN) Computer Telephony and Windows CE Forums back in the 90s. I also had a full-time day job at that time. So, I wasn’t getting a lot of sleep :-). So, I have some experience telecommuting. But, this is the first time I’ve telecommuted full-time for my main (day) job. So, any advice would be appreciated. In turn, as I learn more about full-time telecommuting and, especially, its mobile technology aspects, I’ll share them here.