It was a dark and stormy night. Literally. The family minivan was rolling down Interstate 26 in South Carolina.

The hour was late, the weather was mean and we were in need of a hotel room. Stopping in this downpour was just not going to happen. Instead, in the passenger seat, Robbie had commandeered the laptop from the kids, paused Shrek playing on the laptop’s DVD drive, and began surfing the Internet to search for hotel rooms along the highway. The laptop was plugged into the 110 converter and powered by the car’s cigarette lighter, I mean, power port. And the Verizon wireless “aircard” was plugged into the computer’s USB port. Combined, we had non-stop broadband access to the information superhighway. Read More »

Home Office Highway isn’t a contrived road trip made to fake a road warrior’s life. This will be the real thing. As a vendor-sponsored tour and online exhibition, the Tour will showcase products and services that empower today’s remote worker and family. Led by veteran home officer and technology columnist Jeff Zbar, the Tour will reveal in very real terms how technology makes working and playing from the road productive – and fun.

WHERE VOCATION MEETS VACATION
Home Office Highway will be housed in a 28-foot recreational vehicle outfitted with the latest technology on the inside – and sponsor logos on the outside. Within the vehicle will be a fully functional remote office. Sponsor-supplied products will include those common to any home office or small business (laptop PCs, multifunction printer / fax / scanner / copier, battery back-up, external data storage, various USB accessories, PC security devices, PDA/wireless phones, global positioning satellite (GPS) devices, digital cameras, wireless routers / networking equipment, Bluetooth devices, laptop cases, organizational tools, etc.).

Scheduled for Summer 2008, Jeff and his family will pack their belongings – and his home office, and set off in an RV to explore the open road. Over one month, they will:

– Drive highly trafficked roads; visit popular destinations, theme and national parks, and beachfront sites; camp and live as a family – and create an undeniable “Wow!” factor everywhere they go.

– Connect via multiple laptops working on the latest wireless broadband service and linked by a wireless network.

– File dispatches, blogs and Webcam videologues to show how productive and connected a true “road warrior” – and his family – can be from the road.

– Visit sponsor locations to meet and discuss with consumers and media how sponsor products and services can improve productivity.

DESTINATIONS / MARKETS
Summertime on the highway can be a marketer’s bonanza. The Tour will log 3,000 miles during the peak summer travel season, traveling From Miami through Orlando, Georgia, the Carolinas, Virginia, Washington, D.C., the New York/Tri-State metro area and New England.

Ready to roll? Check back often to learn more about Home Office Highway. Trust me, it will be… A Digital Adventure!

I’m sitting in this idyllic beach house in Lavallette on the New Jersey Shore. My HP Pavillion laptop is open before me, with my Verizon USB720 broadband wireless modem plugged into the side and giving me broadband access on the company’s new Rev-A network. I’m blazing away. After a decade of playing the occasional road warrior, I’m finally getting the hang of traveling and working. Read More »