Road trippin' is all about the tools you use.

Home Office Highway: What’s it all about…?

It’s about the tools: Here we have the MSI U123 netbook, along with the Targus wireless mouse (part of its Netbook Accessories Kit), the Be.ez LA besace 15 Limedrop messenger bag and matching LArobe Netbook sleeve,and the new BlackBerry Tour smartphone from Verizon Wireless.

With each passing year, we discover we can do more with less. The key is to test, demo or try different tools, and winnow out those that don’t work — and those that add real value to the road working experience.

Our take: A good phone, wireless Internet, a powerful and small PC, a few accessories, and a place for your stuff, define the remote work experience.

To cite Henry David Thoreau: Simplify. Simplify.

‘Home Office Highway’ RV Road Show Reveals Latest Digital Lifestyle, ‘Location Independence’ Technology

Coral Springs, FL (July 8, 2009) – Want to hit the road – but don’t think you can leave the job behind? Then take it along for the ride.

This summer, the “anywhere” office comes to life as Home Office Highway ’09 reveals the technology, tools and strategies that make taking a vacation a guilt-free and productive adventure.

The two-week road show and social media event will bring “location independence” to the open road in a recreational vehicle equipped with the latest small office technology. Hosted and produced by technology, telework and home office columnist expert Jeff Zbar, the tour will take his family throughout the American South, visiting small towns and popular tourist destinations – and revealing just how productive a traveling family can be. Read More »

Hittin’ the road? Many home-based entrepreneurs and small business owners aren’t so sure.

Despite continued economic challenges, the percentage of small business owners planning a summer vacation of at least a week remains similar to last year (56% this year, vs. 59% in 2008), notes the American Express OPEN Small Business Monitor, a semi-annual survey of business owners.

Then again, some entrepreneurs are showing signs that they’ve had enough of the dour predictions and office: Fewer business owners are feeling guilty about taking time off compared to last year (22% vs. 28% in 2008).

What’s most striking about their vacation plans compared to last year is the fact that more business owners are opting to take a less expensive vacation in today’s uncertain economy (32% vs. 20% in 2008). Four of 10 business owners will not take a vacation at all because they can’t afford it.

(The American Express OPEN Small Business Monitor, released each spring and fall, is based on a nationally representative sample of 727 small business owners/managers of companies with fewer than 100 employees. The anonymous survey was conducted via telephone by Echo Research from February 24- March 9, 2009. The poll has a margin of error of +3.6%).

What’s in your pack? A tablet PC, walkie-talkie radio, flash drive, broadband wireless card, five-plug, surge protected power strip. That’s what in mine…

When we recently took a family cruise, I made sure to pack my backpack with all the essentials needed to create a home office from the road.

Along side my HP tablet PC were my broadband wireless aircard (essentially useless hundreds of miles out to sea), my Ativa Memory Stick card reader, a USB flash drive, and a Monster five-plug, surge protected power strip. You never know when you’ll have to plug the laptop, camera charger and some other device into one single outlet.

I also carry a stretch of ethernet cable, and a clutch of adapters.

Here’s what some other people had in their backpacks and laptop bags. Wireless Road Warrior found size essential. Webworker Daily had a review of the stash in one laptop case (read the comments for some more good ideas). Here’s some more threads on the topic.

What defines your perfect mobile office?

I was reading Trend Spotter this week and came across Nissan ‘s (not so) new mobile office concept vehicle. Except that it cannot sleep a soul, it’s a pretty cool active workplace.

Unveiled at the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show, the NV200 sports a well-hidden, full mobile office in the rear. Though its target apparently is “ocean photographers,” I could see this as a little giddyup run-about for Home Office Highway’ers and active teleworkers.

Read More »

Your industrious cottage can make remote work workable by Nancy Doniger for the New York Times.

The New York Times had a piece on the tools needed to make a second home or vacation getaway an industrious place. I lent a few insights.

For home office workers (entrepreneurs or teleworkers alike), top tips included:

– Wireless broadband. Internet is central to any effective home office or remote workplace.

– A computer. Netbooks and small laptops allow people to take their work anywhere — without dragging a luggable in tow.

– Cloud with Web-apps. “The cloud is the concept of working in an untethered environment, so all your documents are out there,” writer Billie Cohen quoted me as saying. Click here to learn more…

BlackBerry? Check. MP3 player? Check. Camera? Check.

Forty-two linear feet of wires, cables and cords attached to transformers to recharge all these devices? Uh… OK. No more.

Home officers and road warriors are entangled in lengths of wire — unless you use something to master the morass. Enter CallPod, and various products designed to keep the juice flowing…

Fueltank

Fueltank™ can simultaneously charge two small electronic devices NO OUTLETS NECESSARY. It contains a rechargeable lithium ion battery which has more than 7 times the capacity of a standard mobile phone. The Fueltank utilizes device-specific adapters – the same ones used for Chargepod® – so you can customize your Fueltank™ to meet the exact needs of you and your family. Proprietary voltage regulator technology senses the amount of power required to charge your devices. An LED fuel capacity indicators displays when the charging indicator button is pressed. www.callpod.com/products/fueltank

Read More »

The people at CoolTools recently reviewed several cool apps — ideal for the home officer-turned-road warrior.

According to writer Arthur Heafer, the Versacharger is a combo 110V AC and 12V DC USB converter to charge phones, PDAs, and various other electronics. Purchase additional USB connectors and “tips” as you go for specific gadgets. Some GPS units also can be charged with appropriate voltage transducers.

Heafer has used this charger over a year, mostly when traveling. It greatly reduces the amount of cables, chargers, wall wart and the like carried around. Heafer keeps all my devices (GPS, Palm T/X, cell phone) and charger in a small cloth, drawstring bag, along with a Ziploc bag for all the various tips (Add’l Tip: He uses a gold marking pen to write which tip goes with which device). Read More »