The Internet is vital to any road trip. We’ll have Verizon Wireless on board the RV. But if you need wi-fi connectivity, check out this collection of nationwide wi-fi hot spots from About.com.

The Mobile Office Technology writer Catherine Roseberry also offered these solutions and tools for mobile performance and enjoyment:

1. Mobile Edge Enhanced Wi-Fi Locator. The Mobile Edge Wi-Fi Locator is small enough to fit nicely on your keychain and doesn’t add extra bulk to your keychain. It’s easy to use and when those times arise when you don’t want to stay in a hot spot location but use your vehicle, this gadget is ideal. I was able to test the Wi-Fi locator at a couple locations and I really liked the fact that the LED display will indicate how strong the signal is.

2. Kensington Pocket Speakers: Kensington Pocket Speakers will truly fit into a pocket and are an excellent accessory for any mobile professional, especially those who are responsible for providing presentations on a regular basis. Most onboard speakers in a laptop do not provide adequate volume for use during presentations. Using the Kensington Pocket Speakers will help ensure that everyone in the room can hear what is going on.

3. Laptop Legs/Mac Feet by LapWorks Inc. Laptop Legs/Mac Feet provide an easy way to elevate your laptop on any surface without worrying about making your laptop unstable. If anyone has an older laptop or remembers the older laptops, they did have small legs but they weren’t sturdy at all and quite often broke. The Laptop Legs/Mac Feet are a well constructed and designed solution which enable you to increase airflow beneath your laptop.

4. D-Link Wireless Pocket Router/AP w/Client Mode. The biggest benefit that the D-Link Wireless Pocket Router/AP provides is the ability to combine three different capabilities in one compact mobile gadget. The DWL-G730AP can be used as an Access Point – which is very handy whenever you have to share Internet access and there is only one Ethernet connection available.

5. Targus Mobile Notebook Surge Protector. It’s important to make sure you protect the power provided to your laptop while on the road. The Targus Mobile Notebook Surge Protector is a very compact and lightweight gadget for peace of mind while working on the road. This surge protector includes two and three prong AC adapters to fit most laptops. You can use this anywhere in the world you happen to be working.

Do you like to work when you play? How about work from ‘anywhere’? A study from Citrix Online revealed that for a growing number of American workers, the traditional office is becoming more of a touchpad than a daily destination, or one of several places we do our jobs.

And one of those places increasingly is while away on vacation or any of the popular shorter mini-vacations Americans are taking.

The study, “Web Commuting & the American Workforce,” notes that people are performing at least part of their jobs virtual – and from anywhere, at any hour of the day. How? They’re tapping various technology that allows them to “take their office with them” wherever they go. These remote workers, termed “telecommuters” in the 1980s and 90s, today are called “Web commuters” for their growing reliance on the Internet.

The rise of this ‘Web Commuter’ is changing how people view work. It’s not a place, but a result. It’s not about time, but productivity. As one saying goes, “It’s output, not hours-put.” Among the stats:

– 23% of American workers (and 41% of small business owners) regularly work from home or another offsite location, relying on Web technology (e.g. the Internet, e-mail, or programs that allow them to remotely access their office computers or meet with colleagues online).

– 62% of those who do not have this ability said they would like to be able to do so.

– 14% preferred the ability to work remotely or away from the office at least some of the time as a perk over stock options (13%) and on-site child care (11%).

– 70% of American workers aged 18-34 were most excited about working remotely and would welcome the opportunity.

Products like VPN, or Citrix GoToMyPC, enable people to access their computers from any Internet-enabled destination. That can include a cyber café, or your Verizon wireless broadband aircard. Today, that means work is a thing – regardless of place…

Each summer, my family leaves the home office and road trips for two weeks. And each summer, I find myself gathering up the must-have tools to make my road trip successful.

There’s my laptop and my USB flashdrive with all my most current docs backed up. There’s my Gmail account, through which all my email flows — so I have every email sent or received out there close at hand.

There’s my USB mini-light to illuminate my keyboard or documents, for when I’m working in the early morning — but don’t want to wake the family. I also carry a small Monster power strip to turn one electrical outlet into five — to my laptop, Blackberry, digital camera, iPod (with the Monster cable to broadcast my tunes on the minivan’s stereo) and my family’s phones and accessories can recharge overnight. And there’s our Hampton Inn guide book, so we know where our favorite haunt is along the highway.

And they’re all packed away in my laptop backpack — neatly stashed and close at hand.

Unless the goal is to unplug completely from work, road trips shouldn’t kill productivity. I strive to be just as effective a soloist from the road as I am in the home office.

What’s your Digital Didyaknow? How do you make your travels a time of peak productivity — at least at those times that you want to scratch out a few moments of work? As I gear up for our vocation vacation, I want to learn more.

Let me know…

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 »