and has been talking about from a small business user’s perspective (of course).
So here’s mine:
As a stranger in a strange land you can easily lose your marbles if you can’t get your bearings. And, considering Stephanie is about as much use as a stoned homing pigeon, a GPS was looking more and more necessary by every wrong passing turn. The only problem is that they seem rather expensive for what they are, so it was awfully nice of Steph’s Dad to buy us one for Christmas. But, after its first use (once I’d realised to point the antenna correctly to ‘acquire satellites’ rather than wondering why every single trip’s starting point was in Kansas), the fog rises and you wonder how you managed without one. It’s just a shame I’ve got nowhere to go.
TREO 700wx
It wasn’t so much the phone as the plan that clinched this one. I’m neither a phone bore nor a phone whore; but, when Steph found the , which basically means we get 500 mins plus unlimited internet phone access (including tethering to one’s laptop), I had to be a bigger fool than you already credit me for not taking up the offer. It was only once I started playing with the little fella that I realised what an incredibly smart piece of kit it actually is. The only downside is that it isn’t quadband to allow me usage anywhere globally. Then again, I’ve been blowing that much money on gadgets I can’t afford to go anywhere globally. It’s also a shame I’ve got nobody to ring.
Email is my lifeblood, so I needed a phone with the capability of pushing/pulling/generally cajoling email. Mail2web does that and much more for free.
‘What the buggery has this got to do with small business?’ I hear you cry. Well, when you work from home it can get a little tricky to switch off. And for me to switch off I switch on my HDTV and watch anything in 1080i. In fact, my current best buddy is the cable guy who I get round every Friday to tweak signals, replace cables or insert cablecards in pursuit of the holy grail that is high definition. Come to think of it, I’d get infinitely more done if I hadn’t got one. But another bargain.
SKYPE PHONE & SKYPEIN
I’ve used headsets, my Treo, the , but the above badboy that I found at RadioShack for $20 is the best Skype phone I’ve used by a country mile. It’s clear, actually works as a touch phone, and has been the best thing to help evangelise Skype I’ve had. And once I bought a couple of cheap numbers for people to ring me from the UK or from over here I was set. Even calls forwarded to my mobile sound sweet. Considering this is my main phone setup, I can’t believe anybody would part with $300 a year on various other internet phone services when you can Skype a solution for under a third. It’s just a shame they’ve started charging for Skypeout again in North America. If only I could just get it to work as an application on my Treo without it going all Norman Collier. Just remember to get yourself a decent internet connection and not to go too crazy on the torrents whilst making calls.
We have four computers, three of which are connected wirelessly, one printer and a next door neighbour who keeps connecting to our network. Network Magic ensures your connectivity, shared hardware and folders and your network security can be setup and looked after by a child or infirm elderly relative. It probably takes longer to purchase ($29.99 for three computers) and download than it does to setup. It’s also rather good at allowing you to kick off anybody hogging bandwith.
I’ll also give an honourable mention to our 22″ Acer widescreen monitor, but I’ve been sat here so long staring at the bloody thing writing this tosh, that I can’t be bothered. Although, once you’ve abused your retinas to the extent I have then a big screen is more of a medical necessity.
So there you go: the technology I can’t live without in 2007. But, considering I’ve made myself a target for aggravated burglary, admitted to scamming a phone as we don’t know any Sprint employees, and confessed to excessive/abusive torrent usage, 2007 could well be the year I live without any technology whatsoever.
Cheese on a biscuit.....
....there was me thinking I'd done my bit in ensuring character blogs had seen their last a couple of years ago.
Me wonders who the pr/marketing/blog consulting impresario is behind this one.
Not that it's going to keep me awake, mind. ;-)
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