Technology & Business Edge
On the Road and On the Clock
New technology for road warrior productivity
Read this article to learn:
� What new products pack a mobile punch.
� What new manufacturing process will take mobile to the next level.
� How the airlines plan to keep you busy.
The airport security line greets you at the door, and no one's delivering amnesty to the work-weary, on-deadline business professionals. While you wait, severed from the corporate network, your work piles up like snow in Buffalo. You're losing patience, your supervisor's losing time and the company's losing money. It's not a dream. It's the nightmare that most business travelers face.
Travel and productivity have never made good partners and now, with increased airport security and longer delays, managers face an even greater struggle to unite the two. Fortunately, technology is keeping pace, offering lighter, faster and friendlier ways to achieve real-time, anywhere access. From airborne broadband and wireless Internet to portable CD-burners and handhelds, the technological smorgasbord for business travelers expands daily.
For every business and every need, there's something out there for your mobile workforce. These are just some of the latest ways to keep your employees on the road and on the clock.
Carry More
SimpleTech's latest portable external storage drive offers a lightweight, cost-effective solution for extra digital storage. SimpleDrive Deluxe, the sequel to SimpleTech's original SimpleDrive, incorporates USB1.1 with USB2.0 and FireWire, making it the first external storage device on the market that supports all three. The palm-size device transfers data up to 15 MB per second, 10 times faster than the original, and stores up to 30 GB of digital photos, music, games and data. It's MAC and PC compatible, and at just 16 ounces, it's a lighter, hassle-free alternative to Zip disks.
Connect Easily
Anytime, anywhere e-mail. Automatic new mail alerts. And much, much more. Palm's new i705 serves as more than a pocket-sized organizer. It sends and receives e-mail and allows the user to automatically download messages with built-in software (no costly installations). It can even be programmed to signal when a message arrives so you won't miss the boss's e-mail. Palm offers two add-on keyboard options, so whether you prefer typing or writing, this handheld ensures you'll never miss your connection again.
Pack Lighter
Intel's new 0.13-micron manufacturing process may be the best thing since frequent flyer miles for business travelers. Compared to the former 0.18-micron process, the new process results in processors that are smaller and faster, with lower levels of power consumption and higher performance. That means road warriors will soon have a slew of smaller, lightweight mobile technologies to choose from. The company introduced seven mobile processors built with the process in January - three Pentium III "M" chips and four Celeron chips. The Pentium III "M" family also supports Intel's "Speedstep" technology, which automatically switches between maximum performance mode and battery-optimized mode, extending the battery's life and your work time. IBM, NEC, Compaq and Hewlett-Packard will be debuting new systems featuring the technology soon.
Fly Faster
At 39,000 feet, only pilots worry about speed - until now. Boeing is currently testing its Connexion high-speed Internet access and hopes to offer it to passengers in business class this time next year. By plugging your notebook or handheld into a jack at your seat, you'll be able to connect to an onboard network that transmits signals between antennas on the fuselage and satellites. Boeing is promising in-flight connectivity comparable in speed and quality to ground Internet, intranet and e-mail service. Europe's Lufthansa will be offering the service next year, and Boeing predicts that U.S. carriers that backed out of the deal after travel's downturn in the fall will sign on after they see the results. For business travelers, Airborne Broadband will mean office-like conditions in the air.
Record Remotely
Designed to fit in the palm of your hand, Imation's RipGO!� mini CD-R burner and player lets you record to mini CDs on the go. Work on large multimedia presentations on your laptop without worrying about how to transfer the files to another PC. Just copy files to a mini CD anywhere, and then take them anywhere. The CD-R mini discs store and record up to 185 MB of digital information. RipGO! is the smallest burner and player available.
