October 24, 2006 at 12:07 pm · Filed under Business, Personal, Tech
Yup, I'm making the switch. I've been a Windows user for years, and while I have always had a Mac around for testing and working with client files, I've never used one as my primary machine.
I've been waiting for the new MacBook Pro's to be released for a few months, and when I saw they came out this morning I decided to take the plunge. If nothing else, it'll be nice to have a 17" laptop that doesn't weigh 20 lbs!
Check out the new specs here: http://www.apple.com/macbookpro/
I'll write up a review when it arrives. Until that time, let the 7-10 business day countdown begin.
September 26, 2006 at 11:42 am · Filed under Business, Personal, Tech
About six months ago I picked up a Treo 700w, and I love it. For years I carried around a 15lb laptop everywhere I went, but now I pick up my phone and I've got email, contacts, Internet Explorer, Flash 7 player, and just about everything I need to keep in touch while on the road.
Having full Outlook e-mail and contacts on your phone is more liberating that you think. But, in order to actually get real-time push email you have to have access to a Microsoft Exchange Server and use it for your email. This might not be a problem for larger businesses, but for a small business this can be costly and excessive.
I started searching around and found that my (then) web hosting provider 1&1 Hosting offered hosted Exchange for less than $7 a month. I signed up and was happy for a couple of months, but a few weeks ago I switched over to a service called 4Smartphone and haven't looked back. So, I thought I would share since I searched for days looking for the right service provider.
While the service is great, I'm just generally impressed with how well everything syncs between Outlook, my Treo, and Outlook Web Access (the included webmail client). Microsoft seems to have gotten this right. And while the 700w is a bit bulky, it is nowhere near the size of a Blackberry, but still has all of the functionality. Now whenever I'm heading out of town for a few days, I rarely take my laptop unless I've got actual development to do.
