7 Dec 2009

Gifts for Those Who Have Everything... the Cloud

My AdAge column this week covers three cloud services you can buy as gifts for the digerati in your life: Evernote Premium, DropBox and GigaOm Pro...

The holiday crush is on and the clock is ticking. But what do you get the geek or coworker in your life who has (or wants) everything? How about something intangible: a web-service subscription.

Over the last few years, as I have moved more of my life into "the cloud," I have started to rely on a handful of such services. They keep me in sync, in the know and in touch. Here are three that passed my "30-day test."

Link: Gifts for Those Who Have Everything ... in the Cloud - adage.com

22 Oct 2009

Cloud Computing's Partly Cloudy Future?

Americans overwhelmingly have a lack of interest in cloud-based services, according to a new survey
"Asked what they felt about personal data being stored on third-parties’ remote computers, 64% say they don’t want their data kept by a third party, according to the latest installment of 'Unisys Security Index: United States.''"
I wonder how much of this comes down to semantics. The vast majority of people I know have no problems storing their email in the cloud. And that's probably the biggest cache of personal data most average users have.
6 Oct 2009

Google Preps Server-Side Clipboard

via googlesystem.blogspot.com

A Google pilot program unearthed by the Google Operating System blog - a clipboard in the clouds. I have wanted something like this for awhile, but hope that it will sync across computers and devices.

28 Sep 2009

A Week in the Clouds Without a Notebook

On average I travel for business about seven to 15 days a month. Sometimes it can get a bit nuts, but I love it - I never get bored. This is one of those weeks. I will literally be in the clouds all week both virtually and physically.

I am starting my journey today in Toronto. Tomorrow I am speaking at the MIXX conference and will also participate in staff, client, industry and press meetings. Wednesday I head to Atlanta for the day for another private event and then right back up to Montreal that night. Thursday I am speaking at MIXX in Montreal. I head home for one night and then do a round-trip from NY to DC on Friday for, yes, another speaking gig. (Map above. I like maps!)

Despite the travel, however, I still need to be productive. I need to stay in touch with my colleagues and clients and also do some writing. Also, I want to stay in touch with you here on my lifestream and on social networks. Mobile technology is my friend here.

I have a couple of different laptops that I take on trips. All of them are light. But you see, I am on a quest. I want ditch my laptop on every trip and only carry a smartphone and my Iamakey for the rest. Right now I have an iPhone 3GS but I may add a Blackberry to complement it. My key files and even some portable apps are encrypted on the USB key.

The reason is simple: all of these devices are pocketable. A laptop isn't. I don't want to carry a laptop because it's mental baggage. I don't want to be thinking about where it is. Smartphones and USB keys are like appendages. I always know where they are. Plus, I know that one day soon we won't need to carry laptops on business trips because these phones - which are really pocket computers - will be able to do it all, including hook up to hotel TVs. I am trying to experience this future now.

I have gone sans laptop on business trips before but this one at three nights is the longest one yet - although I am home for one night in between trips. I have tweaked my setup so that the apps and services I use on my smartphone are identical to what I use on my Mac at home and - to a large degree - my desktop PC at work. I like the simplicity and consistency of it all.

Here's what I using... (workflow below)

  • Writing and To Do List - WriteRoom (which now has TextExpander support to speed up typing)
  • Contacts and Calendar - Address Book and iCal, which connect with our Exchange Server 
  • Notes - WriteRoom for temporary storage, Evernote for archiving (more on this in a subsequent post on lifelogging)
  • Files - Documents to Go, and if necessary, my IamaKey and Box.net/Sharepoint
  • Mindmapping - Mindjet and Mindnode
  • RSS - NetNewsWire, which syncs to Google Reader
  • Twitter - Tweetie
  • Plus, of course, Posterous and Instapaper for sharing and reading
The only thing I can't do with this setup is create or edit a PowerPoint deck, although I can view them. This is one reason I am considering getting a Blackberry too - you can edit PPT. I don't anticipate I will need to on this trip. However, I will need to write, but I can actually do so on my phone quite comfortably. If some people can write books on cell phones, then I can certainly crank out shorter stuff too.

You probably think I am nuts, but I hate carrying laptops. I have done so for years. I will keep you posted on my progress. Sometimes I am on the road seven or nine days at a time. I don't think I can ditch a laptop on these trips, but this journey might convince me otherwise. Wish me luck.
22 Jul 2009

Conversation of the Day: Are We Becoming OS Agnostic?

Here's an interesting thread from my Friendfeed page. 

For the first time in over a decade I am using a desktop at work - and I'm back on WIndows. I have been pretty much 100% Mac OS since 2004 and on laptops since 1996.  (At home I use a MacBook Air and an iPhone everywhere in between).

The reason for my switch is that these days the web is really my OS so I am really desktop platform agnostic. I don't want to lug a laptop around anymore if I can avoid it. All I need is a PC with a browser, a few USB apps, which I always carry with me, and an iPhone and I am set.

However, the situation is reversed on a mobile device where increasingly I must have access to apps like Evernote and Backpack (via Satchel) that sync with the cloud and work offline.

How about you? I think WIndows 7 or the Google Chrome OS running on netbooks like those from HP, Acer and Asus will give Apple a run for their money, especially if the economy remains flat. Meanwhile, Apple is really becoming an iPhone company. The pressure is rising on them to release a big iPod Touch. (Microsoft and HP are Edelman clients.)

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Steve Rubel (bio) is SVP, Director of Insights for Edelman Digital, a division of Edelman - the world's largest independent PR firm.

He is charged with helping clients identify emerging technologies and trends that can be applied in marketing communications programs. Rubel also explores these topics on his site and in monthly columns for Forbes.com and Advertising Age. He can be found on Twitter and Facebook as well.

Steve can be reached via email at steverubel@gmail.com.

Note: Everything posted on this site is Steve's personal opinion. It does not represent the views of Edelman or its clients.

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