Home Office: Leaving Home? Use These Tools

Editing a Web site, retrieving files, my favorite notetaking device.

Steve Bass

"All right," I said to my editor, "I promise not to stay out late." PC World's home-office worker policy requires me to wear an electronic monitoring gizmo wrapped around my ankle. When they disconnect it so I can leave the office, a rare event, I make the most of it. And so no one back at the mother ship worries, I plan ahead and stock up on mobile tools and products.

Bass in the Great Outdoors

Like just about everyone else I know, I have a couple of Web sites. One's for the Pasadena IBM Users Group, and the other keeps people abreast of changes in a local dog park. I'm lucky because I have a full-fledged Webmaster [thanks, David!] who handles the big changes. No matter where I am--at an airport kiosk or with my wireless notebook at Starbucks--I can fiddle-fiddle with the user group agenda or change a few dates on the POOCH site. I do it with OmniEdit, a secure, password protected Web-based program with powerful-enough tools that lets me access my Web sites and make changes without knowing much about HTML coding (a deficiency that David reminds me of early and often).

OmniEdit's menu-driven interface supplies me with a text editor, plus the ability to upload images and files, add links, and fix typos. OmniEdit provides a way for me to back up the Web page before I make any changes, and it's WYSIWYG, so I can see my modifications immediately. The program isn't cheap--it costs $100 a year (or $20 per month)--but it's an ideal tool for folks who need to make Web site changes while on the road. (The truth is, I use it from my home office because it's easier than using FrontPage or other editors.) There's no trial version, but you can play with OmniEdit's live site to see how good the program is.

Dig This: Remember how you didn't worry about killing time when you were a kid? Try it again with Marbles, an addictive game that's sure to keep you busy for an hour.

Still on the Outside

I was out walking the dogs the other day and bumped into my muse. [Note to editor: a mythical figure and a source of inspiration. Not a real person.] Instead of trying to remember my brilliant new thoughts later on, I whipped out Logitech's IO Personal Digital Pen, a high-tech tool disguised as low-tech. The gizmo is a slightly oversized pen (yes, it's comfortable to hold) that you use to take notes, scribble lists, write memos--whatever it is you usually do with a pen and paper. The difference is that everything you jot down is onto special paper and transferred in your handwriting in digital format to your PC by way of a docking station.

I've used the IO to take notes on a recent trip, and the pen works as advertised. Its batteries should last for 25 pages of your golden words before recharging; you can write about 40 pages before the pen needs to be docked for downloading. (The last time I had the patience to hand-write that much was a final exam in grad school. I still haven't recovered from it.) The IO comes with a docking station, five ink refills, a notebook with 80 sheets of special paper, and a 50 sheet 3M Post-It note pad.

The pen's not a toy, and it's definitely not cheap: I found it discounted for about $160. If you want to comparison shop, check the PCWorld.com Product Finder for the lowest prices as well as product specs.

Connecting to the Office

If you're away from your home office fairly often, you might need a tool to keep you connected. The one I like is LapLink Everywhere. Install the program on your home PC (or office desktop, for that matter), and you can head out with any device that has a Web browser--say, your PDA, phone with Web capability, or notebook--and instantly connect to your PC. Heck, in a pinch you use a PC at the local library.

For a $90 annual fee (or $10 per month), you can access up to three remote PCs and use Outlook or Outlook Express as if you were on the remote system--add new contacts or calendar items, check contact info, or send and receive e-mail. You can also transfer files to and from the PC's hard drive. Transmissions are safe: They're encrypted at 128-bit SSL; one hour per month of LapLink Secure VNC is included in the fee. For the price of a download, you can try LapLink Everywhere for 15 days.

Mobile Newsletter Alert

You don't need to remind me that we have a weekly Mobile Computing newsletter, and that it's valuable for road warriors. So go to our Mobile Computing page and browse a bunch of Jim Martin's newsletters. Then take another few minutes and check out a couple of my favorites:

• "Hertz In-Car GPS." I've always wanted to try a GPS-equipped rental car. Jim Martin did, and he talks about his first-hand experience and offers some advice.
• "Airport Security Tips and Update." If you're planning to travel by airline, take heed: Security is tighter than ever. In this newsletter, Jim teaches you how to whiz through security.

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