Mobile computing & remote working

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Buying a laptop – what you need to know?

The price, functionality and battery life of the latest crop of laptops means that even if you only work occasionally in another location, it makes sense to have a portable as your primary machine. Long gone are the days when you paid more but got less when buying a laptop, and if anything desktop systems are rapidly becoming the poor relations. In fact laptop sales, which have been growing faster than desktops for many years, are now starting to bypass desktops in pure numbers as well.

The one major change you need to make in your laptop buying habits is to forget about the clock speed of the processor – it’s much more important to go for a model that is optimised for mobility. These processors – Intel’s Pentium M and AMD’s Mobile Sempron – will run at a lower temperature which in turn means they need less cooling and so don’t sap as much battery life. Laptops with Pentium 4 processors may seem more powerful but should only be considered if you are doing processor-intensive work like graphic design and will always be near a power supply.

However just as in desktops and servers AMD has stolen a march on Intel and has been first to market with 64-bit technology – although Intel is catching up. AMD’s new Turion 54 is designed to power thin and light notebooks, while protecting your investment as the industry moves from 32-bit to 64-bit technology over the next few years. Models currently on the market sport an 80 GB hard drive and DVD RW drive for about EUR*1200.

With big names like Microsoft now insisting that the loss of laptops is more of a security threat than the ubiquitous viruses it’s no surprise that many of the latest innovations are in the area of security. Consider what would happen if your laptop was lost or stolen. The loss of the information stored on it would no doubt impact your business but worse still would there be passwords, financial records or other details on there that would enable someone to clean out your accounts?

 For that reason you should consider at the very least the use of passwords to protect access to the system, hard drive and BIOS. Some manufacturers also provide device locks which prevent data being copied onto removable devices such as USB keys.

 The next step is the use of Smart Cards which add another level of security by ensuring the PC can’t be used without the combination of card and associated password – manufacturers are now shipping Smart Card readers as standard with many of their business notebooks.

 To future proof your investment you could consider a TPM (Trusted Platform Module) Security chip which is an initiative of industry grouping the Trusted Computing Group. Working with compatible software which is now hitting the market it ensures the highest level of data protection and network authentication – particularly useful if you’ll be accessing a company network on your travels.

When purchasing it’s also worth considering the kinds of scenario in which you will be using the machine and whether you will have access to a power supply. To keep prices down many laptops, particularly at the lower end, now ship with batteries that only give you two to three hours of life. However there are long-life or additional battery options and you will probably want to look at these at the time of ordering rather than down the line.

Finally communications will be key if you want to keep running your business when on the road. While the base laptop has become significantly lighter it’s the attendant cables and other extras that potentially dislocate your should when travelling so wireless is the way to go. A Centrino laptop will have Wi-Fi support built in and is also optimised to give you the best battery life. You should also consider Bluetooth if you need to connect to other peripherals such as mobile phones and having a good old fashioned 56K modem can get you out of jail when the only connectivity you are close to is a good old fashioned phone line.

Killer software applications for mobility

It’s long been said that email is the killer mobile application but if you are not currently able to access your in-box when on the move it’s a fairly trivial matter these days. Everyone from Microsoft to mobile phone operators is offering technology that enables you to get remote access to your company email without breaking the bank. The Blackberry handheld device is one of the most popular methods for business users and the good news now is that Blackberry software is now available not just on dedicated Blackberrys but also as embedded software on mobile phones such as the excellent Siemens SK65 which has a fold out QWERTY keyboard.

The killer app for you as a mobile user is most likely something that will be unique to the industry or sector that you work in. Fortunately Ireland is blessed with a cluster of wireless development companies that produce software for both handhelds and laptops. O2 in particular has an excellent partner programme in place to put its customers in touch with mobile software developers.

 Local developers include Wasp Technologies (www.wasptech.com), which specialises in developing for Palm handhelds, has produced Intellibrand a software application which automates management and data retrieval from field staff in the consumer goods sector. Portable Software Solutions (www.portablesolutions.com) has developed the Mobilise application suite which provides tools for delivery, field sales, service and marketing survey staff who need to collect data in the field and communicate it back to the office. Running on a laptop or tablet features offered include journey planning, scanning, digital signature capture, product traceability and integration with corporate email.

 For an out of the box solution which can integrate with back office systems O2 has its Instant product which allows field-based staff to capture electronic documents such as proof of delivery or orders. O2 Instant can either be run on one of two handheld devices – the XDA II or Panasonic’s CF P1.

Remote access to your company’s office network

While remote access was once a luxury for senior execs in large corporations there is now a range of cheap and simply to deploy options to connect you back to the office when you’re on the road. If access literally on the road from anywhere in the country is what you are after then you’ll want to consider a data card from O2 or Vodafone. O2 currently offers a GPRS data card which will connect you at speeds similar to dial-up over a phone line. Vodafone in contrast has a dual GPRS/3G card which will default to a 3G connection where available with a theoretical speed of 384kbits/sec although actual performance will vary.

 Wi-Fi hotspots are becoming ubiquitous but are still not widely enough available to rely on as a primary form of access. However, if you have half an hour before a meeting their high bandwidth connections are ideal for pushing through a lot of work. With Eircom now adding them to phone boxes you can even just pull over in your car and get Wi-Fi access in many areas.

For smaller outfits such as sole traders and self employed consultants who do not want access to a corporate network but just want to access files on a PC back at their office, a cost effective option could be Go To My PC (www.gotomypc.com) a service offered by access infrastructure company Citrix. You simply install some software on your PC, leave it connected to the Internet and then you can access the desktop remotely from any net-connected PC via the Gotomypc.com website. The beauty of it is that as a web-based service you don’t have to worry about configuring ports or by-passing firewalls and you don’t even have to use a PC for remote access – it also supports handhelds running a Microsoft platform.

Security for remote access

If you want secure remote access to your company network there is only really one option – a virtual private network (VPN) that will enable users to dial in using a standard internet connection but all traffic will be safe from prying eyes. VPNs have been around for many years in their original format – IP Sec (Internet Protocol Security). The problem with IP Sec is that it was designed for securing site to site communications rather than between remote users and the back office. Client software needs to be installed on the machines accessing the network in order to establish a secure “tunnel” over the public networks which can be costly to install and maintain. It also means that if you want to access the network from a home PC the VPN will have to be installed and configured – not a trivial task for the average user. There can also be issues in using an IP Sec VPN while connecting to another company’s network e.g. if you are working on-site or from Wi-Fi hotspots.

As a result VPNs that use the SSL protocol – widely used for authentication on e-commerce web sites – are becoming more popular and analysts at Meta Group say that by next year over 70% of secure remote access will be over SSL. All that’s involved is adding a box to your corporate network which is basically a remote access server. They are available from a range of manufacturers such as Citrix and Irish company AEP Systems.

Home office ergonomics

Even the most committed road warrior has a home base and if you are working out of the office a lot the chances are that you do quite a bit of work from home. For that reason it’s important to have a well set-up home office that is ergonomically designed for maximum efficiency but also safety so that you don’t end up with painful medical conditions down the line.

 Good posture is key so don’t think you’ll get away with working at the kitchen table, or worse still slouched at the couch for long. Invest in a decent office chair and desk and as you sit in front of your PC ensure you aren’t slouched or twisted unnaturally. Considering you’ll spend a large amount of time in it, your home office chair is probably one of the most important purchases. Spend a little money to get a model that has good support, is fully adjustable and don’t be afraid to try it out in the shop.

Your feet should be rested firmly on the ground, your knees slightly lower than your hips and your screen at about eye-height and 50-60 cm from your face. Your wrists should also be flat when typing and your back well supported.

Eye-strain can be reduced by having your work space well lit with lighting set up in such a way as to minimise screen glare. You should also take regular screen breaks to give your eyes a break. Many users like to connect a larger monitor to their laptop in the office but because the LCD screen on a laptop doesn’t flicker it causes less strain.

 In terms of layout try and keep the items you use most frequently near you – it will reduce strain and also saves you having to get up and interrupt your work every few minutes. This will also help dictate what kind of desk you decide to purchase – just how much stuff are you going to need to have close at hand?

Creating virtual telcos extensions

How many times have you rung somone’s office to be told they are working from home for the day but the officious receptionist won’t give you their mobile number but instead suggests you send them an email? Next day your contact calls you to tell you they weren’t picking up mail when they were working from home. Wouldn’t life be an awful lot simpler if we all had just one phone number that we could be reached at all the time and that would follow us to our mobile, branch office or wherever we happened to be working on a particular day?

For those who already have a PBX telephone system in their offices, there are now a number of products on the market to allow integration with mobile phones. Damovo recently launched OnePhone which integrates with Ericsson PBXs but can also be extended to work with kit from other vendors.

 OnePhone directs calls to your office extension to your mobile – regardless of where you happen to be in the world. Users can also access telephony services on the PBX on their mobile, including operator services such as monitoring and intrusion. As well as allowing you use a mobile as your office extension, users with a smart phone can also have unified messaging on their handset with email, faxes and calendering data pushed to the phone. Unlike older products which enabled calls to be routed to mobiles there is no premium rate charge for the service meaning you can use a flat rate pricing plan from your mobile operator to cut your call costs – Damovo claims it can cut the cost of voice calls by between 25 and 40 per cent. OnePhone requires a gateway add-on to be installed on your PBX and all mobile’s are fitted with additional software.

Similar products are also available from other vendors – for example Avaya offers a product called Extension to Cellular which in its latest release allows users to transfer calls from their mobile to a company extension, conference in other parties and place and answer calls on multiple lines.

Read More: Hardware & Equipment