The day I figured out how to get e-mail while on the road was one of the most liberating days of my life. The day before, however, was not. Two hours after I hooked up my computer to the ‘in-room port’ in my hotel room, the hotel IT guy announced I had to use ‘conventional dial-up’ with my laptop, not an ISDN connection.
‘So that means what?’ I asked.
‘It means no e-mail for you,’ he said, looking at me like I was a total idiot.
I no longer stay at that hotel. And after several therapy sessions, I’ve come to own my fear of technology and the shame that it creates. For, in truth, I am a tech executive.
If you resist technology long enough, when you’re finally forced to succumb you’ll be in much better shape than the early adopters. At least somebody will have figured out how to write a readable manual.
Don’t get me wrong. I love the benefits of modern technology. And I don’t at all mind other people using it, especially when they’re flying the airplane I’m on or treating the medical conditions I’ve picked up on the trip. But don’t jargon me to death about how it works and don’t expect me to use it if you can’t just plug it in and make it work.
I don’t store names and numbers in my mobile phone. But I do have a model that works anywhere around the world without opening up the back and fiddling with some little card. I do know how to connect a DVD drive to my computer so I can watch my own choice of movies in-flight. And I’ve finally found a universal power source that works on every airline. I also know that Bose means it’s a good headset and that the more you spend on a digital camera, the more beautiful your shots will be. And I know that when I’m writing an article about road warrior gadgets, I had better ask for some outside help.
So I turned to Jingjing Chen, manager of investor relations at Infonet, and Madame Tech Extraordinaire. Need credentials? She’s a Cisco-certified engineer and my top advisor on all things technical. She manages to turn even me into a savvy road warrior. Here are her technological picks:
The Xonix mass storage disk watch has 32 MB of storage for even the windiest CFO presentation and any spreadsheet you want to take on the road – on your wrist. It only costs about $60.
Visiting London? You won’t get wet with the Flat Pack travel umbrella. It’s flat and it’s light, so it travels easily. It’s strong and durable, so it won’t end up in the gutter. And it’s definitely chic. Better still, it only costs $17.
Want a quick photo of your CEO on Capitol Hill? Try the N300R. It’s a digital camera and so small you can use it as a key chain. You can download your images onto your laptop between meetings and easily get them onto the web. At less than $80, the price is right, too.
Say what you will, Morgan, but the new Palm Tungsten W Handheld not only looks cool, it is so powerful that it can be used both as a phone and as a mini PC.
Morgan Molthrop is vice president of IR at Infonet Services Corp. [email protected]
Lagniappe*
My writer friend Victoria Crane, who covers tech subjects for our annual report, turned me onto a hip shop in San Francisco called Flight 001 which specializes in gadgets for jet-setters and road warriors. Here’s my Flight 001 wish list:
T-Form World Time: The perfect alarm clock/calculator for traveling.
Franklin’s five-language European translator: Stores 175,000 words and 4,000 phrases in English, Spanish, French, German and Italian. Plus it’s a calculator and a metric/currency converter and it has all major US & European airline, airport and embassy phone numbers. You can even play hangman on it.
Victorinox’s SwissCard: So refined but capable it should be a member of HM’s Secret Service. Its ten functions and seven features include a nail file, tweezers and a ballpoint pen. The downside? You have to pack it in checked luggage because you could take the plane apart with the tools.
Retractable phone cord: Traveling is hard enough without having to fish around your bags for tangled cords to connect your laptop to the phone jack. This gadget gives you two meters of cord and toes the line until you’re ready to push the button and bring it on in.
*Lagniappe: A French Creole word that means ‘a little extra’
