5 Tips for staying
connected on the road
by Chris De Herrera
So you want to take your Windows CE PC Companion on the road and stay connected to the
office or the Internet? Here's my list of five important things to do, or consider, before
going on the road with a PC Companion.
1. Phone Cords
Bring an extra phone cord and an acoustic coupler. The phone cord lets you use your
modem further away from the phone jack. I suggest getting a phone cord that automatically
winds up to avoid the usual mess with twists. Some hotel phones do not have removable
phone cords. An acoustic coupler lets you rest the handset of the phone in a cradle and
connect your modem that way.
2. Mailstart
For fast access to any POP3 e-mail account from any desktop PC Web browser or H/PC Pro
check out Mailstart (www.mailstart.com). Mailstart
lets you read your e-mail and reply while on the road without retrieving it. You must know
your e-mail address and password. If the system can not identify your mail server, you
will be prompted to verify the settings. Once you are connected you can read, reply and
delete e-mail. The best part is that the e-mail is available until you retrieve it on your
desktop or via the Inbox.
3. Blind Dialing
Phones in countries around the world may have different sounding dial tones. Most PC
Card and software modems recognize the standard tone used in the U.S. and some other
countries, but not the other tones. If you have problems with dial tone recognition, here
is a workaround. Place ATX3 (X3 for some software modems) in the "extra
settings" section of your PC Companion's Dialup Networking utility. This causes your
modem to dial without listening for a dial tone.
4. Power
When traveling with your PC Companions, don't forget to bring along your AC power
adapter and extra batteries. I recommend bringing an extension cord so you have the
flexibility to use your device throughout the room. Check out the power and plug standards
if you're traveling abroad. Many PC Companion manufacturers include international AC Power
adapters with their H/PCs and Ps/PCs, or offer them as optional accessories.
5. Backup
Backing up your data is even more important when you're on the road. BSquare's BUseful
Backup Plus (www.bsquare.com) can be used to backup
data to, and restore it from a SanDisk CompactFlash storage card (www.sandisk.com) in just a few minutes. Some of the
newer H/PC Pro and Palm-size PCs have built-in backup utilities that offer similar
capabilities. (I recommend that you check out the capabilities of these backup utilities
before depending on them.) A regular routine of backing up your data is a must if you are
constantly out on the road. If your PC Companion is lost or stolen, or if you need to pull
the batteries for a complete reset, the backup will save you. To that end, after you back
up your data, take the storage card out of the PC Companion and keep it in your wallet, or
someplace safe.
Chris De Herrera is a special correspondent and contributing author for Handheld
PC Magazine. He maintains one of the best Windows CE Web sites (www.cewindows.net). Chris is a Microsoft Comm Link
columnist covering communications and Windows CE issues on Microsoft's Windows CE Web
site. He is also a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional for Windows CE and writes articles
on Windows CE for his own Web site and for other mobile computing publications. Chris
regularly participates in chats on Microsoft Network and various newsgroups (including
Microsoft.public.win dowsce). You can e-mail Chris at chris@cewindows.net. |