Monthly Archives: January 2011

Working @ Home

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My truck is in the shop today and as a result, I am working from home today.  It is a good day for this because of the snow storm blowing thru.  This does not happen often but I thought I would reflect on a few things I have learned about working from home and about myself.

I really enjoy working from home.

I feel like I’m twice as productive.  Few phone call interruptions and no “drop-by” visits.

Lunch takes only 10-15 minutes and I keep on working.

I love my desk at home.  It is the perfect height.  Being 6’2”, most desks are 5” too low to the ground for me to work comfortably.

I need better desktop speakers.  Sennheiser headphones are great, but I need to be able to hear my cell phone ring.

IM is absolutely one of the most valuable ways to stay in touch.

It is important to treat the day at home just like the office, take a shower and dress just like in the office.  (I knew this already, but it makes such a difference.)

Make a half pot of coffee at a time, never a full pot.

I am much more detailed focused, much to the dismay of my team.

The dogs enjoy having me around.  At least I think they do. Parker has been sleeping under the desk all day and Penny has been on the couch “in her spot”.

Having a reliable Internet connection with VPN to the office is essential.  Go go SonicWall SSL-VPN!

Why the iPhone 4 on Verizon is not interesting

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imageVerizon and Apple announced today that the iPhone will be available to Verizon customers in February.  From my perspective, if you are an AT&T customer it may be best to wait before switching.  The Verizon iPhone (vPhone…) will be using the CDMA network, not Verizon’s new LTE network.  This means that the device will still be on a 3G network.  Some may say that this network is still faster than the AT&T 3G network, that may be so, however these are my concerns.

CDMA does not allow for simultaneous voice and data traffic.  This means no web browsing while you are on the phone, including getting new email alerts.

Apple announces new iPhone equipment in June, at least that has been the trend.  If you switch now, you may be locked into a device that will be top of the line for 3-4 months until the iPhone 5 is available.

The big plus is that an included Verizon app is included to turn the phone into a hotspot (read: without having to jailbreak).  This is exciting EXCEPT if you get a phone call.  Then it is good by data connection.

Thanks for trying Verizon.  I’ll stick with my AT&T service.  I can count on one hand the number of dropped calls in the past year.