Cool and Useful Technology

What is in your home and business?

Since I use and rely on technology for my livelihood, I often try to keep things simple for myself, my family, and my clients. However, in this article I am breaking away from sound technology advice and focusing on the cool side of technology.

Keep in mind that being in the technology business does not preclude me from being surprised and amazed by advancements that are popping up on a regular basis. For example: imagine my surprise the first time I saw my family dancing while playing a video game in front of the TV without a joystick or controller! For someone who learned on the Atari system, this was a more impressive advancement than going from Pong to Missile Command! Speaking to my phone and getting intelligent answers in return is also pretty amazing. (Watching other people argue with their iPhones is sometimes hilarious!)

So here is a short list of the coolest things I have found for both business and personal use in the last couple of years:

· DVR: (Digital Video Recorder) I really can’t imagine watching TV without being able to pause, rewind, and record a show or a game – without a VHS tape. It has really spoiled me. (It does make it a little too easy to get a snack without missing anything – good for the game, not for the diet…)

· Slingbox: a device that will broadcast your TV signal to a secure account that is viewable via any PC or tablet connected to the Internet. I use it all the time, especially when I am out of town so I can keep up with the local teams back home.

· MIFI: a credit card sized device that allows Internet access for up to 5 devices at once. It works great anywhere that you can get a cell phone signal.

· iPad: amazing little device with a ton of uses. One of which I discovered when I committed to an airport pickup without realizing that I would miss a NY Giants Monday night game… I had to think fast, so I went home early to be sure the Slingbox was working. I then purchased the Slingbox app from the itunes store and I charged the MIFI. Before I left I connected the MIFI for Internet access, and used the slingbox app to connect to my DirecTV DVR. It all worked great and I watched the game in the airport parking lot, and listened to it while I drove there and back. The person I picked up was impressed, and they were able to watch the game on the way home. (The Giants lost to the Saints that night, but the season ended well, as you know!!)

· iPhone 4s: what’s all the fuss? Well it is pretty amazing. Siri, the speech enabled application, is not a toy; it reads me emails and articles aloud, it can send text messages and emails without me tpying on the phone, and in general, it responds well to verbal requests. Another positive about Siri is that she is very polite and never speaks back to me. There are a ton of other apps that make the device a useful phone, mp3 player, and mini laptop with high speed access to email and the Internet. It also has a high def video camera and an 8 mega pixel camera.

· Remote access. If you are not able to access your home and work PC remotely, you are missing out on a very useful tool. In some cases the basic functionality is free, but the more advanced functionality requires a subscription. All CMIT managed clients should know that remote access to your work/managed PC is included at no extra charge.

· Apple TV: a small device that hooks up to your TV, connects to your Wi-Fi, and allows access to internet, movies, and applications through the TV; it makes a standard TV web enabled for $99! And, most impressively, it allows you to broadcast your iPhone, iPad, and apple laptop screens on your TV. Now when we have some pictures or videos from an event we can show the family without everyone crowding around a PC or laptop screen.

Another cool and very useful product that is not used daily in most homes or businesses is my new CMIT impressions device. It is a 55inch high definition television, a web conferencing tool with amazing sound and video clarity, a fully functional windows 7 tablet PC with touch screen capabilities, Microsoft Office 2010, white boarding, and much more. Since it is all integrated into one device it is very easy to set up. I have one in my conference room and plan to install one in my family room in the near future.

These are just a few of the new devices that I use, install, and support in my business and personal life.