People notice when your mobile gear works well
Assembling an effective mobile tool kit is not always easy but when you get all the pieces in place it not only works well but other people take notice even though you might not realize it. I was at Big Oil Co this morning (at 6:30 as usual) when I checked my email and saw that I would be moving to a different office for the third time in 3 months. The new office is on a different floor and I’m happy to move so maybe my EVDO connection will be better than it is now. My hack works OK but the signal is still weak. I picked up my Booq backpack with my gear to check out the new digs and test the EVDO. As I was leaving the new office two coworkers were chatting in the hall and one of them asked if I was checking out the new office. The other guy made the statement that moving offices would disrupt my work for days. Coworker #1 said "Not for James. He has a complete mobile office in that little backpack. He can work anywhere with no compromises." Man that felt good. :)
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Is there any way of adding a high gain ariel to your EVDO card? That would greatly improve signal.
I have actually tried a booster antenna supplied by EVDOinfo and while it sometimes helps it’s a marginal gain at best, a factor of how bad my signal strength is in that particular office.
They also get a bit too comfortable with this sometimes.
I ran into an issue the other day where a coworker needed a print out of a file from my work desktop computer. He couldn’t figure out how to get it and I wasn’t in the office to do it myself. He asked why I couldn’t just use LogMeIn like I “always do when you’re not here.” No matter how many times I tried to explain that I wasn’t in an EVDO service area, he just didn’t get it.
When the tech works, it makes us look good. When it doesn’t work, even if it’s beyond our control, it makes us look bad.