This Week in Mobile Tech Manor #70: Vacation Here I Come

It’s the end of the week and that can only mean I get to share the entire happenings at Mobile Tech Manor with you. It’s a special week for several reasons, the holidays are almost here, my anniversary is tomorrow and next week I am taking the first week of vacation from blogging in as long as I can remember. Come on in and let’s visit for a while.

Vacation? What’s that?

I am excited as next week I am actually taking a week off from blogging. This is the first extended time off I have taken from blogging in a very long time. It is a good time to do it with the family getting ready for the holidays, and I am looking forward to having some much needed down time. I’m not doing anything crazy like Kevin did earlier — I am not unplugging from everything. I get too much entertainment from plugging in occasionally. No, I’m not unplugging, I am simply unblogging.

I’m sure I will check in to see how things are going during the week, but I am leaving you in the capable hands of Kevin. It’s nice to have a cohort as good as Kevin — I can take off and not worry about a thing. Kevin’s turn to take off will be the following week so I will get to return the favor of leaving him by himself to run the site. We both have worked extremely hard this year and the rest will be good for us both.

We have the CES week coming up the first of the year so all the rest we can get now will be worth it. It will be good to get out to the CES again; it’s always fun to spend time with Kevin looking at gadgets. We’re like kids in a candy store. A very expensive candy store.

Meanwhile it is business as usual, at least through today. Tomorrow my bride and I celebrate our 11th anniversary, even though it only seems like yesterday that we wed. She is the reason I am able to do this every day, and I thank her for standing by me through thick and thin. We have been through some great times and some bad times, as all couples do over such a long period, and I can honestly say that even the bad times are awesome due to the great person she is. I count myself as one of the luckiest people on earth.

The gear

This week I was expecting a cool laptop to arrive, but it hasn’t shown up yet. The good folks at Dell are sending a Latitude Z to test, and I have to admit I am excited about it. The Latitude Z is the thin notebook designed for the executive class that has two special features. Foremost is the wireless charging, as the Z is charged simply by setting it on the charging pad. No plugging the laptop into an outlet. Set it down and it charges.

The other special capability is the wireless docking. It has an option that connects wirelessly to USB peripherals and external monitors. Just bring it within a few feet of the peripherals, and it auto-connects without wires. Very cool stuff and I can’t wait to give it a try.

This week I sent the Celio REDFLY back to Celio. If you recall that was the model that works with the BlackBerry. I am sad that it didn’t work out better for me, but like all things mobile YMMV. Some folks indicated to me they really like the REDFLY with the BlackBerry. It just didn’t work out for me.

CES countdown

The CES is just a few weeks away and as I covered in last week’s column I’ve nailed down the gear I am going to take. I mentioned that my favorite little Booq backpack wasn’t big enough to carry this gear for the trip, and the folks at Booq contacted me to let me know about a new bag they have recently released.

The Mamba Shift L definitely looks like it is small enough to be easy to carry, yet easily fit the gear I am taking with me. I have one one the way and I’ll enjoy taking it on its first trip to Vegas. The right bag can make all the difference in having a good travel experience, and I have a good feeling about this bag.

e-Book of the week

I read a great e-book this week, yet I am embarrassed to tell you the story behind it. I have mentioned novelist David Hewson many times here over the years. I first started following David through his blog years ago. David is a savvy writer who is always looking at tech to make his job easier. If I recall correctly, I believe he was using a Treo when I first ran across him at least 5 or 6 years ago. We have corresponded a few times about mobile tech that is good for a writer.

This week I was scrounging around the nearly 500 e-books in my eReader bookshelf. I often buy a chunk of books at one time, and occasionally I discover a purchased book in my library that I forget about and never read. I am embarrassed to report that this week I discovered that although I bought the first book in David’s Nic Costa series in 2004, I never read it.

I apologize to David for missing the book for so many years but I am happy to report A Season for the Dead is wonderful. He weaves a great tale about a serial killer in Rome, and Nic Costa is a protagonist of the sort I enjoy following. He’s a real guy, who cares about the job, and even though he’s just getting started in his detective career he’s determined to do his best. I am looking forward to picking up the rest of the series, up to 7 books now I believe, and seeing how the character of Nic evolves. I highly recommend the book.

A cool thing I need to pass on can net you a big discount on e-books for the rest of the year. The folks at eReader/ Fictionwise are offering a 25% discount on all e-books that jkOnTheRun readers buy between now and the end of the year. Just use coupon code jk25 when you check out at either eReader or Fictionwise and you get the 25% discount on everything. That’s a great discount and we thank these folks for offering it.

Wrap-up

That’s the week as it happened, and I am truly in wind-down pre-vacation mode. I hope you all have a great week while I am not around. If I miss the blogging thing too much I may write a column next week. If not I’ll still be back the week after. Int the meantime be safe and be happy.

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