Office Technology

I was reading a nasty little article about bills and was fascinated to see how many people actually pay their’s online. According to researchers at the Gartner Group, 27 million Americans are saving on stamps by going online. It’s up from 10.6 million in 2001. That sort of interested me, so I started reading up on the subject.

Most large banks and credit unions offer the service to customers free of charge whereas CheckFree.com and Paytrust.com charge a fee. Of course, you can also use pesonal finance software like Microsoft Money or Quicken.

One of the biggest benefits is the fact that you can arrange for recurring payments to be sent automatically. You can even schedule payments up to a year ahead. (That’d make it kind of handy when it comes to things like renewing domains.)

Another benefit is the ability to make money hop from your savings account to your checking account during non-banking hours - in the middle of the night or on one of the countless holiday’s that bankers cool their heels.

If your bank offers the service, all you need to do is set up an online user ID and password on its website. From there you create a payee list from your list of bills. Apparently not every biller is set up for online payment, however, so you have to plan accordingly.

Apparently there are still a lot of skeptics around. Many people still believe the risk involved ranges from financial theft to identity theft. However, proponents argue that the risk isn’t any greater online than off. For anyone who isn’t convinced, maybe you should hang onto your stamps a little longer. A finger-print-scanning device is in the works which will load directly onto your computer. Fascinating, in a James Bond kind of way.

The HP 12C Financial Calculator is prepared to do all the thinking and figuring for us if were so inclined. Since I do well to add and subtract, this might just become my electronic baby.

Special Keys

• Over 120 built-in business functions
• Financial: Time, value of money, amortization, bond price and yield to maturity, register-based cash-flow analysis
• Statistical: standard deviation, mean, weighted mean, linear regression, forecasting and cumulative statistical analysis

Display

• 1-line, 10-character LCD screen

Memory

• RAM
• Converts register memory dynamically into program memory as the user enters additional program steps
• When all 99 program steps are used, 7 data registers still remain available for storage
• Keystroke programming — enter a series of keystrokes into the memory, then execute your program at the touch of a button

Additional Features

• Reverse Polish notation
• Long battery life

This particular electronical genius (the HP 12C) is the accepted calculator of the New York Stock Exchange, and is available by clicking HERE!

The winter rain has really set in here in so-called “sunny” California (hate to burst your bubble, but it ain’t all movie stars and palm trees out here!) and I’ve just stumbled upon what must be the most creative use of your computer’s USB port yet…it’s a USB powered cup warmer!

Yep, forget about those constant trips to the office microwave – now you can keep your coffee (or green tea in my case) hot, hot, hot, right at your desk.

What’s there to know about this amazing gadget? Not much – it apparently fits most standard mugs, works with any USB port, doesn’t require any batteries (that’s what the USB is for, silly!,) and it comes with the all-important 1-year manufacturer’s warranty. Oh, and it looks like it’s set to start shipping at the end of January 2006...just a few weeks away.

Get the latest price on the Discovery USB Beverage Warmer

Technorati Tags: Discovery USB Cup Warmer, USB

Is your office a little too old school?

Flirting with the idea of taking its wires away?

Want to do it right?

Want to be sane when it’s all said and done?

Want to do the Click HERE thing?

Have the merriest Christmas of your life! Eat too many cookies, rip open your presents like you were 4, leave the dishes in the sink, and don’t just settle for a kiss under the mistletoe.

Joi

Now I realize that if you’re not an Apple fan there’s no way in heck I’m going to convince you via a single blog post that the iBook makes a great centerpiece for your mobile office – but that won’t stop me from trying! After all, at least two of us Office Freaks are Mac evangelists, so you’d better get used to hearing the good word

Seriously though, I’ve been using Apple’s low-cost and lovable iBook as my main computer for the last five years, and even though my particular model is getting a bit long-in-the-tooth (12″ screen, 466Mhz, 10Gb HD,) it still blazes along under OSX, and is good for all but the most demanding photoshop work…hence, it makes a great mobile office computer.

One of the great benefits of an Apple laptop is it’s famous ease-of-use, and plug & play compatibility. While this may not be a big selling point to the mega-geeks out there, for the average home business user it can mean the difference between costly visits to your computer tech, or just a cheap and easy fix you can do at home.

And with iWork applications installed, and Apple’s newer, larger-screen offerings, the iBook can really accomplish anything you’d need it to, and with style, grace, and speed (that’s right, there’s a Unix kernel under that hood…Vroom!) Of course that also means that if you are an uber-geek, you just might find command-line love under that gorgeous OSX interface.

So go ahead and give Apple a chance…I dare you…you won’t be unsatisfied!

Get the latest prices on Apple’s iBook line of laptops

Technorati Tags: Apple, iBook, Mobile Office, Office Supplies, Laptop

Okay, Joi has a nasty bug and is operating on verrrry little sleep, so this post may or may not make sense. It’s one of those bugs that bite so hard you don’t even recognize yourself in the mirror. Not that I don’t look amazing, mind you…

Anyway, we’ve been shopping for a keyboard/mouse set up just like the one pictured to the left. It includes a wireless keyboard with an ergonomic design and an ergonomic wireless optical scroll mouse. I’m all about ergonomic design - so sleek and contemporary looking.

Features include:

• Comfort Curve design keyboard
• ‘My Favorites’ keys
• Zoom slider
• Ergonomic tilt wheel optical mouse
• Smart Receiver

This Microsoft Wireless Optical Desktop Comfort Edition is available at Overstock.com.

Something I always read are the customer reviews. This product ranked 5 stars from just about everyone. There was a 4 star review by the way of Georgia, but he said the product was “awesome,” he just thought the space bar was noisy.

Going to throw myself on the couch and watch Lost. Stay well.

I stumbled across an ad for this wondrous little gadget in the December edition of Wired Magazine, and immediately thought of Office Freaks. I mean, seriously…is that thing tiny or what? Apparently this diminutive projector weighs around a pound and runs on a battery, making it highly portable indeed. It’s made my Mitsubishi, and according to their website the PocketProjector has some fairly diverse uses beyond the standard business presentations–

Suggested Applications for the Mitsubishi Pocket LED DLP Projector:

Digital camera display magnification

Retail signage for show window messaging at night

Government or military on-site training

Camping video; Mobile video in cars, trucks or vans

Theater or club signage displays

Gaming video

Gaming video? That one really caught my eye…

Wall-sized round of Halo anyone?

My youngest daughter, Stephany, and I lost ourselves one day in an Office Depot. We got so busy looking at different computer monitors that we nearly forgot to pick up my older daughters. I forgot but I suspect it may have been part of Steph’s plan. Anything to ruffle the predisposed feathers of older siblings!

What fascinated us most was how differently websites, text, and images looked on different monitors. I was particularly mesmerized by the sleekness of the LCD monitors. Them some kind of sexy!

We have two computers in our home right now, but my husband’s in talks with himself about building a third. I’m hoping he’ll consider an LCD monitor for it, as the other two have CRT monitors. I have nothing in the world against the CRTs, I just thought one LCD would be cool. Besides, there’s no need being too repetitive!

To further my cause, I’ve been doing some research. In case you, too, are monitoring monitors, I thought I’d be a good girl and share.

LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) Monitors

• Super sharp detail - for spreadsheets and small text
• Less glare, more comfort during long work hours
• Incredibly slender - less than 1/2 the weight of a CRT, so it fits in smaller spaces
• Much easier to move around
• More useable screen space (a 17 ” LCD displays the same viewable content as a 19″ CRT)
• Uses 2/3 less electricity than a CRT
• Less heat, less radiation
• Less eyestrain: Sharper and clearer for text

CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) Monitors

• Better color and viewing of graphics, video, photos, and gaming
• More durable for shared use, such as in a home office or for family use
• Better color depth and accuracy for images
• Faster “reload” rates
• Accurate views from almost any viewing angle
• Multiple resolutions - better results when shrinking or enlarging images
• Priced lower than LCDs

I guess a lot of it just comes down to what the monitor would be used for, because otherwise it seems almost too close to call.

The image at the top of the post is one of the LG 50 Series 17 & 19 Flatron LCD Monitors from Office Depot. Le sigh.

Ever graced HAMMACHER SCHLEMMER’s website? They’ve got things that’ll blow your mind slam out of your head.

Take this alarm clock for instance. The Progression Wake Up Clock wakes one up in style. Unlike its crude predecessors that think nothing of jarring you out of sleep, this beautiful and civil clock uses real showmanship.

From the website:

(The Progression Wake Up Clock) uses a gradual increase in ambient light, stimulating aromas, and peaceful sounds from nature to awaken sleepers. Easy to use, simply set the desired wake up time, place some aromatherapy beads (included) into the aroma bowl, and choose a natural sound setting.

Thirty minutes before wake-up, the clock’s light begins to glow softly, subtly brightening over the next half hour. As the light increases, the warmth from the lamp releases faint aromatherapy scents into the air to stimulate the olfactory senses, speeding the waking process.

Fifteen minutes before wake up time, the clock’s speaker generates the sleeper’s choice of soft, yet lively nature sounds, and at the set wake up time a buzzer sounds to finish the cycle. The alarm can also be used to awaken using only sound, or just the buzzer. Sound selection includes Nightfall, Thunder Storm, Zen Melody, Mountain Stream, Songbirds, and Ocean Surf. Four packets of aroma beads (Energy, Morning Caf, Stress Relief, Lavendar) are provided, as are 10 removable felt disks that can be placed in the aroma bowl which allow you to use your own aromatherapy oils.

The clock can also be set to operate in reverse, gradually diminishing light, scent, and sound at night to usher sleepers into a relaxed slumber. The nature sounds can be heard at any time by simply pressing any of the sound buttons, and the light has a night light setting as well. The clock has standard time re adout, snooze, headphone jack, and volume control.

I realize it’s Friday, so my defenses are worn down, but this just fascinates the giddy right out of me.

And, yes, I know that technically an alarm clock isn’t an office supply. But one has to wake up in order to make it to the office, right? After all, irregardless of a previous post by a certain young man, most of you work very, very hard, don’t you?

Well, it’s official – “they” have finally thought of everything! This new gadget called the StealthSwitch is a handy foot-switch that allows on-the-clock computer gamers to hide away their Halo Frag-Fests instantly, with just a click of the switch…forget about those old habits of minimizing windows or even shutting down your system every time your boss comes around during your play time (doesn’t he know you’re busy?) – the StealthSwitch does it all for you, and it will even mute the sound!

According to the manufacturer all you do is hide the StealthSwitch under your desk (within quick foot-range,) and you’ve got instant privacy whenever you need it. With the click of a button you can make any window absolutely invisible.

Wow…I can think of a number of occasions where this sneaky little gadget would come in handy. It could be a blogger’s best friend!

Get the latest price on the StealthSwitch

Technorati Tags: Gadgets, Office Supplies, StealthSwitch