By Jeff Zbar 
www.homeofficehighway.com

Are you a power broker? You have your laptop and broadband wireless card that provide access to the connected world. You may even have a back-up laptop battery in case your first does during the middle of a major project or especially thoughtful missive.

But what about the power that empowers you? Whether you’re in an RV or a hotel room, the stuff we use — our laptops, portable printers, iPods and cell phones — invariably require more power than some measly little two-plug wall outlet will provide.

So, power up.  read more »

By Jeff Zbar 
www.homeofficehighway.com

When it comes wireless phones and my choice of hearing devices, this home office worker tends toward the dysfunctional. I’m a fan of Bluetooth and the wireless functionality and freedom it delivers.

But I like the clarity and simple effectiveness of wired headsets. Hence my confusion (my wife would argue that it doesn’t end there, but that’s another story).

Headsets are important — and sometimes legal must-haves — accessories for wireless phones. As you’re tooling around town or exploring the Final Frontier in an RV with better things to focus on than answering your wireless phone, they free your hands for note-taking or driving (helping avoid costly traffic tickets in those markets where hands-free cellular phone use is the law - see list below).

Yet sound quality, especially when driving, was lacking. Enter new Bluetooth products designed to enhance the speaker’s voice and eliminate background sounds, like wind, lawn equipment and crowd noise. Products like Jabra, Plantronics, and the novel Jawbone (which offers a pretty creative marketing ploy: Redeem your cell phone moving violation for a discount on a new Jawbone purchase).  read more »

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• by Jeff Zbar

By Jeff Zbar 
www.homeofficehighway.com

When I first saw the RV we’d be driving for Home Office Highway, I wondered how I’d make the most of what was by all accounts a miniature space.

Some concepts and practices fell right into place — like using the Mobile Office Workmate or keeping clutter to a minimum. And some were learned, and depended upon the tools we had on hand.  read more »

• by Jeff Zbar

By Jeff Zbar 
www.homeofficehighway.com

Which road tracking and map tech to use was always a toss up in our car.

We’d traveled for years with traditional GPS devices, that British lass barking out orders and seemingly venting frustration whenever we’d ignore her suggested turns. She was good and reliable. As the kids always warned, “Trust the technology.”

Then along came the Verizon Wireless and its VZ Navigator Version 4 application. Our “traditional” retail GPS would just tell us, “Make left in 2 miles.” No street name audibly announced (though it’s there in print on the screen). I have to admit, though, the British voice was something last summer when we took an impromptu detour onto the Blue Ridge Parkway — and she couldn’t convince us to “Make the next available turn…” Frustrated, she was.  read more »