Last week’s column about “Working At Home” and using “Remote Desktop Connection” received many thanks and a couple of emails with suggestions.  (Thanks to all of you who write each week; I really appreciate “talking” to my readers even if it is just to say, “Hi”.)  One of those suggestions submitted by Daryl in Elkton suggested a site/application that I had not heard of before.

The application is named, “TeamViewer” and is a free and reasonably simple way to log into  another computer with the TeamViewer software installed.   Keep in mind that this is only available free to home users and not commercial businesses.  Go to the site to, “Find out why more than 60 million users trust TeamViewer!”

There are several excellent benefits and one potential drawback.  The benefits would start with ease of installation.  The site says you can be up and running in 2 minutes.  That is a fairly accurate statement, but if you read all the documentation I would plan on 15-30 minutes.  Next, you can create a group which has all of your computers in the group.  This allows you to login using your group username and password and easily connect to any of your group’s computers.  Another benefit is the ability to easily transfer documents back and forth between computers.

Since I have limited space here I will hit one HUGE benefit of TeamViewer.  If you set it up correctly you do not have to have the TeamViewer software installed on a computer to access your group’s computers.  You can log onto your account using your internet browser.  The address is simple (login.teamviewer.com) and once you log in there you may connect to one of your computer’s desktops to interact with your “long distance” computer as if you were sitting in front of it!  This is a tremendous advantage over most ways to access your computers from a distance.  It sets up a secure site connection using “https” the same as your bank’s website, so security should not be an issue.

The one drawback that does bother me is that they have a menu item that reads, “Enable black screen”.  I have tried this feature with computers that are side by side to check that and other features.  When I choose to “black” the remote screen it does, but not when I click on the remote screen.  The remote computer flashes and anyone can see what is clicked.  This is not terrible but I believe it is a security problem.  At my home it really doesn’t matter since it is just my wife and me, but if you have visitors or robbers it is different.  If someone from TeamViewer would like to contact me and tell me how to correct this issue I would whole heartedly recommend TV to everyone.  However, at this point I see that as a possible security issue.

OK, one last benefit.  Since you can log onto your computer long distance using your browser it works on all windows enabled computers.  I have installed it on my wife’s notebook, our desktop and even my little netbook.  Two of these computers run Windows 7 and one of them Windows XP so I can verify that it works well across those operating systems (including Mac OS X 10.4 and up).

Give it a try this week and let me know what you think.  And as with all software I recommend, use at your own risk and check their website for issues since I can’t possibly know all the details for all the software I use/recommend.

Last but not least, “Happy New Year” to you and your families!”

Tags: add-on, computer, computer help, google docs, new computer, other computer, RDP, Ron Doyle, Transferring Files, viewer

Because of the large number of emails I received about last week’s column, today we will start with a comment about that column regarding ICE, “In Case of Emergency” for your phones.  I received an email from Bob Brotchie, the man who started the idea.  He recommended an ICE application for iPhones created by him and ems-options.com.  If you are an iPhone user I highly recommend you take a look at this $0.59 application at iTunes.  If you are like me and do not own an iPhone but another smart phone like a BlackBerry, don’t worry, there is an ICE app on the horizon for us too.

Now let’s look at the rest of the story.

Well, speaking of ice, what a weekend we all just experienced in the Shenandoah Valley and of course everywhere else that got the blast from, “Old Man Winter”.  Since winter starts on December 21st this year I should have said, “Old Man Fall”.

But it did make me think of something that is very much computer related to our society today.  That is WAH or WFH; “Word At Home”, “Work From Home” or whatever you may call it where you work.

Years ago the large majority of us could only perform our jobs from the company location.  However, today computers have changed that.

Look at my job for instance.  My job with NTELOS is spent roughly 90% of the time working on my computer or with others about their computers.  Unless I have a meeting to attend I could be anywhere in the world.  From there it would appear to anyone else that I am sitting at my desk helping them solve their computer related problems.

I can be sitting at another computer and log into my desktop at work and actually work long distance on my company computer.  That allows me to be “stranded” away from the office due to a blizzard and still accomplish anything that I normally would sitting right there.

There is excellent software out there called, “GoToMyPC” which allows you to work on a computer from a remote location and it works very well.  It is very easy to install and use.  It currently costs a little less than $180/year; yet, you can sign up for a 30 day free trial before purchase.

There is also another program that is built into many versions of Microsoft Windows called, “Remote Desktop Connection“.  This one is free; however, unless you are a little on the “geek” side of life; it is not the easiest thing to get working properly.

And that meeting I mentioned a few paragraphs ago, I don’t have to be present for – more about that next time.  But until then, I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas!

Tags: location, microsoft, RDP, remote, Remote Desktop, Ron Doyle, WAH, WFH, Work At Home, Work From Home

After last week’s column regarding the way I store and provide my medical information for emergencies, I received a quite a few emails.  Some of them were about that with several others asking me to write about a related idea that is relatively new.  So today, we are going to take a look at ICE.  And never fear I am not talking about our recent weather here in the valley.

In 2005, Bob Brotchie with the East Anglia Ambulance Service, UK, said, “I was reflecting on some difficult calls I’ve attended, where people were unable to speak to me through injury or illness and we were unable to find out who they were. I discovered that many people, obviously, carry mobile phones and we were using them to discover who they were. It occurred to me that if we had a uniform approach to searching inside a mobile phone for an emergency contact then that would make it easier for everyone.”

An idea was born and starting in July, 2005, this idea has taken off almost worldwide.  The idea that Mr. Brotchie came up with was why not put something in cell phones that would allow emergency personal to quickly find out who they should contact if the need arose.  The actual scheme is called, “ICE” which simply stands for “In Case of Emergency”.

You should be using ICE…now.  You simply list the people in your cell phone that you want contacted in case you cannot respond to emergency personal in a time of crisis.  There are several ways to do this but all you really have to do is make sure that when someone searches your cell phone for “ICE” the people pop up.

I have been using this idea for the past couple of years on my BlackBerry by preceding my ICE list by the word, “ICE”  For example my wife is, “ICE Robin, wife”.  I figured I would try to help them out a little more by telling them my relationship to the person they were calling.  I do not know how much that helps but it makes me feel better.  I have also added my doctor, brother and pastor to my ICE list.

If you have never heard of this before or have never started using it (and have a cell phone of course) I believe you need to incorporate this idea.  It cannot hurt but could be a big help!

Just as last week, I would like to ask if any emergency responders read this and have any thoughts to add, please shoot me an email.

Tags: Blackberry, Bob Brotchie, cell phone, ICE, In Case of Emergency, medial, Ron Doyle

There are a couple of things you know about me if you actually know me.  I don’t mean “know me” from being one of the many faithful readers of this column but people who actually know me.  Like coworkers, family, friends, etc.  So let me share just a couple of things with you.

First, I have been a type 1, insulin dependent diabetic since I was four years old.  To answer your question, yes, I am still in good shape at 55 today, with none of the complications you may read about.

Next, which you most likely do know, I am a technology geek.

Last, for today anyway, I would most likely be diagnosed as OCD if I was psychoanalyzed.  When I need to do something I will do it right then and fix it until it is exactly what I am wanting.  Of course, this excludes yard work and any other things that require physical labor.

Now let’s mix the three.  Being a diabetic, I have been a member of MedicAlert for many years.  I strongly suggest you look into MedicAlert and see the many great things they have to offer.  They have all sorts of ways to display your medical info for a reasonable fee.

However, being an OCD geek diabetic I wanted to come up with my own plan.

Several years ago I was talking to a friend who worked on a local rescue squad.  I asked if the rescue people look for the MedicAlert “jewelry” when responding to a call.  He said that was one of the many things they do when they first arrive on the scene.  I next asked if they have internet access when they get to the emergency.  He said that, yes, they did if they were close to a tower or connection of some sort.  I then asked if I created my own “Medical Info” page on the net would they look at it.  He said yes, if it was made available to them, made sense to look there and they had a connection.

So here is my idea, which I put into affect a few months after my conversation.  I created a medical web page with all of my medical info on it.  Such as; doctor contact info, all medicine I take, drug allergies, people to contact and all other pertinent but brief information (including a picture) I could come up with.  It is also made to be viewable on a cell phone.

I made a half way attempt to hide it from search engines, but I really don’t care since I don’t have anything I need to worry about others finding.  I did not post any ID numbers, bank accounts, etc. and never would.  Using my own web page I can update anything about me, in just a few minutes and it will be available online instantly.  I don’t have to go through another system or process.

I next went to the local Army Surplus store and had dog tags made for about $10 with my name, doctor contact, diabetes alert and my webpage all stamped into it.

Will this work?  I have no idea, but if any of you out there are in the rescue profession, tell me what you think of the worthiness of this idea.  At least I now have a dog tag.  Since I’m also allergic to dogs, that is about the closest I can get to one.

Tags: low tech, medical, medicalert, Ron Doyle, technology

Shannon and I were talking about our trips to work. He travels one way for a little over ten minutes and I travel about 40 minutes to work each day. He said he would go crazy having to go that long to work. Well the gas prices are driving me crazy but the time I find very useful.

From age 16 until recently I read two or three books a month but regrettably life is way too busy now. I have found in recent years I just don’t have the time to sit down and enjoy a good book very often. That is one of the things I use summer vacation for – time to read a book.

I have written before about listening to podcasts frequently but I won’t go into that again today. I have never mentioned audio books to you before. There are a couple of great sources for them online. If you like to read, have an mp3 player or want to burn them to CD and don’t have the time to read a book here are some I would like to suggest.

The first is named, “Audible“. These books are not free but if you are an avid reader of current authors try it out. They have had a deal on it for quite a while for your first book being free if you use a secret code (audible.com/night, thanks to Leo Laporte). Their standard offer is $7.49 for the first three months and then $14.95/month afterward for one book/month. They also have other offers but these are the least expensive. You can get most any current author in a wide range of categories from adventure to science along with some free mp3s. The quality of these recordings is excellent. The books last anywhere from four to 24 hours.

The other site that I like (since my pockets aren’t usually very full) is, “Podiobooks“. All of the audio books here are free, but the large percentage of these books have not been published on paper yet.

These are usually written by unknown authors who have never gotten contracts from the big publishers. You will have to search for them by the types of books you are interested in. I have found some excellent books here and some that I listened to for 20 minutes and then gave up. They are all originally done as weekly/monthly podcasts, read by the authors. Sign up with your email address to be notified each time another “chapter” has been posted to the site. However, if you are like me and want an entire book “right now”, search for the “completed” books and grab all of the podcasts at once and listen to them at your convenience.

One final site is, “The Gutenberg Project” where there is a very large collection of eBooks to be read on a computer or book reader. There is also a collection of books in audio formats, some read by humans (decent quality) and others read by computers (poor). These books have expired copyrights; therefore, they are free. So at TGP you can get most of the old classics.

If you have a long commute or a friend who likes to read but can’t see well enough to read well, these sites are great ways to go.

Tags: audio, books, computers, Firefox, google, iPod, mp3, mp3 player, Ron Doyle, zune