Q. Hi - I tried to order from Tigerdirect, but their shipping added around $50 to the price(!) Do you know when you plan having the new products with UK retailers?

A. Even though the world is made border-free in many ways through the Internet, that doesn’t include shipping and handling.

I talked with the marketing team over at MoGo and they said there has been (their words) and OUTRAGEOUS demand for the new x54’s outside the US. They are lining up European retailers right now.

Expect our announcement on a UK distributor SOON. The team wants UK availability within the month.

Q. The (Lenovo) X61 says that it has a Type I / II PC Card slot. Will the Mogo mouse BT fit in that type of slot? Thanks.

A. Yes, We are compatible for PC II Card Slot

Q. Last week, I answered a question about Macs and MoGo. I’ve had some emails asking me to clarify…

A. I forgot to add that the MoGo compatability chart is here.

Sorry about that.

Elizabeth is a professional writer & geek with most of the last decade spent in senior management at a leading global IT provider. Thousands have attended her seminars in the US & Canada on subjects ranging from basic TCP/IP networking to high-end data storage solutions.

Got a question? Ask Elizabeth.

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Free?  Is anything ever really free anymore?  I don’t know, and that is very possibly a more philosophical than economical question anymore.  Regardless, I just so happen to find out that today, Yahoo! is giving away, yes for free, text messaging on mobile phones to all their users.

According to the little article over at MobileCrunch, via Yahoo! itself, “Yahoo! Mail now allows users to send free text messages to mobile phone numbers in the Untied States, Canada, India and the Philippines. Instant messaging and enhanced e-mail services have also been added.”  So,the good news is that all your friends, family and business contacts are much more accessible 24 hours a day which may or may not be a good thing, depending on just how ‘connected’ you already are.  If you are the Mobile Warrior you most likely are, assuming you check this blog with some sort of frequency, this is probably pretty good news.

Other cool aspects of this new Yahoo! launch is that, “Users can convert their e-mail messages into IM chats or switch to a text message dialogue with the click of a button, for when friends come online or go mobile.”  Wow, snazzy.   For more Mobile Warrior type information, head over to MoGo and check out products, innovations, and generally great ideas!

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According to CNet, a new report has revealed that teenagers in Britain are sleep-deprived due to the distractions of their many electronic gadgets.

Too busy with checking email, playing games, TV, music, etc - the young adults in the study were averaging 4 - 7 hours of sleep (vs. the 8 or 9 recommended). Additionally, the sleep they are getting is not restful.

The Sleep Council is calling it “junk sleep” and says it could rival the consumption of unhealthy junk food as a major lifestyle and health issue.

According to Dr. Chris Idzikowski of the Edinburgh Sleep Centre; “What we are seeing is the emergence of junk sleep–that is, sleep that is of neither the length nor quality that it should be in order to feed the brain with the rest it needs to perform properly.”

Over 40% of those surveyed complained that they felt tired during the day and had troubles usually associated to lack of sleep - like lethargy and trouble concentrating.

Could these results be translated from the kids to their parents?

Absolutely.

Almost one in five of the teenage boys said the quality of their sleep had been affected by leaving their TV or computer on - habits common in the raod warriors, as well.

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About time!  Well, actually I don’t know how accurate that is, because it most likely isn’t “about time” that they got wireless mobile internet capability seeing as though a large majority of the country is very much stuck in the 3rd world.  That said, is it exactly, well, right, that they are now getting mobile internet in some areas while others are without running water?  Hmm, talk about a misallocation of funds, but that’s neither here nor there, and certainly not for this blog.

Nevertheless, it’s mobile news, and for all you mobile warriors who may be traveling to the beautiful continent of Africa, most specifically in or around Sierra Leone, you might just be roaming…literally.  According to the article I just read:

“the Celtel mobile data from the Celtel mobile telecommunication will provide access to internet and exciting online downloads directly to Celtel subscribers on their mobile phones…mobile data is on the way and subscribers will soon enjoy the facility from their mobile phones sooner than later.”

Alas, big news for Africa, and big news for any and all mobile users that belong to Celtel’s loving arms.  Head over, bone up on the big break, and then head back and hook yourself up with some big bad MoGo gear to arm yourself for the trip.

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Q. I started to order an X54 Pro from TigerDirect, but it said the product would arrive January, 2008!

A. First of all, thank you for letting us know when you have a problem with ordering a MoGo product. MoGo has been in conversations with TigerDirect to identify the issues as we hear about them and respond ASAP with the customers.

When ordering in the next week or so, expect a response of about a 30-day wait time (sometimes the computer will default to reporting 6-8 weeks). This is because the MoGo x54’s are not in stock yet, as production is still filling pre-orders.

Ordering from TigerDirect is your opportunity to be some of the first in line to receive these products!

Q. I have a MacBook and it only has USB. How do I make it work with PC Card stuff like the MoGo mouse and my mobile wireless card?

A. First of all, MoGo doesn’t recommend using adapters.

That said, there are ARE adapters. This is incredibly critical for Mac adherents like you (and me!). Until last year, though, these gadgets would run us $500- $750. Eek, indeed.

But last summer the price finally came down and there are some really good ones available . Although there isn’t one out there that I would personally endorse as standing out from the crowd, . Endgagdet did a review of one I’ve seen used by some of my colleagues.

Q. Ricky asked us a bunch of great questions in a comment on Aug. 14. One of them was when the regular (media) version of the mouse is in the media mode and you press the buttons, does it send the standard global keypresses for mute, vol up/down, play/pause, stop, forward/back or is there special software that just targets certain programs?

A. Ricky, NO special software is required as X54 transforms into true media remote.

BTW, Ricky, you also asked us to add the following applications to the chart at http://www.newtonperipherals.com/mogo_mouseX54.html or at least inform us of the compatibility of them, or as many of them as you can test: Winamp, Foobar2000, VLC, Media Player Classic, Windows Media Center - I’ve asked the guys at MoGo to let me know which ones they will test/add.

Elizabeth is a professional writer & geek with most of the last decade spent in senior management at a leading global IT provider. Thousands have attended her seminars in the US & Canada on subjects ranging from basic TCP/IP networking to high-end data storage solutions.

Got a question? Ask Elizabeth.

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Man, could I have managed to manually manipulate any more words with the letter “M” in that title?!  I think not.  Nevertheless, I digress.  I just read a cool article about something that should make the lives of Mobile Warriors around the country yet again easier.  First comes the Pizza with a Text message, now comes even easier mobile shopping.  Where does it end?!

That’s right, mShopper is aiming to make all things mobile shopping a lot easier for you, your friends and anyone else who has ever wanted to, or actually purchased something via their cell phone.  According to the article I just read at MobileCrunch, the mShopper application helps by:

“…providing prices and specs on thousands of products in real time. Up-to-date information in changes can be easily accessed…the mShopper search engine allows you to find a product with as few as two or three characters. For example, if a shopper is interested in a Panasonic HDTV, typing “pan” and “hdt” would result in a hit. If a search results in too many hits, additional descriptions can be added to narrow the field. This feature helps when shopping for something in a certain color or size.”\

Not too bad at all.  Combine this technology with Bluetooth ad’s and we’re talking 21st century stuff.  Combine all That with a MoGo Headset and you’re really in luck as shopping, browsing, listening and participating in the mobile world gets easier every day.

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Remember when you didn’t know who was calling before you picked up the phone?

Those days are back.

In the last few years, Caller ID spoofing has  become more and more popular. Now, with sites like Spoofcard.com and Telespoof.com, it has also become simple.

And it lives in the legal Neverland of  only being illegal if used to commit a crime.  Which means that the sites offering the spoofing services will not be shut down until the law changes.

The way they work is straightforward. The user dials a toll-free number,  keys in the destination number and the Caller ID number to display.

Some services also provide voice scrambling to make the caller sound like someone of the opposite sex.

The service is being used in many illegals ways. Calls from what appears to be a  legitimate charity for donations or from  your bank asking to confirm your account information could be schemes to get your credit information.

Likewise, Caller ID is used by credit-card companies to authenticate newly issued cards. People who steal new credit cards from the mail can now make it appear to be calling from that number.

Credit Card companies are responding by using sophisticated 1-800 numbers, where the hardware can identify calls using a separate technology.

Others steal credit card numbers and then call Western Union using the spoofed phone number of the true card owners to order wire transfers they go and quickly cash out.

Although the FCC has not yet launched an investigation  or recommended any law change, most Federal and State investigative branches have cases they are working that mayeventually shut down the most unscrupulous of these services.

But for now, be aware.

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Talk about the ultimate for a mobile-warrior!  Ever have hunger pangs and just didn’t have the energy to pick of the phone and actually TALK to someone about your order?  Well, if you are that person, first off, I feel sorry for you, but second off, good news for you!  Over the pond in Great Britain, Domino’s Pizza is testing out a new system that allows pre-registered users to simply text message the Domino’s text number with their order, and the pizza will be delivered, hopefully within the famous Domino’s 30 minutes or less?

That’s right friends, if it works over there, hold onto your hats because there’s a very high possibility that more restaurants, in more countries, yes, probably here, will follow suit and introduce their Own version of this Text-for-Food.  I don’t know why, but it makes me sad.  Not that I didn’t expect technology to advance to these levels, but it just makes me feel like in 200 years we’ll be the laziest bunch of creatures the planet has ever played host to.

Therein lies the rub.  At what point does technology slip past convenience and into sloth?  When does easy become too easy and where is the boundary between human interaction and almost never having to interact again?  You tell me folks, I’m all ears…

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We’re all thrilled with the new X54 product launch! Now that they have gone into production, the response has been overwhelming.

Thanks for all the questions. Yes, we will answer each one personally or here on the blog, to make sure you get the information you’re looking for.

First of all - YES! BOTH versions of the X54 are for sale right now at TigerDirect.

The MoGo Mouse X54 is a two-in-one four-button with scroll mouse and media remote. At the switch of a button, it changes from a mouse with scroll to a remote control for your iTunes or other multimedia player. If, like me, you use your MP3 collection on your laptop as a stereo on the road, this allows you to mute, fast forward, etc. from across the room.

The MoGo Mouse X54 Pro also has the dual capabilities. In addition to being a fully capable mouse with scroll, at the switch of a button it becomes a robust, wireless presentation tool. It controls your slides, escapes you out, and it also has a laser pointer to highlight important elements.

Both charge in the ExpressCard slot of a laptop, which has become the new standard. I know adapters are available but the engineers at MoGo’s company, Newton Peripherals, do not recommend that they be used or that you store your X54 in a standard slot.

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This past Monday, TigerDirect began taking orders for the new x54 series of the MoGo mouse. There have been many questions, comments, and emails about this long-awaited launch, and we’re here to provide you information and feedback.

For those with specific issues - like an order that was mistakenly canceled by TigerDirect, we will work directly with you to get answers. For the other questions, we will be posting answers and updates here on the blog.

Q. I ordered an x54 mouse and the ship time was 6-8 weeks.

A. Standard policy at TigerDirect as product is not in stock. For orders made right now, they are telling me to expect 30 days delivery.

As production has come online, the factory is currently shipping out the pre-orders.

Q. Will the x54 products be available with other retailers?

A. Yes!

Expect additional retailers to be announced in the next 2 weeks.

Elizabeth is a professional writer & geek with most of the last decade spent in senior management at a leading global IT provider. Thousands have attended her seminars in the US & Canada on subjects ranging from basic TCP/IP networking to high-end data storage solutions.

Got a question? Ask Elizabeth.

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