For the past few weeks, the ‘Ask Elizabeth‘ column has had an influx of emails with the same question: when will the X54 Pro deliver on the early orders?

This is the question that I bring to the management at MoGo. They, in turn, pass to me whatever information they have as they work to facilitate fulfillment between the production and the retailers.

The bottom line? The incredible package of features on the new X54 products has spurred an overwhelming response.

As someone who’s just had a week of using one, though, I can say… it’s worth the wait.

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According to Qualys, 2007 saw a 300% jump in  security flaws in Microsoft software.
Amol Sawate, manager of Qualys’ vulnerability-management lab, states that the most visible of these issues are “primarily in new Excel vulnerabilities that can easily be exploited by getting unsuspecting users to open Excel files sent via e-mail and instant message.”

Part of the problems certainly come from Microsoft’s quality control. Another contributing factor is the maturing IT model.  Hacking software is no longer the bastion of a handful of ultra-talented geeks.

It is now a highly lucrative business, on both sides of the legal fence. Hackers have evolved over the last decade into a force that understands how to monetize  software flaws  - both by selling the information  and by creating countermeasures.

While it doesn’t let Microsoft off the hook of doing the best they can do to evolve tight, robust software;  the reality is that their software engineers are up against a larger, more motivated force of professional hackers.  Defeating new releases isn’t a matter of ‘if‘ but of ‘how fast‘.

But as a customer, this news underscores just how important it is for each of us to practice safe computing and to be keep informed of how to best protect our systems and information.

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As you know, or may not know depending on how you choose to celebrate this time of year, NOW is the time for some serious Holiday Shopping for the vast majority of us here in the U.S. of A.  Money is spent, wish books are studied, toys are wrapped, gadgets are lusted for.  You know the drill.

So, in light of the fact that the gadget and tech world is a virtual mine-field of hits and misses, what do you buy?  Lucky for you, me, your friends and just about every other frantic holiday shopper, I found a great Holiday Gift Guide over at Phone Scoop that goes over just about every demographic you could possibly imagine for the perfect cell phone for that perfect person in Your life.  From 16 year olds to senior citizens to your text message-aholics to your phone photographers, they are all covered and some great suggestions are given for each and every one of them.

A mobile warrior isn’t mobile without a cell phone, so why not hook that special someone(s) up with a brand new awesome phone this year?

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I have discovered that the ‘go to sleep’ feature on the mouse comes in handy should you (and this would never happen around here) accidentally leave the X54 uncharged overnight.

As my standard mouse is  in desperate need of a new battery,  there was enough action left in the X54 to get some work done.

I have had a volunteer for a real-word drive of X54 as a media remote for an upcoming tech seminar that will feature an advanced PowerPoint  presentation (it includes animations and flipping between slides during Q&A).

In the meantime, I decided to run a rudimentary test of the Pro features this past weekend.

The device worked, as an old Southern colleague used to say, as smooth as a slice of pie.

Slides advanced and rewound with a push of the button. My fear had been that the mouse would go to ’sleep’ if I waited too long between activating slides, but that never happened.

I got pretty far from the system, walking to about 30 feet and to different angles in regards to the computer. Never had any misfires- the screen responded to each click.  And as a remote, the X54 feels right in my hand. There wasn’t any of that sort of ‘getting used to it’ initial adjustment.

I’ve given 100’s of seminars in my career, and I really appreciated the shape and lightness of the X54 as a remote. I was able to tuck it in my pocket at one point, answer a call, come back to the trial and have it advance to the next slide with a quick push of the button.

AH, if only I’d had this back in the day….

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Happy Monday friends.  Hopefully your belly is still recovering from the overload of turkey, pie, potatoes, pie, and more pie. Hopefully also your wallet is not empty from Black Friday and all the amazing spending people seem to do.

That said, if you’re a people in Europe right now, you might be gearing up to spend even more money as the Apple iPhone is now, yes, unlocked in Europe too.  Hold onto your hats as things could once again get interesting overseas when it comes to the controversial, at times, iPhone.

According to the article I just read, T-Mobile will be selling the unlocked Apple iPhone for a whopping 999 Euros (roughly $1477) while being usable on any service provider the user sees fit.  Here’s the kicker, the locked, T-Mobile version of the iPhone, sold with a 2 year contract TO T-Mobile will only set you back 399 Euros, ($590 American buckaroos).  Needles to say, that’s a STEEP price to pay for the unlocked version, is it not?

At any rate, any overseas readers of this blog, sound off, what do you think about the price hike?  What would you do?

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Here in the United States, the Friday after Thanksgiving is known as ‘Black Friday’. It is a day kicking off a weekend dedicated to Christmas shopping, and to entice customers retailers often put ‘teaser deals‘ on the floor starting as early as 5AM.

And us technogeeks are the most rabid shoppers of them all. (See this Black Friday post from this morning showing proof.

If you’ve decided to spend Black Friday and this shopping weekend doing your purchasing from the comfort of your own home, here’s some recommendations.

1) MoGo online retailers: found here.

2) Amazon.com is running a 10,000 giveaway until midnight tonight. Their ‘Black Friday’ include deals on the MoGo products!

3) Find more Internet deals (and scam stories) at BlackFriday.info.

4) Make your tech gifts green this year. Find how at this Business Week article.

5) While you’re at it, get your fake pink Christmas upside-down pink tree here.

Happy Shopping. And, as my partner Tyler said, we all wish you a wonderful holiday weekend.

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Short and sweet today, because today belongs to family, to friends, and to all those you care for.  No matter where you are, what you’re doing, or what you believe in, just eat more than you should today, hug more than you usually do, relax a little longer.  In short:

HAPPY THANKSGIVING FROM ALL OF US HERE AT MOGO!

Check back in Friday and again Monday as we resume regular broadcasting.  Remember, that last piece of pumpkin pie has my name on it.  Yes it does.  I called it.

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I was pretty eager to try it out, so I didn’t wait. With my laptop  off-site, a desktop system would have to play host to the new peripheral.

My partner’s PC proved up to the task.

A note before we did into my initial impressions. As I reviewed this new version, it was impossible not to compare it to my older one. My original MoGo traveled with me over  two countries and thousands upon thousands of miles, so it would be disingenuous  of me to attempt to review the X54 it as if it were an entirely novel experience

To address this, I’ve asked some associates who’ve never used a MoGo mouse before to take it for a spin over the upcoming weeks. Those ‘fresh impression’ will be  included in future posts.

Now, to the review.

The first thing I noticed was how quickly it set up. As in, no time at all. I’m pretty sure even my most non-technical acquaintances could handle this. Like its predecessor,  this thing is extremely plug ‘n play.

My second impression was how small it felt.

Even lighter than the previous version.

And if the MoGo is a new experience for a hand used to the race car-shaped bulk, the super-light MoGo with its more squared-off design will take some tactile adjustment. This is not a device to slam down onto the mousepad as you attempt to relocate your on-screen pointer. (Not that anyone would ever do that. :ahem:)

But after about 15 minutes, I utterly forgot about it. The mouse is responsive and efficient, and I had to keep reminding myself to pay attention to it as I got lost in my usual work.

My only complaint was in regards to its energy-saving feature. The mouse goes to ’sleep’ quite easily. I don’t remember this being as much the case with my older MoGo. In the time it takes to top off a cup of tea or  to have an engrossing phone conversation, this one would inactivate.

Since turning it back on is a simple flick of the wrist, these seems a petty observation. However, it did give me a minor irk.

On the plus side, the new scroll feature is exceedingly intuitive.  I am so used to having scroll abilities that it actually took me going through my checklist to remember that this was an upgrade from before. It works just as you would expect it to, with familiar response and action.

I haven’t yet tried out its more ‘Pro’ features but overall so far? I’m impressed.

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If you’ve been living anywhere other than underneath a big, heavy rock the past few years, you’ll understand when I say that the Green Movement is absolutely HUGE.  Energy efficiency, climate protection, conservation and recycling are issues that are everywhere, and rightfully so.  So, all my mobile warrior friends, it’s now that I urge you to not just be a mobile warrior for yourself, but for the planet as well.

How, you might ask?  Simple, small steps towards a better future.  Small steps.  I just found one way that all of you out there, especially with the holiday’s right around the corner, can take a small step that will not cost a thing.  It’s easy, instead of throwing away any old cell phone handsets, recycle them!

The fact is, it is easier than Ever to recycle your old device.  Drop it off at an actual retail cell store where your service provider lives, drop it off at a Best Buy or even some Body Shop’s for free.  At the very least, head over here to this article, read up more about the recycling program and start getting Green!  Look, I even found a link to a Data Erasing Guide for whatever phone you may have, so when you Do recycle it, no one gets your info!  Not too bad!

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I have long ago deemed ‘Please Be Patient‘ as  one of the most grating phrases in the customer service industry. As a consumer, I like to know what is going on, to have all the data of a situation to best inform my response.

Simply put, the MoGo orders have exceeded the production.

However, I know the end of the wait for us all is near as mine has arrived.

So here it is: the new MoGo X54 - still in its box.

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