One of the biggest challenges on the road can be getting something printed out. There’s two problems: first, finding a printer. This usually means finding one you can piggyback on. And second, getting what you want onto the paper you got.

For the second problem, there is now a really cool piece of freeware called GreenPrint.  This nifty piece of software allows you to pick out just what you want to print.

For example - say you’ve got a webpage with a ton of information about the convention you’re attending. A straight Control-P is going to get you something like 6 pages. With GreenPrint, you can condense the parts that you really want onto a single page or two. Nifty, no?

And because GreenPrint is an environmental initiative, it also tracks for you how many pages you don’t print over time - and converts that into real-life statistics that demonstrate what that equals in trees, resources, and waste.

If you’ve got your page all lined up but still need a printer, there’s a great how-to over at HowStuffWorks. One of my common fall-backs is printing by emailing my documents to a local fax machine. Reality is that I am more likely to find WiFi than an open printer on most days. But most places have a fax, and there’s a ton of services that will do it for you for free or very low cost.

Good luck!

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How about we start today with a moment of silence…………….Ok, we’re back.  That brief pause was for our dear friend, the Analog Cell Network.  Think of this post as an obituary of sorts, as the service is officially off as of today.

That’s right, the FCC, according to articles, “will allow wireless network operators to shut down their old analog networks. These networks, built in the 1980s and called Advanced Mobile Phone Systems (AMPS) were some of the first used in the U.S. Network operators can also turn off their first-generation TDMA digital networks.”  Sad?  No. Not really.  Looks like Verizon Wireless and AT&T are both scheduled do hit the big “Abort” switch today, and others will most likely follow suit in and around today.  Will your service be compromised, you might be asking?  Truthfully, not likely.

The number of services still using these as broad methods of providing connections is low enough that most wireless customers won’t even notice at all.  So, as we move further and further into this digital world, tip your cap, and say farewell to our analog forefathers.  Adieu kind sir.

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The CES interview with MoGo’s own Jack Corrao is getting some hot attention over at MetaCafe!

Check it out for yourself.

You gotta love watching Dave attempting to pronounce Jack’s name.  But it’s all cool ‘cuz Jack’s all about the product. They get into all the details, especially the laser pointer. Watch them have fun talking about everyone’s #1 upgrade wish after the first MoGo shipped… a scroll wheel!

(Which of course is standard on the X54).

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Every single year that goes by, more and more people are born.  While all these births are taking place, people are growing up, growing older, getting into cars and congesting the crap out of American highways.  Point is, we’re all getting a heck of a lot more mobile, but how mobile we can be also depends a lot on how much we can avoid the pitfalls of all these new people…namely, Traffic.

I just read an awesome article about two giants teaming up to hopefully do something about just this problem.  According to the article, Nokia and UC Berkeley are teaming up to test real-time GPS traffic monitoring to see if the active displaying of where the traffic is, can help people avoid it, and thereby reduce it in general.  Basically what they found out was, if as little as 5% of drivers contributed location data from their cars, the entire thing would be a success and this monitoring could be extremely effective on any particular highway.  Groovy.

So what do we need to do to make this happen?  What do we need to do to get as many cars as possible equipped with this so all of us can eventually completely avoid traffic whenever possible?  You’d think with all the advances in modern technology we’ve already enjoyed, we’d be able to completely avoid traffic altogether.  Guess not, but hey, how awesome is it to have Hannah Montana delivered to every possible mobile device?!  Yeah, no.

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You tell me, is this good news?

CBS Mobile, in partnership with a company called Loopt, announced on Wednesday that they will be delivering the country’s first location-based mobile Web site advertisements.

If you’re wondering what that means…

The partners will use GPS and other localization technology to reach consumers at their physical location, enabling them to target users who are near a particular place of business.  These will NOT be Bluejacked messages sent to  cell phones, but appear non-intrusively on mobile Web sites which consumers can access from their cell phones.

The ads will be available on CBS Sports Mobile and CBS Mobile News Web sites, on Loopt properties and its partner’s Web sites.

In other words, you’re checking the scores at CBS Sports on your phone while waiting for your car’s oil to be changed and ‘POP’ there’s an ad for a sale on donuts at the grocery store next door.

All consumer location data, they say, will be privacy protected by Loopt.

According to the press release:

“Location-based advertising is the sweet spot in mobile marketing,” said Cyriac Roeding, Executive Vice President, CBS Mobile.  “We are thrilled for CBS to be the first media company in the country to help our clients realize highly relevant, yet non-intrusive mobile ads using location-based technology. Through our partnership with Loopt, our advertisers will be able to deliver targeted messages to potential customers who, based on their location, might be very likely to click or make a purchase. This makes the ads highly relevant to consumers and advertisers at the same time.”

CBS’s mobile sports and news Web sites  produced close to 75 million page views and 5 million unique users  in the last quarter of 2007 - making it one of the highest-traffic ad-supported mobile Web sites in the U.S.

“We’ve really blurred the line between advertising and content. It’s a win for everyone — consumers, advertisers, Loopt, CBS and our carrier and developer partners.”

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A couple of new reviews of the X54…

First of all, the intrepid and patient Andy Fertal wrote that he’s received his new MoGo X54. Andy has often commented here, was one of the first to order the new release, and was enthusiastically awaiting delivery as deliveries caught up with the huge backlog of pre-orders.

This is what he wrote;

I got my Mo-Go (X54 Pro) workin!

After a loooooong wait, I received my X54 Pro from Tiger Direct on December 21st… one day after I had left for a two-week trip to Mexico. Sadly, I had to lug around my Microsoft Wireless Presentation Mouse 8000, which works great, but requires batteries and a storage case and weighs at least five to ten times what the X54 Pro weighs.

..but now I’m back and I got my Mo-Go workin’…..

The X54 Pro is great! It protrudes just enough from the X54 slot on my Dell Laptop to allow for easy insertion and removal. Once it is paired, it is recognized by the system (Windows XP) upon startup prior to login so you can slip it out of the slot and begin using it immediately. The scroll function and center (scroll wheel) click functions are a great addition to the original 2-button Mo-Go design.

The overall feel when in ‘mouse’ mode is much more solid than I had expected. It is also quick and responsive and tracks well on a variety of surfaces. The ‘presentation’ mode functions well with PowerPoints and Windows Media player and does everything the Microsoft Presentation Mouse 8000 does except provide volume control.

All in all, the X54 Pro is a great product and has my vote as one of the most useful new computer gadgets to come along in quite a while….

Andy Fertal

Andy - thank you from all of us for that great review, and for being such a great customer!

Over at VNUNET, the reviewers are also impressed with the X54 MoGo.

Although at first a little sceptical of the design; “What at first appears to be an extremely uncomfortable mouse actually turns out to be surprisingly pleasant in use.”

In the end? They give it 4 stars!

Just more evidence of how exiting and revolutionary the mouse is!

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If I’ve said it once I have said it a million times…nothing is better on a Monday morning than waking up and finding in my feed reader a post from someone that is in love with the MoGo Mouse.  Lucky for you and I, today was one of those days!

That’s right my faithful friends, I just so happened to find a post over on John Robbins’ Blog!  John was one of the rad individuals selected as a Microsoft Valuable Professional and as such was awarded a MoGo Mouse BT in his little care package!  That said, he had some pretty darn good things to say about our little product that could.  Here’s a little quote from his post:

“I just needed a mouse for a short time, I popped out the MoGo Mouse. After a painless pairing with my Lenovo X60 Tablet, I got to work. After ten minutes of real use I realized that the MoGo Mouse is far more comfortable than I could have ever imagined. In fact, I haven’t pulled out my Microsoft mouse since.”

First off, congrats on the MVP award, second off, thank you for your kind words.  We couldn’t be happier you enjoy the product and know it will serve you well in the months to come!

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Well, this post should appropriately round out my trifecta of posts this week all about just how immersed in the future we truly are.  In a way, Elizabeth inspired me last week with her post on the future that is Bluetooth lawnmowers and these 3 posts for me this week have all been about other ways you can futurize your life with the gadgets you carry.

Today’s very simple, very cool and very helpful way to futurize yourself, is to once and for all get a cell phone that won’t break if you get it wet.  How important is that for you, I do not know, but for me, it’d be pretty darn huge seeing as though I’ve gone through More than my share of phones due to rain, tea, and the sink.  Yikes.

According to the article I just read,

“The handset is only 13.7 mm thick and is being marketed as the thinnest waterproof phone ever made. A lot of technology went into making this phone to meet IPX5 and IPX7 waterproof standards. This wonder will work even after being sprayed or submersed in water for 30 minutes.” 

Sounds awesome to me.

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Man, when it rains it pours for all us Mobile Warriors out and about.  First we find out about the ability to program your DVR from your cell phone, now we’re finding out that AT&T is going to launch their very own Mobile TV Service sometime soon!

You heard right folks, the service that was supposed to be released sometime last year is finally being launched.  According to the article I just read, “the service will launch with two exclusive channels, in addition to the eight channels on rival Verizon Wireless…”   Sounds like if they really want to compete they better make darn sure it competes with Sprint’s service as well.  Bottom line is, no matter what wireless provider you use, it’s great that this kind of technology is coming everywhere.  Not only will you not have to program your DVR over your phone, you won’t have to miss the episodes of your shows at all!

Regardless, go check out the article, brace yourself for February 5th, and get ready to be rockin’ some of your favorite stuff right there on the tiny screen of your tiny cell phone.  Crazy how fast we’re advancing.  Crazy.

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Last week Elizabeth posted about just how crazy it’d be to have a Bluetooth lawnmower cruising around your yard.  Can you imagine?  That said, in passing she also mentioned how the future truly is here in that she can simply email her DVR to tell it to start recording…well for all us mobile warriors, turns out the future is actually a lot MORE here than we thought.

That’s right friends, mobile warriors, American Idol lovers…DirecTV is actually going to be allowing you to program your DVR from your cell phone.  Yeah, your phone.  Think of this, you could be sitting in an airport and remember how much you can’t miss Lost and 10 seconds later, you’re recording.  Crazy.

Basically it’s called the DirecTV DVR Scheduler and it’s pretty darn sweet for all you customers of the service.  The ability to be mobile, stay mobile and not have to sacrifice the creature comforts of actually being home is amazing…not to mention futuristic.  So, just imagine your Bluetooth Lawnmower cutting your grass, your DVR recording American Idol and you on a plane, 5,000 miles away.  How Jetsons of you.

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