Is the MoGo Mouse going to drain my laptop battery?

Q. I’ve searched the MoGo documentation, MoGo reviews and your blog looking for mention of whether or not it is a good idea to simply leave the MoGo mouse in the PC Card slot after it has fully charged, but when it is not being used. My concern is whether or not the mouse continues to drain power from the battery even when it is fully charged? (From Rob)

A. Rob asks a good question. To find the answer, I hunted down Jack Corrao, a VP of Newton Peripherals (maker of MoGo Mouse).

I suspected MoGo used a smart battery, and that’s exactly what Jack confirmed;

The MoGo Mouse includes an intelligent battery management systems that slowly ramps down charging requirement from PC Card slot as it gets close to full charge. Once the MoGo is fully charged, the MoGo does not drain any power from your laptop.

Using a Bluetooth Headset with Multiple Devices

Q. I hadn’t considered using my Bluetooth headset with my laptop before. Can I do that, and then still use it with my phone at the same time? C. (Anon.)

A. In short? Yes.

But you need a ‘multipoint’ kind of headset that is designed specifically to do this.

Normally, however, you can synch (or ‘pair’) your Bluetooth headset to multiple devices but you can only connect it to with one thing at a time.

This is how it works. Say you’ve paired up your headset to your phone. Then a co-worker sends you a rough cut of your company’s latest ad campaign and you want to watch it on your Bluetooth-enabled laptop without broadcasting the sound, but your wired headphones are riding somewhere in the back pocket of a 747 where you accidentally left them.

No problem. Simply put your headset in pairing mode and use your laptop’s Bluetooth manager to find it. Now the sounds of the MVID will be sent to your ear but not your neighbors’.

(If your laptop has never ‘found’ your headset before, then you’ll have to initialize it the first time. If your laptop is Bluetooth-enabled [or you’ve purchased a ‘dapter], start by putting your headset into ‘pairing mode’. This is usually holding down a button until a light blinks, see your manufacturer’s instructions. Then go into the Bluetooth control panel on your laptop and have it ‘discover’ your headset. Once your laptop finds it, you’ll be be prompted for a PIN. Once you’ve done this the first time, you’re off to the races - switching is a matter of holding down the button on the headset and having the device ‘find’ it.)

Can I use a MoGo mouse with my desktop PC?

Q. Does the new MoGo mouse have to be used with a laptop? I want to use it on my regular PC. (Anon.)

A. While some PC’s and most MAC’s do generally come now Bluetooth-enabled and adapters are available (or on the way) if yours isn’t, the other thing a MoGo mouse needs is a PC Card slot to charge up - something not commonly found in a desktop system.

So you can certainly pair up a MoGo mouse to work with your PC, you may need to hunt up a laptop to charge it. However, now that you’ve asked the question maybe you’ll spur some product development

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On Fridays, MoGo Mobility’s Elizabeth will seek to answer your MoGo (and non-MoGo) technical questions.

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.

Tags:advice, ask elizabeth, battery management systems, bluetooth enabled, bluetooth headset, bluetooth manager, dapter, intelligent battery, laptop, Mogo dapter, mogo mouse, multipoint, one thing at a time, pc card slot, smart battery technical question

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Is somebody spying at the coffee shop?

Q. Seriously, is it really a risk to use the free WiFi at the coffee shop? Is anyone REALLY spying?

A. Seriously? Yes.

I was in Raleigh-Durham working on a WiFi-enabled client site a couple of years ago when the security director leaned against my desk and asked me who ‘TigerBear83′ was.

My blood ran cold - it was my GMail password.

His employees regularly run sniffer software to make sure that employees are following security protocols and clearly, I’d failed the test.

Sniffer software is easily found (freeware versions are all over the web) and there are legions of hackers who spend hours nursing lattes and data trolling at WiFi hotspots.

Bottom line, public WiFi has no built-in protection. The security of your data is a a do-it-yourself proposition. A fact too many users are blithely unaware.

Will this change? Yes. But at this moment in WiFi’s evolution, the technology is just not there yet.

The safest option you can take to send/receive sensitive information is to get thee a patch cable and plug in. A secure, hard-wired network connection is your best port in the storm.

But before you give up coffee altogether, let me say that there are some security measure you can take to minimize risk on a public WiFi. The effectiveness of these measures is equivalent to whispering your private information versus shouting it across the movie theater.

The best up-to-date instructions I found on protecting yourself were at About.com, written by Mary Landesman. I recommend her post here.

The soundest advice I can give youon the subject - assume that anything you send & receive on an open WiFi can be seen. So never type anything on an open WiFi connection that you wouldn’t tell a stranger on a bus.

 

Is my keyboard dishwasher safe?

Q. I took your seminar years ago and you said if I spilled something on my keyboard and disabled it, I could run it through the dishwasher. I thought you were nuts. But now the situation’s come up and I was wondering…

A. Am I nuts? Yes. But that’s besides the point.

Over 10 years ago, I spilled Diet Coke on my keyboard and killed it dead. No knowing any better (which is usually the preface to every great discovery) I borrowed my neighbor’s dishwasher and ran it through - figuring I had nothing to lose and a keyboard to gain.

It worked. And it’s worked several times since then.

A new keyboard is cheap and easy to get these days but if you want to attempt a last life-saving procedure then run it through the dishwasher on a cool, unheated, short cycle. Make sure the keys are facing DOWN and don’t use any soap or detergent.

Afterwards, let it dry on a towel or a rack for at least 48 hours - until it is truly bone dry through and through.

Unconvinced? Well, Nell Boyce at NPR did it recently heard about this and tried it out. Read about her experiment here.

Just promise me you won’t try this on your optical mouse.

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On Fridays, MoGo Mobility’s Elizabeth will seek to answer your MoGo (and non-MoGo) technical questions.

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.

Tags:advice, ask elizabeth, computer, connectivity, dishwasher, dishwasher safe, identitiy theft, internet, IT, keyboard, Mary Landesman, Mobile, nell boyce, network, NPR, passwords, piggybacking, Road Warrior, tech advice, wifi wifi security

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