MyOrderDesk by PagePath

In my previous posts I talked about being mobile and using Skype for Sales Calls on the Cheap which is great when you are in range of WiFi at home or a hotspot within the airport, hotel or coffee shop.   But what about when you don’t have access to WiFi?

The answer is tethering.   What is it?  Tethering, is the term when using your mobile phone as a modem to provide the internet connection to your computer.  If you have your trusty laptop and a mobile phone with a data plan you are almost ready to start tethering.  Only a couple of more pieces of the puzzle are needed.

First you will need the same USB cable that you use to sync your mobile phone with your laptop.  Or if your phone and laptop both support BlueTooth you will not need the USB cable.

Secondly you will need the software to make it all happen.  Quite a few mobile phone providers want to sell you an upgrade to your monthly service to do this but no worries you can do it for a one time software purchase of PDAnet for $34 from June Fabrics – PDA Technology Group.  They support many of the PDA type mobile phones such as iPhone, Android, Windows Mobile, Blackberry, Palm OS Treo and Centro.

Once you have the software installed on both your mobile phone and laptop keep in mind that you are still at the mercy of your mobile data plan in regards to coverage area and performance.  In one area you maybe able to make that Skype call via your laptop without any problems but that doesn’t mean it will work everywhere.

Let me know how this article has helped you.

Mike Herz is in Tech Support and Sales at PagePath Technologies. PagePath was founded in 1983 and is headquartered in Plano, Illinois. PagePath’s MyOrderDesk is an eCommerce solution that combines, Web-to-Print, automated proofing, pricing, reordering and more. It seamlessly integrates into a printing organization’s existing website or can be used as a standalone site. MyOrderDesk is known throughout the printing industry as the leader in Web-to-Print software.

Ever want to be in more than one place at a time?  Have a desktop computer and a laptop?  Do you get frustrated when you are on the road and the file you need is on your desktop computer at home or work?  This month’s topic is all about being in sync.

There is a service out there called www.SugarSync.com that will allow you to automatically back up your important files and keep them in sync with other computers with almost no effort.

My suggestion is to sign up for their free version to experiment which allows 2GB of storage and the ability to use it with up to two computers. Simply install the software on the two computers you want to keep in sync, specify the folders (Desktop, My Documents, Favorites, etc) and then using their management interface specify the folders to sync.   For example on computer A I chose the Desktop folder to sync with computer B’s Desktop folder.  This way if I save a file to the Desktop on either computer it will be there.  Now keep in mind that you do need to make sure that you have an internet connection to make this all work.  That doesn’t mean you have to have your computers on all the time.  When you boot up your computer and are connected to the internet it will sync any new changes.

Should you be on the road and not have your trusty laptop with you, you can still access your sync files via a web browser on any computer.  This also works well with providing the ability to share your files with others.

Be aware that not all online back companies provide the capability to sync and share files.  Most are on a per computer license.  Even though they may offer unlimited backup storage for a low yearly fee but does it fit your unique needs?

I’m not saying that SugarSync is the end all be all solution it does have its limitations.  The top future improvements for the product are the support of Outlooks files (pst), mapped network drives and external drives.  Hopefully I’ve given some insight into what other possible options to look for in an online backup solution.

Mike Herz is in Tech Support and Sales at PagePath Technologies. PagePath was founded in 1983 and is headquartered in Plano, Illinois. PagePath’s MyOrderDesk is an eCommerce solution that combines, Web-to-Print, automated proofing, pricing, reordering and more. It seamlessly integrates into a printing organization’s existing website or can be used as a standalone site. MyOrderDesk is known throughout the printing industry as the leader in Web-to-Print software.