Light is the way to go

I have recently changed employer and at the new employer was given a choice of laptop. basically the choices were between a standard or lightweight model. I was also asked to choose between XP and Vista. I decided to go with the lightweight model, which turned out to be a 12" Lenovo X61 Duo-Core. This was a great decision, as the difference in weight between my previous 14" T42 is amazing. Even with the external CD/DVD drive that I need to carry, there is still a significant difference. I loose a little screen real estate, but a laptop, whether 12" or 14", is not really a vehicle for using multiple windows.

I also decided to go with Vista, although I do not like Vista too much, but it came with Office 2007. I had seen Office 2007 on a couple of colleagues' laptops before my job change as my previous employer was in the process of upgrading from Office 2003 to 2007. So I decided the "problems" with vVsta were worth the upgraded Office suite. Up to now I must admit that Vista has not been too much of a problem. Other than the annoying "Confirm or Deny" messages at frequent intervals (and yes Apple, your commercials are right on the mark there) Vista is actually quite usable. And as I get used to Office 2007, I am finding that it is a real improvement over 2003.

Windows Mobile & Active Sync

After switching a few montha ago to a Windows Mobile phone, I was pleased to be able to sync up my important data, e.g. email, calendar, tasks, and contacts, using a wireless data connection. Because my previous company is using Lotus notes for email, I had to buy extra software, mNotes, and service to do this from CommonTime. I really enjoyed the increase in productivity that this brought, but was a little disappointed at the extra costs involved, and some small issues that occurred with mNotes.
I recently chnaged employers and was glad to find that my new employer uses MS-Exchange, so that I was able to use the built-in ActiveSync linkage. So now I have a connection, without any extra costs, other than my normal unlimited data plan, and all my important data is immediately sent to my phone. In fact, in many cases, emails arrive on the phone before they arrive on the laptop, even though both are connected at the same time. And knowing the new data added to the phone, such as contacts or appointments, is immediately transferred to my account on the main server means that I do not have to worry about losing key data.

As a certain fast food chain says: "I'm lovin' it!"

Link to older posts

Some topics of interest were posted in my earlier blog, which can be reached here

Delta Upgrade Priority

For years I have wondered how the airlines determine the priority on the standby lists, most specifically for 'at airport' upgrades. Delta, on their slick plasma/LCD screens at the gate, have a message (roughly) saying "your position on the standby list is influenced by your SkyMiles status and the cost of your ticket". Last year I was able to significantly exceed the Platinum qualification threshold, almost double, so was hoping for more frequent upgrades this year. My experience to date is not good, so I am deducing that the statement above should read "your position on the standby list is influenced by the cost of your ticket (first) and your SkyMiles status (second). Either that, or, on the flights that I have been using, there have been an awful lot of Plantinum Elites who also exceed the threshold by double or more. Not impossible, but 10-15 on each flight? If that is true, more power to Delta, they must have sold a lot of tickets last year.