Need to talk? Call Jott.

I’ve always thought that I would have published the great American novel by now if only I had a personal secretary to which I could dictate it. Voila! Enter Jott.com: an important business tool for the true road warrior and the least complicated employee-like relationship you’ll ever have.

Jott converts your voice into emails, text messages, reminders, lists and appointments. FREE.

Basically, Jott is your personal secretary. Call the 866 number, state the name of your recipient, dictate your message into the voicemail box and hang up. Jott’s live operators (yes, REAL people, not text-to-speech engines) will type your message and email it and/or text it to your contact. That’s it!

Think of the possibilities:

• Do you bill your time? Jott the start and stop time, including notes about your client meeting before the client is out of sight.
• Need to mobilize your staff? Jott a message to get the ball rolling before you get back to the office.
• Want to maintenance the spouse? Jott them a tender note and score major points.
• Want to remember your to-do list? Jott yourself a reminder message and ditch the sticky notes.
• Don’t have a pen to write down a phone number? Call Jott and tell it the number.
• Thought of a funny story for your novel? Jott it out while it’s fresh on your mind.

The uses are many – the options are easy!

Here’s how it works:

1. Go to Jott.com and create a free account. Be sure to enter your phone number (best to use your cell phone number) as it relies on Caller ID to automatically identify you when you call in.
2. Next add a few contacts. By entering their email and phone information on Jott’s website, you will be able to simply say “Jott Bill or Jott Susie” and skip having to dictate their address information.
3. Now you’re ready to Jott!
   You: Call 866-JOTT-123
   Jott: Who do you want to Jott?
   You: Angela
   Jott: Angela, is this correct?
   You: Yes
   Jott: Beep!
   You: Remember to call Mr. Warwick, W-a-r-w-i-c-k about dinner Saturday
   Jott: Got it!
   You: Hang up.
   Jott sends Angela a text message and an email of the transcribed message, including an audio link.

Jott keeps a log of all your sent and received messages so you will have them for reference. It’s simple, accurate and did I mention, free?!

When no one else listens, Jott is at my beck and call.

Thou shalt not covet...

Well, IT and my marriage have finally collided.

I was prepared to face the reality that I might very well be replaced in that special spot in my husband’s heart by a slim, sophisticated, dark beauty. I knew where he was going at 4:30AM as he quietly snuck out of our bedroom last Friday. Sadly, I’ve contributed to his indiscretion by agreeing to explore other options, experimenting – if you will – with other ways of doing it. I always assumed it was a phase – that he’d eventually grow tired of the “newness” and come back to what he knows. I never imagined that I, too, would find myself wanting to experiment; fantasizing about having my own slim, sophisticated, dark beauty. I must tell you, I’m not really the type. I’m pretty comfortable with what I’ve got. I feel so guilty. I never wanted this to happen. I didn’t really want more. Until now.

Now, I want an iPhone.

I spent the weekend stealing glances at my husband’s 16gb, black iPhone 3G and I have to admit it is cool and functional. Everything my phone is NOT. Once I got over my Jetson-esque response to only having a single navigational button, the interface is great. Simple, fast and stable. My biggest complaint about PDA/cell phone combinations is the fact that sometimes the most rudimentary features can take forever – case in point: try making a phone call on a Smart Phone with a bagillion applications loaded. Try finding your calendar screen on your Windows Mobile device if you have 10 other windows open. I know – whah, whah, whah – but hey, I tried to dial 911 once and had to wait for a reboot. I don’t get the sense that this is the case with iPhone 3G.

And now that my last excuse, the fact that it will use ActiveSync to access all my corporate email, calendar and contact entries, is history – I have no defenses left.

Well, actually, there is one – a year and a half left on my Verizon contract. By then, the object of my desire will be relatively old and slow again. Maybe I can get in line at AT&T now, to be ahead of my husband for the next release.

Lightning can strike twice...

I know it’s monsoon season because something’s beeping in my office again. You know the drill – you’re plodding along doing your work on your computer when - *crack* - a bolt of lightning strikes nearby and in a split second your screen goes black. Unless you’ve recently saved your work – you’ve probably lost everything. Worst case, you may have taken a direct hit and fried something electrical that renders your machine a giant paperweight. And lest you think that lightning seeks out desktops and PCs exclusively - your firewall, TV, phones, and other appliances are at risk as well. So what to do?

First, let’s make sure we’re on the same page by describing the two primary categories of prevention: electrical protection (most often branded as “surge protection” and back-up power sources (most often sold as UPS or uninterruptible power supply). In business, you should skip the surge protection and go for a UPS that includes both surge suppression and backup power in a single device. Filter boards, fancy power strips, extension cords and the like are cheap, but not worth your time spent crawling around under the desk to get them plugged in. At home, I might concede you could get away with less – but again, why would you? The savings is not substantial while the difference in risk is significant.

Next, realize there is NO guaranteed solution. Once you’re OK with that knowledge, it now becomes a matter of understanding all the vulnerabilities. While most of us realize that electrical power is at risk, most of us forget that the phone line (not just the dial-up Internet dinosaurs; think about your TiVo or your satellite dish), the coax cable (like supplied by Cox and Comcast, Ethernet cable and basically any other wiring that is a connected to a device, can transform into an express lane for destructive electrical impulses.

The best solution is the one that balances your comfort level with the risks compared to the price of protection. In general, I recommend that you purchase a UPS that will provide some level of power conditioning. The price of a UPS is dependent upon the amount of stuff plugged into it and the amount of time you expect the backup battery to power all that stuff. The more power your devices consume and the longer you try to run them, the more expensive the UPS. Consider buying one with data protection built-in. This allows you plug your phone line into the unit, providing an additional barrier of protection. There are even models that have coax, Ethernet, and phone line in one unit.

If you’re using a single PC or a couple laptops and a PC, you probably can get away with a couple units total. If you’ve got a server – buy a dedicated UPS specially designed to handle that type of power load. And spring for the “auto-shutdown” option which, when installed correctly, will use those extra 10 mins of battery power to shut down your server (and all its delicate databases) safely.

Last but not least, update your insurance policy to reflect the latest investments you’ve made in equipment, make frequent backups of your data and don’t forget to save often!

(Just want me to quote the perfect one for you? Email me with details: info@nextrio.com)