Taking your laptop out for coffee
Internet café’s like Bar Italia on the Corydon strip are the perfect place to take your new laptop out for a cup of coffee. The place is packed with officeless workers checking email, surfing the net or writing the next great Canadian novel. Mini meetings abound as small groups of folks get together Friday afternoons to run through their To Do lists over a cappuccino, diet coke, glass of red or a cold beer.
Many have their ears covered by headphones pumping in their own brand of motivation as they type. I like light, smaller over-the-ear headphones and my current favourites are a set of iGrados.
If you’re in the market for a new laptop going to an Internet café and looking at what other people are using is a good way to do some practical research. A quick look around today reveals two black Dell laptops, a grey Toshiba, two silver Apple MacBook Pros and a white Apple MacBook.
When you fire up your laptop and ask it to look for a network to join you will soon find that it has spotted the Bar Italia network and if you click to join you will notice that you are asked for a password. You need to order something to eat or drink first and when you receive it you will find a code on the bill that when you enter it gives you access to the Bar Italia’s network. You should be able to email and surf the Internet to your heart’s content.
Starbucks is not my favourite place to surf as they charge an hourly fee to connect to the Internet. Timothy’s World Coffee in Tuxedo, Finales Bakery in St. Vital, Java Bytes on Narin, Twist Café on Graham, Le Garage Café in St. Boniface, as well as Bar Italia on Corydon all offer free wi-fi service. Canad Inns hotels offer free wi-fi service in their dining rooms too.
Be careful to look at your Bluetooth file sharing preferences, as you don’t want the whole bar to have access to the files on your laptop. But if you are working in a small group you may want to give the group access to your shared folder and drag and drop versions of the document you are working on into it to be shared with the others. Just make sure that only your shared folder is available for viewing not your documents folder.
If you are really paranoid about others in the café reading your screen you can purchase special polarizing screens you can place in front that allow only the person directly in front of the screen to read it. But if you are this nervous maybe you should not be in a public place to begin with.
Keeping your laptop safe in a public place requires a bit more gear. All laptops have a security slot in them that allows you to purchase a cable lock (like for your bicycle) and lock your laptop to a table or desk. Be careful that the thief can’t just lift the table leg to free the computer. Never leave your laptop even for a second without locking it.
Also when working in public set your computer to go to sleep in seconds if not used and set it so that it requires a password to be awakened. You don’t want someone taking a quick peak at your highly sensitive sales numbers while you get a refill.
Transporting your laptop requires a good tight fitting padded sleeve from Incase or Marware first and then into your briefcase or backpack. I like the rugged briefcases and backpacks available at Mountain Equipment Co-op. Many have specially padded laptop compartments and are ergonomically designed to hold the computer close to your back.
If I am planning on writing for a while I like to bring a wireless mouse too. Logitech and Kensington all make tiny traveling cordless mice. Look for a table along the wall as this is where you’ll find power outlets. If you plan on spending the afternoon sipping espresso and writing you might need the power boost.
CAIO!
Many have their ears covered by headphones pumping in their own brand of motivation as they type. I like light, smaller over-the-ear headphones and my current favourites are a set of iGrados.
If you’re in the market for a new laptop going to an Internet café and looking at what other people are using is a good way to do some practical research. A quick look around today reveals two black Dell laptops, a grey Toshiba, two silver Apple MacBook Pros and a white Apple MacBook.
When you fire up your laptop and ask it to look for a network to join you will soon find that it has spotted the Bar Italia network and if you click to join you will notice that you are asked for a password. You need to order something to eat or drink first and when you receive it you will find a code on the bill that when you enter it gives you access to the Bar Italia’s network. You should be able to email and surf the Internet to your heart’s content.
Starbucks is not my favourite place to surf as they charge an hourly fee to connect to the Internet. Timothy’s World Coffee in Tuxedo, Finales Bakery in St. Vital, Java Bytes on Narin, Twist Café on Graham, Le Garage Café in St. Boniface, as well as Bar Italia on Corydon all offer free wi-fi service. Canad Inns hotels offer free wi-fi service in their dining rooms too.
Be careful to look at your Bluetooth file sharing preferences, as you don’t want the whole bar to have access to the files on your laptop. But if you are working in a small group you may want to give the group access to your shared folder and drag and drop versions of the document you are working on into it to be shared with the others. Just make sure that only your shared folder is available for viewing not your documents folder.
If you are really paranoid about others in the café reading your screen you can purchase special polarizing screens you can place in front that allow only the person directly in front of the screen to read it. But if you are this nervous maybe you should not be in a public place to begin with.
Keeping your laptop safe in a public place requires a bit more gear. All laptops have a security slot in them that allows you to purchase a cable lock (like for your bicycle) and lock your laptop to a table or desk. Be careful that the thief can’t just lift the table leg to free the computer. Never leave your laptop even for a second without locking it.
Also when working in public set your computer to go to sleep in seconds if not used and set it so that it requires a password to be awakened. You don’t want someone taking a quick peak at your highly sensitive sales numbers while you get a refill.
Transporting your laptop requires a good tight fitting padded sleeve from Incase or Marware first and then into your briefcase or backpack. I like the rugged briefcases and backpacks available at Mountain Equipment Co-op. Many have specially padded laptop compartments and are ergonomically designed to hold the computer close to your back.
If I am planning on writing for a while I like to bring a wireless mouse too. Logitech and Kensington all make tiny traveling cordless mice. Look for a table along the wall as this is where you’ll find power outlets. If you plan on spending the afternoon sipping espresso and writing you might need the power boost.
CAIO!
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