Hey All,
Just wondering if any body is running their biz off of a laptop.
What kind? Do you like it? Has it been a good move for you?
Paper is nice, but it sure would help to have scheduling, client files,
automatic reminders, etc., without having to lug around a file cabinet.
Understandably there are pitfalls, as with everything else. But your thoughts
would be appreciated.
Greg
Built from locally sawn hemlock, this functional outdoor feature uses structural screws and metal connectors for fast, sturdy construction.
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Replies
I do. It is nice to have things at your fingertips like your calendar,schedule, photo portfolio, book keeping software (I use Quickbooks Contractor). I can go out and look at jobs in the morning, type them up during lunch at the local Mom and Pop Diner and e-mail them there if there is a wireless connection or just save it and print it when I get home.
(Note: on the Quickbooks thing, I have the file saved on my home pc too. You just have to remember to overwrite the oldest file first or you'll loose the information)
Just don't drop the thing in the mud!
David H. "Splinky" Polston
Founder of Sawdust, Norfolk, Virginia
Thanks for the input. I just started shopping for a
laptop. Sounds like the right direction to go, for me anyways.
I'm sure mud probably isn't a great thing for your laptop.
But sometimes mud happens.
Thanks again,
Greg
I do too. I'm on my third one, a one-year-old Dell Inspiron 9100 with all the bells and whistles.
I'm a cabinetmaker/general contractor, and it goes everywhere I go - shop, job sites, and home. I keep books with Quickbooks Pro; design kitchens and baths with Cabinetware, which also produces cutlists and proposal numbers; write the proposals with MS Word; email almost all bills and proposals with Adobe Acrobat; do shop math with MS Excel; print my own business cards with MS Publisher; run timelines on MS Project; shop online for parts I can't get from usual vendors; backup cell phone contact lists with Motorola software; keep photo records with Canon software; and run shop and personal Ipod music with Itunes. I guess it does it all and I'd be lost without the laptop.
But I play it safe with a second, desktop computer at my home office. That one really is a backup that doesn't live with the laptop's wear and tear and DUST, and has a bigger hard drive than the laptop. As with any computer, a backup is an absolute must. You can do it with just an external hard drive, but I like the computer, because it can take over almost all the laptop's tasks if that computer fails.
Gary
gwwoodworking.com
Edited 2/14/2006 12:42 pm by GaryW
Takes discipline. You MUST run a parallel computer somewhere safe in case your travelling rig gets lost, stolen, or broken. You take your back-up every night and load your back-up machine through an anti-virus program. As well, backup both machines regularly and "sync" your email to one machine (set Outlook to not delete your mail off the server file when accessed by the "second" machine too, delete it manually)
Phill Giles
The Unionville Woodwright
Unionville, Ontario
Phill,Can you provide some more insight as to how to run Outlook in this manner? Do you have to be running a server or can you use a mapped network drive on the notebook?
Jon Blakemore RappahannockINC.com Fredericksburg, VA
Has any one seen the new Tablet Notebooks, where you can draw with a teleprompter right onto the screen, and the head swivels, great for presentations.
One of the biggest issues I've seen with laptop presentations is that the screen needs to be seen by the presenter and the presentee, but the swivel may help with this.
I am concerned with the durability of a swivel especially in our industry, when I can't get more than 6-8 months out of a cell phone.
We have a Toshiba tablet that is wonderful to use. It's pretty durable as far as computers go but you still need to be careful.If you're using a computer like a cell phone than I'm sure it will break. Cell phones live in pockets and tool bags, they go through all the punishment that our bodies take throughout the day. The computer should be used as needed and then put away in a safe place (the truck or an out of the way spot on the site).
Jon Blakemore RappahannockINC.com Fredericksburg, VA
I'm guessing by your question that your asking about a mirrored installation - I could do that under OS/2, but I don't know how with XP.Leaving the messages on your server and deleting them manually is a standard option under the connection wizzard, and you can change that (NB, windoze XP does NOT like to be changed: it fights you every step of the way). It requires discipline to scrub the reader every time, you've drained what you want - it won't pull duplicates unless you ask it to..
Phill Giles
The Unionville Woodwright
Unionville, Ontario
Panasonic Tuff-Book
I use a Compaq. I just started bringing it to estimates. I figure I enter all he information anyway I might as well bring it along. Plus since I now have a digital camera, I can show past jobs without dragging along a photo album.
As far as my bigger sites, I dont usually have it on site. Too much dust and I really dont need it constantly.
There's a great computer forum on the JLC site. Joe Stoddard is the moderator and he's way up on computer stuff for contractors. One of the things he stresses is backup protocol and some good ways to handle it.
We have a Dell Latitude 910. Perfectly fine machine, wirelessly networked to our desktop machine for file sharing. I'm still afraid to take it anywhere and have no user files on it, but use it around the house.
I use an IBM T42, Ram Mount in the truck like a cop. Sprint EV-DO air card allows highspeed internet in most areas of town (Jax, FLA). I schedule and check inspections, check property ownership, and can even e-mail building officials and customers from the seat of the truck. It also has a very functional GPS system and looking up product info is a snap. It changed my life.
Scott
Palm TX here. Use excel file and its calendar. really lightweight battery lasts about 1-2 weeks. Extremely powerful for its size, cheap, easy to use, and syncs with imac no problem.
Consider an IBM thinkpad Tablet about 3-4 lbs.
New apple laptops (cheaper ones) due in march end of feb. would love a tablet from them...