While traveling to South Africa and working remotely last year, there were problems operating our voice over IP phone over the hotel Internet connection. As often happens, the support staff claimed they were not blocking any ports, but still the Netphone would not work. So I ran out to the local PC shop and picked up the Microsoft LifeChat LX-3000 headset to use with Skype.
This headset is comfortable to wear and the headphones really seal the sound in quite nicely. The sound quality with Skype was quite good and most people could not tell that I was calling the U.S. from South Africa on Skype. A lot of my conference calls use toll free numbers, which are perfect for using Skype around the world. Another nice feature is the ability to mute the microphone with a convenient button on the pad attached to the headset, this gets a lot of use.
Although the main reason for getting this headset was for Skype usage, I also found it to be perfect for listening to music or watching a movie without disturbing anyone else, as the headphones provide a nice sound blocking seal. We were pleasantly surprised to find that it worked seamlessly with our new Mac Powerbook as well, increasing its value even further. All in all, this is a great headset and perfect for use with Skype to do phone calls, or in conjunction with recording software to capture podcasts.
Power Monkey
The Power Monkey is a clever idea that can be a real life saver. It comes with a little bag of adapters that fit most devices and charges from its own wall plug. The smooth exterior hides a battery that holds a powerful charge and some intelligent electronics to help avoid damaging the devices plugged into it. When out on the road, it can be handy in several situations:
- Forgotten charger - the Power Monkey can be a surrogate charger if you forget to put a particular one in the bag, or did not realize the lighter plug was broken when you rented the car.
- World Converter - although getting increasingly rare, there are still some chargers out there that won’t work in all the various world voltages, while the Power Monkey charger can still be used.
- Extend travel life during long flights - that 18 hour flight to Johannesburg can put a real crimp in even a beefed up IPod battery (another story) and the Power Monkey can give you that extra charge.
The Power Traveler company has also released some other products which we have not had a chance to play with yet, but the compact Power Monkey has a permanent slot in our travel bags from now on.
Many people want to enter the world of telecoummuting by trying to develop a business or job they can do from home. While there are a few good opportunities out there, the majority seem to be a bit dodgy and mostly intended to make money for the person selling the information. It is extremely hard to find factual data regarding how much anyone is really making, but it is clear that most of the content in the search engines on this subject is tainted at best.
Typical Landing Page
In the last several years, there has been a tangible increase in sites like the one pictured here. It purports to be a review of work at home opportunities, and creates the appearance of being endorsed by some powerful media outlets. Closer inspection shows that the only claim being made here is “as seen on” which only promises that these outlets have discussed the topic at some time, and there is no indication that these outlets are aware this site exists. The page itself contains two links to affiliates that presumably pay the site owner for traffic. Both of the affiliates will want some money from the prospect in order to get set up for these “opportunities” and presumably to pay for the affiliates that refer candidates their way. The links show a privacy policy, which is considered a benchmark of legitimacy for some reason, although very little data actually is on hand to be protected. This link is reached via various methods, including Google adwords.
I have no objection to the particular site, it seems harmless enough and may provide some revenue for the site owner. I suspect it takes quite a few of these to generate “Internet Millions” and that this is the result of another form of “work at home” program that teaches people how to create these useless stubs as landing pages to route traffic to affiliates. I will admit that I have dabbled with these programs and it is a tough way to make a buck these days. A few years back, it made some serious money for a few folks, but now they make most of their living selling that technique to newbies into the marketplace.
While this whole process is legitimate and much more respectable than a lot of other money making schemes on the Internet, it serves to clog the entire spectrum with all these fake informational pages containing so-called reviews of vendors. I did not do any serious research into the links shown above, but expect that their main criteria for inclusion in these reviews was their willingness to pay an affiliate fee. Unfortunately, they usually fail to actually check out the business they recommend either. The search engines and advertising pages are filled with thousands of these pages, created by special programs and designed to look just professional enough to pass a quick inspection and still look legitimate.
My suggestion to wade through this arena is to select a possible method to earn money working at home or remotely and investigate the available opportunities directly. Keep in mind that most legitimate businesses that would hire a person to work remotely will not charge a fee to sign up for opportunities or to learn how to do it. They may require you to provide samples of your work, or experience that qualifies you for the opportunity in question, but that is not unreasonable. As soon as you see the request for payment, consider what you expect to get for your money and check around for others who have been scammed by the same vendor. It is remarkable what comes up when you just search for “<site name here> scam” or review, etc.
The bottom line is that the Internet has opened up a whole new world of possibilities to earn a living without going to a brick and mortar business and waiting for customers to come in the front door. Just like any other way to make a living, it still takes hard work, but if you have what it takes and are a self starter, there is no greater feeling than knowing that you can work from anyplace in the world where there is an Internet connection.
It started with that big bomb scare in London. Heathrow airport was requiring passengers to check everything except a small ziplock baggie. Travelers caught off guard were forced to slip laptops and cameras in amongst their clothing and hope for the best. As it happened, we were out on the road at that same time, but fortunately did not have to fly through London to get home. I still remember that feeling of dread as we went to the airport to find out what the new security measures were going to be from the latest “terrorist scare”.
When we got home, I was determined to find a solution so that if we had to check our valuable traveling office, there was a good chance that it would arrive safely at the other end. This led to the discovery of Pelican cases and everything changed. Typically associated with paramedics and others who carry delicate equipment into the field, these cases are built to withstand a lot of punishment. They are waterproof and made of a material that resists many of the nastier things the world can inflict on them.
The Pelican 1560 has turned out to be our very best friend for traveling with cameras and other delicate equipment. It is just the size of a carry on bag and has a handle and wheels allowing it to travel easily through airports. it does add a pound or two over a regular carry on suitecase, but the extra security and protection is well worth it. With the dividers and the mesh lid attachment, our camera gear for safari has gone all over southern africa without incident.
Although it rarely happens, it is good to know that we have a safe way to check in our expensive gear or secure it when we are not in the immediate vicinity. Highly recommended for any traveling telecommuter.
The work area at Steenberg’s Cape Colonial Suite
Working remotely and staying in touch with friends and family from Cape Town improved in the last couple of years. It used to be some high end hotels offered internet access, but it was low speed and from shared computers in a common business center area. The slow speed and set up were so frustrating we used the hotel access only for the most urgent issues.
Recently, we discovered two luxury properties with excellent connectivity and ideal conditions to work remotely. One in the central area of the city is the Cape Cadogan Owner’s Villa, a one-bedroom two story villa with the privacy, space and convenience of a villa and some of the amenities of a hotel. It offered excellent wired high speed internet access downstairs. The Cape Colonial Suite, one of the Steenberg Hotel’s recently opened Heritage Suites, is excellent for executives who need to work remotely from Cape Town. More a townhouse or villa than standard hotel suite, it had all the services and facilities of a small hotel and additional suite amenities.
The Cape Colonial Suite, a two story one bedroom suite, has a separate section for working executives on the first floor. It comes with complimentary Wi-Fi and internet service, personal fax and copying facilities, PC data and power outlets, extra large safe for laptops, audio entertainment system, iPod station, and large work desk. The Steenberg property, surrounded by vineyards and a golf course, is in the outskirts of town, a 15 minute drive from central Cape Town.
Click here to read about Cape Cadogan Owner’s Villa at the Cape Cadogan Hotel and Cape Colonial Suite, one of the Heritage Suites, at the Steenberg Hotel.
