Mobile Computing  
 
A continuing series of articles about traveling with a portable computer . 
. . This month: The Top Ten Things You Might Want to Try With Your Modem 
 
By Christopher O'Malley 
 
 
 
A colleague of mine who never goes anywhere without his Toshiba notebook PC 
likes to insist that the word "modem" is an acronym for Means to Online 
Databases and Electronic Mail. In truth, it stands for something far less 
sensible (modulation-demodulation). But, being the clear-minded businessman 
that he is, my friend has hit upon a fitting--if somewhat limiting-- 
definition of what having a modem really means to him, and the millions of 
other people who call the road their office from time to time. The problem 
with defining modems this way is that databases and E-mail are only two of 
the tiles, albeit big ones, in the mosaic of portable communications. True, 
the uploading and downloading of information from a corporate or commercial 
database is often a mainstay of the mobile office. And there's no question 
that E-mail can be a vital link between you, in a hotel room or at the 
airport, and the world outside. It enables you to exchange messages with 
customers and compatriots. And, there's the added dimension of sending and 
receiving faxes, whether by E-mail service, fax modem or a portable fax 
machine. Had there been an "F" in modem, fax would have undoubtedly 
squeezed its way into my colleague's acronym. But these commonplace uses 
for a modem don't do justice to its versatility. The ways you can leverage 
the power of that little dialing dynamo when you're on the road are far- 
ranging. With that in mind, I'd like to suggest we find a more encompassing 
acronym for modem (I'm partial to Mobile Office Device for Effective 
Managing), and offer some examples of that versatility I was touting. 
Though this list may not make it on David Letterman, we can call it: The 
Top Ten Things You Might Want to Try With Your Modem. 
 
1. Make some travel arrangements 
It's hardly a new online perk, but it remains one of the least used and 
potentially most valuable services to a frequent flyer. You can make 
airline reservations using almost any of the major online services, 
including CompuServe [(800) 848-8199], Prodigy [(800) 776-3449], and GEnie 
[(800) 638-9636]. What is not as well known is that almost all of these 
travel services enable you to make hotel and rental car reservations, too. 
Prodigy even gives you access to a host of vacation clubs, travel experts, 
and restaurant guides. Before you head out on your trip, you might want to 
check the weather at your destination--another service commonly available 
with online travel services. When the weather is especially critical to 
your business, you can call WeatherBrief [(8010 530-3181], an online 
service that provides real-time weather data and maps, including radar and 
satellite photographs. 
 
2. Take remote control (of a PC) 
Ever get on a plane and realize that the files you need are still on your 
desktop PC? Or find that you don't even have the software you need to work 
on those files? No sweat. Just call up your desktop when you hit your 
hotel, operate your desktop from your laptop for a while, then tell your 
desktop to send you the files, pronto. It can be almost that simple with a 
modem and a "remote control" program at both ends of the line. This special 
breed of communications software goes by names such as Carbon Copy, Close- 
Up and Norton pcAnywhere. They all let you take charge of a PC from a 
distance by enabling you to operate it as if you were sitting in front of 
it. If retrieving files is all you're interested in, you might want to 
check out Traveling Software's LapLink Pro, which can now transfer files by 
modem. 
 
3. Tend to personal business 
Being on the road makes it that much harder to keep up on the important 
financial matters of home and family, like paying your bills, managing a 
portfolio and shopping for the tyke's first birthday. All are possible with 
the right connections, however. Most of the major information services 
offer banking and investment options (getting stock quotes, making trades, 
etc.). So do dedicated online services. One is CheckFree [(800) 882-5280], 
which works with personal finance software, such as Quicken and Managing 
Your Money. With them, you can pay bills without writing checks. Discount 
brokers such as Charles Schwab [(800) 435-4000] and Fidelity Investments 
[(800) 544-6666] offer online investment services, too. And, there's no 
shortage of shopping opportunities, particularly on Prodigy and in 
CompuServe's "electronic mall." All you need is a credit card and a bit of 
faith: You don't get to see the goods before you buy. 
 
4. Get some help 
Having trouble getting Windows to work right on your notebook? Or perhaps 
your battery isn't taking a full charge? Modem to the rescue. Many hardware 
and software companies now have electronic bulletin board systems that let 
you drop off a question and check back later for a reply (or await a call 
back). Some companies have started using fax in much the same way. Though 
the response isn't immediate, for non-emergencies a fax or bulletin board 
system (BBS) beats listening to elevator music until "the next available 
operator" takes your call. When all is well again, you might want to help 
others by sharing your experiences in an online forum, such as the one 
Mobile Office runs on CompuServe. 
 
5. Read the (personalized) morning news 
Virtually every online service has a news service that enables you to grab 
the latest news (including sports) nearly any time of the day or night. 
That's the convenience part. The really interesting part is that some 
services, including CompuServe and Dow Jones News/Retrieval [(800) 
522-3567], give you the option of specifying what subject areas or 
companies you're interested in. The service then automatically collects 
relevant articles each day for your perusal. In effect, it's a customized 
"clipping" service that can draw from newswires such as the AP, UPI, and 
Reuters, as well as from business news sources and newspapers, such as the 
New York Times and Washington Post. 
 
6. Download a lifesaver 
Some of the neatest software around for portable PCs comes in the form of 
"utility" programs that perform tricks like making your cursor bigger, or 
compressing data files to one half their original size. The best part is 
you can usually get this utility software for next to nothing--sometimes 
absolutely nothing--by simply downloading it from an online service or BBS. 
The bulletin boards that are run by local users' groups are often your best 
source for these shareware and freeware programs, but services such as 
CompuServe and GEnie carry some, too. 
 
7. Create slides for a presentation 
Produce 35mm slides with a modem? No, it's not a magic trick--but it may 
seem like one if you're in Houston and need a new set of slides for a big 
meeting in Topeka tomorrow morning. Slide service bureaus enable you to 
send your graphics files via modem to one of their regional offices, which 
turn the images into color slides (or overhead transparencies or prints) 
and ship them back to you as quickly as the next morning. Some presentation 
software packages, such as Microsoft's PowerPoint, have built-in 
communications features, making the whole process a snap. Otherwise, you 
can use either regular communications software or special software that the 
bureaus provide. MagiCorp [(800) 367-6244], Genigraphics [(800) 638-7348] 
and Autographix [(800) 548-8558] are three of the best-known slide bureaus. 
 
8. Send an overnight letter 
You have your very own courier inside your modem. For those times when 
neither E-mail nor fax is appropriate, MCI Mail [(800) 444-6245] lets you 
turn your E-mail messages into crisp, laser-printed documents--complete 
with your company letterhead and an electronic replica of your signature-- 
that can be sent by overnight courier. If you're not in a rush, documents 
can also go out by regular mail. AT&T Mail [(800) 367-7225] and SprintMail 
[(800) 877-4646] offer similar types of paper-mail services. 
 
9. Check out computer products 
Can't get enough of computers? Or looking for a product you saw mentioned 
in an article once, but could never find again? You can use your modem to 
dig through the archives of dozens--yes, dozens--of computer- and 
technology-related publications. CompuServe, Dialog [(800) 334-2564] and 
several other information services have databases that include computer and 
high-tech magazines. At least two services specialize in this area: Byte 
Information Exchange, or BIX [(800) 227-2983], which primarily covers 
articles appearing in Byte magazine and its online computer news service; 
and Ziffnet [(800) 848-8990], which covers a much broader spectrum of 
computer magazines, journals and newspapers. 
 
10. Dial the phone 
Yes, dial the phone. It may not be worth the effort it takes to boot up 
your laptop just to dial one or two phone numbers from a hotel room. When 
you're setting up shop at a remote office or customer site, however, it can 
make you feel right at home within minutes of your arrival. Nearly all 
communications, database and contact management programs enable you to dial 
a phone number through your modem. Since dialing procedures vary from one 
office or hotel to the next, you might want to fashion a macro that can 
quickly add a "9" or an "8" with a short pause (usually denoted by a comma) 
to the beginning of each number in your electronic phone book so you can 
get an outside line before the modem dials. You may have to tinker with a 
few area codes, too, depending on where you're calling from. -------------- 
- 
Contributing editor Christopher O'Malley, grizzled after years of carrying 
portable (or not-so-portable, in the old days) computers, will be the 
featured columnist of "Mobile Computing," a new department in Mobile Office 
magazine that will present new ideas and tips on traveling with a portable 
computer. This feature appeared in the June 1992 issue. Subscriptions to 
Mobile Office are available for just $23.90 a year by calling [(800) 
627-5234]. 
 
 
...end
