Tech Essentials
The Tech Whisperer brings you the best new tools for your business
by Scott Valentine
Tag, you’re IT. That’ll be $20, please
Here’s a back-to-work scenario for you. Let’s say you’re on the road and get a call from one of your clients. Now, this is just the sort of billable time that can end up filed under “Damn! I forgot about that!”
Tech Essentials Online Exclusive
Log all your billable calls with Momentem’s subscription service (left). Displayed on a BlackBerry Storm 9500.
$200
blackberrystorm.com
But what if, instead of getting lost in the nine-to-whenever shuffle, you could just hang up, tap a couple buttons on your BlackBerry, and have software on your phone instantly log and send that billable time to your accounting system? So when accounts receivable is tallied at month-end, your client automatically receives an invoice with simple, auditable line items for every interaction. Post-New Year’s champagne-fuelled delusion, says you? Think again, says TW.
This low-cost business application from Calgary-based Redwood Technologies (redwoodtechnologies.com) lets your entire team tag billable time as it happens, anytime, anywhere. Momentem, a subscription-based service suitable for mom-and-pops right up to monoliths, can also tag email, SMS messages and any other business interaction you handle from a mobile device. It’s an easy-to-implement solution for business people who bill their time (lawyers, consultants, engineers, sales folks) and the accountants who love them.
Redwood has partnerships with Nokia, AT&T and RIM, among others, and Momentem is already compatible with every BlackBerry model. If you’re on another device, sit tight. TW hears that Momentem will be available on a number of other mobiles in the near future.
Bigger Is Better
by Lindsey Norris
Size Matters. Especially when it comes to your computer monitor. A March 2008 study out of the University of Utah found that replacing an employee’s standard format 18-inch monitor with a 24-inch widescreen reduced the time it took to complete a task from eight hours to five and a half. Based on a $32,000 annual salary, this saves $8,600 per employee, or 76 days in production. Unfortunately, there are limits to the big-is-better theory. Productivity gains were attributed to the widescreen format and the ability to have two documents displayed simultaneously, so upping to a 26-inch monitor produced no significant gains.
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| LG W3000H-BN For those who appreciate a status symbol on their rosewood desk, nothing fits the bill better than the LG 30-inch widescreen. $1,300 | Sony VAIO LV-Series This Sony all-in-one is a PC/TV hybrid with a 24-inch wall-mountable display and a remote so you don’t have to get out of your chair when you want to pause your Blu-ray. $2,200 | HP TouchSmart IQ804 You can use a mouse with the 25.5-inch HP TouchSmart. But why would you, when you can use it as if it were an iPhone? (Oh yeah – it’s a computer, too.) $2,240 |
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