Archive for the ‘Fun’ Category
Thursday, July 19th, 2012
Chris Churilo, VP Product Management & User Experience
This time I’m ready.
I read my morning email, sync my email and calendar then head off to work. I leave early because I have an early meeting – and guess what, I can’t dial in because I have no phone service in the car. But, remember that date with the iPass Hotspot Finder? Yep – I actually kept it and found the perfect lunch place at a nearby iPass hotel hotspot that has a restaurant and a coffee shop. I planned on meeting a friend there and arrive early (and she is always late), but no fear, I also brought my Mac with me so I got some work done after a successful connection to the iPass hotspot.
Hurray! I love the Internet and don’t want to starve myself from it any more. Better planning meant better productivity.
To enable Wi-Fi on your phone or favorite tablet, you can try iPass for free for 24 hours >>
Wi-Fi Diet: Better planning for Day Two >>
Wednesday, July 18th, 2012
Chris Churilo, VP Product Management & User Experience
Diets start easily for me – Day One I feel great and super bullish on the progress that I am going to make. Then Day Two creeps in and I start to question the whole idea of a diet and feel desperately craving the very thing that I am avoiding. It is torture to say the least and I remember that the word “die” is at the center of it all.
I was certain that this would be a cakewalk since I wasn’t addicted to the Internet. However, unlike a normal food diet, the beginning of the Wi-Fi diet was far from great. I turned airplane mode on and Wi-Fi on first thing in the morning and headed to work. I usually look at email on either my laptop or phone, but that morning, I just headed out without a glance.
I kept busy at work, then rushed out to do some errands. While waiting in the checkout line, I was stuck behind a woman who was disputing the expiration date on a coupon for some detergent – so, I did what any normal person would do – I pulled out my phone to find entertainment on the Internet… but there was nothing. No signal at all. Just the orange airplane icon on the upper left. And since I didn’t sync up my email or anything else for that matter at home or in the office – I had nothing.
Just the whining of the customer in front of me… should I just give her the 50 cents? I looked up from my phone and told myself to be patient, we’ll go to lunch and it will be resolved.
Knowing I only had a few minutes left of lunch, I went to a place that was a quick drive away, put in my order, pulled out my phone and… nothing again. Really? I thought the Bay Area was littered with Wi-Fi – especially free Wi-Fi everywhere? I felt completely disconnected from the world and hurried back to the office to get me some Internet and feel whole again.
Then the usually short drive home – my chance to do the mandatory call to mom, then the fun calls to catch up with friends. By now, I am grumpy and sulking all the way home.
But really, I should have known better. When I travel internationally, I have gotten into the habit of turning on Airplane mode and Wi-Fi on – so this wasn’t really a new experience for me. The key difference is that when I travel, I am much more organized. I usually make sure that at every Wi-Fi connection I have I download the details I need on my phone so I can have it on hand. But more importantly, I check the iPass Hotspot Finder at the start of my day to make sure I will be within steps of an iPass hotspot.
I make a promise to myself to make Day 2 great by starting my day with a breakfast date with the iPass Hotspot Finder.
Wi-Fi Diet: Day 1 from Chris >>
Tuesday, July 17th, 2012
Annie Livingston, Marketing
I have only recently joined the world of working, and to celebrate I purchased my first smartphone. In fact, I recently had my one month anniversary with my iPhone, and I couldn’t be more in love. I use it when I run for music, tracking my distance, and keeping it like a phone in case of emergency. It is also great for finding where I’m going with Google Maps and the locator on my phone! The iPhone is one thing I think I’ll never get sick of, and I’m glad I picked it to be my first smartphone.
However, the Android is growing more and more popular with over 50% or smartphone users carrying one. Because it is an operating system that can run on differing phones, the user has more options when picking out their phone. The most recent operating system, Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) is really quite impressive. With new homes screen folders to group apps (like the iPhone), the Android is still a Google phone but becoming more and more like the iPhone.
One thing I’ve noticed about the Android is that most business workers say it’s easier to use for work. The Android is most user friendly with Microsoft Office, and it’s simple to edit a spreadsheet or document.
There are positives and negatives to say about both phones, but honestly it really is all personal choice. The screen size and quality of the Android is usually larger and offers better contrast and more vibrant colors, but the iPhone has more apps and is said to be easier to multitask.
Asking coworkers around me, it is a mixture of opinions and phones, It’s a toss up—but one thing is for sure, I love my iPhone, and my boss loves her Android. When I started working, I was very surprised at how much mobile workers love their phones. Honestly, some of my coworkers would fight to the death to defend their operating system of choice. I guess it’s all personal–which phone you like and which phone you’ll stay dedicated to. I’ve found there aren’t too many people who have had both the Android and the iPhone, they pretty much stick to one operating system only.
So it’s your choice. Which do you prefer? Let us know!
(I also just watched a video which has the iPhone’s Siri vs. Google voice on Jelly bean–definitely worth watching!)
A fresh opinion of the Android and the iPhone >>
Monday, July 16th, 2012
Annie Livingston, Marketing
In a recent article on CNET News, it was stated that 52% of employees are expected to work on vacation. With mobile employment growing exponentially, employees are expected to be easy to get ahold of, regardless of where they are. The article also stated that more West Coast employees will be reading their work emails more consistently than those of other US geographical locations.
According to the most recent iPass Mobile Workforce Report, about 30% of mobile workers connect 2 to 5 times a day when on vacation, and 8% admits to always checking in. Is this where our workforce is headed? When are we going to be able to get some true vacation time, and not worry about what’s happening back at the office?
With the advances in technology, the answer might be never. How do you feel about this? Tell us your thoughts!
Be sure to participate in our Mobile Workforce Survey, and enter the chance to win an iPad!
To read the entire CNET article >>
To take the Mobile Workforce Survey >>
Mobile workers connecting even when on vacation >>
Wednesday, July 11th, 2012
Zoe Paknad, Program Mgr
It seems that I have finally hit some of the biggest obstacles in my challenge to use only Wi-Fi and eliminate cellular data usage for a week.
As 
usual, I left my home in the morning in a hurry, with the overwhelming feeling that I was forgetting something. I hopped in my car and got on the freeway, and about halfway to work, realized what I had forgotten—my gas tank was completely empty. No matter, I thought, I’ll just find the nearest gas station.
At best, I have a general understanding of the area between where I live and where I work. I am limited to recognizing the buildings that I pass on the freeway each day. So I pulled off the freeway and did what any Silicon Valley girl would do: I “googled” the phrase “nearest gas station”, and waited for Google to pull up an interactive map that would drop a pin on my location and the locations of the nearest gas stations. Alas, Google could not process my request. My empty gas tank wasn’t the only thing I’d forgotten about this morning– I had also forgotten my Wi-Fi diet.
Without internet connection, I was forced to do something that many people of my generation have never had to do—drive around and physically look for a location as opposed to mapping it on my phone. Blaming my poor directional skills on my lack of modern technology, I accepted defeat and decided that I’d risk it and try and make it to work, where I’d use the Wi-Fi to locate a gas station on my map in advance and stop by it on the way home.
This story in the larger scheme of things is strikingly unimportant. We can live without our phones. If I had searched for a gas station for ten more minutes, I almost certainly would have been able to find one. It’s not a question of whether or not Chris and I can survive this Wi-Fi diet, but more a battle of willpower. It was easier and faster for me to search for a gas station on my phone and have my GPS direct me there, than it was to just look. Being constantly connected via my phone doesn’t just enable me to be lazy; it validates my laziness.
Unlike a real crash diet or trendy juice cleanse, I think I actually stand a chance on the Wi-Fi diet. Sure. I am addicted to having a constant connection (Don’t believe me? Check out the picture of my usage meter from yesterday, July 10th. I had such a craving for data that I used more Wi-Fi than my past Wi-Fi and cellular usage combined, coming in at almost 80 Megabytes in one day, my personal record. To put that in perspective, if I had been traveling and had used that much cellular data under my current plan, it’d have run me about $1,600 for one day of usage).
I am always on my phone, involved in social media and checking email. But I have so many advantages with the Wi-Fi diet that I have no reason not to succeed. I am lucky enough to have strong Wi-Fi both at home and at work, and of course, I am running the iPass Open Mobile Client on my phone.
Can I complete my Wi-Fi diet and finish out the week using only Wi-Fi? I think so. But between you and me, I can’t wait until Friday after work when I can turn my phone off Airplane Mode and bask in my constant connection.
Wi-Fi Diet Day 2: Not finding a gas station >>
