Newspaper on the move

I had rushed to the airport to pick up Andy. There was urgency in his voice and I did not know why. He was on his way back from England after covering the Ashes. Andy works with USA Today and covers International Sport. I had carried my laptop as he had requested me to. The moment I reached the airport, Andy stormed into the car. All he told me was to drive him straight to his office. This meant a good one and half hour drive from the airport.

He picked up my laptop and plugged in his PDA and while doing this he told me his laptop had crashed. When I enquired about his stress he went on to tell me one of the world’s best cricketers living in the US died and he needed to file an Obituary for tomorrow’s edition. It was almost 3 PM and with my limited understanding I knew he had to file in his report earliest by 4.30 PM to catch the morning edition.

I knew his PDA was loaded with Apps-D and it was a mobile office by itself. It was amazing to watch how he managed to open his personal laptop files using the PDA. Already having a few websites that had information of this cricketer, he dragged all the information on to the laptop, opened his Outlook extracted some info and opened QuarkExpress which was also loaded on his PDA.

I kept driving and there was silence from his end as he was really busy trying to finish the story. I noticed he had finished editing the story in Microsoft Word and transferred all the files onto QuarkExpress. He called the Chief Editor, queried about the space allotted for the article and he got down to creating the layout which was ready in less than 20 minutes. Opening his mail again, he made a .tif file and mailed it off to his editor.

I asked him how many files he could store on his PDA. He mentioned Apps-D requires a minimum of 128 MB space inclusive of the applications. As we were driving, his editor called and told him to check his mail. He checked his mail and there was a PDF of the complete page layout. I peered into his screen and I got a sneak preview of tomorrow’s Sports Page.

I told him “so I can surprise my wife by showing her tomorrow’s newspaper layout today?” Andy frowned, saying “Hello…! You are not going to do anything like that…what makes you think the layout is stored on your system? Please understand, Apps-D does not leave any traces on the host machine, nor does it cache private information in the host's browser history.” I was kidding but I was kicked to see the next day’s newspaper being created on my laptop and of course using my favorite Apps-D.

Travelogue

I am addicted. Yes, you heard it right, I am addicted, to traveling. Istanbul, Egypt, China, India, Burma, Greece. I have seen some and I want to see more. I am a businessman and travel is a part of my job description. I need not travel to all these locations but I tweak my plans so that I can visit the places I want to. Still don’t see the problem? Well, you see, I travel with my laptop. So I need to lug that piece of technology around wherever I go. I’d sometime need to conduct meetings at a short notice. Hey, traveling with a laptop and some hitches is far better than not traveling at all. But yes, it is an inconvenience. Not the demand on my time by the business, but carrying the laptop around. Sometimes the laptop is not charged and the meetings get postponed and my schedule goes haywire. I then regret the places not seen because most often than not I don’t get an opportunity to go back and see them again. I put them on my ‘have to see’ list. The list just grows.

I have been looking for a solution to my problem and the last time I went to a business lunch, I happened to mention it to my client. He said there was a solution and was surprised that I had not looked at it yet. He mentioned about an application called I-Flapp. He said he has been using it for a long time now and it’s been extremely useful. He thought maybe I should take a look at it.
As soon as I reached home, I looked up the device and I was happily surprised that it suited my needs perfectly. Once the application is installed on the device, it literally carries my desktop everywhere. I could carry my PowerPoint, my messenger, my outlook and all my other applications in a small external USB drive, to accessed from any computer anywhere.
I can also carry my music and my games. Needless to say, I need not carry my laptop during my excursions anymore. I can probably plug it in the local internet café and access my work using just my I-Flapp device. Security is not an issue either, as there are no traces of my work left behind on any of the computers I’m working from. I can sync back changes from the work done back to my laptop (when I am back to where my laptop is). I am thrilled with the find. I can now travel without any need to be in a hotel room at a particular time to plug in my laptop and work. I just need an internet café. For that matter, any computer, anywhere will do. Well, that’s another story altogether. Till someone invents internet café’s in a pocket, I-Flapp will work nicely. I dare say I am as addicted to my I-Flapp now, as I am to traveling…ummm…well almost.

All in a day’s work

We had a call from a leading FMCG brand manager of a leading television brand for which we were invited to pitch. In situations like these, all teams across the country require to be on red alert. To get a variety of creative inputs, we give each branch a different brief.

The presentation was complete and while we boarded the agency’s private jet, I knew a big day was ahead. I was happy that we did not have to cart the laptop. We reached one of the cities and my CEO plugged in his PDA. He was working straight from it and the laptop which was given to him transformed into his laptop’s desktop. He opened his PowerPoint and made his presentation and in between I had to support filling details of the direction for creative. There were occasions when I had to open a Photoshop file. The laptop did not have the software but I opened it with ease as the complete application was stored on his PDA. I also had a copy of the presentation and with the file being close to about 100 MB, I could load it on to a USB 2.0. That was the beauty of the Apps-D.

After the meeting my CEO asked the secretary to mail him the minutes of the meeting. He logged on to his mail and I could see his mail box was being accessed through the PDA - another winner from Apps-D. He read through the document made a few changes and attached the brief which we had just discussed and mailed it. While he was opening to check the PowerPoint he opened the brief meant for another branch. I could see that he was absolutely unperturbed. I realized that Apps-D was the safest and no traces would be left behind and nothing remains in the host system and not even in the cache.

As we walked towards the aircraft, I thought to myself this exercise was to be repeated 3 times. As we fastened our seat belts, I said to him “My gut feel is we would win the million dollar Television deal.” I could see the happiness on my CEO’s face and a nod. Digging into his pocket he pulled a cigarette and lit it up. As he inhaled the smoke, he crooned to me “I think we need to get more of these i-flapp Apps-D along with PDAs for our executives across the country rather than investing on laptops.” As the cigarette burnt and the wisps of smoke trailed in the air, I thought to myself anything for convenience and for a million dollar business. It’s after all, all in a day’s work.

Celluloid Dreams and Apps-D

There was panic on her face. There was something that was not right. Pooh is doing her MS in Communication and I have mentored her. This time it was a big one. She had chosen to work on a documentary ‘The Influence of hoardings on people’s lives’ and I was helping her edit it. All that was left were the titles, background score and voice over and she needed to be taking the edit to the studio to complete it.

One of her woes was the software we worked on are advanced versions. I was watching her panicking but I knew I had it all set. I pulled out my iPod, copied the final edit which was on Power Director and Sound Forge.

“How the heck will it all fit in here and what about the darn software, more over they work on Windows Vista?” she screamed. So typical of a jumpy college kid but there was not a cringe on my face as I continued copying the files.

“Come on Zacko! I would be stumped if it does not open at the studio” said Pooh.

To get her more flustered, I continued giving her a deaf ear. She could not take it any longer. She stomped up and dragged me to the computer. Not in a mood to do the talking, I pulled a neatly creased paper and gave it to her. She looked at and read aloud “i-flapp Apps-D” her loud reading reduced to a murmur bringing sunshine back on her face.

“So your iPod is loaded with this?” she asked

“Yes!” was the only monosyllable I managed.

“Can I load it on to my USB?”

“Gosh…it’s all there Pooh…!” I bellowed. She was impatient and wanted to hear it all.

“Okay the Apps-D works on any top-tier USB external hard drive and USB Flash drive.” continuing in the same breath like a salesman I told her “For optimum Apps-D experience an USB 2.0 with a minimum storage of 128 MB is best.”

“Hey what fun…I can actually work on the same files using their system.” I could see for a moment she felt like a scientist and screamed even louder “so the storage is dependant on the application and data installed.” She was even more elated to tell me “Hey it works on Windows 2000/ XP home and Professional/2000 & 2003 server and BINGO…on Window Vista too!”

Thank God for user manuals.

“I don’t want to leave my edits around…this one’s made for the Cannes, you see” she said sarcastically with her nose sticking in the air.

“I wouldn’t mind taking away the Lion!” I replied jeering at her in the same spirit. I went on to explain how nothing remains on the host machine, nor does it cache private information in the host's browser history.

Another of those days when i-flapp played hero! I gave her my iPod and she left with those celluloid dreams of a Lion at Cannes for a documentary.

Carrying the Gaming Addiction all along

It was not too long ago that I had spoken about a friend of mine and how he is hooked on to gaming. While I was surfing the net, I came across gaming addicts who are annoyed about the fact that they cannot carry their games with them wherever they go.

There are some of them who travel and they appear to be almost undergoing withdrawal symptoms of a druggie because they are itching to play a game. I wonder if they have heard of Apps-D. This blog goes out to all those guys who may want to find an alternate fix and indulge in their games. All you guys need to do is load your games on to an USB drive. And of course to get optimum experience an USB 2.0 with a minimum storage of 128 MB is all that is required. So along with the music you carry in your iPod you can also carry your games. And if you love to continue from where you stopped, Apps-D allows you to do it.

Just plug the device that carries your games into any desktop or notebook computer with a USB 2.0 port and you can indulge. Well if you think this is not possible, you will be surprised that the best part of it all is that the storage is totally dependant on the application and data installed and it runs on Windows 2000/ XP Home and Professional / 2000 & 2003 server. In fact you can even use it on Window Vista.

I am sure the games you guys play must be exclusive and do not want others to have them. it is all possible with this software. If you think you will be leaving traces of the game on the systems you use, you can put that doubt to rest. Your games are exclusively yours and facts are it does not leave any traces behind where other people might use them.

There are many brands that are available. I may not be able to recommend which is the best but I know that i-flapp Apps-D is quite popular among my friends who are hardcore gamers.

Now why not add extra pleasure to your travel and carry your addiction with you.

Winning Accounts. Improving ROI

Being in the advertising industry, there have been occasions where when we meet clients there would be just a few changes required. These changes hardly take a few minutes and can be done immediately. If we could make these changes right there, it would mean saving the rigmarole of mailing the revised creative and getting another round of approval or worse still meeting the client for a small deletion or addition that has been made.

So these days, we have cracked the big one and when my friend and I step out for meetings, there are times when we do not carry a laptop. All that we do is carry a flash drive which is plugged into the spare laptop or desktop of our client and work. We have won many accounts this way. What we carry with us is a simple portable app which can be carried like any other portable device and used on any computer. There are many brands of this portable app available in the market. But we find using the i-flapp quiet safe and easy to use. So all you need to do is plug it in, and there is immediate access to your software and data just as you would on your own PC.

There are no Operating Systems issues. Once plugged in, the presentation will appear exactly like it was in the system that it was worked on. Now in case the client requires a little bit of changes, all we do is open the PhotoShop or Corel files and make the required the changes. This helps us get immediate approvals and saves a lot of time.

Now with past experiences where clients have been unethical and robbed our creative, it’s more a lesson well learnt. We can now open files very confidently anywhere and everywhere. And there is no need to panic about leaving traces behind because there are no remnants of the presentation on the computer which was used for the presentation. So when we unplug, there’s nothing left behind.

This has truly helped us save a lot of time and money as well. In fact there are times we have made changes in newspaper ads in the last minute before it was ready for positives.

We would suggest that every designer or advertising personnel carry one and it makes life simple.

Accounting anywhere any place

Recently my friend - a chief accountant with an MNC landed home. He is one of those guys who has a way around numbers. While we chatted I noticed his pronounced enthusiasm where he wanted to explain about the new ERP software his company was operating on. I was aware of what he was talking because my last assignment was with a firm that used this particular software though I was not part of the accounts.

We both ended up appreciating the intelligence of this software but my friend did have a concern. He was a little annoyed by the extensive nature of the software and how every single division in accounts—right from the Bank Reconciliation to Export-Import Duty was calculated on this software. Another major concern was that he could only work from office.

I asked him if it were rule of thumb that he needed to work from office but the reason for his panic was that he might leave traces of sensitive company information if he worked on other systems.

That’s when I realized that it would just make sense to use the I-Flapp with Apps-D installed. I told him how he can load all his accounts on to an USB drive. He was worried of file sizes. Then I did enlighten him how for the optimum experience, an USB 2.0 with a minimum storage of 128 MB is all that is required.

He was thrilled to know that all his accounts can be stored on any USB and how the application of ERP software itself would be copied. All he had to do was to plug into any desktop or notebook computer with a USB 2.0 port and it works. In fact, it runs on Windows 2000/ XP Home and Professional / 2000 & 2003 server.

Another of his main concerns were related to security which I addressed by clearly explain to him that nothing remains in the host system and not even in the cache.

The next thing I remember, when he was at home he has this call from his HO in New York. It was all about numbers. All my friend did was to plug in his USB and use my system to open his files.

So now it appeared he had the whole of his company in his pocket.

Technical Challenge(d)

All right All right!!!...I admit! I am forgetful. I am also very technically challenged. My knowledge of technology does not extend to a wide realm. But hey, I have a claim to expertise in burning CDs on the computer; I am really good at that. You see, I’m a behavioral knowledge expert and I make presentations in various institutions.
This required me to buy a laptop, which I duly bought. So far so good. I loved my laptop, made my job simpler. I could carry it with me everywhere. But hey, I tend to be late sometimes and being late meant I rushed out of the home without my laptop. This caused a lot of embarrassment and not to mention some ire from the organizers. I was suitably mortified and tried to work around my forgetfulness.
This is when I discovered the convenience of CDs. I used to make my presentations and save them on my system and copied the same on to a CD and put it in my bag the same day. This way I ensured that I had a copy of my presentation if I happened to forget my laptop. So problem solved, or so I thought. One day I took a wrong presentation to a very important college I was speaking at. Mortification again. I was saved that day purely because the event was postponed and I made a friend of mine rush to the venue with the laptop and the correct CD. My forgetfulness was a bane and I was seriously considering therapy when the friend of mine suggested a solution.
After seeing me struggle with my forgetfulness and my attempts at working around it, she suggested a device called I-Flapp. She said it’ll help me carry my desktop anywhere instead of me burning all those cds. It was small and it could be plugged into any system she said. I was skeptical, if it was small, it was more likely that I would forget to carry it. She told me to put it on a keychain with the car keys. She insisted that it was worth buying. I went and bought it and now I am so glad that I did.
It is really simple to use. Even I could figure out how to use it. I bought the I-Flapp with the application in it. I just needed to launch the application after I finished working on my system. The next time I carried it to a presentation. I plugged it in and voila! I could access my work which I did on my laptop at home. Actually I could access my desktop with all my files in it. This included not just my presentations but also my music and my research files and my messenger. I could also access my Outlook. I was thrilled. It also saved changes made while I was working away on a different system, I could incorporate the same into my laptop later. It also has a safe removal feature which removes all the traces of your work from the host computer, so there is no fear of leaving work behind.
I am very happy that I started using it, I am now not so technically challenged as before if I may say so for myself. And oh yes, did I forget to say that it took care of my forgetfulness?

…and the games people play!

There was an eerie silence in the room. Cruelty was written all over his face. He was on a mission to destroy the enemy. His eyes never blinked. He crossed the enemy lines unearthing landmines and the only paraphernalia he lacked was army fatigues. The joystick was precariously placed on the table and he was holding on to it like life and death. He was oblivious of my existence in the room. I tapped his shoulder but to no accord. I had to shake him up and bring him to reality.

The gross graphics on screen were disturbing. I asked him where he managed to get this sinister war game. He pointed to his flash drive plugged into the USB port. It made no sense how he could play such a heavy graphic game using his flash drive. That’s when he told me about this new portable apps software. He was excited narrating about an intelligent flash application that was revolutionizing people’s lives. Filled with glee he appeared as if he won a war with this software. I could not help but ask how a heavy game could be loaded on an USB drive. He told me “To get optimum experience an USB 2.0 with a minimum storage of 128 MB is all that is required.” I left the rest to my imagination wondering what other morbid games were stored in there.

He picked up his bag and pulled out his iPod. I was ready for my next tech assault as I geared myself for combat. Knowing his fascination for war games, I was not surprised when he told me there were more war games stored on his iPod. That’s when I realized he had built not just a cache of arms but had war games stored across various media using new portable apps software.

“Does that mean you are geared for a war game anytime?” I asked in a perplexed tone. “All I need to do is plug into any desktop or notebook computer with a USB 2.0 port and I’m all set fighting a war!” was the answer. Being a little wary of what he was saying I thought of gunning him down by talking of Operating Systems. Even before I asked, he said “…the best part of it all is the storage is totally dependant on the application and data installed.” I had to the better of him. After a pause, I smirked “So does it run on Windows 2000/ XP Home and Professional / 2000 & 2003 server?” “You bet. Any terrain will do to fight my battle” was his reply and he quipped in “it works on Window Vista too!”

But something told me he was planting landmines all over by plugging and playing these games. So with a sardonic tone, I asked “I am sure you must be leaving traces of destruction on the systems you use.” There was a little agitation in his voice as he answered “When we operate we don’t leave No traces. It’s a war out there.” So it was clear, no traces left on the host machine, nor would private information cached in the host's browser history. I thought that was cool.

I sure found a reason to search for i-flapp Apps-D. Not for war games but something that would take care of the more tame things in life.

My Life in my pocket

Though I consider myself a technophile, there are times when I feel left out. To gear myself with the latest, one of the gizmos that took my fancy was a PDA. There are so many brands in the market and a little bit of research had me even more confused. Each brand was vying for attention with their uniqueness and I had to decide what worked for me best.

There were intriguing questions that went unanswered. I had drawn myself a checklist and any brand of PDA I chose should support i-flapp Apps-D. This meant I had to choose from the fancy iPhone, O2 or a Blackberry.

In my study to buy the best PDA, I realized I am on the move and using a laptop is drudgery. I discovered that a majority of my work can be done on a PDA. So a PDA that has a sizeable amount of storage was a main criterion. One aspect I was clear about is the PDA I choose should have a minimum storage of 128 MB space for me to get the optimum Apps-D experience. Earlier I was a satisfied soul with the i-flapp Apps-D loaded on a top-tier USB external hard drive or a USB Flash drive on which I carried my work but now I was getting choosy.

Further I realized that working on the PDA while in the office would be ridiculous. I would rather have my PDA connected to any computer through a USB 2.0 port where I should be able to work. But then that was just one of my concerns. Right now what was picking my brains was with my i-flapp Apps-D loaded, would I be able to work on my PDA using the popular OS like Windows 2000/ XP Home and Professional/2000 & 2003 server Operating Systems or even Window Vista? I needed to figure this one out and on doing a little homework realized the PDA I chose will totally be dependant on the application and data installed.

Researching more, I was convinced that a PDA is the best choice as one of the compelling reasons being the PDA will be a personal instrument. All sensitive information I carry remains securely tucked in my i-flapp Apps-D on my PDA. The fascinating thing was I could carry my whole information on my PDA and this meant being in touch with business anytime, anywhere and anyplace. Even if I do plug my PDA on to any computer, there was no fear of leaving my classified information around, as it would not cache any information in the host's browser history.

So here I was convinced about buying a PDA and loading the i-flapp Apps-D. That sure would be a winning combination and I knew that meant working even harder and staying connected to the world all day. But the debate still continues. Would it be an iPhone, O2 or a Blackberry. Any suggestions?

Who stole my pie?

It was not too long ago when a friend of mine was a victim of Identity theft. Running a small print house, he also has a design studio. The software he works on is Corel and a large part of the Adobe Suite. Most his work used to be e-mailed as .pdfs and approvals came in electronically.

Once he had a problem with his internet connection. He could not send an important mail so he decided to load the work on a flash drive and mail it from the nearest internet parlor. When a similar problem arose a few days later, he was in for nasty surprise when he stepped into the parlor. The poster created for a client that was mailed out the last time from the parlor was printed and now adorned the internet parlor wall.

Tracking back to what happened, my friend was sure he cleared the files from this system on which he was working. I had to give my friend a lesson on how data can still remain on the system despite doing a clean-up and how the parlor owner got into the system memory, pulled out the artwork and misused it.

I went on to explain how he can avoid these incidents and how an intelligent flash application can resolve these issues. I also spoke to him about the benefits of carrying off the shelf Windows based applications. That meant carrying all the Adobe files. He was quite enthused when I told him it supports Windows OS 2000 and above including Vista. Surfing the net becomes a lot easier as he can carry mail clients like Lotus Notes and Microsoft Outlook along with his internet favorites.

He was in further disbelief when I told him that all this would fit into a high quality USB 2.0 pen drive so any desktop or notebook computer with a USB 2.0 port, he can plug in and use.

I managed to convince him but he was still apprehensive about security after this bad experience. I had to emphasize that there was password protection to prevent unauthorized use of application and data. I boosted his confidence and clearly spelt out the fact that work done on any other system does not remain on the host machine, nor does it cache private information in the host's browser history. Now it was time my friend chose this option to carry around his work.

The moral of the story – You can’t be sure if your data is safe when you use a flash drive, choose i-flapp Apps-D.

From Sociology to Portable Apps Software

Recently I stepped into the University to register for my Phd in Sociology. While I was around I noticed life had undergone a phenomenal change. In our times we carried books, today that seemed to have been replaced by laptops.

I tried making small conversation with a group of fellowship students. Strolling around the campus, I found a student doing Research in Sociology. I decided to sound off my direction of research. With his permission I borrowed his laptop and plugged in the App-D-enabled iPod to his USB port. This new acquaintance was quite disillusioned to see his laptop being taken over and his complete desktop change. Here I was using his system and accessing my files, IM lists browser preferences, across various types of software.

He was no more paying attention to me. He was preoccupied trying to comprehend how this whole thing was possible. By this time a few of his collegemates gathered around. It was quite evident this portable apps software had caught their interest. Being research students, they could be working from a friend’s room, a computer lab, or even a library and information collected can be in various formats. This confines them to the laptop.

Even before I realized, I was giving them a demo. I started with the storage capacity required and went on to how it can be installed into any USB storage device along with a variety of applications. I told them it can be plugged into any desktop or notebook computer with USB 2.0 port. I also had to be specific and mention that the Apps-D can run on an iPod, Video iPod, iPod Nano and iPod mini. Many of them were eager to know if they would be left behind since they do not have iPods. There was a sigh of relief when I informed them that a top-tier USB external hard drive and USB Flash drive would work. To get optimum Apps-D experience an USB 2.0 with a minimum storage of 128 MB is ideal. So it was clear that storage is totally dependant on the application and data installed. Another advantage I shared with them was Apps-D runs on Windows 2000/ XP home and Professional/2000 & 2003 server. In fact, it can work on Window Vista.

One smart Alec felt it was unsafe and assumed it would leave traces on the host computer. To prove him wrong, I closed the applications and unplugged my iPod and asked him to track my files. After a vigorous search he gave up - no trace of my work at all. Pompous as ever, I explained nothing remains on the host machine, nor does it cache private information in the host's browser history.

After exchanging a few numbers, thought that was a fairly decent amount of campaigning done for my favorite Apps-D device - i-flapp. Now I was contemplating a certain percentage from i-flapp for all the free publicity that I had created.

Honey,I shrunk the PC

Living in a fast-paced world of change, one hardly ever gets time to reminisce about the past. Thinking back at the time when a computer was the size of a swimming pool, one can’t help being amazed at how far computing has come.

The idea of personal computing in its early days was laughed at. No one believed a personal computer would ever meet acceptance. Bill Gates went on record saying that he couldn’t see why anyone would ever need more than 640 kb of memory !

In many cases, a PC today is as essential as a refrigerator, a television, a washing machine and many domestic appliances we take for granted. PC acceptance and usage keeps growing exponentially. And we are not even talking about laptops yet.

The need for mobile computing has been felt for quite some time now. Carrying the unreliable floppy discs was never going to be a sustainable solution. Compact discs made life easier, but then, you still needed a PC or a laptop.

Whether it was a business person, a student who needed to carry assignments or a professional wanting to carry files around, laptops took away the need to depend on someone else’s computer. But then, there were issues with laptops too.

Carrying a laptop around adds weight, baggage and a need for a constant vigil over the ‘handle-with-care’ equipment. Since it carries all the sensitive and valuable data, one can’t afford a crisis when it fails.

The advent of mobile computing has been the smart solution to a great extent. On the one hand, there are applications shared on servers—either free to use or pay-per use. This has made it possible to work from wherever you are—internet café, client’s office, library, etc.
On the other hand, there are flash drives of growing storage capacities. PDAs and smart phones have given a new dimension to mobile computing. Devices like i-Flapp and the i-Flapp apps-d application loaded on any external storage device, opens up interesting possibilities.

Imagine carrying your work in a flash drive, plugging it into any computer (without worrying about the required software because that too is installed on the flash drive) and making changes on the fly. No need for a laptop, no need to make a trip back and forth to your PC to make changes. Any traveling professional will see the value in this.

Imagine having access to your mail with your outlook configuration and your interface on any PC or laptop anywhere, without ever carrying your laptop around. Yes, it’s possible. What’s more, when you are done, it backs up your data on the flash drive, leaving no trace behind.

Imagine carrying your favorite games around with the ability to play on any computer anywhere. Imagine being able to carry research documents around in your pocket.
Imagine…just imagine.

This actually happened at a meeting I recently attended. It was a tense meeting to which the presenters seem to have come empty handed. When it was their turn to present, one of the guys pulled out a flash drive, plugged it into the system that was connected to the projector and they were set to roll. The guy eased the tension in the air, and managed to clinch the deal too, when someone in the room asked, “What’s that?” His reply…Honey, I shrunk the PC.

A Designer's Experience - Taking the thumbrule for granted

“Hey…so what about the artworks?”
“Naah…don’t think we need them…!”
“But…the client would not get a feel of what we are presenting buddy…let’s carry the laptop at least…!”
“Give me a break dude…carting the laptop can be quite a pain in the butt…!”

Well…Ben appeared unperturbed by everything that I said. He had a serenity about him which made him feel more than confident of making the winning move at the presentation.

However, as we walked into the intimidating conference room (soon Ben and I would be in the limelight), my hands were clammy and I could feel my throat go dry. The concepts we had created for this million-dollar client no longer seemed to inspire confidence.

The lights were switched on. And there walked in the client’s team – geared with gadgets that made us feel like ancient warriors from the Gothic era. With a flick of a button the projector was switched on, lights dimmed and a snazzy Flash presentation followed, giving us a corporate spiel that compounded my feeling of uneasiness. It all appeared gibberish thanks to my feeling of being unprepared and Ben’s supreme confidence. As the CEO trailed away into details, it reached a point where the spotlight was on us.

I stood up clumsily and walked to the front. The pregnant silence seemed to be forever. My mouth was parched and as I presented the numbers and our company profile, there already seemed to be yawns and disinterest floating in the room. This only added to the woes where the potential of winning this account slowly seemed to vanish. I passed the baton on to Ben to make his move.

With added panache, he moved up, dug his hands into his pocket and pulled out a flash drive. He plugged it into the spare laptop on the conference room table and in less than 30 seconds the room came back to life. I could see my award-winning campaign blasted on screen. The presentation was a cakewalk and the client’s face lit a 1000 watts. We clinched the deal and now we were ready to rock the nation with our campaign for our client.

On our way back, behaving coy, I had to find out what was it that Ben carried with him that helped steal the show. With the profundity of an expert, Ben told me that it was a simple portable app that can be carried around on any portable device to be used on any computer anywhere. So all you need to do is plug it in, and there is immediate access to your software and data just as you would on your own PC.

“But hang on…I thought you made the presentation on PhotoShop…don’t tell me you have Adobe PhotoShop stored on it as well…?”
A broad grin was all Ben would give by way of a reply.
“But what about the changes you were carrying out?”
“Well…I am through with them…and I am carrying them with me…!”

I was dumbfounded…and had to get back…!
“But I think you would have left traces of the campaign back on the laptop.”
With a smirk on his face, Ben replied… “When you unplug, there’s nothing left behind…!”

Turning away and feeling defeated, yet with a happiness of winning an account…I could not help but ask… “Which brand is this?”
Ben with a broad assuring smile mentioned… “There are plenty of these in the market, personally I prefer i-flapp”

The next thing I knew I had to have it on my list of gizmos. After all, I can use it for a whole lot of applications. That’s like having the world in my pocket.

When Flash Drives are Fun Drives

"What a boring day! I wish I had my PC with me!"
This is not unusual for someone who spends most of their boring days dodging snipers, racing against time, shooting down choppers and diving to the depths of the ocean in search of treasure.

One never knows how glued they are to the things that they do regularly till they decide to take a break. Like what happened with me, I decided to take a holiday away from my city for a couple of days.

Day 1 - Refreshingly Relaxed.
It was a welcome holiday till I realized that I left my PC back home. I spent the day looking at the ocean. That was totally relaxing. Took in the sights and scenes.
End of Day 1- Relaxed. A Different experience.

Day 2- Almost relaxed.
I woke up to the sound of the waves. Took a deep breathe, had a long walk by the beach, heavy breakfast and decided to take look at my mails. (How long can you stay away from the tools that rule). Asked the receptionist for a PC, logged and there they were a few mails that were high priority (obviously!). But, hey where were the attachments!?! More trouble - made a few futile calls to reach the people who could help me, only to hear that it's some configuration issue. Well, so much for working on a holiday. Good in a way. I get to actually relax. (if not for the high priority mails that was chewing on my brain).
End Of Day 2 - Tried to relax. Wish I had my PC with me. A bit of racing and dashing around would have eased my nerves.

Day 3- Yawn!!! What now?
I had stared at the ocean long enough. Drenched myself enough in the refreshing, salty waves. Looked at all the places there was to see and eaten at all the famous restaurants. Shopped till I dropped, literally. All I wanted was to get back some action in my life.
End of Day 3 - Realization. I am a hard core indoors person. All I need is my PC and a few action packed games. That is what I mean by a relaxing holiday.

Day 4- How I wish you were here (PC!)
All said and done, I was really missing my work, my mails and my racing games. That's when I began wishing that I had got that Flash drive. There was no way I was going to drag my PC along wherever I go but the best I could have done would have been getting myself a Flash Drive.
End of Day 4- Back on my flight home. First stop at the Airport terminal and out comes my credit card. Shop online for a cool flash drive.

Inseparable - my work, games and me.
Solution- a simple, small, handy flashy fun drive loaded with my favorite applications.
Now, that's the moral of the story :-)


Check out this list of my favorite portable games that can run from my I-Flapp flash drive:
Racer
GeneRally
Doom
Quake
Uno(!!!)
Mario brothers.
Will be adding more, as and when I test them.

What are USB Flash Drives?

USB Flash drives are storage devices that function as a portable hard drive. They make use of flash memory and have an integrated USB interface. These devices are small, portable and can carry large amounts of data that can be re-used and rewritten.

Flash drives, although there are mainly claims to ownership, were first available in the market in 2000. In recent years, the capacity of flash drives has increased from 1 GB to 16 GB.
The important features of flash drives are:

• it stores data in flash memory (can be erased and rewritten)
• it is easy to carry around
• it makes use of usb drive (built-in in all computers)
• it does not need additional drivers to read/write (plug & play)
• it is getting smaller in size, larger in storage capacity

These features make them ideal for transporting personal/official data that a user may want to utilize at different locations. Scenarios where these devices are put to maximum usage are among students, business people and designers. If there is a need to access any data at a different location, one would normally mail it to themselves or use storage devices to transport the data. With the introduction of these tiny flash drives, one would not even notice the effort of carrying the data around.

With the rise in the different kinds of flash drives being sold in the market, innovation has become the key. With microprocessors getting smaller in size, flash drives are getting smaller and their storage capacity is increasing. It is surprising how such a small device can store such large amounts of data.
Check out SanDisk,I-Flapp, Trek, Lexar, Imation. Application software is integrated in these devices to ensure that they are not mere storage devices but actually external memory devices that can be used on any PC. It ensures that your data appears exactly as it would on your computer. It can store your mails in Outlook and the moment you plug the flash drive into the host's USB drive, the host system uses the data in flash drive and shows you your mail exactly the way it was configured on your PC. These portable apps are created by various companies like I-Flapp, which also ensures that none of your data is left on the host PC.And if you are working on a Greek PC, this app still shows your data & programs in English.

There are a lot of portable applications that can be downloaded and used on your flash drive. Applications such as MS office , including word, excel, etc and portable apps like Adobe Photoshop, games, editors, browsers, music players, antivirus software, instant messaging programs, ftp client , file sharing applications can be stored with ease.

When it comes to storing and using your data, it is not a hard choice to make; a Flash Drive gives you the best portability and utility.

However, there is NO escape from choosing which flash drive suits your style!!!