I should be working, I know it. Instead, I am having a good time using the HP Mini 1000 running Windows 7. I am in a terrible lighting situation, so I figured it was a good idea to compare the Palm Pre camera to the iPhone 3G. Note this is the older iPhone, not the spiffy new 3GS. I figured it’s a good test of the Pre camera with the flash, since the iPhone 3G lacks one. The verdict?  Both cameras pretty much suck.

I’m working in the local Starbucks this afternoon, where I’m enjoying beating the 100-degree heat we’re having here in Houston. Once thing that I’ve noticed since the heat wave has grown so unbearable is that cars take forever to cool down using air conditioning and heat back up quickly when parked. This fact of life has resulted in something I’m seeing almost every day that befuddles me every time.

When I got to the coffee shop today, while walking from my car to the store I realized that a car parked by the front door was sitting there empty. There was no one in it; apparently the owner figured he/she wouldn’t be gone very long and left it running. This was done no doubt to keep the interior nice and cool in the summer heat, but come on. Leaving the keys in a car is bad enough, but leaving it running?

My work session outside the office today was in an unexpected venue, one I have visited occasionally but never for working. I was surprised earlier when I headed into the local Denny’s which is a mere three blocks from the house. I went for lunch as I have discovered I really like their salad with grilled chicken on top. Sure I could have had one of those staggeringly big breakfasts but the salad was the call of the day.

While I was eating lunch I heard my iPhone beep to indicate an email had arrived and when I pulled it out I was surprised to see the box pop up to tell me that Wi-Fi hotspot Dennys3767 was available and wide open. I let the iPhone connect up and sure enough it was nice and fast. And free. Late this afternoon when I was thinking it would be nice to step outside the office and work a bit I remembered how good and fresh the coffee is at Denny’s.

Off I went and spent some great work time, comfortably situated in a booth with lots of room. This was of course accompanied by that bottomless cup of good coffee that Denny’s is famous for. Talk about a great work session and just blocks from the hacienda. Sweet. I have a feeling I am in trouble now that I’ll likely be hanging out in Denny’s a lot more.

I’m working in the local coffee shop with the Viliv X70EX UMPC as a little laptop. I have my portable keyboard in front, and today I am adding the mouse I just picked up. The Microsoft Arc Mouse is not new, but I finally picked one up, and I’m glad I did.

The Arc Mouse is a wireless portable mouse with two things that set it apart from the crowd. The first is it folds in half, making it very small for transport. The second is the USB dongle that plugs into the PC is very small and can even be left plugged in all the time, with little worry about breakage.

When folded, the mouse is as small as can be, but when it’s opened, it becomes a full-sized mouse that fits the hand perfectly. It tracks well and has a nice scroll wheel. It also has a button on the side that can do special functions when the Intellipoint software is installed, but I haven’t done that yet. I find the Arc Mouse to be a very good solution for the mobile worker.

I am working in the local coffee shop trying desperately to avoid doing any work get an important article finished and sitting next to me is a college kid with the original EEE PC, the 7-inch model. How does she like it?  ”It’s the best laptop EVER!”

What she liked best about the little netbook she showed me when she was leaving. She tossed it in the outside pocket of her purse, which is very convenient.

I work all over the place. I enjoy getting out and working while things are happening all around. I work in big coffee shops, family-run coffee shops, and big chains. They all have different things in their favor.

One of my favorite places to work is Panera Bread. The free Wi-Fi is pretty good, and as a rule, I find the locations to be more comfortable than that other big chain coffee shop. They have pretty good sandwiches for lunch, too.

No matter where I work, I spend a lot of time observing the other professionals working around me. I love seeing what gear they are using and how they use it. It gives me pause to think about how I approach my work and lets me make sure I do things the best I can.

One observation about working in Panera Bread puzzles me. I have noticed that many people who bring their laptops to Panera in order to work have big notebooks. I’m talking giant, honking 17-inch laptops with ports everywhere and nary a concern for easy portability. There’s nothing wrong with that. I’m all for using the best gear that fits one’s needs — but after many, many sessions, I am seeing a trend that is not coincidental, I believe. I see them far more in Panera than any other venue I frequent. It is routine for me to see a giant notebook being used, and often more than one person using them, every single time I go to Panera. It’s just not that common to see them in other venues.

So what’s behind this? I have wracked my brain, but I can’t figure it out. How about you? Why would more big laptops be used in Panera Bread than in any other place?

I am sitting here in Starbucks happily working away on the HP Mini 1000 with the 6-cell battery. The Mini 1000 is showing it wants to provide me with six hours of juice, which is a princely amount, and in spite of what some have said about how ugly the battery is, it’s not bad to work with it attached:

The battery on the bottom gives the netbook just the right ergonomic tilt to make typing easier than with the flush, standard battery. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

This work session in the coffee shop has given me another reason to like the Verizon MiFi that hadn’t occurred to me before.

I’m on the Starbucks Wi-Fi on the HP, so I didn’t need the MiFi that was in my little gear bag. A little while ago, I wanted to send the above photo from my 3G iPhone to the HP via email. AT&T wasn’t cooperating with me, however, as my email would not send; in fact, the iPhone couldn’t access the web at all, even with three bars of signal. I’ve seen problems with the AT&T network over the last few weeks in Houston, and today was worse than ever. I couldn’t send the email from the phone no matter what.

Then it hit me that I could use the Verizon 3G network to send email from the iPhone with the MiFi. I took it out of the bag, hit the power button and the iPhone connected to the Verizon network via Wi-Fi through the MiFi router. Bingo, email sent. I received it on the HP and the rest is history. I love this MiFi more each day I use it.

I know, I know, you can officially call me a hardcore MiFi and you’d be right. I’ve been called worse. To prove I’m one, after this I’m stopping by the Verizon store down the street and pretending the MiFi isn’t working and that I need a new one. They’re not released until the 17th, remember.  I’m not bad, I’m just drawn this way.

I decided to live the mobile life and am sitting comfortably in one of the local coffee establishments. I am not using the Viliv S5 UMPC with the Bluetooth keyboard as I didn’t want to hear yet again that a notebook would be easier to carry. 

Today I am happily pounding away on the HP Mini 1000 since I installed Windows 7 RC last night. It went on the Mini 1000 like greased butter and the only thing not working after the installation was the integrated microphone. That was remedied with a simple download of a new driver from HP and everything is working great.

Windows 7 runs very well on the Mini 1000, better than the Linux installation with the HP desktop shell they put on the 1000 Mi. It runs at a brisk pace and the new interface in Windows 7 works very well on this 10-inch screen. There was 5.5 GB of the 16 GB SSD free after the clean install of Windows 7.  I have a 4 GB SDHC card for extra storage if needed, which I shouldn’t since I am angelically living in the cloud.

I am using the Verizon MiFi of course, not because there is no free Wi-Fi here (there is) but because I am evaluating it for your benefit. Plus I don’t need free Wi-Fi with my own personal 3G bubble following me around. 

You knew that as soon as I got the Verizon MiFi in my hot little hands that I had to head out to take it on the road. There is a Target Superstore two blocks from my house with a Starbucks (sort of) inside, so here I sit. It’s a good test for the MiFi as there’s no Wi-Fi available, other than my own personal Wi-Fi bubble provided by the MiFi. In this photo I have the Viliv S5 and the iPhone 3G connected to my own Wi-Fi hotspot. This thing absolutely rocks for ease of use.

Viliv S5 UMPC, Verizon MiFi 2200

I had a doctor’s appointment today and I knew I was going to be stopping somewhere afterwards to get some work done so I brought along my “serious” rig with me. It’s obvious from some comments to the coffee break I shared where I used the Viliv S5 that some less frequent visitors don’t understand the whys behind my different tool kits.

On days like today, when I know I’m going to be working outside my office and probably for extended periods, I bring my serious kit with me. It’s simply the MacBook, an extra battery and the Verizon 3G modem. That’s it, although I have my phone with me, of course.

I simply grab a small bag with the UMPC if I’m just out running errands or such and don’t really plan on work sessions. If work time crops up I have this with me to get something done. If not, I haven’t wasted any effort carrying much with me. This is the crux of my system and it works well for me.