Tech Toys 2004Tech Toys 2004

Gini Courter

Annette Marquis

TRIAD Consulting

The TRIAD TestThe TRIAD Test

Easy installation

Longevity

Quality product support

Cost that can be easily defended in your office budget (solid cost/benefit)

Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs)Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs)

Handheld digital assistants

Three Operating Systems– Palm OS

– Psion

– Pocket PC

PDAsPDAs

Cost: between $200 and $1200Benefit: create your organizer directly from

OutlookThe bottom line: If you maintain a software

calendar or contact management system at work or home and you enter the same information in a planner replace the planner with a PDA. If you want to access Word and Excel documents on the road, buy a PocketPC. If your primary concerns are contacts, calendar, and tasks, a Palm PDA is a good solution.

CD BurnersCD Burners

Storage for files, images, music

Portable

More durable than floppy disks

More generic than zip disks

Internal or external

CD BurnersCD Burners

Cost:Internal from $60

External from $80

Benefit: cheap, foolproof storage

The Bottom Line: If you need portable PC data or a great way to archive data, this is your answer

PDF WritersPDF Writers

Create read-only versions of documents that– Retain formatting– Can include hyperlinks– Use the PDF format

Manufacturers:– Adobe Acrobat Suite– Enfocus Instant PDF– Win2PDF Pro

PDF WritersPDF Writers

Cost: Adobe Acrobat Suite: $230

Enfocus Instant PDF: $220

Win2PDF Pro: $69

Benefit: great looking, locked-down documents

The Bottom Line: If you need to manage document look and feel or send documents that can’t be altered, you need a PDF writer.

Business Card ScannersBusiness Card Scanners

Specialty scanner for business cardsTwo manufacturers: CardScan and TargusMade for users who scan large quantities of business cards to load into Outlook, ACT!, or another contact manager

Business Card ScannersBusiness Card Scanners

Cost: Targus about $100

CardScan about $200; $350 for 5 user version

Benefit: not typing tons of business cards

The Bottom Line: a pile of business cards is a fire hazard, not a business asset. Immediately turn encounters into contacts.

USB DrivesUSB Drives

USB plug-in that is recognized as a hard drive

Plug and play storage for any computer with a USB port

Easy to write and erase

Faster than any disk

New drives support MP3

Small enough to lose

USB HubsUSB Hubs

Connect multiple USB devices to a desktop or laptop

Generally 4 to 7 ports

$20-$30

USB DrivesUSB Drives

Cost: cheaper every day: on sale for 50 cents/mb

Benefit: portable, fast, reusable, and very cool looking

The Bottom Line: Use a USB drive when you frequently need to move data between computers that aren’t networked, or want to make data mobile and drive independent.

Capture Web Data Capture Web Data with Net Snippitswith Net Snippits

Capture selections, images, pages, links, pdfs

Organize in folders

Enter notes and other info

Create reports from the snippits

Wrap UpWrap Up

Questions

Prizes

Materials and links:– www.triadconsulting.com