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I have been a longtime Slingbox owner. I started with the first-generation Slingbox, and (thanks to the luck of the draw a couple of years back at an Engadget meet-up in Boston) moved to the Slingbox Pro. In all this time, my love for the Slingbox and associated SlingPlayer software for both the PC and Windows Mobile has never waned.

For me, the Slingbox is not just about placeshifting for entertainment. Sure – being able to watch my local sports teams whenever I am on the road is nice to have. But more importantly, it is about being able to get the local and relevant information I want or need. Two examples:

1. As a frequent flyer, I cannot tell you how many times I have used the local news and the Weather Channel’s “Local on the 8’s” to find out how the weather back home and how it might affect my travel plans. I can also relay countless stories of sitting at a terminal gate and watching the weather forecasts on my Windows Mobile device, only to discover one or more people looking over my shoulder. I believe I have sold more than a few people on the Slingbox with an impromptu demo :-)
2. I have been very involved in my hometown of Salem, NH’s activities over he past few years, especially where education is concerned. Thanks to the Slingbox, I am able to watch School Board, Selectmen and other committee meetings on the local cable access channel when I am on the road. It is nice not have to spend time “catching up” on community news when I get back home.

I also have my Slingbox connected to cable through one of our ReplayTV boxes, allowing me to schedule recordings and play back shows when I am free to watch them.

The SlingPlayer software never ceases to amaze me for what it does. Continual enhancements in the software for Windows Mobile allow me to stream with great clarity over only an EDGE data connection (curse you, T-Mobile, for buying the 1700/2100 MHz spectrum for 3G).

If you are someone who travels frequently for business or pleasure and have yet to make the Slingbox investment, trust me – you are missing out.

Our next Boston/new England Windows Mobile User/Developer Group meeting will be held on Wednesday, February 18th at the Microsoft offices in Waltham, MA (201 Jones Road, 6th Floor) starting at 6:30 PM.

Our meeting will include:

• Device Security Open Discussion
  Last’s month’s CES roundup ran a bit long (as is often the case with such a vast amount of information presented). As a result, our discussion regarding personal device security will take place this month.
• Mobile World Congress Roundup
  The 2009 edition of Mobile World Congress (“MWC”) begins next week. By Wednesday, there will likely be lots to discuss and lots of questions. We will bring together all of the major news from MWC into one presentation for your enjoyment!
• Microsoft Tag
  Microsoft has released the beta version of a barcode technology (and more) in Microsoft Tag that has the potential of opening many doors to new opportunities. A major player in this strategy is Windows Mobile. We will provide an overview of Tag, it’s possibilities and demonstrate how you can begin using this technology today for your own benefit.

As usual, we will have lots of giveaways in our monthly end-of-meeting raffle.

Hope to see you there!

I am one of those people who…

• Gets as much email traffic as Grand Central Station at rush hour, and;
• Desperately tries to manage his Inbox effectively, usually without success.

While I have read and tried to apply David Allen’s “Getting Things Done” principles to my Inbox (even trying the GTD add-in for Microsoft Outlook), I just didn’t feel the techniques and technology worked for me. As a result, effectively managing my email flow has resulted in more effort than it’s worth. Then, I was introduced to ClearContext.

ClearContext accomplishes the three most important aspects (to me, personally) of effective Inbox management:

1. The ability to tag and file email messages and still maintain context.
   While I can use categories and can manually move messages to different folders, tracking and finding things 
2. The ability to quickly act upon emails within the Outlook environment.
   By this, I mean turning emails in Appointments and Tasks. Yes, I can do this manually; in order to make sure that I still keep relevant information in the right place, though, takes time.
3. The ability to easily see threads and relevant information.
   Sure – Outlook has threaded views. However, as you move emails around, threads are not so easy to manage.

I could go on and on about this (and other awesome features in ClearContext), but I will let this video demo of ClearContext Personal speak for itself -

Best of all ClearContext Personal is free! Once you get hooked on the free edition and see the Professional Edition, you will likely see the value of this commercial release. I definitely did ;-) It adds the ability to defer acting on emails for a specified time, temporarily moving the email from the Inbox. In addition, the ability to create tasks and appointments with the click of a button are available in the Professional Edition. Here is a video demo of ClearContext Professional in action -

If there is any question as to how effective ClearContext is to me, consider the fact that I used to be someone who averaged over 100 Inbox messages at any given time, even with Inbox management. With ClearContext, I now average around 10 messages in the Inbox at any time!

If you are feeling overwhelmed by email, you should definitely give ClearContext a try.

I often feel remiss in not giving enough praise where praise is due. I especially feel this way when a product or products I use simply make my life easier and more productive. Such is the case with TechSmith’s awesome products – SnagIt and Camtasia Studio.

While I often rely on screen capture software for product reviews and news publishing at BostonPocketPC.com, this is but a fraction of what I do in my daily life. Most recently, I have been spending a great deal of time in documentation work. As you might imagine, both words and images make for good step-by-step instruction. While SnagIt is generally categorized as screen capture software, the product goes far beyond that simple action. It’s ability to allow me to capture and buffer multiple successive screen shots without the need for stopping and saving after each individual capture is invaluable from a productivity perspective. The SnagIt Editor is an amazing compliment to the screen capture functionality, and allows for the mark-up of captures with professional polish.

Recording video demonstrations of software is also an important part of my life, and I have yet to find a single solution that works nearly as well as Camtasia Studio. Whether it is ease of use,  the vast array of editing and production options or the reliability of the product as a whole, Camtasia Studio is nothing short of being the ssoftware recording equivalent of a best friend for me.

TechSmith also continues to amaze me with each new product release. I continually ask the question “what more could a new release have to offer?”, only to be impressed with the result. TechSmith truly listens to their community of users when it comes to both issues and requests.

If you are someone who regularly needs to capture screenshots and you aren’t already using SnagIt, I cannot encourage you enough to give it a try. The same goes for those who regularly record video from your desktop; Camtasia Studio is the way to go. I really don’t know how I would function without these products. More importantly, I don’t know how I would ever finish a project without them :-)

I have been fortunate enough to be a part of the Windows 7 Beta Program, starting with Build 7000. If you have not had the opportunity to be a part of this beta, let me tell you – I am impressed. For starters, this is one stable OS build for a beta. I installed the beta as a clean install, choosing to copy files and install applications. Thus far, I have had no major or even nagging issues (running on a Toshiba M750 Tablet PC).

The performance of Windows 7 continues to amaze me, even after installing all of my applications (including Visual Studio 2008 and SQL Server 2005 Developer Edition). The UI enhancements are equally impressive, adding both style and substance. All in all, I cannot see myself going back to Windows Vista at this point. It’s not that Vista was a bad experience (far from it); it’s just that Windows 7 is just so much better.

I hope to be able to provide more concrete examples of how Windows 7 fares. I do, however, also respect my beta testing NDAs ;-)