Category Archives: gear

gear, lifestyle

The Freelancer’s Friend

1 Comment

pc magazine

Magazines like MacLife, PC, Wired, and other tech-oriented titles can be a freelancer’s best friend. How many times have you stared down the aisles at your local Best Buy or Apple Store, bewildered at the range of prices, models, and formats wondering how to make the leap?

It’s not just computers, either. External hard drives, wireless routers, even CD-R and DVD-Rs have so many choices it’s difficult to know where to start. That’s where the tech mags come in. There’s nothing better than reading a side-by-side comparison of the latest laptops, wi-fi gear, and software; the sections these mags provide on tweaking and upgrading your existing gear? Priceless.

MacLife is, for the Apple newcomer, one of the best you can buy. The magazine is NOT written for people who already know everything about their Mac. It assumes there are entry-level readers AND more experienced tech-heads in the subscriber list. If only more magazines followed this example!

PC Magazine is a great destination for the PC user, with “roundup” type comparisons and an excellent downloads section that can have you tweaked and running more efficiently in no time. Maximum PC comes a close second, valuable for how-tos for security, work-related issues, and just plain utilitarian things like recovering from a soda spill.

Freelancers who feel lost in the world of computer jargon, installation details and other issues will do themselves a big favor by adding these sites to their favorites list.

gear

Should Freelancers Buy a Netbook?

3 Comments

Dell Inspiron Netbookby Joe Wallace

Should freelancers invest a bit of hard-earned cash in a netbook? These highly portable, stripped-down machines seem perfect for the highly productive road warrior, and when they are priced at aroudn $300 per unit, it would seem to make a lot of sense.

Then there’s the battery life–advertised at eight hours or so as with this Dell Inspiron netbook sold at Amazon and elsewhere. Eight hours is a long time to be sitting in an airport lounge or in the train station…wouldn’t it be great to get some work done?

Unfortunately there are a few shades of gray to contend with. I loved the $350 price tag on the Gateway netbook I purchased–similar in many ways to the Dell pictured here, including the eight hour battery.

It’s true that the battery lasts much longer on my netbook than on my Macbook Pro or the regular-sized PC laptop I own. It is extremely portable and I love it for that. I take the netbook on the road with me a lot…but there are a few things you should keep in mind when considering a purchase that might make you think twice.

  • Awkward keyboard. I hate the size and placement of the keys on my netbook. For a power typer like me–someone used to cranking out 5000 words a day or more at times, I was forced to buy an external keyboard to stay sane. It cuts down on the portability factor a bit to lug around.
  • No CD/DVD drive . My netbook has no CD drive–all software installs must be downloads unless you invest in an external USB CD/DVD unit. Not a problem in some cases, but still something to be aware of.
  • Less rugged. My netbook feels like it should be treated more gently–airport warriors beware, these need a bit more pampering than larger, sturdier machines.

I won’t go so far as to say you shouldn’t buy one of these, but if I had to do it over again, form factor and the CD drive issue would probably push me toward getting a full-sized laptop instead. Travel writers are the ones most likely to get one of these and be completely satisfied–the space and weight issues alone make this a smarter purchase for them.

gear, lifestyle, resources

Lakshan Perera on CurdBee.com

Curdbee Online invoice

Lakshan Perera is the Lead Developer of CurdBee, a Sri Lanka-based company offering online invoicing for freelancers. We asked Perera to tell us about the service and what it has to offer the busy freelancer. How does Curdbee work? The notion of having an online tool to manage your invoices and payments from the coffee shop, the airport, or the home office makes sense to us. A big concern when it comes to invoicing services or software is the potential overhead; Curdbee handles that issue quite well.

FZ: What is CurdBee, and why should freelance writers consider using it?

Lakshan Perera: CurdBee is a simple online invoicing tool for creating estimates, sending invoices and receiving payments. For most freelancers, the process of sending estimates/invoices and collecting payments from clients is an extra burden and always causes unnecessary overhead. With CurdBee, we try to streamline the billing process and help you focus on what you do best, be it writing, design or whatever it is that you’ve been called to do.

Is CurdBee expensive, and can I upgrade/downgrade or cancel my account if I need to?

CurdBee’s pricing is designed in a unique manner, so you pay only for the features you actually use. If you compare us with other online billing apps and their price models, you will see that you can save a lot by using CurdBee. Further, you can enable/disable any of our more advanced features at any time with just the click of the button.

What are the differences between the standard and the pro account?

The standard version of CurdBee is completely free. There’s no restriction on the number of invoices or clients you can create with it and it comes with the ability to accept payments via PayPal and Google Checkout. CurdBee Pro version is $5 per month ($50 for the yearly plan) and is a totally unbranded service that even includes the option of using your own domain.

With the option to to use CurdBee with SSL encryption, Pro is ideal for anyone whose business depends on online billing. Pro users will also have the option to enable additional modules such as Estimates, Recurring Billing, and the Authorize.Net payment gateway module. Each additonal module cost only $5 per month. For a more complete overview of what we offer, please visit  http://curdbee.com/features/

Is CurdBee easy to use? How long does it take to invoice clients?

Actually, we developed CurdBee to scratch a personal itch – we needed a simple online billing solution. Thus, we took extra care to make sure the process to be intuitive and efficient. As our existing users will tell you, the process of creating and sending an invoice in CurdBee can be completed within minutes. Features such as the ability to duplicate invoices and convert estimates to invoices often makes this process even faster.

Can CurdBee help a freelance writer brand themselves?

Yes. You can use your invoices to establish your brand among clients. With options including the ability to use your own domain name, logo and color scheme, you can create unique invoices that will really make your business stand out.

Is there anything else you can tell freelancers about CurdBee?

We believe the best way to experience CurdBee is to try it out yourselves. We even have a demo version with all the advanced features enabled at http://demo.curdbee.com.

featured, gear

Freelancing With the Apple iPad

1 Comment

apple iPad

Transparency: Nobody at Freelance-Zone.com has gotten a hands-on with the new Apple iPad.

The information we’re presenting here is based on other people’s hands-on experiences with the 10-inch tablet, not our own. But even secondhand information is most helpful in deciding whether to become an early adopter or to wait for the inevitable price cut and major upgrade of the next version. But it’s great to know that such a device is compatible with games like Kcasino.

Steve Jobs unveiled the iPad on Wednesday, showing off its web browsing, e-book and gaming potential. Rather than do a complete rehash of what’s already available at Wired.com, we’ll cut right to the chase and discuss the iPad’s impact on the freelance community.

Continue reading Freelancing With the Apple iPad →

gear

4G Wireless For Traveling Freelancers

Sprint 4G wireless Overdrive hotspot4G wireless has been promised for some time, but now it’s finally being delivered as Sprint and other companies roll out the faster connection speeds and new gadgets to handle those speeds.

There’s been an ongoing shift towards mobile connectivity, but now with mobile router/wi-fi hotspot devices such as the Sprint Overdrive and the Verizon MiFi, the game has really changed in favor of the mobile freelancer. Will you even bother with a hardwired home Internet connection after checking out these 4G mobile products?

You might in some cases–at press time, Verizon’s data plan for the MiFi included transfer limits of 250MB a month for the $40 monthly plan and 5GB for the $60 plan. That’s bad news for anyone who wants to download media, send photos or other media on a regular basis. Sure, 5GB is a lot, but so is a $60 a month data plan on top of your cell phone bill and home Internet connection. The Sprint plan promises to be more generous–Wired.com reports Sprint will offer unlimited 4G data transfer and 5GB of transfer on the 3G network for $60 a month.

That’s all well and good, but don’t forget that companies like CradlePoint have third-party gear that can take your existing cell phone 3G signal and turn it into a wi-fi hotspot, too.

Continue reading 4G Wireless For Traveling Freelancers →

gear

Got Wi-Fi?

1 Comment

cradlepoint PHS300 wi fi routerMobile- loving freelancers rejoice, CradlePoint has the solution for your write-anywhere needs. One of the biggest hassles for many cash-strapped freelancers is wi-fi connectivity. Starbucks makes you charge or use their gift cards to access wi-fi, and some shops (including some Panera Bread locations) have a time limit on their free wireless access.

And what if you aren’t anywhere near a coffee shop, public library or college campus? Plenty of freelancers avoid these areas like the plague–the noise factor alone is enough for some.

Enter the CradlePoint PHS300, a battery-powered personal wi-fi network for those who have 3G wireless accounts. Plug in a cell phone or USB modem that has 3G wireless access and you have an instant wi-fi network. Work anywhere for up to three hours per battery charge on the PHS300. Did we mention there’s a car charger for this and you can connect multiple users?

Here’s the rub–your cell phone must support tethering, and AT&T currently does NOT–at least not for us iPhone junkies. iPhone users with third-party hacks on their phone (known as “jailbreaking” and done at your own risk as a violation of the TOS) may be able to use the CradlePoint, but we haven’t verified this.

But plenty of cell phones and USB modems DO support tethering, including Blackberries and some Motorola RAZR models. Check a full list of compatible devices at the bottom of this page at CradlePoint.