Announcing the Winner of the Signed Copy of The New Small
April 4, 2011 by Phil Montero · 2 Comments
I’d like to thank everyone that entered the contest to win a signed copy of Phil Simon’s book The New Small. I asked you to share your 2 “must-have” free or open-source tools that help you run your business in the comments section of the video interview I did with Phil. There were lots of good suggestions and hopefully you discovered some new tools to explore. I hope even though the contest is over you will continue to contribute your suggestions and essential tools.
Today I chose one comment at random and I’m please to announce that Russell Milland will be the proud owner of The New Small – congrats Russell!
If you didn’t win – you should definitely get yourself a copy of Phil’s book. It is a hand in a glove with all the tools, strategies, and shifts we talk about here on The Anywhere Office. And if you haven’t watched the interview yet – check it out. Phil and I had some great discussions.
BTW – In looking for a way to pick a random comment as a winner I used one of the 5 enablers Phil mentions in the New Small – Free and Open Source software! I went to the iPhone App store and found Random NumGenerator – a great free app that let me put in the number of comments and then with one tap choose a random number. Gotta love it!
Video Review of the Case-mate Pop Case for Verizon iPhone 4 (great case)
March 2, 2011 by Phil Montero · 7 Comments
I recently updated from my iPod Touch to the new Verizon iPhone 4. The first accessory I needed was a good solid case. I don’t like to use belt clips and instead prefer to keep my iPhone in my pocket. Although I love the Rebel Touch Case I have for my iPod Touch they didn’t have the same case available for the new iPhones. Also most other iPhone 4 cases that were designed for the AT&T iPhone 4 would not fit the new Verizon iPhone 4 because some of the buttons on the side moved slightly for the different placement of the antennae on the CDMA version of this phone.
I did lots of research (as usual) and reading of reviews and it seemed Case-mate was one of the first to release a variety of cases specifically designed for the Verizon iPhone 4. There are many different case styles but I don’t like to use a belt clip and prefer a case that has a combination of a solid spine (to protect from impact in case you drop it) but also has a rubber on the sides to help increase the grip to it doesn’t feel like it will slide out of your hand. The Case-mate Pop case seemed to fit the bill – so I ordered one and in this video I show my unboxing as well as my review of this case. Although I need to see if it stands the test of time so far I am VERY happy with this case and feel confident it will keep my precious iPhone 4 safe and sound.
Watch my video review and unboxing below:
What case did you pick for your iPhone and what do you like most about it? Share your thoughts by posting a comment below!
How to send mail from your own domain using Gmail and your iPhone
February 11, 2011 by Phil Montero · 177 Comments
In my blog post yesterday I showed you how to configure Google Sync to keep your Gmail, Google Calendar, and Contacts in sync with your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch. Those steps work great if you use your Gmail address as your primary email address but they won’t let you send mail from your own domain.
I have several different email addresses with different domains names all forwarding mail to Gmail and thanks to it’s flexibility I was able to configure Gmail so that I can send or reply from any of them (with one being the default address for new messages). For example even though I use Gmail as my email program I rarely use my Gmail address – instead my FROM address is phil@theanywhereoffice.com.
Although Gmail handles this perfectly I was disappointed when first configured my iPod Touch a few years back using Google Sync that it ignored these settings and always sent mail from my Gmail address. This was unacceptable to me as I wanted emails I sent to come from my business address and didn’t want to confuse my clients, customers, and colleagues. I hunted and searched and tested and finally found out how to get this to work. You can still use the steps I shared in yesterday’s post/video to sync your Google Calendars and contacts with your iPhone but you need to turn off the mail option there and follow some special (and somewhat convoluted) steps to get the mail to sync with Gmail AND send from your own domain.
No worries – I’m here to help. I recorded 2 videos for you below walking you step-by-step through the entire process. The first step would be to have mail from your other domain forward to your Gmail account. I assume you’re probably already doing this but if not you’ll need to go into your current email settings for your domain and set it to forward your mail to your Gmail account. The steps for this will vary depending on how you currently get your email – most likely these settings can be controlled in the control panel of your web or email host.
The next step is to configure Gmail to send mail from your own domain rather than using your Gmail address. Watch this video to learn how to do this:
The final step is the tricky part – how to get your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch to sync with Gmail and use your own domain. Make sure to follow all the steps in the next video – there are a few gotcha’s (like one part where you have to set it up with your Gmail address, back out, then go back in and Read more
How to sync your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch with Gmail, Google Calendar and Contacts
February 10, 2011 by Phil Montero · 40 Comments
If you have an iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch and you use Google’s services (Gmail, Calendar, and Contacts) the video below will walk you step-by-step through the best way to sync all your data seamlessly with your Apple Device. Although these devices have a built in Gmail option it has some major limitations – specifically it doesn’t offer the ability to sync contacts over the air and limits you to one primary calendar.
I have tried several different ways and found Google Sync (which acts like a Microsoft Exchange connector) works great. I used it for years on my iPod Touch and now that I’m the proud owner of a new Verizon iPhone 4 (I am stoked) I used this same method to keep my iPhone and Google services perfectly in sync. One of the great features is that it lets you sync multiple Google Calendars (up to 25). That means when you create a new appointment in the calendar on your iPhone you can add it to any of the Google calendars you have access to (your own or any shared calendars).
Watch my video below and follow along with your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch as I show you how to sync your mail, contacts, and multiple Google calendars with your Apple device so you can send/receive mail, schedule appointments, and call any of your contacts from anywhere – instantly. Now that’s The Anywhere Office in action!
Note that Google Sync is only supported on iOS versions 3.0 and above. You can check your current version by going to Settings > General > About > Version. If your business, school, or organization uses Google Apps, your administrator will first need to enable Google Sync before you can take advantage of this feature.
If you prefer written instructions Google provides them here but I figured it would be easier to follow along as you watch the steps in this video.
These steps work great if you are using your Gmail address as your primary email address. If you prefer to send mail from your Gmail account (and your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch) using your own domain (ie I send email from @theanywhereoffice.com) then you will want to check out my next article and video where I’ll walk you through how to change the mail setup. It’s tricky but I found a way to get it to work so stay tuned!
(BTW all the video of me configuring the iPhone was actually shot with the video camera on another iPhone – how cool is that!)
OnlineColleges.org :: Database of Top Accredited Online Colleges
January 31, 2011 by Jason Montero · 5 Comments
Online Colleges and Degree Programs
I was recently made aware of OnlineColleges.org by one of the sites co-creators, Chase Gugenheim. This site represents a remarkable amount of research into online and distance education resources and they are organized intelligently and intuitively.
I wish this site had existed when I was working as an Academic Adviser. This database of 343 accredited online colleges and universities is a comprehensive and unbiased resource for students, educators, or anyone looking for a flexible option to further their education.
Take a look and see if you can find a program that fits your needs – and if you do, I recommend you follow an excellent piece of advice from Online Colleges: ‘If you are interested in enrolling in an online college, request information from at least 4 schools that have a degree you wish to pursue; there are differences between each school’s program that are best explained by the schools themselves.’
