Setting up a mobile office to work from anywhere

Easy Peasy Linux for netbooks. Photo: Andrew Currie / Flickr Creative Commons

The rapid advances in communications technology are enabling people to work from anywhere. This can be a big relief for people who stress over choosing between traveling and their careers. Luckily, now you don’t have to give up either.

Six Revisions, a blog for web designers and developers, wrote a great article on How to set up an effective mobile office. It covers the hardware and web apps you’ll need to get the job done while on the road. Technology isn’t perfect, however. The piece does talk about some of the pitfalls and traps of not working in a traditional office.

The time difference can be a big headache. Imagine if your client is in a country that’s 12 hours ahead of where are you are now.  You’d be perpetually be behind deadline. Or worse, the client wants to be able to call you for support, but they call you at 4:00 a.m.

For a more in-depth list of good tools, take a look at 50 essential web apps for freelancers. Published by the AppStorm website, this list describes web-based programs that can do virtually anything you’d need to get work done. Using web apps can free up resources on your computer. Another advantage is that if your laptop gets stolen or broken, your workflow is still safe.  With everything stored in the “cloud,” you don’t have to worry about losing a computer. You can get back on the Internet and be working again in no time.

I’d like our readers to share their thoughts on this. Do you use a laptop or a netbook? I’ve heard some people get away with just having a USB drive with their preferred operating system and files stored on it. Or sticking with Internet cafes, although I’d be concerned about security.

When our Rolf Potts did his no-baggage trip, he only used an iPod touch with a roll-up keyboard to write for his RTW blog.

Anything we missed? Please post your suggestions in the comments.