One of the most frustrating things about the long commute I do in the mornings is the lack of decent 3G or HSDPA signal. It means I can't hold 2 way conversations through instant messengers or email, or research my writings from the web. So until the infrastructure of the UK gets up to decent WiMax capabilities we have to arm ourselves with the best kind of offline sync type technologies that we can.
I've found a few that work for me, but this post is a work in progress so please do leave comments with your ideas and suggestions.
Software
Evernote - I use this a lot because evernote allows me to capture images through my Android phone (in the evernote app) and auto sync with my laptop and the web interface. It's a pretty decent note taking application with tagging, multiple notebooks, email support etc.
Dropbox - I've been using dropbox for a long time. It's automatically syncs any documents in the dropbox folder on your computer or phone with the storage on the web. It's got nice photo and music interfaces as well. I really could use a network storage option for this though, as thats really missing.
Google Apps - Seriously, if you are still using exchange then it's time to wake up. Google apps is web based by uses gears to allow offline email working. It sync perfectly with Android, I would never go back to the exchange active sync rubbish again.
Spotify offline - You need the premium account for this, but it's not that expensive! Then you get loads of quality music offline, AND you can use it all on your android mobile as well. It's a must for music lovers. Never buy music ever again. Ever.
Email interface - Loads more apps are starting to offer email interfaces for posting information. Our content management system Cookie Jar polls an email inbox and adds content to the website as a new blog post, Wordpress also has this functionality. It's becoming quite common. Perfect for offline blogging.
Hardware
Android - I'm a serious Android fan. I've had an Android phone since the launch of the G1 in the UK and I've seen it go from strength to strength. I've currently got the HTC Desire and pretty soon it's getting the froyo update. That means it's going to be 450% faster and will be able to create wifi hotspots. That means my laptop will be able to connect to my phone like a standard wifi connection and share the HSDPA connection to the net. Perfect for my commute. Does the iPhone4 do that?
iPad or Netbook - I'm actually using a Dell XPS M1330 which is a 13" screen so not massive, but an iPad would be really useful for the train. Less bulky, connects to android through wifi. Lovely. Or possibly a netbook, depending on your tech religion.
Spares - I used to be forever unplugging my power, mouse, headphone, USB leads etc and packing them in my bag. Now I've bought spares of all those for office and home and simply unplug the laptop and shove it in my bag. For some laptops you can actually get USB docks so all your leads go into the dock then you only need to connect the laptop to the dock. I'm not actually that lazy yet though.
Dongles - If you don't have an Android phone or you're suffering with an iPhone you can't tether, then consider a USB phone dongle. They give you HSDPA or 3G data connectivity most of the time and degrade performance gracefully.
Thats about all I can think of right now. Let me know your offline tips and hacks. I would love to get a decent list together.
Ah perfect, just pulling into my station...
