Tonight, I’d like to share some of this excitement. Since I got my first iPhone on the first day of its release two years ago, I have been trying to use it as a universal remote control, either for my home theater (just because I could), or for my corporate presentations (I give a lot of those these days). I tried various applications, but none of them really worked, until now… Yesterday, I managed to make Keynote Remote work between my new MacBook Pro 13” (the best laptop ever for frequent travelers) and my iPhone 3GS. Here is how it works: you get both your MacBook and your iPhone on the same Wi-Fi network, you launch Keynote on your MacBook and Keynote Remote on your iPhone (after having paired them by following these instructions), and you’re ready to go. You can start and stop the presentation from your iPhone, and go from slide to slide by sinply sliding a finger on your iPhone’s touchscreen. Awesome!

Problem is, Keynote Remote requires that both devices are connected to the same Wi-Fi network, which can be a challenge when visiting customers or investors, either because no Wi-Fi network is available, or because you do not want to waste time trying to get two devices connected to it while your hosts are eagerly waiting for your presentation.

One solution to this problem is to carry your own Wi-Fi network, and the easiest way to do that so far was to get an Apple AirPort Express. While it’s certainly one of the best portable Wi-Fi routers (no cables, easy to setup), it’s still a bit bulky, and it requires an external power source. Also, plugging such a device into someone else’s power outlet feels a bit awkward at times, as if you were about to mess with their network, or implant some spying aparatus that would be left on site after you’d leave. Definitely not the kind of feeling you want customers or partners to have about you during a meeting.

Recently, a better alternative became available, in the form of Novatel’s amazingly small MiFi 2200 Mobile Hotspot. This device is essentially a 3G wireless modem paired to a Wi-Fi router, powered by a small cellphone battery, charged with a standard micro-USB cable, and packaged into a sleek brushed aluminum enclosure. I bought one from Sprint today, got it running in about 2 minutes (after charging the battery for a couple hours), and tested it with Keynote and Keynote Remote. Verdict? It works, and it’s a thing of beauty.

What’s the big deal about all this? Well, quite simply, mobile technology is really starting to work. With such a setup that fits into a tiny Incase 13” Nylon Sleeve Plus, I have a laptop with 6 hours of real battery life, a 3G smartphone that has a real web browser and works in pretty much any country (including Japan), and a personal mobile hotspot that turns on in about 15 seconds by pressing a single button. Even better, all I need to carry is a single power supply and two small cables (both available with retractable wires). In fact, this setup is so small and so lightweight that I can even add a LaCie Little Disk 500GB onto which I uploaded 371 movies, in case the in-flight entertainment system has nothing decent to offer. The later even comes with a built-in USB cable…

What more could I ask for?

Best affordable hotel in Tokyo
One of the best places to stay in Tokyo is the Sheraton Miyako Hotel Tokyo. At $150 a night, it offers amenities that places twice as expensive cannot match. The hotel greets visitors with a stunning view on an exquisite zen garden, and features one of the best Chinese restaurants in town. It’s also very conveniently located for easy access to most of Tokyo’s business distrists, and just ¥980 away from Shinagawa station, which is served by the Narita Express line.

Most convenient place to get cash
While Japan is a giant showroom for many modern technologies, from bullet trains to robotics, it remains an island, and its banking infrastructure is as modern as it is isolated. As a result, most ATM’s won’t dispense cash to foreign travelers, while many shops and restaurants won’t take any plastic as a form of payment. As a result, finding old-fashioned cash can quickly become a challenge. But don’t fret, for 7-Eleven’s local incarnation recently rolled-out a nationwide network of gaijin-friendly cash dispensers. Good news: a 7-Eleven convenience store is located just a block away from the aforementioned Sheraton Miyako Hotel Tokyo.

Best alternative to cash
If you want to avoid cash altogether, you might want to try the ubiquitous Suica, which mascot Linux geeks will love at first sight. Suica is an RFID card that can be used in very many stores and cabs, especially in the Tokyo area. It can be purchased in many train stations (including the aforementioned Shinagawa station), and can be refilled using cash (drawn from a 7-Eleven ATM) or foreign credit cards (if you’re lucky).

Best 3G mobile Internet connection
Now that most Japanese mobile operators support 3G technology, your cellphone and 3G Internet access card should work in Japan, but be careful: one week of careless surfing might cost you a couple thousand dollars in roaming fees. If you’re planning to visit Japan on a regular basis, a local Internet access card is de rigueur. In the Tokyo area, the best mobile Internet operator is EMOBILE. To open an account, just bring a Japanese friend with you as a translator, and enjoy broadband connectivity in the underground and on the long ride back to Narita (one hour away from Tokyo).

Most relaxing activity
If time permits, join a tea ceremony, you won’t regret it.

Sayonara.

Here is what the Mark I gives you:

We’re now working on the Mark II model, which will break the Petabyte barrier.

It looks like we hit a chord…

Meet us at the Four Seasons Hotel Silicon Valley at 10AM PST.

Please RSVP.

The approval process is a great candidate for process automation, for the following reasons: it’s asynchronous, it usually involves more than two parties, and it requires auditing and non-repudiation. Zapproved.com is a new Office 2.0 application that does it all, and quite a bit more. Its user interface is very intuitive, and its pricing makes it affordable to virtually any organization (even by today’s standards).

Another process pattern that is screaming for automation is the multi-party event scheduling process. While publishing a free/busy calendar makes it easier to schedule events among two parties, something a bit more robust is required when more than two parties need to meet or have a call. In this area, nothing beats Presdo, and I am pleased to report that I recently joined their Board of Advisors.

Yet another process pattern I like is the task delegation process. Here is how it works: as part of your GTD routine, you identify a task to be completed by someone else. For the workflow to work (or flow), you need a simple mechanism to request someone to perform the task, then notify you when it’s done. Ideally, you’d like to create the request by sending an email to some kind of web service. The email would look something like:


TO: task@intalio.com
SUBJECT: Link to Matt Asay's recent CNET article from intalio.com website
BODY: crow@intalio.com


By convention, the email’s body would contain one of more email addresses to which the task would be sent. Recipients would receive an email requesting the task to be performed, and showing two buttons (or links), one called “Completed” and the other called “Denied.” The web service would also provide a REST API that would allow it to be connected to existing task management systems. I do not know any Office 2.0 application doing that today, and we might very well create one as part of our Dogfood Project.

If you know other generic process patterns like these, please send them our way.

The art of progress is to preserve order amid change and to preserve change amid order.

Whitehead was the father of process philosophy, and one of my very many projects (currently labeled with a “Lifetime” horizon in my Salesforce.com system) is to better understand how the work of Kurt Gödel, Alfred North Whitehead, and Ludwig Wittgenstein contributed to shape modern 20th Century thinking, redefining our understanding of Reality — a Reality defined by constant change and absolute relativism.

Many thanks to David and Richard for sharing this advanced copy with me.