\n<\/strong>A PC that hasn\u2019t been backed up is a ticking time bomb, waiting for disaster (usually of the virus, spyware or hardware-failure variety) to strike. In the old days, backups required slow, expensive and complicated tape drives. Today, they\u2019re remarkably easy to use, thanks to online services such as Carbonite (www.carbonite.com), Mozy (www.mozy.com) and Xdrive (www.xdrive.com), which offer automated, affordable online backups.<\/p>\n
![\"backup\"](\"https:\/\/blog.myewm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/files\/2011\/08\/backup-150x150.jpg\" "\\"backup\\"")
All you do is download and install the software, then set it to create backups at night, or any other time of your choosing, when your computer\u2019s not in use. Presto: Effortless, offsite data preservation.<\/p>\n
Prices for these services start at around $4.95 per month for unlimited storage, though you can sometimes get a better deal by prepaying for an entire year. (See the May 2007 issue of Florida Realtor\u00ae for a complete guide to making backups.)<\/p>\n
2. Digital Cameras How much should you expect to spend on a good digital camera? Less than you might think. Several new models offer solid image quality for under $150, including the Canon Powershot A460, Kodak EasyShare C653 and Nikon Coolpix L10.<\/p>\n 3. GPS Systems<\/strong> 4. Modem Cards It\u2019s the same technology that brings Internet connectivity to your cell phone, but in modem form. All the major cellular providers (AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon, etc.) offer modem cards and services, with prices starting at around $50 per month for unlimited access. (Expect to pay anywhere from $50 to $200 for the card itself.)<\/p>\n Best of all, the providers\u2019 newly upgraded networks let you connect at close-to-broadband speeds, a huge improvement over the pokey mobile modems of yesteryear.<\/p>\n 5. Smartphones Further, smartphones usually offer easy synchronization with your PC, meaning your data resides in two places instead of one. If you\u2019ve ever lost, dropped or forgotten your phone, you know how critical that can be.<\/p>\n When shopping for a smartphone, look for a model with Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) origins, like the Palm Treo P Series (which evolved from Palm PDAs) or something that runs the Windows Mobile operating system (born of Pocket PC PDAs). These generally offer the best contact and calendar management, which is what their predecessors were born to do.<\/p>\n The only downside is price: Most smartphones cost anywhere from $300 to $600, depending on what kind of contract you get, and monthly data plans (which you\u2019ll need for all that e-mail and Web browsing) start at around $50 a month. Of course, once you get accustomed to having such a smart phone on your hip, you\u2019ll wonder how you ever worked without it.<\/p>\n Everyone has a favorite gadget, a prized piece of technology that\u2019s become inextricably linked to everyday life. For real estate professionals it tends to be mobile gear: a phone, GPS receiver, camera or other device that provides on-the-go efficiency. Let\u2019s take a look at five of these technology essentials: what they\u2019re for, why you need […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1401,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_expiration-date-status":"","_expiration-date":0,"_expiration-date-type":"","_expiration-date-categories":[],"_expiration-date-options":[]},"categories":[9,59,61],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.myewm.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17817"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.myewm.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.myewm.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.myewm.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1401"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.myewm.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=17817"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.myewm.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17817\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.myewm.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17817"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.myewm.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17817"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.myewm.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17817"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n<\/strong>Real estate professionals and cameras go together like mortgages and title companies. Property photos are the lifeblood of your business, but relying on a film camera\u2014even if it\u2019s a high-end model\u2014just wastes time, money and other resources. You need a digital camera, which offers freedom from film, instant review of your snapshots, and easy transfer of pictures to your PC.<\/p>\n![\"digital-camera\"](\"https:\/\/blog.myewm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/files\/2011\/08\/digital-camera1-150x150.jpg\" "\\"digital-camera\\"")
Look for a model that offers an e-mail or Web mode, meaning it automatically creates a lower-resolution duplicate of any given photo, one that\u2019s suitable for attaching to an e-mail or posting to a Web site.<\/p>\n
\nWhen it comes to finding your way from point A to point B (make that property A to property B), nothing beats a handheld Global Positioning System (GPS) navigation system. These devices provide real-time driving directions, showing your position on a moving map and prompting you when it\u2019s time to turn. Plus, they\u2019re portable, so you can easily move them from one car to another (or even slip them into a pocket or purse if you\u2019re on foot).<\/p>\n![\"GPS\"](\"https:\/\/blog.myewm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/files\/2011\/08\/GPS-150x150.jpg\" "\\"GPS\\"")
The latest crop of GPS devices offers touch-screen menus and dramatically lower prices than last year\u2019s models. The Averatec Voya 320 and Mio C220, for instance, sell for just $199, though that nets you no-frills navigation. At the opposite end of the spectrum, the $899 Garmin Nuvi 680 goes beyond mere mapping, linking with your cell phone for hands-free calling and retrieving traffic updates to help you avoid road jams.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>You\u2019ve got a fresh batch of property photos to upload, an important blog entry to post or a contract to e-mail. In other words, you need Internet access and you need it now. The problem\u2014you\u2019re nowhere near a Wi-Fi hotspot. The solution? A wireless modem card, which allows the Internet to go where you go. Just slip it into your notebook\u2019s card slot, and presto, you\u2019re online.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>Most real estate professionals and their cell phones are joined at the hip (often literally). But smart professionals opt for smartphones, which offer countless advantages over their lower-IQ counterparts. For starters, they\u2019re equipped with thumb-style keyboards, which allow you to tap out e-mail and text messages with greater ease. They also tend to have larger screens, which make business documents and Web pages easier to view.![\"iphone\"](\"https:\/\/blog.myewm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/files\/2011\/07\/iphone-150x150.jpg\" "\\"iphone\\"")
<\/p>\nRick Broida is a Michigan-based freelance writer and the co-author of \u201cHow to Do Everything with Your Palm Powered Device,\u201d 6th edition. Broida does not have any affiliation with the companies mentioned.
\nThe Florida Association of Realtors\u00ae and Florida Realtor magazine do not endorse any products mentioned in this article<\/em>.<\/h6>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"