Business Hacks

Almost every day, I board a bus and relax for the 30 minutes it takes me to get to work. Along the way, I use my iPod to monitor the route using GPS (to make sure the bus driver doesn’t get lost), check e-mail, listen to podcasts, and watch the occasional video. On this lazy Friday morning, I thought I’d recommend four free apps you can use to get video on your own iPhone or iPod Touch.

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I can honestly say I wouldn’t buy a smartphone if it didn’t offer at least one good e-book app. And by “good” I mean one that lets me read mainstream books purchased online.

Well, Android owners now have such an app: eReader. Available free from the eponymous bookseller, eReader for Android lets you read books right on your phone.

Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it. Many people suspect reading on a small, electronic screen will be unpleasant, but I’m here to tell you: Once you get used to it, you’ll love it.

Indeed, there’s nothing better than having a book to read everywhere you go. (Kindle owners know what I mean, but who wants to tote a Kindle everywhere? Your phone is always with you.)

Like other versions of the eReader app, the Android edition lets you read books purchased from eReader and Fictionwise. (Tip: Here’s how you can get a 100-percent rebate on New York Times bestsellers.) Just buy them on the site, then fire up the app to download them from your library.

Speaking of the app, you can get it by pointing your phone’s browser to www.ereader.com/android. Of course, this option isn’t limited to the Android crowd:

• eReader Brings E-Books to BlackBerrys
• Turn Your iPhone into the Ultimate E-Book Reader
• Read E-Books on Your Windows Mobile Device with eReader Pro

Yesterday, Dave told you about free Wi-Fi offerings from Bing, Google, and Yahoo. Gotta love free, right? Just one problem: public hotspots like these can pose a serious security risk.

Identity thieves and other miscreants may be lurking around, waiting for their chance to sneak into unprotected PCs — like yours! So don’t give them the chance. PC World lists five ways to protect yourself at public hotspots like Google’s.  Here’s one example:

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If you’re like most business users I know, you’re giving serious thought to making your next PC a netbook. And why not? They’re compact, lightweight, inexpensive, and, let’s face it, crazy-cute.

Okay, so maybe cute isn’t a deciding factor, but you probably do have questions about what to look for in a netbook.

Having traveled quite a bit with an early-generation Acer Aspire One and a newer MSI Wind U115 Hybrid, I can tell you exactly what features are important — and what you should avoid at all costs.

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Traveling this holiday season? Well, it seems that pretty much all of the major search engines have conspired to bring you free Wi-Fi. Mind you, they’re not working together to make this happen; it just seems to have turned out this way.

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Bing keeps getting more interesting all the time. Sure, Google is still king of the search roost, but a recent update to Microsoft’s search engine makes it a strong choice for your search needs while on the go.

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Early netbooks sucked. There, I said it. They had tiny screens, ultra-cramped keyboards, limited storage, pokey processors, terrible battery life, and price tags that begged the question: Why not just spend a few bucks more on a full-size laptop?

Cut to late 2009. The MSI Wind U115 I took on my last trip has a 10-inch screen, a usable keyboard, dual hard drives (one SSD, one 160GB SATA), and a 9-cell battery that literally runs all day. (It also angles the keyboard up from the rear, which I really like.)

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So you like the idea of reading e-books on the run, but you don’t want to drop $259 on a Kindle and carry yet another gadget.

No problem. Now you can read Kindle e-books on your PC. The beta version of Amazon’s Kindle software, which we told you about last month, is available for download. It’s free — you pay only for the books.

As with the Kindle itself, Kindle for PC lets you purchase, download, and read a gazillion books from the Kindle Store. You also have the option of downloading the first chapter of any book free of charge — a great perk.

Here’s the rundown of what else you can do with the software:

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Last year I wrote a series of posts called The Netbook Diaries, in which I chronicled my experiences with a then-uncommon Acer Aspire One.

What a difference a year makes. Netbooks have become as commonplace as, well, notebooks, and the latest models offer more features at even lower prices.

So, as I prepare to jet off to San Francisco for three days, I’m packing a three-pound netbook instead of a seven-pound laptop.

My travel companion this time out: the MSI Wind U115 Hybrid. Its noteworthy features include a 10.1-inch screen, 9-cell battery, and dual hard drives: one SSD, one SATA. The former houses Windows XP; the latter is intended for your apps and data.

To get myself road-ready, I needed three essential tools:

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While in Paris 10 years ago, I had to randomly choose items off the menu because my traveling companions — which included fellow Biz Hacker Rick — sadistically refused to translate anything for me. If I’d only had my iPhone back then, it would not have been a problem.

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