Hi Doug, I have no issues yet with the various cloud services, but I do maintain backup folders on a RAID drive. By avoiding keeping working files on my various mobile devices (plus the easy to use 'remote wipe" feature) if a device becomes lost or stolen, there's really little harm done.
For current client jobs, I place a working folder on DropBox. Once the job is complete (usually 2-4 days), I'll archive on the RAID drive. As for time-keeping, invoicing and estimating jobs, I'd recommend a commercial product, rather than a spreadsheet. I use Billings Pro, with all data backed up on their cloud service. This allows me to access client records, update billable hours, and send invoices from any of my mobile devices. The data is automatically updated to all devices within a few seconds. The cost for the cloud-backup service is $10/mo. I'm sure there are equivalent packages for any OS. As for compliance tools, you have some great ideas. There are many that can be developed using a spreadsheet. For example, a simple harmonic calculator is a real time saver for me when assessing a series of NB harmonics. A couple years ago, I blogged on several EE-related tools: http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/the-emc-blog/4390336/Mobile-EE-Apps-for-iPhone-and-iPad I also reviewed useful PC board viewers: http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/the-emc-blog/4414595/Free-PC-board-viewers If you check my web site, you'll find another useful EMC tool... If you're serious about independent consulting, you should make plans to attend the 2014 EMC Symposium in Raleigh, NC, this coming August. I'll be part of a team teaching the "EMC Consultant's Toolkit" workshop, which has been scheduled for Friday morning, August 8th. Cheers, Ken _______________________ Kenneth Wyatt Wyatt Technical Services LLC 56 Aspen Dr. Woodland Park, CO Phone: (719) 310-5418 Email Me! | Web Site | Blog The EMC Blog (EDN) Subscribe to Newsletter Connect with me on LinkedIn On Feb 18, 2014, at 12:37 AM, Doug Powell <doug...@gmail.com> wrote: > All, > > In addition to managing email and calendar, I have taken steps to actively > use my smartphone while doing compliance work. Theoretically this could > include a number of ideas for Product Safety and EMC. I believe many folks > now use memory cards to store standards in PDF form for handy access, but I'm > now thinking about doing a little more than that. > > For example, I am doing some consulting and I have saved an XLS spreadsheet > in my dropbox folders for time tracking, quoting and few other other > administrative tasks. I can access these equally from my notebook computer > and my smartphone. One advantage of the smartphone is its always running and > I don't have wake up my notebook computer to update some bit of information. > I have an HDMI Port for presentations and video. I also have the ability to > print forms over WiFi from my smartphone. With 32GB of memory, there's > plenty of room to store files (I know, security is a concern and I am > constantly aware of theft issues). > > I have considered doing some compliance engineering tools which can be run as > a spreadsheet on a mobile device. Some basic examples might include lookup > tables, quantity conversions, field strength conversions, interpolate antenna > distances, altitude corrections, wire gauge, and spacings determination. > > Is this something compliance professionals are doing now or have considered > for the future? And are smartphones, notebooks, tablets or possibly thumb > drives preferred? > > Please, no discussion about brand loyalty (Apple, Android, BlackBerry, > Samsung, etc.). > > Thanks, - doug > > Douglas Powell > http://www.linkedin.com/in/dougp01 > - > ---------------------------------------------------------------- > This message is from the IEEE Product Safety Engineering Society emc-pstc > discussion list. To post a message to the list, send your e-mail to > <emc-p...@ieee.org> > > All emc-pstc postings are archived and searchable on the web at: > http://www.ieee-pses.org/emc-pstc.html > > Attachments are not permitted but the IEEE PSES Online Communities site at > http://product-compliance.oc.ieee.org/ can be used for graphics (in well-used > formats), large files, etc. > > Website: http://www.ieee-pses.org/ > Instructions: http://www.ieee-pses.org/list.html (including how to > unsubscribe) > List rules: http://www.ieee-pses.org/listrules.html > > For help, send mail to the list administrators: > Scott Douglas <emcp...@radiusnorth.net> > Mike Cantwell <mcantw...@ieee.org> > > For policy questions, send mail to: > Jim Bacher <j.bac...@ieee.org> > David Heald <dhe...@gmail.com> > - ---------------------------------------------------------------- This message is from the IEEE Product Safety Engineering Society emc-pstc discussion list. To post a message to the list, send your e-mail to <emc-p...@ieee.org> All emc-pstc postings are archived and searchable on the web at: http://www.ieee-pses.org/emc-pstc.html Attachments are not permitted but the IEEE PSES Online Communities site at http://product-compliance.oc.ieee.org/ can be used for graphics (in well-used formats), large files, etc. Website: http://www.ieee-pses.org/ Instructions: http://www.ieee-pses.org/list.html (including how to unsubscribe) List rules: http://www.ieee-pses.org/listrules.html For help, send mail to the list administrators: Scott Douglas <emcp...@radiusnorth.net> Mike Cantwell <mcantw...@ieee.org> For policy questions, send mail to: Jim Bacher: <j.bac...@ieee.org> David Heald: <dhe...@gmail.com>
