The following are directories of consultants on the Internet. These can also be useful for marketing your own consulting services:
Guru.com
This directory of “gurus†has lists of gigs and gurus. Many job postings specify whether the work is to be done on-site or off-site.
Consultant Directory
This is an extensive directory of consultants listed by category with keyword search functions. There is no listing of job postings.
Freelancers Network
Another large database, this consultant directory also has listings of thousands of consultants worldwide along with extensive search capability. You can also search and post specific projects.
Posted by Wade as Jobs, Money, Tools at 7:54 AM EST
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You just might want to leave that laptop at home.
Multifunction PDA/cell phone hybrids include the Nokia Communicator, the Blackberry and the Palm Treo. This is a good idea for many, including those who want to reduce the number of gadgets to carry around. I carry both because I need the larger display of a dedicated PDA for images and as an ebook reader.
They do much more than a cell phone. These all-in-one performers allow you to send and receive calls, faxes, and e-mail around the world. A built in browser lets you surf the web on the fly. The personal organizer helps you keep track of meetings and contacts. These phones typically offer hands-free function with features that also include SMS, contacts, notes, calendar, clock, world time and an alarm clock.
Posted by Wade as Tools at 7:48 AM EST
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Your tool for this venture into a nomadic lifestyle is simple: a laptop computer. Don’t think you need to lug around more than a five pound computer. Actually, you can get by without a computer. There are thousands of cybercafes around the world, from tiny provincial capitals to busy cities. The famous backpacker hangout in Bangkok, Khao San Road, has numerous cybercafes with countless cheap and plentiful computers with Internet connections. I’ve used cybercafes worldwide from Phnom Penh to Rio de Janeiro with good results. A portable printer is not necessary since you’ll be sending your work over the Internet. Many third-world countries have poor telephone systems, but cell phones are ubiquitous even in poor, remote parts of the world.
Posted by Wade as Jobs, Tools at 5:16 AM EST
380 Comments »
Full-time RVing is catching on these days. Do-it-yourself technomads, though, may find commercial RVs a bit flimsy. Boondocking technomad’s can put together their own with a bit of resourcefulness and dedication. I seriously considered spending a year or two RVing fulltime with my 12 year old daughter throughout North America. I was going to build my own, though. I planned to pick up a cheap used travel trailer for around $5,000 and haul it with an old Ford Bronco or something. Instead, I opted for Southeast Asia where boondocking is a bit less practical than in the States. If you do decide to take up that RV nomadic dream lifestyle, and build you own rig, check out Scott Bidstrup’s page at http://www.bidstrup.com/fulltime.htm. Boondocking is RVing by parking for free in places other then fee-based RV parks like Walmart parking lots or national forests. Scott spent six years as a nomad. He offers practical tips on everything from buying and converting a used U-Haul box to a home to the joys and practicalities of bringing the kids along. I’m sure you’ll find it interesting reading.
Posted by Wade as Lifestyle, Places, Tools at 1:00 AM EST
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This is one of the most complicated, confusing decisions a computer nomad has to make. To begin with, it’s best, if it all possible, to avoid having one. While local calling rates have dropped to the point where everyone in the family has one, anyone who plans extensive travel and needs to use his computer with one regularly will pay dearly for the service. In any event, cell phones should be only used when absolutely necessary, especially when overseas or outside of a local calling area. Long distance calls are particularly expensive when using mobile phones. Use your calling card whenever possible.
The first thing to do before you start to research mobile phone service providers is to determine, as accurately as possible, where you will be calling from, where you will be calling to, and how often you will be making and receiving calls. Write down a list of the places you intend to visit over the next, and how long you will be staying. Estimate the length and locations of the calls you will be making.
When you contact a mobile phone provider, give them the exact information you have assembled and ask them for a rate quote.
Posted by Wade as Tools at 12:49 AM EST
2,992 Comments »