4 Ways to Use Your Mobile PC in a Meeting
Published: February 28, 2005
Article adapted from "Laptops and Tablet PCs with Microsoft Windows XP Step by Step: Keep in Touch and Stay Productive—At Work, At Home, and On the Go!" by Andrew Fuller and Ravipal Soin.
The use of wireless networks has been increasing over the past couple of years, particularly in busy offices, in coffee shops, and on university campuses. If you use a mobile PC while in the office, wireless networks make it easier for you to work away from your desk and to use your mobile computer in more places.
In the workplace, mobile PCs are particularly useful while attending meetings. This article discusses 4 ways you can use Microsoft Windows XP and some Microsoft Office programs to be more productive in meetings.
Important: The corporate culture of some companies doesn't permit the use of mobile PCs in meetings for fear that they will detract the attendees' focus from the meeting. Check with the meeting organizer and attendees before using your mobile PC in meetings.
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Give a Presentation
If you use a mobile PC in meetings, chances are that you've displayed documents, such as agendas, or perhaps even given presentations. The most common way to take advantage of your mobile PC to give a presentation is to project the contents of your desktop onto a projector screen.
You can display your mobile PC content through a projector in two modes.
Mirrored mode: Sometimes referred to as cloned mode, mirrored mode enables you to duplicate your mobile PC screen on the projector screen. In this mode, you will know with certainty that what you are seeing on your screen is what your audience is seeing. The downside of using this mode is that instant messaging pop-ups, e-mail notifications, and other potentially irritating messages can appear on the screen, interrupting your presentation.
Extended desktop mode: Also called DualView, extended desktop mode uses two (or more) displays together as one large display. You can project your presentation and use your mobile PC screen independently. This mode gives the presentation a more polished look by addressing the two main drawbacks of mirrored mode. This mode gives you tighter control of what the audience gets to see, as well as the ability to perform other actions on your computer, such as take notes.
To set up your computer for extended desktop mode:
1. |
Right-click the desktop, and then click Properties.
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2. |
In the Display Properties dialog box, click the Settings tab. Note that there are two blue rectangles representing your displays and that Monitor 2 is unavailable because it hasn't yet been enabled.
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3. |
To enable Monitor 2, click the visual representation of Monitor 2, select the Extend my Windows desktop onto this monitor check box, and then click OK.
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Tip: Use Microsoft PowerPoint Presenter View
If you create and deliver your presentations using PowerPoint 2002 or later, try using Presenter View to have more control over the slide show. You can advance slides and read speaker notes on your mobile PC screen while the slide deck is shown on the projector screen. Learn more about using Presenter View.
Share Data Between Mobile PCs
When using your mobile PC away from your office and in a collaborative environment, you often need to or want to share data with others around you. For example, if you are giving a presentation to a group of colleagues or clients, you may want to share a copy of the PowerPoint presentation with them so that they can refer to their own copy during the meeting or take notes on the slides. If you have a wireless connection, you may be able to share files with e-mail or over the company network. Otherwise, here are at two ways to quickly share data without the help of a trusty floppy disk.
USB Flash Drive
The USB flash drive is the floppy disk of the 21st century. It is a small data storage device, barely bigger than a key chain, that you can plug into the USB port of any computer. Windows XP recognizes the USB flash drive as a removable storage device, like a mini disk drive. USB flash drives are available from most computer peripheral retailers. USB flash drives are limited by the amount of memory on the device, but they are usually adequate for sharing data—for example, presentations, documents, or spreadsheets.
To use a USB Flash Drive:
1. | Plug the USB flash drive into an available USB port. After a few seconds an audio chime sounds and a notification appears, notifying you that the hardware has been recognized and is now configured. |
2. |
Click Start, and then click My Computer. Note that a new drive is now listed in the Devices with Removable Storage area.
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3. |
In the My Computer window, double-click the USB Drive icon to display a list of the files stored on the drive. You can then use the files like you would with files stored on any other storage device.
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4. | When you've successfully shared the files, remove the USB flash drive from the USB port. |
Infrared Data Transmission
The majority of mobile PCs support transmission of data to other PCs and devices using infrared. The Infrared Data Association (IrDA) has defined a standard for data transmission between devices. IrDA is short-range (usually less than 3 feet), has a slow transfer rate, and can be a little tricky to use because the two PCs need to be perfectly aligned for the data transfer to work reliably. But since most mobile PCs support this data transfer method, you can usually rely on it to share files with others. Check your mobile PC user's guide for more information.
Get More Power Out of Your Battery
If you've used your mobile PC to give a presentation or take notes in an environment that required you to run the computer strictly on battery, you've probably worried about running out of power before completing the task. You might have watched in dismay as your computer screen turns black after a couple of minutes, forcing you to wiggle the mouse to "wake" your computer up. By turning off your screen, Windows is trying to help you maximize your battery life since the screen is the largest draw on the battery. However well-intentioned this type of automatic action is, it can be frustrating.
Windows XP offers several power schemes that you can configure to ensure your mobile PC behaves the way you want. If you are planning to give a presentation and want to ensure that your computer screen is up and running at all times, you can modify the selected power scheme to prevent it from turning off.
To change your power scheme:
1. |
Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
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2. |
In Control Panel, click Performance and Maintenance.
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3. |
In the Performance and Maintenance window, click Power Options.
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4. |
On the Power Schemes tab of the Power Options Properties dialog box, click the Power schemes arrow and then click Presentation in the drop-down list. The Turn off monitor option is now set to Never when running on batteries.
Note If you want to adjust the length of time before the system goes into
standby while running on battery power, you can change that value on the Power Schemes tab of the Power Options Properties dialog box.
To apply and use the Presentation power scheme, click OK.
Adjust your power scheme to increase batter power during presentations.
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5. |
When you have finished the presentation, in the notification area, right-click the battery meter icon, and then click Adjust Power Properties.
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6. |
On the Power Schemes tab of the Power Options Properties dialog box, click the Power schemes arrow and click Portable/Laptop in the list. Power settings to maximize your battery life are now applied.
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Read more tips on how to conserve battery power.
Take and Distribute Meeting Notes
If you're a meeting attendee rather than a presenter, there is a good chance that you'll want to jot down notes (or just doodle!). Instead of writing on a notepad, you can use your mobile PC and Microsoft Office OneNote 2003. Taking notes on your mobile PC has a few key advantages over using paper:
| • | It is easier to manage and archive notes in a single location. |
| • | It is easier to share notes with other people. |
| • | You don't have to recopy notes after you get back to your desk. |
Some of the key features of Microsoft OneNote are:
| • | You can organize notes into Sections. |
| • | You can flag a note so that you can identify it quickly later. |
| • | You can convert notes into Outlook tasks, appointments, and contacts. |
Tip You can turn parts of your OneNote notes into an Outlook task, appointment or contact. All you need to do is highlight the relevant content in the note, click the Tools menu, point to Create an Outlook Item, and then click the appropriate Outlook item on the menu.
If you don't have OneNote, you can download or order a trial version of OneNote or learn more about OneNote and how it can help you. Once you've started with OneNote, the OneNote quick start guide can help you use it.
