With the renewal of my GSM contract I got a Slingbox and could use Orb to access my TV and things on the move. After half a month of use I am starting to get comfortable and to my surprise it feels like this is just the service I was looking for. The only thing that I miss now is a simple remote management interface for my home PC that isn’t as fat as RemoteDesktop and will run on a standard webservice. For remote access I still rely heavily on Linux, in particular AjaxTerm that has proved to be a lifesaver from time to time. It is a terminal that runs on a standard webpage and connects to the local machine. The beauty of it is that to proxys it is no different to browsing a heavy page with lots of use interaction and hence it isn’t possible to filter it based on content. The drawback is that there is very little security built in so the only way of making it sort of secure is to put an apache webserver in front of it to encrypt and do authorization. I am currently looking at implementing a one time password system (the challenge-response that banks use for login etc) to give me peace of mind.

Other services I have on my new phone is Skype, MSN and mobile mail so I don’t hunt for open wlans as much anymore. The Skype coupled with skype-in could be potentialy deadly for the high cost of calling a cell phone internationaly and a monthly fair-use limit of 5000 minutes more than makes up for the cost of the service. Only thing that is annoying is the reception which could be a lot better. We will se how it works out.

As I see it the services I got in this deal is a clear indication of the trend that has been on the way for a while (and dreamed of even longer) of access anywhere, anytime to your own personal stuff. Previously I tried to get myself mobile by way of a lot of syncronizing and keeping even more online where I can get to it as long as I can login to my webmail. Now it is my own home system that keeps the master and just like my server was it is a platform for keeping my life with me without needing to drag a lot of hardware around. I look forward to the day when providers stop filtering the traffic and when the screen and input (now keyboard/keypad) catches up (or passes) monitors and full sized keyboards. Pleace someone invent a decent goggle or neural implant!