Doing More... with a netbook

As the co-founder and CEO of Captive Orbit I have a very busy life. We are an interactive media and marketing agency. So I work long hard hours but balance that with a full, fun, exciting life as a rock climber, skier, traveler and writer. My life is only limited by my imagination. I like to work hard and play hard. So I am building a life that allows me to do it all.

I come from a long line of entrepreneurs; got a great education at Middlebury College, and am driven. My family raised us to challenge ourselves. Early in my corporate career I set a goal to start my own business. Eventually I decided to take a year off, discover what feeds my soul and realize my dreams.

I traveled, rock climbed, and ski patrolled full time. Afterwards I decided that, while my carefree year off had been really fun, I wanted to do more. I needed a new challenge, to create something new so I started Captive Orbit. However I knew to be more effective, more creative as a business owner I needed to strike a balance with my personal life. It’s in me to do more than just have a career; I needed to incorporate parts of my life as a ski patroller and climber. I wanted to do it all. People told me, “Oh, you can’t do that. It’s too much. It won’t work.” But the best way to get me to do something and succeed is to tell me I can’t do it. And I have, the company has grown over 50% year after year and I have the life I imagined. I’m living my dream.

Running a company means work never stops, the location just changes. Having a netbook with 3G connectivity removes the stress of being away from the office or home. I can use it to do work regardless of location. All of our work is generated on computers. Whether it is interactive media in Flash, Silverlight or just basic graphic design, fast, reliable processors are necessary to our success. As the business owner I am often away from the office in meetings with clients. To be able to respond in a timely way I need to be connected and have the right tools. My netbook allows me to stay in touch, work hard, and yet fully enjoy my personal time.

I have a great, dedicated staff. Work life balance is important yet our projects are often on turbo-charged deadlines. By giving my staff high-powered laptops, they can do their work wherever they are and get it done quickly. This allows all of us to be effective and stay engaged without burning out in today’s fast business environment.

We love unusual projects. Lately we’ve been using algorithms that are CPU intensive to generate beautiful graphics based on data from sources such as Web services or RSS Feeds. The graphics are generated based on the data, the visual metaphor and an algorithm. It’s only been in the last few years that bandwidth speeds and computer processors have become powerful enough to make data visualizations, generative art and other interactive experiences viable. We are on the front of this wave and to stay there we need fast processors and effective mobility.

While Intel participated in the production of this video, the opinions and experiences shared within this video are solely those of Terra. 3G is not available on all Netbooks. Performance, functionality, and wireless features will vary depending on your specific system connection rate, site conditions, and software configurations. Wireless connectivity and some features may require you to purchase additional software, services or external hardware.

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