Goodbye Office, Hello Car
Sydney Morning Herald
Thursday May 20, 1993
THERE'S a real possibility that within a short time, a large proportion of employees will be working out of their cars instead of an office.
Armed with mobile phones, laptop or palmtop computers, modems, mini-faxes and mini-printers, they'll do their day-to-day business without occupying expensive accommodation or wasting time getting to and from work.
While real-estate moguls decide what to do with already emptying high-rise buildings, company managements will need to devise new strategies to control a workforce that creates its own business hours, schedules and modus operandi.
Technologically speaking, the scenario is already here: your car can quickly and easily be turned into an office on wheels.
Mobile phones are widely used by people in all walks of life and, combined with faxes, modems, computers and bubble-jet printers, they can revolutionise business practice.
Every month, new products arrive to spur the revolution. Canon for example has just released a combined notebook computer and bubble-jet printer weighing just 3.5kg and able to fit into a slim briefcase.
The first of a new generation of computer/printers, it combines a 25 MHz 486SL processor (giving users the sort of power until recently available only with full-size desktop models), an optional 180 Mb hard disk, and a near silent bubble jet printer with a ten-sheet auto feed.
It sells for $6,995 to $8,495, depending on configuration.
At the other end of the price scale, costing less than $1,000, Sharp has a fully fledged micro-computer that can handle complex office chores, yet slip into the glovebox when not required.
The Sharp PC-3000 weighs half a kilogram but can handle spread-sheet, word processing and high-speed computing tasks and drive a printer.
For those not computer-literate, the Sharp PC-3000 - and other palmtop computers - can handle a range of software programs and some allow the operator to use a pen when selecting from the "menu".
Most portable units of this kind run off their own batteries, which allow a few hours of constant use. But if this is not enough, you can plug a new Canadian-made device into the car's lighter socket and, presto, you have 240 volts.
Now on sale here, priced from $226, Statpower takes the shape of a small black box able to transform the car's 12-volt power supply into the familiar 240-volt household supply. The concept has numerous applications, including running a non-battery computer or fax, and it can recharge equipment batteries when the car is moving or parked.
A mobile office has special appeal to self-employed business people and those whose jobs keep them on the road. A salesman could receive an order, check the available stock with the head office computer via phone or modem, formalise the order, organise delivery and confirm it in writing - without leaving the car.
Using a combined printer/ computer, an insurance agent could calculate a complicated premium, have the quotation confirmed by head office and issue a policy on the spot.
The equipment required to turn a car into an electronic office need not fill a boot. At a recent computer exposition in Las Vegas, the EO Personal Communicator 440 was displayed, incorporating a mobile phone, fax and pen-based computer in one unit small enough to fit under the driver's seat.
Ricoh Australia is now offering (for $3,500) a tiny fax which sends or receives A4-size documents when connected to a mobile phone. It weighs only 2.7kg.
Not surprisingly, the mobile office was born in Japan where countless millions treat their car as a home away from home. Because it takes so long to drive anywhere, many Japanese cars have for many years had coffee machines and television screens installed. So why not use the time for business?
Even though life is less stressful here, the in-car information revolution is already changing our motoring habits.
More than 500,000 cellular phones are in use in Australia and around 20,000 new units are registered each month. They operate through Telecom's MobileNet or Optus Communication. A third player is on the horizon.
New digital technology being introduced will replace the analogue system, but today's phones will not become instantly obsolete. Telecom and Optus plan to service both for five years at least.
The digital designs offer more reliable transmission than the analogue variety, can defy ardent eavesdroppers, and have the potential to link with most of the worldwide cellular network.
The trend to in-car office equipment is driven by the rapid growth of portable phones which provide the link between the car and the office. That link can be verbal, written (facsimile) or electronic (via modem).
Although MobileNet covers only four per cent of Australia's geographic area it reaches nearly 85 per cent of the population. It covers all capital cites and more than 60 regional centres.
You can't pick up a call in the middle of the Simpson Desert yet, but can use your mobile phone in most places where you are likely to do business. This includes New Zealand, where you can give advance notice so that a number can be allocated for your use.
About one-third of cellular phones in Australia are used in cars. Some are completely portable, others are built in. Many of the latest luxury cars have built-in wiring for a phone. Although there's a trend from dedicated in-car phones to more versatile hand-held units, there's an important qualification to remember.
Most hand-helds operate at 0.6 watts, some "transportables" have a wattage of 1.2, while dedicated car phones run to 3 watts.
The difference is not always noticeable but, in conditions of marginal reception, the more powerful units give superior reception and are less likely to drop out calls.
Cellular phones weigh from 180 grams and some are small enough to slip into a coat pocket.
Many have alpha-numeric memories, storing up to 100 names and numbers. You can press B for example and the unit scrolls through the names in its memory starting with B until you find the number you want.
Most offer an electronic scratch pad (on which you note numbers) and a last-number redial. Other features can include an electronic lock, call-timing and a facility to keep track of the costs of the calls.
MobileNet is essentially a radio network into which users may dial. It's based on a series of stations which transmit and receive calls within areas(cells) varying in size from 2km to 12km, depending on population density.
Each cell has its own base linked to a central computer where the caller is patched into the local telephone network. As a phone user moves from one cell to another, the control unit detects the fading signal and arranges for the next cell to pick up the call.
© 1993 Sydney Morning Herald
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