Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!cs.utexas.edu!rutgers!gatech!ncar!tank!arch_ems@gsbacd.uchicago.edu From: arch_ems@gsbacd.uchicago.edu Newsgroups: comp.misc Subject: Re: Low Productivity of Knowledge Workers Message-ID: <5551@tank.uchicago.edu> Date: 27 Sep 89 13:46:30 GMT Sender: news@tank.uchicago.edu Organization: University of Chicago Graduate School of Business Lines: 49 >One of the most powerful things a computer can do for an organisation >is improve intra- and even inter- office communications enormously. The >problem is that most offices computerise by getting a bunch of little >personal computers, and maybe a network (though even this is fairly >uncommon). BUT becoming more and more common. Especially in the MAC world where every machine comes with built in networking hardware/software. A recent (August 1, 1989) MacWEEK "Marketwatch" report states: "...24 percent of (surveyed) sites have Macintoshes connected to LANs at other locations.... 93 percent have Macintoshes connected to local LANs..." Now, they only surveyed big (to me) companies with hundreds of machines but ut is an interesting figure. Here at the University of Chicago, most machines in departments are on LANs and many LANs are connected to the University WAN... >Even with a network, the individual computers are single-tasking... a user >has to back out of whatever they're doing to send electronic mail. And users >have no access to each others' files, either because of network limitations >(the network will only work in server *or* client mode on a given box), or >because of administrative ones (no or inadequate security). Poor guy, you must be in the IBM - PC (clone) world because all of these things are not problems in my MAC universe. Right now I have TELNET running to connect me to a VAX (via ethernet) wich runs my news reader, a window under it with my office email system running (CE Software's QuickMail), a wordprocessing program under that... you get the picture. we have adequate security... file sharing... etc. QuickMail is actually being served as a background process on my machine to the other 8 macs in my office and (via an RSERVER modem bridge) to a number of people working from their homes and to another office across campus (with its 17 machines)... > >An office is inherently a multi-user environment. Grafting the software >on top of a bunch of single-user systems still leaves every man an island. I've come up with a new slogan to rouse PC people -- "Rejoin the technological Revolution!" -:) Hey, proof -- I just took a message for someone who hasn't come into the office yet -- in the middle of writing this response I flipped to my QuickMail screen, typed in the phone message, shot it off to her, and flipped back to typing this response... Edward Shelton, Project Manager ARCH Development Corporation arch_ems@gsbacd.uchicago.edu