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