Keep on workin’ in the free world
The net is the new workplace where every tool you need to do your job can be downloaded in a matter of seconds. Is this the beginning or the end of business software? Before embarking on a recent business trip overseas, I reasoned that the best way to field test a new ultra-slim laptop I was reviewing was to drag the thing with me.
I packed my bag, checked my passport for the thousandth time and printed off the airline ticket at the office. But my delight at this inspired epiphany shifted to rage when I switched the machine on to find it had no word processing software. I was in a bind, I needed some way to write reports and had no time to be running around looking for software. As I struggled to suppress a howl of anguish, a colleague chirped, “Why don’t you download Open Office?”.
Anything sounded better than nothing. I found a wireless connection, did a web search for Open Office and within five minutes I had downloaded a word processing tool as perfect as anything I usually used. Problem solved.
A few weeks later, a colleague had to make a presentation in the boardroom. She nonchalantly strolled into the meeting, tapped quickly at the keyboard and had an entire presentation up on the screen using Google Docs. No messing with laptops, no apologising because the projector didn’t work with her machine. Just straight to it.
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