NFIB

Keep Your Business Moving
03/ 28/ 2002


Cars are an integral part of American life. We spend a lot of time behind the wheel, and current technology enables us to continue business while away from the desk. In today's Workshop, Edith Helmich discusses technology's effect on communication and commuting.

With cell phones, lap top computers and personal digital assistants, it's possible to stay in touch with your customers or office while you are driving, riding or parked. The distance between the wheel and the office has been dramatically reduced. And that's only the tip of the iceberg. More advanced technological opportunities to conduct business on the road are coming.

One preview of the future occurred earlier this year when General Motors announced its Oldsmobile Profile concept car. This high tech model offers a built-in Internet browser with a voice-activated Internet service. The design enables drivers to access e-mail, news or other internet communication without having to even glance at a visual display or take a hand off the steering wheel. This is only the first model off the drawing board, and rumor has it that GM has more advanced applications in planning stages. Other car makers are said to be working on similar communication systems.

The vast base of cellular phones is the foremost anticipated mode of communication and access to the world of wireless intranet data. In fact, wireless communications are developing even faster than the wired personal computers did during the 1990s. Experts are working on ways to improve the limited data and slow speeds now available through palmtop devices and cell phones. The goal is to provide greater capacity at personal computer processing speeds.

Growing concerns about the safety implications of conducting business while driving are being addressed. Headsets that transmit signals to a dash-mounted communication system via infrared beams allow drivers to dial phone numbers, change CDs or retrieve e-mail without lifting a hand from the wheel or diverting a gaze from the road. Improved synthesized speech sounds more human, and better speech recognition will result in more accurate transmissions.

Maybe -- just maybe -- the commute to and from the office or travel time to meetings will not be as onerous or unproductive in the near future . Even now, affordable products like cell phones and pagers let you complete business tasks while you drive.

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