While tight-rope walkers, trapeze artists or even puppeteers may disagree, removing wires from our workspace is apparently the key to greater efficiency, productivity and perhaps even digital hygiene.
Frank Tuttle Plugs in and goes Wireless
It has often been commented how I am one to embrace new technology. Indeed I have been called the Noah of new technology - which I believe has something to do with an insatiable need to purchase two types of everything new to ensure I own the one that will survive. If anyone wants to buy a slightly used Beta video recorder, you know how to reach me.
Just as Noah rejoiced in the thought of freeing himself of all of those animals he had been sailing around with in what could only be described as the metaphysical collision of a football club's end of season trip and any early episode of The Love Boat, many of us have been lured by the thought of freeing ourselves of wires in and around our workspace. While tight-rope walkers, trapeze artists or even puppeteers may disagree, removing wires from our workspace is apparently the key to greater efficiency, productivity and perhaps even digital hygiene.
The question I find myself asking relates to a very old concept involving the theory that matter can not be destroyed. A simple example relates to weight loss. Whilst we often hear about one person or another losing weight, at much the same rate we hear about others gaining weight. I always liked to imagine lumps of fat travelling through the community being absorbed or repelled in much the same manner as an email virus travels around a large corporation.
It is with this theory in mind that I turned my attention to the growing mass of wires accumulating under my desk in order to support my growing desire to un-wire my workspace. It all started innocently enough, with the idea that a wireless network would enable me to move my computer all around my desk without having a network cable plugged in. Minus one wire. In the interest of fare play I'm not going to get into the whole drastic wiring situation required to generate the wireless network in the first place, in the same way I would not care to speculate on what type of timber Noah chose to build his arc with for fear of upsetting various environmentalist groups. Let's just assume it was recycled timber.
Now any self respecting technologist will know that the speakers included on a laptop for example are not of sufficient quality to enable the discerning listener to tell the difference between AAC encoded files and WAV encoded files, so it is necessary to run external speakers. Being in a wireless state of mind, I researched a number of devices that would enable me to broadcast my extensive collection of "legally downloaded music" (for anyone who is checking) from my wireless laptop to a much wired stereo. Minus another wire.
Of course the broadcast gadget is attached to my laptop via a very short wire, however, being that it doesn't connect to anything at the other end, thus restricting my movement, I am willing to count its exclusion. The fact that the gadget only has a three hour battery life has required me to get an external power supply for it. Plus one wire. I think you can see where this is going.
So after much plugging and un-plugging, wiring and wireless-ing the tally came to plus three wires. All I can hope is that someone nearby in the community is illegally making use of my wireless network connection to help even out the numbers. Now if I could just find a wireless battery charger.
Submitted by Frank on November 01, 2005.
