Mobile Computing

I submitted the below as a discussion question response this week, and thought it also might make an interesting Blog entry.

In 1993 I received my first laptop. It was a 386 Toshiba Satellite with 8 MB of RAM and an 85 MB hard drive. I carried it until my second year of college. I typed on buses, in classrooms, and even while lying in bed. Mobile computing, for me, was born, but something was missing. My roaming experience was always limited by the bounds of my hard drive. If I didn’t have information local I had to wait for the next available phone jack.

Fast forward to 1999 when I worked as a support technician for Weyerhaeuser (a large forestry company in the U.S.). My reward for being adept at my job was the opportunity to carry an on-call cell phone, which allowed customers to contact me during nonbusiness hours. The cell phone of the late 1990s was definitely not as sleek as what we have today, but at least it wasn’t the handbag-sized affair of the 1980s. The phone I carried allowed me to talk to customers so long as I was within a limited coverage area.

Both the laptop and the phone allowed me to gather and use information. The laptop could download material for digestion while disconnected. The phone allowed people to contact me with issues, as well as allowing me to call restaurants for reservations. (Note: I never did the latter, of course. The phone was a company asset.) The key was mobile access to resources that allowed me to create, make informed decisions, and communicate.

Now come with me to 2006. After years of carrying a voice-only cell phone, I finally stepped up to a device that would receive corporate and personal e-mail. I could receive more information (both text and voice) on a single pocket-sized device than I could have dreamed of on the old laptop. The world, and the device that I used to access it, was shrinking noticeably.

Now, in 2010, I can browse the Internet, listen to music, read/write corporate e-mail, and photograph the family vacation all from a tiny device that I carry everywhere. The thing even allows me to make old-fashioned voice calls. For more intensive efforts, I have a fully-fledged laptop with enough processing power to handle any modern application that I would want to use. I can take either of these devices and connect to information from my back yard, a bar, or an airplane. Now access to information (except in limited areas) is ubiquitous for the American citizen.

All this access and power offers significant productivity increases in personal and work life. With just-in-time access the employee can make informed snap decisions. Lost productivity experienced in the seeking of or waiting for disconnected employees is greatly reduced.

On the other hand, mobile computing advances also result in personal life improvements. Webcams and wireless Internet access can result in better communication with friends and family. Citizens that are able to read and forum about political issues can make informed decisions in the ballot box. And, of course, the mobile access to entertainment in the form of games, movies, music, and other media can (if not abused) result in decreased stress.

In short, it has taken us only a few years to have the computer (be it in a laptop or cell phone form-factor) become a crucial piece of the informed life. The mobile computing individual can enjoy benefits we didn’t even think possible when I received my first laptop in 1993. Almost a generation later the world is a completely different place.