Little Devices

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Little Devices

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Steve Jones - SSC Editor

Posted Thursday, November 18, 2010 9:04 PM

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Comments posted to this topic are about the item Little Devices

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Post #1023279

Nakul Vachhrajani

Posted Friday, November 19, 2010 12:34 AM

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Personally, I hate the idea of having the office along with me during commutes and at home (that maybe because I have been lucky to have a max. commute time of around 30 minutes one-way). If I am on call, I see the benefit in having something smaller than a full-size laptop (gives the freedom to get out of home!); but when not on call, I would much rather spend some quality time with the family or pursuing other hobbies.

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Post #1023333

liebesiech

Posted Friday, November 19, 2010 2:14 AM

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Nakul said it all! Have the same opinion and I'm luckily in a job where no life's are at risk if I'm not responding immediately Wink

Cheers R.

Post #1023361

99zardoz

Posted Friday, November 19, 2010 2:48 AM

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I would love to use these devices more but see several problems

i) Information security is a big thing in my organisation My IT mgr has banned anyone connecting to our network with these devices, basically because he doesn't know how to secure them.

ii) There is a work-life balance issue as has been suggested. Passing the time on the commute home by doing some extra work is fine, but I don't want to be tempted to log on in the evening and check jobs have run etc when I should be spending time with my wife.

iii) There is a totally bogus "these things are insecure and basically leisure devices" attitude from old-school IT managers. Forward thinking IT depts will adopt them, the others will wait until everyone in the world has them and then think about it.

Post #1023371

kit80

Posted Friday, November 19, 2010 2:56 AM

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What is interesting is that people seem unable to stop using them once theyy have them. Many meetings are effective shambles as it's apparently OK to be dealing with business/pleasure on mobile devices instead of fulfilling the purpose of being at the meeting. I wouldn't be surprised to see policies relating to time and place usage.

Post #1023374

majorbloodnock

Posted Friday, November 19, 2010 3:32 AM

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I will admit that, for all my career is in IT, I'm rather a technical luddite; I want my phone to take and make calls, and precious little else. However, I've several times been required to use smart phones to test their suitability from an IT perspective within the company.

What I've found is that it doesn't make me more efficient; it merely lengthens my working day. All those little pockets of time I've historically used to take a pause and a deep breath before launching back into work start being filled up, with the result that I lose my ability to surface. Yes, it increases the timeframe during which I can work on systems, but it reduces the timeframe where I have a ready made excuse for sitting back and thinking about how or whether I should perform that system work.

And that's just during my working day. The previous poster's comments about family life ring true for me too, but the only redeeming feature for me about smart phones is that they're just as susceptible to the blackspot in which I live as normal phones, so they lose their ability to intrude on my family's time.

Smart phones are a tool, and a very impressive tool at that. If you find yourself frequently incommunicado when it's inconvenient, then perhaps they're just the tool for you. However, the trap many fall into is getting the tool first and then trying to find jobs for it to do, and that's just another tail wagging another dog.

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Post #1023381

ubeauty

Posted Friday, November 19, 2010 3:59 AM

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My WinMo phone has proved extremely helpful with planning Tasks, Schedules etc though totally appreciate the work-life balance.
Whilst on the train though i personally class this as work time myself so try to get some work done if possible, even if it's just reading up on some notes or going over some reports, this allows me to switch off when i am at home without having to log on in the evening.

I have found more and more of my notes are being transferred across to the sd memory card on my HTC phone, "note to self - ensure backup routine for phone is run regularly!"

Post #1023393

chrisn-585491

Posted Friday, November 19, 2010 4:24 AM

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Due to the nature of the data we deal with, remote access on an admin level is forbidden and these devices are not certified to access the network. The most they could do for you is enable you to receive an email letting you know there is a problem.

Post #1023403

Tobar

Posted Friday, November 19, 2010 4:35 AM

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I agree that the phones can make you more efficient. My question is do they need to? If you are more efficient does that mean you will go home earlier? Kiss your spouse sooner? Play with the kids faster? Or does it just mean you will start the next task sooner. I use to approach life as trying to be as efficient as possible. Eventually I figured out life wasn't created with efficiency in mind. Life was created for living. I think the new WinMo commercials are very poignant. The mother ignoring her toddler while she checks her phone.

Steve, I realize my comments and the comments of others isn't answering the question you asked. Sorry. Maybe you asked the wrong question. Unsure

Ok, in answer to your question. Yes. But maybe that is not the point.

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Post #1023409

Grant Fritchey

Posted Friday, November 19, 2010 4:52 AM

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Interesting topic...

While I absolutely agree that work/life balance is thrown off by these devices, the fact is, the devices are out there. It's not a question of whether or not you, the individual, thinks you should use this thing. The question is, whether or not your boss or your company is aware of the capabilities of these devices. I currently work for a boss who is technologically backwards, to a scary degree. However, he's getting more and more capable on his smart phone which is raising his expectations of us and our responsiveness. Like it or not, these things are here.

It's a tool, right. Like any tool, the trick is to try to use it correctly. Yes, you can have the thing open constantly, tweeting, emailing, browsing the web, but, that's not necessarily a bad thing. I've fixed production issues remotely using a smart phone while I was at a user group meeting. Was I distracted for five minutes? Yep, but it was only five minutes. I didn't get up out of my chair or bother the people sitting next to me, let alone have to leave the meeting. I've been able to take time off work becuase the boss knows I'll respond to emails & what not while I'm away, so he's not kicking so much about the fact that I'm not in the office.

It sure can be a distraction, but my Droid is also an incredibly useful tool. I can't wait to try out one of the new pads to see if they're even more useful.

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