Peter Wilson
Sun
Work and play will blend more and more for British Columbians in 2006 as lighter, faster wireless notebook computers — complete with surround sound, enhanced graphics and high-definition TV — make their way into the hands of workers and consumers, Intel Canada predicts.
These mobile devices, which will increasingly replace desktop PCs, will allow business users to combine workday activities and pleasure and also permit more people to work from home.
Among the business beneficiaries of this trend will the province’s large wireless industry, said Intel Canada head Doug Cooper, who Wednesday released his top five trends to watch for 2006.
“We’re very bullish on wireless and mobility and you have a lot of wireless communications companies,” Cooper said in an interview. “And there will be a tremendous opportunity for businesses overall because consumers are clearly building an emotional attachment to their wireless and portable devices.”
One of the companies that Cooper said would see a boost from the increasing move from desktops to laptops is FatPort, the Vancouver-based firm that has some 300 wireless hotspots across Canada with an average of 200 new customers signing on each day. He expects to have 500 hotspots by the end of the year.
FatPort co-founder Michael Kuhlmann said that despite predictions the use of wireless hotspots would decline, his business is flourishing with 80 to 90 per cent of it now coming from business, largely because wireless access is still expensive for individuals.
“I think that people have become comfortable with the technology, and there’s just so much more of it out there that it’s a lot more acceptable to the user and I think its that combination that makes it successful,” Kuhlmann said.
Cooper said that the move towards the intermingling of work and play will be seen initially among small businesses where users tend to buy their technology for both work and home.
He added that larger businesses will likely begin to allow more of their employees to work at home.
“One of the reasons is rising energy costs,” Cooper said. “It’s expensive having employees drive in to work every day. And [the employees] spend a large part of their day in conference calls, so why tie that to the office?
“And you can get high-speed connections and stay in contact both over the phone and through e-mail as easily as you can from work. The decreasing costs of high-speed connections are making it more economic to have people work at home.”
And, Cooper said, the combination of work and play is increasingly seen with university students, like those at the University of British Columbia with a completely wireless campus.
Kuhlmann said that he can foresee more non-business users signing on at FatPort.
“We recently signed a deal with Nintendo that will see Nintendo DS users, which is their portable gaming platform, to use our hotspots,” said Kuhlmann. “And so you could be at one of our hotspots in Edmonton and I could play you here. That shifts the user base from business users to kids and teenagers.”
INTEL CANADA’S TOP 5 2006 TECH TRENDS:1. You can take it with you: A new generation of thin and light notebook PCs with dual-core processors will allow users to blend work and play in new and exciting ways and allow people to have more flexible working hours.2. Small business, big approach: Companies in the information and communication technology sector will help British Columbia’s small and medium businesses to see the advantages of using technology like the Web to put them on more equal footing with larger companies.3. Need for speed: PCs will not only get faster in 2006, they’ll get smaller and quieter and the distinction between desktop and notebooks will blur with sleek new designs that allow them not only to use for work but for digital content at home.4: Up, up, up for downloading: With hundreds of hours of digital material poised to become available online, people will increasingly turn to PCs to download, store, view, buy, manage and share their favourite music, movies and photos.5: Computer downtime fades away: Starting this year a number of PCs will ship with active management technology that will allow technicians to repair them remotely, even if they’re turned off or the hard drive is damaged. This will reduce maintenance costs by 30 per cent and reduce desk-side visits by 41.5 per cent.
© The Vancouver Sun 2006