| Sometimes this actually worked when we could get the
old guys to use it. It proved not so much supremely reliable and
still
opened some of our eyes to the enormous potential. This was at a
time in history when data processing department geeks were not at all
concerned about service reliability and consistent 'up' time. Then I broke my tailbone and was forced to my choice of home bed or
hospital traction.
And the rest is history.......
Several days later..... had things to attend to. So where was
I? Oh yes, inventing telecommuting.
So after I became responsible for inventing the internet and using
email as an excuse to not do real work, I fell down the basement steps
and something in my tail bone snapped. Hard.
I was told to stay in bed or go to the hospital and lay in traction.
It seemed easier to supervise 5 yr old from my sofa in the living room.
At the same time, we were in RFP status for a new phone system at the
university. Things were moving fast and hard. There was lots
of reading, listing making, question asking and answering. This
was in addition to maintenance of the daily grind of a 10,000 user
system.
Also at that time, we were used to taking home boxes with briefcases
full of paper. That was easy to maintain as the honey worked close
by my office and could pick up and deliver. Things requiring my
signat-oh-rium were separated into courier packs.
 Then
I got the idea to add a dumb terminal from our Prime computer and a
point to point circuit from the office to my home.
Now THAT was a very good idea. We actually began using email to
send directions, make duty assignments, report back regarding tasks
completed and so much more. What I really liked is that my
ability to be up and not flat on my back was limited to odd times of day
and night when the pain had ebbed to tolerable. I was more
comfortable standing than sitting so we added a waist high countertop
set on saw horses and it actually worked very well.
 One
company eager for our business threw in a conference bridge that
facilitated staff and vendor meetings. I was not the only person
who benefited from this nifty technology.
One day about a month later I was able to sit still for longer
periods of time and slowly the telecommuting came to an end. What
was I thinking?!!! Not very damn smart of me for sure.
We continued to use the email for good business purposes which was a
good result of my telecommuting.
And the rest... really is .... TELECOM History! FYI, I never
earned a dime for this invention. Didn't even know I was inventing
something and truth be told, too ignorant AND stupid to know what to do
about it.
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