Techie Fantasy

I love technology! And I consider myself deeply privileged to be alive at a time when this stuff is moving so fast that even people of low capacity like myself are able to take advantage of it.

When I was first diagnosed as a diabetic in 1971 there were no computers as we understand them now. There was BIG IRON that required teams of plumbers to look after the cooling systems, and squads of highly paid MENSA members to twiddle the switches and interpret the punch cards.

My doctors assured me that I would lead a normal life, but in private told my Mom that I was like a rosy apple on the outside with a bit of a worm on the inside. I understood this to mean that I wouldn’t be around much after the age of 40.

A few years later I read a novel in which an old infirm gent lived in an apartment overlooking the sea in Florida with his delightful young wife, and controlled his business empire with computers and communications systems – and that became my ambition: to have work that was not physically demanding while adding immense value and allowing me to mess with technology.

Right now, as I type this Petes Weekly I am writing on an Apple PC which is running Apple and Windows simultaneously (two big screens, each with it’s own operating system). I copy and paste between the 2 at will, and the files are shared – allowing me to use the best products on each platform to do what I want. When you get down to the basics the operating systems pretty much look the same, do the same things, and cost about the same – although Apple is a bit more well dressed and doesn’t stumble quite so often.

Behind me is a small PC running Linux – which does much the same as the two operating systems I am working with right now, and is just as easy to use – but is free (along with the office suite, and all the applications). And it looks much the same.

The fact that 90% of us use the most expensive operating system available, and cannot even buy a naked PC without paying for that operating system pre-installed is a testament to Mr Gates’s excellent marketing focus.

Anyway, I digress. In developing the support systems for the Warrior community I bumped into an interesting area a few weeks ago. You’ve heard of this weird thing called VOIP, right?

So had I. Donnerse complex, and more geeks than you can throw a plastic pocket-protector at. But allow me to translate the technology.

Here I am, in the sunny south of England (he he he) pining for the bikinis and beaches, and I want to be able to talk to my clients in SA. Two options – BT and Telkom. BT allows me to call SA landlines for about 39c/minute, while calls to cellphones are much more expensive.

Calls coming in the opposite direction – when clients try and call me – cost blood. Telkom is somewhat less than shy when they price their services 400% higher than the rest of the galaxy, and the service levels are less than inspiring.

All of which led to a complete re-look at HOW to communicate easily.

So here I am, headphones on, able to call any phone in the US, UK, Germany, Australia, New Zealand for free. All calls into SA are 39c/minute for landlines, R1.73/minute for cellphones. All inward calls from SA, or the UK, can be routed (for free) to any Warrior support member (Pietermaritzburg, Cape Town, Johannesburg, Bournemouth, Ringwood, and any place else we find them) for free.

All internal calls between staff members are free. Within the next few weeks I will link our Warrior database to the various switchboards so that when a client calls I can answer, for example, “Hi Sharon, how are you?” because my screen will tell me who is calling. (And with 2500 Warriors, that might even impress them a bit!)

Total line rental (BT + tiny other) = R350/month.

A few years ago this would have been inconceivable at any price. Today – YOU can do it for the price of an old PC, because the software is free. (If I can do it, Mensa candidate that I am, so can you.) Don’t you just love technology? The problem is that we seem to get lost in the confusion, rather than keeping a clear focus on what we want. Which is why the best part of my job in supporting the Warrior community is to read everything that impacts on the business scene – try it out, and then share it in non-geek.

So, how much would you save if you took some of this free stuff and replaced your switchboard, and your inter-branch calls, and you international calls? And how much more would you save if you could replace a bunch of those expensive machines your staff use with cheaper alternatives with free operating systems and applications?