It may sound Neanderthal, (and I am hesitant to admit it), but the first time I touched or had anything to do with computers and such technology was when I was twenty-three years old. I was sweaty-palmed, breathing shallowly; heart pounding and my anxiety levels were in the red. My, then, boss was taking on the megalith task of teaching me how to use a computer! At the end of my first lesson I knew what the C Drive was. I was elated. Emancipated! And it was then that a parallel technological universe opened itself up to me and swallowed me whole. Technology made itself manifest in my life. I mean, I suddenly had ‘skills’.

Susan is a twenty nine-year old mother of two. She and her spouse manage a successful nucleus business with offices which they administer from home. She is up at 5am every morning, pops off to the gym, and makes sure she is back in time to wake up the kids and get them ready for the day that lies ahead. John, her husband, is tasked with getting the kids to their day-care while Susan quickly showers and gets busy with the first order of their business day. By the time John gets back business is in full swing. Susan has already sent out her first batch of e-mails, confirmed both of her meetings for the day, forwarded that ever-so-important proposal for the ‘big-wigs’ and is in the middle of the conference call with the importer that could change their lives.

Upon closer inspection the office seems sparse. True it has the harmonious flow of its Feng Shui design. The designer rug and art do make that understated statement. The minimalistic retro office furniture is suited to their profile but what is strikingly missing are the large fax machines and computers, laptops even, modems and the endless array of office equipment one would expect to see to make an office an office. Susan needs to leave to get to her first meeting on time. Things have run smoothly for the day so that she will be able to do her projections and reports just as she had hoped to do. She is on track. She picks up her keys, her handbag and her state of the art mobile phone. That’s it. She goes to her meeting which runs without a hitch. She makes the presentation to the client and looks forward to the positive outcome from the effort that she has put into the project.

I, on the other hand, can now ‘help’ myself on a PC. I am no longer intimidated into a corner by Facebook or Outlook! The difference between Susan and I is that Susan has cutting edge technology that makes her cutting edge. In the past twenty odd years since I was twenty- three, (I am not at liberty to say how many odd years), I have become reliant on technology to run and administer not only my professional life but my personal one too. Susan, and I suspect you, actually inhabit the twenty-first century. Susan and I suspect you, live at a pace and under very real pressures of performing well to be able to sustain a modicum of lifestyle for yourselves and those around you. It is not enough to tap into technology as a crutch, when the use of technology at its most effective can be a support system that is not only reliable but convenient and aesthetic to boot. How much more efficient do you get than picking up your phone encased in its Bluetooth Ultra-Thin Slide-Out Wireless Keyboard that takes your office and business to where you really need it – to where you are. How simple is that?