5 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND YOU. Edward G. Cale Jr. Amazing though it may seem, the personal computer has only been around for about 20 years. Before 1980 the world of computing belonged to highly trained technical people who worked their wizardry wearing white coats in hermetically sealed rooms. Today kindergarten students use personal computers to learn the alphabet, grade school students use the Internet to research term papers, and on-the-go executives are always in touch with their beepers, Webenabled cell phones, cellular personal digital assistants (PDAs), and laptop computers. . | INFORMATION E TECHNOLOGY 5 AND YOU Edward G. Cale Jr. Amazing though it may seem the personal computer has only been around for about 20 years. Before 1980 the world of computing belonged to highly trained technical people who worked their wi zard ry wear ing white coats in hermetically sealed rooms. Today kindergarten students use personal computers to lear n the alphabet grade school students use the Internet to research term papers and on-the-go executives are always in touch with their beepers Webenabled cell phones cellular personal digital assistants PDAs and laptop computers. However many people are not yet comfortable with these technologies. The range of people s acceptance and knowledge of information technolog y is w ide with the technical nov ice at one end of the continuum and the techie at the other end. Where you fall in this range will dictate what you gain from this chapter. If you are fortunate to fall near the techie side skim this chapter for ideas which you might find interesting. Technolog y has changed the way people conduct business. Computers have replaced pencil and paper in contemporar y business life. In the past when a new employee was hired he or she was shown to a desk and given pen pencil paper and a telephone. Today the new hire is given a computer usually attached to a network a cellular phone a beeper and possibly a laptop computer for portable use. People s lives have been turned ups ide down as they learn to manage the latest technology. E-mail is replacing . Mail. Secretar ies are being replaced by personal productivity technolog y such as voice 149 150 Understanding the Numbers mail and Internet-based calendaring. People question how much more productive they as workers can be. Technology will allow managers and workers productivity to reach the next plateau and enable them to find better and alternative modes for working and succeeding. Information technology has changed not only the way people work but also in some cases
