I think this is one of the other trends in the automobile industry, that is running in tandum with music and entertainment: the car as a mobile office.
http://www.comfortchannel.com/level.itml/icOid/3586
This website has all you need to convert your car into a workspace:
In addition, you can get an inverter of 400 watts of power that you can plug into your cigarette lighter.
Here is how the product is being marketed to the travelling salesperson: "The Go Office Wheel Mate™ Steering Wheel Desk converts your steering wheel into a sturdy work surface in seconds. The Wheel Mate™ Steering Wheel Desk has one side that is smooth for writing and the other has a recessed cup holder for your beverages. The Wheel Mate™ has a compact design large enough for you to work on, but small enough to store easily."
Here is a customer testimonial that I thought was rather insightful for a few reasons. This person, ficticious or real, is using their laptop in the car to 1) navigate and 2) listen to music. S/he is not working on the laptop, but rather using it as a multi-media center: "I am a little over a third of the way through a 5000 mile, three + week driving trip and the car desk has been wonderful. I have Delorme GPS software on my laptop and it gives me turn by turn directions along the way.
Having the power converter in the car desk has made it easy to keep everything running. I have not had any difficulty with "noise" on the PC speakers from the engine or other car equipment. My files for each location are in folders. The current day and next day are in the slot on the car desk. The slide out with a pad makes it easy to make notes at stop lights or breaks."
There are a few other 'mobile office' gadgets and organizing stuff.
WORKING IN THE CAR: IT at the wheel
I found this article at: http://66.102.7.104/search?q=cache:Amxqva0DhlsJ:www.vnunet.com/comment/1159648+%22car+as+office%22&hl=en
A few years back The Economist ran a survey on the future of the car. At the end, it noted that road congestion was increasing; but it refused to worry about that. Why get angry about traffic jams, it argued, when everyone would soon be working at the wheel?
Today that sounds complacent. Visions of "the car as office" have not come to pass. True, a minority of British drivers still flouts the ban on using a mobile phone while driving, and in New York City use of mobiles while driving is back to the levels that existed before a ban was introduced. But while IT directors might like employees to work more from vehicles, conditions at the dashboard still bear no comparison with those at the desk.
There are reasons for this. The product development rhythms and security that surround in-car consumer electronics are very different from those that surround the electronic control of the vehicle itself. Incompatibilities are rife between the dozens of complicated networks in a car; and there is always the chance that some music or a hacker might one day play havoc with basic safety.
Nevertheless, there is progress. Bluetooth has come to the car. After nine years of life, Microsoft Automotive has products in the mainstream: the voice recognition software in Windows Automotive, for example, is available on the Citro‰n Xsara, allowing drivers to converse hands-free with ease. Meanwhile, BMW's Car IT division, formed in 2003, has been recruiting electronic engineers by the hundred, and has arranged for dealers to build interfaces for iPods directly into its 7-Series saloons.
Perhaps the most fascinating efforts to bring IT to the steering wheel are to be found in IBM's Automotive Software Foundry. Next year, Honda will fit Big Blue's Embedded ViaVoice software as standard on its North American Acura RLs. That will allow owners of this model to issue it with 700 commands. They will also be able speak any of nearly two million US street and city names and receive turn-by-turn voice guidance to their destinations. Perhaps worryingly, Acura drivers will also be able to request local dining information.
What will this mean for IT directors? Something rather more significant than staff listening to restaurant reviews. In-car navigation will raise the productivity of field engineers and sales staff - especially in the US, where finding anyone's office on a strip off a freeway is about as impossible as finding an IT firm's office anywhere near Heathrow.
With IBM's help, the Acura RL will also integrate real-time traffic data into its navigation display - a first for the US. That should bring further time savings.
Internet Protocols will certainly integrate voice, instant messaging, video conferencing and documents into the vehicle.
Perhaps, however, it is in the management of fleets, and especially of America's overstretched trucking industry, that the benefits of automotive IT will be greatest. Microsoft has strengths that stretch from remote diagnostics and basic automotive CAD through to vehicle warranty and dealer management systems. And it cannot be long before US legislators demand that vehicles automatically film the accidents they are involved in.
I found an advice column penned by Catherine Rosenberry who gives adive about turning your car into a mobile office.
http://mobileoffice.about.com/od/workingontheroad/
Here are some of her suggestions:
1. Is Your Vehicle Suitable For a Mobile Office?
- Consider the type of vehicle you have, and how it will be used as your mobile office.
- Will the vehicle have adequate storage space?
- What items will you need to leave in on a regular basis - car seats, seasonal gear, and tire repair equipment?
- How will these items affect the space you need?
- Another consideration worth evaluating is the mileage your vehicle gets. Find out first from you employer if you will be reimbursed for mileage or if it can be a tax deduction.
- While compact cars normally provide better mileage results, will you have enough space for work related materials?
Another tip she has is voice recognition software. I think this was something that I had mentioned in the last meeting. Rosenberry suggests that you can have your laptop open while you drive and wear the headset, connected to the laptop. Then you can dictate all you want. Maybe this could be integrated into the car computer at some future point- because this sounds cumbersome and a bit dangerous for a driver to be looking at their laptop and using it while driving. http://mobileoffice.about.com/od/voicerecognition/
http://www.mobilegear.com sells all sorts of goodies for the travelling business person
Intel Test-Drives Tomorrow's Mobile Office
http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,115281,00.asp
Chip maker shows off wired BMW, new chips, and multimedia plans.
James Niccolai, IDG News Service; Thursday, March 18, 2004
Forget working from home--not long from now you could be running a business from the back of your car.
Intel and BMW drove a prototype BMW 7 Series, which doubles as a mobile office, to the Cebit trade show in Hanover, Germany. The computing power comes from a Tablet PC fitted into the armrest on the back seat, along with a Bluetooth-enabled printer and fax machine.
For wireless connectivity the car has a wireless LAN access point that connects to the outside world over General Packet Radio Services and Universal Mobile Telecommunications System third-generation telephone networks, which support wireless data services.
"It's just a prototype, so don't go asking BMW for one just yet ... but the automotive industry is working on these types of advances," says Christian Morales, general manager of Intel's Europe, Middle East, and Africa operations. An Intel representative couldn't immediately say when the vehicle might go on sale.
This was an interesting article about working in the car, and how to keep it organized, but also has some good insights about car designers.
Whether you’re a salesperson who spends a lot of time on the road or a mom or a dad chauffeuring the kids to extracurricular activities or other engagements, keeping the car organized can go a long way in making sure you have what you need when you need it. “People are spending more and more time in their cars than ever before, especially with longer commuting distances. Sometimes they spend more time in their cars than in the office. They need to be organized to make efficient use of their time in the car,” said Barry Izsak, president of the National Assn. of Professional Organizers, based in Austin, Texas.
“Car manufacturers don’t design cars thinking that you’re going to be working out of it eight hours a day,” said Kevin Bart, national sales manager for Mobile Office Outfitters based in Grand Rapids, Mich. “Companies give their employees cell phones and laptops, but they don’t think about how these things are going to be used in a car.” To help business people organize their cars, Bart’s company sells mobile office desks, which are strapped to the front passenger seat. The desks can hold papers, a laptop and other office supplies.
Debbie Gilster, owner of Organize & Computerize in Laguna Niguel, suggests creating a car box for storage. The contents can vary, but almost anything can go in it. For business people, the box can be used for catalogs, order forms, file folders or products. For others, it might be used for storing maps and CDs. Or, it can be used to store toys and snacks for the kids.
Another handy item is the steering wheel table that easily fits over the steering wheel and can be used as a writing or laptop computer desk or a dining table. It folds flat for easy storage. Car hanger hooks attach to the front seat headrests.
High Speed Internet in the car?
[link]
I don't know what this guy has done but he is a real estate agent who advertises that he has high speed internet connection in his car. There were no details about the internet on his site.
Posted at Aug 17/2005 02:58PM:
David Platt: Linked to Metaphors.
