September 15, 1997

Fax Vote: High-Tech Staffs Stick With Some Old-Tech Favorites Transparent tape and yellow stickies top `must-have' list By Marianne Kolbasuk McGee sers in your company may seem addicted to their E-mail and word-processing applications. But don't ask them to give up file cabinets, thumbtacks, cork boards, or transparent tape. That's because old and low-tech doesn't necessarily put a product on the endangered list, according to results of InformationWeek 's recent "New Tech vs. Old Tech Offices" fax-vote survey. An unscientific analysis of responses showed that despite fancy word-processing features, sticky notes, transparent tape, and white correction fluid are still popular around the office. A majority of respondents say people in their companies use the yellow stickies and tape daily. Despite the PC's delete key, respondents still use correction fluid a few times a week to cover mistakes. That's probably because typewriters are still used anywhere from a few times a month to daily at the respondents' companies. While advances in storage technology allow gigabytes of data to be automatically saved and retrieved in compact machines, file cabinets still take up floor space in most companies. Most respondents say file cabinets are used daily-to store all the paper generated by modern technology. "So much for the paperless office," wrote one respondent. Meanwhile, personal organizer software, also called personal information managers, apparently hasn't eliminated the need for paper-based calendars and phone directories, which many respondents say they use on a daily or weekly basis. Although the frequency of specifi c products' use varies, so-called low-tech products are generally used by everyone in most companies, including administrative employees, executives, sales staff, and managers, according to the vote. Despite the enduring popularity of many lower-tech tools, a handful of products are indeed falling out of favor. Among them: carbon paper, graph paper, and stenographers' notebooks. Still, steno pads or other small scratch pads received an enthusiastic vote from one respondent who commented that he "needs them to doodle while bored on the phone or in meetings." Another reader says he'd like to replace his personal digital assistant and go back to "real notepads that really do the job." Computers' ability to process data at increasingly rapid speeds notwithstanding, handheld calculators are still used anywhere from a few times a month to daily by our respondents. But at least one reader says he'd prefer to dump all such gadgets and resurrect "the human ability to do math in his/her head without the aid of a machine." Companies occasionally end up replacing newer technologies by returning to less-technical products, according to some respondents. One fax-voter said pencil and paper replaced his company's electronic spreadsheets. Another said handwritten notes replaced groupware messages for two executives at her company. Similarly, a respondent from Chrysler Corp. says paper printouts of memos, reports, and letters replaced notebook computers for some general managers. A frequent "old-time" office feature that many respondents say they'd like to see return are receptionists and secretaries to replace voicemail. Another reader wishes she had "one of those rubber thumbs and also one those spikes you use to impale phone message slips." A VP at a large New York bank pines for interoffice envelopes-and the revival of pencils and paper. "Simple, efficient, inexpensive, practical-and you can throw it when you're frustrated," he says. When it comes to office environment-a topic not addressed by the fax vote but a concern of more than one reader-one respondent called for the return of "windows that open." While couriers and messenger services are infrequently used by most of the fax vote respondents, at least one reader says she yearns for the old days of "telegram delivery" for, um, personal reasons. Wrote Tina Merwin, office manager of Consultancy in Action: "I'm always happy to see a man in uniform." Back to News in Review Send Us Your Feedback Top of the Page

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