July 26, 2006, 10:24 AM — Listen to the column "Gas Prices and Apple Laptops", or visit our Podcast Center to hear more by James Gaskin.
Gasoline prices in the US will remain high for the foreseeable future, and your network and technicians will suffer. In fact, if you don't have a strong lock on the diesel fuel tank for your backup generators, you better get one today. Those of you with gasoline-powered generators may need to post an armed guard when prices jump over $3 a gallon.
In order to save company money for even the possibility of an end of year bonus or a raise at your next performance review, think of ways to travel less or travel cheaper. One telephone service company president I met with recently replaced all the full sized pickup trucks used by his techs. He bought those boxy little Scion xB cars, er, vans, er, station wagons, er, vehicles. His techs love the ease of driving and hot stereo. He loves the fact gasoline savings cover half the vehicle payment costs.
Eliminating your commute certainly saves you gas. While your company doesn't save money, employees now realize high gas prices are here to stay, and some are looking for jobs closer to home. Executives get free cars or paid mileage, but normal employees don't, and gas price increases outpaced many raises the last two years.
Yet people remain resistant to telecommuting, according to a recent study by the University of Maryland. Only 11 percent of workers who can telecommute, even part time, do so. One reason is employees fear loss of face time means management will forget them.
Enter Mr. Turtleneck, ie Steve Jobs. Apple's new Intel-based MacBooks all include an iSight camera built into the lid. Yes, Windows systems can add a laptop Webcam for less than $100, but Apple includes it even in their least expensive model starting at $1,099.
All Instant Message networks now support audio and video. Work at home, pop open a video IM window, and look your boss in the face. Make a user explain how they boogered their laptop while looking you in the eyes. You can't wear your bathrobe while working, but you can wear shorts (or not) since the camera only sees your head and shoulders.
One advantage to telecommuting: it's much easier to look for another job. Hmm, maybe that explains why some companies still make you drive to the office each day.
