The Evolution of the Home Office
By Lynda Nolen, Bishop & Associates Inc.

One of the principal areas of change in office automation and consumer electronics is reflected in today’s home office. For those old enough and lucky enough to have a home office in 1988, this area generally was a converted spare bedroom, a corner of the basement, or a freestanding desk located in the family room. Much of the time, there was little thought put into the setup, because there was also limited equipment that was designed for the home office. The area was multi-functional—used to pay bills, handle correspondence, or talk on the phone. Today’s home office bears little resemblance to those home offices of 1988, not only in their location or layout, but also in the electronic equipment that finds a place in this space. The wide variety of electronic equipment now geared towards the consumer market enables today’s home office to take on many new roles.

In 1988, a home office was generally equipped with a:

Personal Computer

• Large tower-type CPU placed somewhere on the floor

• Separate CRT monitor attached to the CPU with a VGA-type connector

• Separate keyboard attached to the back of the CPU using circular DIN-type interconnect

• Separate mouse attached to the back of the CPU using circular DIN-type interconnect

Printer

•   Ink or bubble jet printers, black and white attached to CPU through the parallel port.

Cordless (possibly) Telephone

Additional home office equipment may have included a thermal paper fax machine, either connected to an additional dedicated copper line brought into the home office area or to a mod jack splitter attached to your phone plug, allowing you to either talk on the phone or fax. Some of us had dial-up modems installed inside our computers, others had external dial-up modems that required a serial port on your computer. Our dial-up capabilities were often times limited to connection with the corporate office, for few of us had ever heard of AOL, the Internet, or the World Wide Web, and even fewer of us knew the implications these would have on the consumer and home office of today. All of this equipment was located on a desk, leaving very little room to do much of anything else. This, of course, doesn’t begin to describe the clutter of wires necessary to connect these few pieces of equipment.

Today, an increasing number of people telecommute at least part of the time, making a highly functional workspace at home a necessity, rather than a novelty. In addition, the electronics available to the home market are more versatile, functional, and affordable than ever before, making it practical to do tasks at home that we once took to an employer’s office or an office services center.

At home, we can now conduct business, print pictures, monitor elderly parents, check the maintenance on our car, review our home’s electricity consumption, download music, correspond instantly with friends and coworkers hundreds of miles away, and so much more. And all of this is the result of an exploding office automation and consumer electronics market.

Nothing plays as important a role in the home office as the computer, and having the ability to take your home office anywhere you go makes a laptop computer the perfect choice. Making sure the laptop you choose offers the proper connectivity is the key to making your home office more than just an office.

For those who love the portability a laptop offers, but prefer to use a full size keyboard, a mouse and/or a full size monitor for viewing movies or video, advancements in computer peripherals have made all of these a reality. Ergonomically designed keyboards, both wired and wireless, with “hot” keys for multimedia control and one-touch access to the Internet, mice with optical or high-speed laser technology, with click and point magnifiers and tilt wheel technology, allowing you to scroll vertically as well as horizontally, are all priced with the consumer in mind.

Microsoft® Wireless Laser Mouse 5000	Microsoft® Wireless Optical Desktop Pro, Keyboard and Mouse Combo

Geared towards entertainment, larger, wide-screen LCD displays with analog/digital interfaces, such as HDMI, DVI and video connections, as well as built in stereo speakers, can transform your computer into a big screen display suitable for watching movies, videos, or playing games. These flat panel displays offer tremendous space savings over the older CRT monitors. It is important to note that when selecting a wide screen LCD monitor, there are a variety of input connector styles available. Most models offer VGA and DVI connections, but HDMI and USB are not as readily available.

When it comes to space savings, the all-in-one fax, printer, scanner, and copier have had an enormous effect on the home office. These versatile pieces of equipment come in a variety of different set-ups and styles. They offer high-speed printing (around 30ppm), flatbed scanners, PC or

direct faxing, multiple paper trays, and even expandable cordless telephone systems. Both black and white and color laser versions, which previously were out of the price range of most consumers, are now available for less than $500. Newer all-in-ones allow you to copy, fax, scan, and even print pictures using your camera’s memory card or from slides or negatives.

Using a digital voice recorder and speech recognition software, users can dictate information right into the recorder, and with the use of a USB connection, upload the recording into a PC or MAC. Once uploaded, recordings can be played back audibly or with the use of speech recognition software, and converted into easily stored word documents.

In addition to audio memories, the home office of today can easily be converted into a mini photo lab. Not only can pictures be uploaded from a digital camera and printed off your everyday printer, but also dedicated photo printers, typically designed to handle photo paper, allow pictures to be printed without a computer. Most of your photo printers support all major file formats, and varieties are available that can print anything from wallet-size to four by six pictures.

Web cameras have also improved drastically. Most now offer both live video-streaming or the ability to take snapshots. Many laptops also offer built-in web cameras, or portable attachable units can easily be installed. Web cameras are available in both wired and wireless versions that use an UpnP (Universal Plug and Play) enabler router. Many models offer built in microphones, providing headset free video calls.  

Microsoft® LifeCam NX-3000 Web Camera Designed Especially for Notebook Computers	Logitech® QuickCam® Fusion™ Web Camera With Built-in Microphone\

One of the newest functions the home office has taken on is the home security center. By using a system like the WiLife Video Surveillance System, secure encrypted video is sent from strategically located cameras over your existing home wiring to your computer. This PC-based system requires no new wiring, and is easy to install; you just install the software on your PC, plug the USB receiver into your PC and an electrical outlet, position the cameras and plug them into an electrical outlet. You can have your home monitored 24-hours a day, or preset for specific times.

While all of these developments are dazzling, no article on consumer office equipment or electronics would be complete without mentioning a few more practical pieces of office equipment that are essential to the home office. These would be the surge protector, the USB hub, and the uninterruptible power supply. When shopping for a surge protector, make sure you read the energy absorption/dissipation rating. 200 to 400 joules is fine for the home office, but for even better protection, look for one with a rating above 600 joules. You also need to verify the clamping voltage—the lower the rating, the better the protection. Using a model that has a built-in indicator light is also advantageous, since the MOV (metal oxide varistor) may burn out, but the protector will continue to operate as a power strip.

With all of the peripherals available to the consumer today, a USB hub can be a lifesaver. Similar to a power bar, used to provide additional AC outlets, a USB hub allows you to add additional USB-driven peripherals to your computer. USB hubs are typically available with four or seven additional USB ports. Typical wired versions are available with swivel hubs, clip-on hubs, and lightweight compact styles that can easily travel with you. To alleviate the cable clutter created by multiple-wired USB peripherals, wireless versions are available that use UWB (ultra-wideband) technology.

A standby or offline UPS (uninterruptible power supply) is also recommended. These will allow your computer to run off of normal household utility power unless the system detects a power outage. At that time, a power inverter will quickly turn on, allowing your computer to operate from the UPS’s battery, until it once again detects utility power. Many brands offer built-in power surge protection, allowing you to plug in other peripherals and telephone line protection.

With all the office and electronic equipment available to the consumer today, it is easy to see that the home office is no longer just a home for your personal computer, telephone, and printer. What’s important to remember is that when selecting new equipment for your home office, making sure it has the right connections is the key to home office happiness.

Lynda Nolen Product Specialist, Bishop & Associates Inc. Lynda Nolen has been in the interconnect industry for over 28 years. She has worked in sales, sales management, marketing, and product management for such companies as TRW Electronics Components Group, Sunbelt Components, Cinch Connectors, Arrow Electronics, PEI Genesis, and Delphi Interconnect. Nolen has extensive experience in competitive cross-referencing, drawing, web and catalog review, new product introduction programs, harness and connector assembly programs, account management, and customer service programs. Lynda received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Roger Williams University in Rhode Island in 1979, and has completed various electrical engineering courses.