When I see a story like the one in the New York Times today about rising airfares, more packed flights and less and less new routes being added, plus the additional costs, hassle factors and fear of being arrested for leaving a laptop on for ten seconds longer than the flight attendant thinks is necessary, my mind goes to the direction of video conferencing.
At my home office I can have one on one Skype calls, make use of my client GlowPoint's Video Exchange Service that provides a platform neutral interconnection service (think having Cisco Telepresence talk to HP Halo or Polycom video) using a LifeSize Passport system I have, fire up former client SightSpeed (they were a client until their 2008 acquisition by Logitech) or dabble with a service like IOCom or Vidyo that offer hosted and managed video conferencing but are locked into their own proprietary formats (for now.)
So think about it. Do you want to be in a flying tube and having to run the risk of being arrested for leaving a laptop or cell phone on for longer than someone deems logical, or would you rather be more efficient, in every respect, and be in your comfortable office or even at home, where someone who cares for you, and works for you is not telling you it's time to shut down.
For me the choice is simple. Fly less, see people more using video conferencing.
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