Home from Work? Work from Home!
by Andy Trask

People always ask me what are the most common requests we geeks get from our customers? Of course there are a range of "common" requests that run the gamut from cleaning viruses to networking home computers to fixing startup problems to solving weird error messages. But a geeks life just wouldn't be complete without also getting some of the less common requests like floppy disk stuck in the drive, beer spilled into the laptop, or that old standby: "do you guys also program VCRs?"

Something that's becoming more common every day as technology enables greater mobility and greater connectivity is the request to set up for work-from-home. Who works from home you ask? Well there are the traditional "telecommuters" such as salespeople, writers, or marketers who are employed by larger companies but work out of their own home office. Then there's the small independent business with one or perhaps just a few employees that are based entirely out of a home office. And finally, there are a lot of people who work regular nine-to-five positions in a professional office but who also want to be able to check email or access other online corporate resources from home.

Add up all these work-from-home scenarios, and suddenly you can see the reason why demand is exploding for high-speed Internet services like cable and DSL. At the same time, demand is also exploding for home networking because this enables a high-speed Internet service to be shared among multiple computers. Why share? Well if you have kids, chances are they've already "discovered" or soon will discover "IMing" (Instant Messaging), online chat, or online game sites such as neopets.com, nick.com (Nickelodeon Television's website) or cartoonnetwork.com.

While this is all generally good wholesome family-rated online fun, it can put a terrible cramp in your work-at-home efforts. For example, we all know what a challenge it is to work under deadline, preparing an urgent presentation or perhaps a spreadsheet to be emailed to a co-worker or client by the close of business today! But add to the mix a thirteen-year-old who takes over your computer every time you go to the bathroom, answer the phone, or make a run to the fridge for a cold drink and suddenly you realize the true benefit of having a home network and sharing that high-speed Internet connection with other computers in the house!

Working from home can mean different things to different people. For some, working from home is not a full-time endeavor and instead provides a supplement to a regular work schedule. Some typical examples include going online to stay in touch with coworkers and projects during a medical leave, or getting some work done on a day when your daycare provider is unable to watch the kids. Of course sometimes it may just be that you want to check your emails or review tomorrow's schedule before turning in for the night.

The great news for anyone that works from home or is thinking about it, is that today's technology not only makes all of these scenarios possible, but with great reliability for most households. So whether you're suffering from the battle of the work deadline vs. the teenager, or just looking for the convenience of checking emails while out of the office, it's good to know that a solution to just about any scenario is available to help you work from home!

Andy Trask is the Head Geek at Geek Housecalls (on the web at www.geekhousecalls.com). Based in Lexington Mass, Geek Housecalls provides computer hardware and software troubleshooting, networking, installations, upgrades, and general assistance to residential and small business computer users in Boston and the surrounding North, South, and Western suburbs as well as Rhode Island and southern New Hampshire. If you have a question or topic you'd like to see addressed by The Geeks, please send email to: agtm@geekhousecalls.com

If you're interested in reprinting this or other articles from this series on a website or in a printed publication please contact Andy Trask at andy@geekhousecalls.com for information about our liberal sharing policy!

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