Office Looks Set To Keep Remote Working One Step Ahead

Apparently we are on the brink of a new epidemic of emerging neologisms.

A neologism is a newly coined word that may be in the process of entering common use, but has not yet been accepted into mainstream language. And many of our neologisms are born out of our close connection with technology and the internet.

Science and technology have produced a plethora of new words. From science, we have incorporated such concepts as black holes and quarks into our language. From technology, e-mail, phishing, blog and webinar have worked their way into our everyday communication.

Interestingly, neologisms can also be old words used in new ways. Again, our close relationship with computer science has encouraged the use of this type of neologism. Consider the rebirth of such words as mouse, worm and virus. It is easy to understand how communication errors might occur when a lexicon can be out of date within a few short months.

Examples of more obscure neologism include: doork, a person who pushes on a door marked "pull"; lotshock, the act of parking your car, walking away, and then watching it roll past you; and
pupkus, the moist residue left on a window after a dog presses its nose to it

But not all neologism relates to light-hearted wordplay. Take the noun "halfalogue". A halfalogue is the half conversation most of us have experienced when listening in to someone else's mobile phone conversation and can only hear one party compared with the full dialogue between two people. And we are all aware of how frustrating and intrusive halfalogues can be.

Researchers discovered that it takes more effort for the brain to understand only half a conversation, or a halfalogue, compared with a full dialogue between two people. Scientists have devised that the reason why we become so irritated when listening in to a conversation is because we cannot predict what the person talking into the mobile will say next. Our brains have to work twice as hard to understand the conversation and fill in the blanks, requiring more attention and making it harder to shut out.

And it's even more difficult to tune out of a halfalogue; you can't pull your attention away from the conversation and you're more distracted by it.

There are around 4.6 billion global mobile subscribers in the world, which is the equivalent to about two-thirds of the world's population. So, as we become more and more reliant on mobile technology for business use on the move, Microsoft has responded with an array of remote access tools to help meet the challenge - without involving any annoying halfalogues.

Microsoft Office Mobile 2010 enables working with multiple versions of documents, or to share confidential or time-sensitive material, especially when people are in different places.

With the ever-increasing amount of e-mail, documents and reports that come across your desk each day, it can be frustrating trying to manage so much information when you're also struggling to create and format professional-looking documents, especially if you're always on the move.

Microsoft Office Mobile 2010, like its predecessor, includes Word Mobile, PowerPoint Mobile, Excel Mobile and SharePoint Mobile, with addition of Outlook Mobile and OneNote Mobile. Outlook Mobile allows you to carry out email conversation from anywhere - but now in the conversation mode.

Say goodbye to Tonitis (the constant low-level sound that pervades everywhere and that's actually the sound of an infinite number of mobiles receiving calls all around you ALL the time).

By accessing your emails with Office Mobile you can now view all your work on your mobile device - such as Excel, Word and PowerPoint Mobile. You can view full screen or zoom out or in and edit charts; and you are able to get feedback by sending to team members.

And Office Mobile allows you to edit documents and get real time updates wherever you are - at work or on the train. Mobile document views allow you to open Office files on a shared server then view on your mobile device. The view allows you to work over the internet like a web page rather than download to a mobile device, and this should work on most smartphones.

Communicator view allows you to log in to an Instant Messaging service. Enabling you to have a conversation with anyone - discreetly and professionally - while seeing who's online and who's unavailable.

Other features include Mobile Presentation Companion - which gives you control of a PowerPoint presentation from your smartphone. This enables you to view the notes on your phone and control your presentation on your PC; in short, it's a complete wireless control of the presentation.

If you want to avoid becoming a mouse potato, keep up with the movers and shakers and find out more about Office 2010 Mobile from a professional training organisation.