This Week's Herman Trend Alert The Consequences of Virtual Meetings

The Herman Trend Alert January 2, 2002 Teleportation Those of us who watch Star Trek or have seen the Star Wars movies have been intrigued by the technology displayed in these future-oriented productions. Imagine if some of those technologies, projected for several centuries in the future, would be available now! Fixing meals would be so much easier with a replicator. And wouldn't it be wonderful if we could simply transport ourselves instantly from one place to another? And holographic images, like on the Enterprise holodeck. Remember that early scene in Star Wars, where the robot R2-D2 projects into the room a holographic image of Princess Leia, imploring Obi-Wan Kenobi to help defeat the Empire? Her image was lifelike and three-dimensional, but it was a cinematic gimmick reserved for movies. Until now. . . A technology that appears similar is now a reality, thanks to a patent- applied-for process developed by Teleportec, Ltd, Manchester, England. Their Global Headquarters is in Dallas, Texas, in the United States. The company's mission is "to establish the global standard for face-to-face distance communication." Being first in their field, a potentially large and exciting one, suggests that they're certainly fulfilling their mission. Learn more about this intriguing organization and technology at www.teleportec.com. Teleportation technology allows an image to be projected, real-time, to a location anywhere in the world that support three-pair ISDN lines. Digital teleportation is defined by the company as "the transmission of a life-size image of a person to appear at a distant location where the person has a telepresence for engaging in face-to-face communication with people at the distant location." A special camera captures the subject's image, digitizes it and transmits it to a remote location over any high-speed line capable of carrying audio and video signals. The image is then funneled through a beam splitter and projected, giving it a three-dimensional effect. Imagine what this technology might do for the meetings industry! We can move corporate videoconferences to a whole new height! The possibilities are limited only by one's imagination. As the technology develops further, even more applications will be developed. May the force be with us. © Copyright 1998- by The Herman Group, Inc. -- reproduction for publication is encouraged, with the following attribution: From "The Herman Trend Alert," by Roger Herman and Joyce Gioia, Strategic Business Futurists. (800) 227-3566 or http://www.hermangroup.com. The Herman Trend Alert is a trademark of The Herman Group, Inc." BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND: RETENTION SPECIALIST PROGRAM A growing number of people have expressed an interest in attending our Employee Retention Specialist Certificate Program. We'd like to schedule on that's convenient for those who want to attend, but need your feedback to do so. Please place RETENTION SPECIALIST in the subject line and Joyce will personally call you back to schedule the workshop. Or you can call Joyce directly at 336-210-3548 (PDT this and next week). BUSINESS IS PICKING UP Most employers are unprepared. The recovery will bring a new set of challenges for employers that have been in prolonged contracted mode. They will need more skilled workers or will need now to begin to upskill their current staffs. But organizations can not engage in Strategic Workforce Planning, when they don't know how. That's where The Herman Group can help. We can help you with your "People Review"----large or small---so that you will know who you will need and when you will need them. . . and we can also guide you to the best sources for the people you will need. For more information, call Joyce at 336-210-3548 or e-mail joyce@hermangroup.com. FIND OUT WHAT YOUR EMPLOYEES REALLY THINK AND FEEL Discover what’s really going on in the hearts and minds of your employees. Our InnerViews interviewing service uses SPHRs and PHRs, certified human resource professionals to probe for the information you really need to know. Exit and Stay Interviews, as well as Why-Didn't-You-Take-Our-Offer Interviews. Call Rosalie Catalano at 937-416-7066, or read more at: http://www.hermangroup.com/retentionconnection/exit_interviews.html. Herman Trend Alerts are produced by the Herman Group, strategic business futurists, Certified Management Consultants, authors, and professional speakers. New subscribers are welcome. There is no charge for this public service. The Herman Trend Alert is received by over 30,000 subscribers in 78 countries, in addition to other websites and printed magazines. Do you enjoy receiving this weekly e-mail update? Contact us about our co-branded Trend Alert service. Click here to sign up for the Herman Trend Alert. Subscribe or Unsubscribe to weekly Herman Trend Alert View this week's Herman Trend Alert Archived Weekly Herman Trend Alerts

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