By Gail Balfour

Remember when the term “hot spot” described a tropical getaway as opposed to a wireless network?

That was only a few years ago, back in 2001. Did you have a digital camera then? An MP3 player?

Did you even know what text messaging was?

Five years makes all the difference. We asked 10 Canadians in a variety of jobs which technological innovation of the past five years has had the biggest impact on their lives and jobs.

Here’s what they said.


First you get the power
Duncan Card, senior partner, Bennett Jones LLP
Most influential innovation:

DATA PROCESSING CAPACITY
Bennett Jones employs more than 280 lawyers in Calgary, Toronto and Edmonton, and specializes in technology and intellectual property.

The increase in data processing capacity “has been huge because [it has enabled] a quantum leap in production efficiencies across all sectors. From community hospitals sharing the same backbone, to governments consolidating back offices, to specialized outsourcing in a number of areas. A lot of the other consumer-level innovations have actually happened because of this one innovation...it’s the cornerstone.

And that has led to encryption technology, wireless e-mail and a bunch of other surface technological innovations — none of which would matter if it weren’t for the fundamental breakthroughs we have had in computing capacity. This (in turn) has led to huge industry-wide transactions and million-dollar outsourcing deals. And it has created a huge demand for both legal and transactional expertise.”


Massive leaps for special needs
Elaine Hicks, program manager for special needs kids, Renfrew Educational Services
Most influential innovation:

ADAPTIVE COMPUTING
Renfrew is a Calgary-based not-for-profit organization offering specialized programs for children with special needs.

“The burgeoning software that’s now available for special needs kids has really been a mind-blower to me. It is so cool. For the visually impaired kids (I work with), there’s awesome new technology for them in terms of computer-adapted screens with software that’s sort of like a projector. You can put a book on the thing and it comes up on the monitor in large print so that the child actually has a chance of reading along with the teacher, and actually is able to see what the teacher sees.

“A lot of other software is now super-specialized for learning cause and effect. You are teaching a child that if you touch a particular part (of the mouse or screen), something happens that you want to make happen. For some kids, that’s a massive leap for them to make intellectually.

“Also, because computers have the ability now to be multi-sensory — they are visual and auditory, and the screen changes rapidly and is engaging — it is far more likely to keep autistic kids focused and on task than [a] teacher sitting down with a child and a book.”


Tossing the desk
James Bond, sales representative, Royal LePage
Most influential innovation:

WIRELESS COMPUTING
Royal LePage, a Canadian real estate firm established in 1913, has 11,270 realtors in 603 offices across Canada.

“Anything I do now, I can do from just about anywhere. I’ve got a wireless computer which has roaming capability within buildings.

I’ve got a cellphone I can plug into it, so I can access the Web from my car, from an office, from a boat, from a cottage. It means now that my job is completely transportable. I don’t have to be at my desk to write up offers and so forth; I can do it from my car or anywhere else.

“Five years ago it was possible, but it wasn’t practical — it was so expensive. Now if I am meeting clients, I don’t have to go back to the office...I can have a fax sent to my cellphone now. I have an office as a base, but I don’t even have a desk at my office anymore — that’s how advanced things have gotten for me. For the most part, I would say 70 per cent of my day is meeting with clients and doing my work from the road.”


Connect everyone
Brad Woodside, mayor of the City of Fredericton
Most influential innovation:

WI-FI
Fredericton, N.B., has integrated traditional and wireless technologies to create Fred-eZone, a free community-wide Wi-Fi network providing mobile broadband access from virtually anywhere within the city.

“A number of years ago we created an economic development strategy. Basically, we were looking at our city and asking where we wanted to be in the future, and we decided information technology was the way to go. The wireless Fred-eZone, which is about three years old now, was formed through a partnership with Cisco Systems.

It has given us wireless coverage of about 60 per cent in town so far, with a goal of 90 per cent coverage. Being wireless has really put us on the forefront of information technology innovation. It’s very important that we walk the walk and talk the talk. We are telling people we are a Smart City so we have to be leading the path and not following.

As mayor, I can tell you a lot of people who visit our city are very pleasantly surprised that we have this kind of access — you can stop on a park bench, flip open your laptop and away you go.”


One ’net to rule them all
Shahriar Amiri, architectural designer, TAS Design
Most influential innovation:

HIGH-SPEED INTERNET
TAS Design is a construction, property development and design firm established in 1986.

“I would say [high-speed Internet] played the biggest role in communication between people. Without it, sending and receiving so many large digital files in a small fraction of time is almost impossible. The type of AutoCAD files we use tend to be huge. It is very difficult to send them over the Internet — even now. I think high-speed Internet has had a huge impact in terms of making communications more accurate, much faster and also less expensive.

“Prior to that, we used to physically create the prototypes and ship them to different parties. You can imagine how costly and time consuming that was.

In fact, in a lot of cases we had to forget about so many things which could have allowed the job to be done better, because they were just too expensive to create and ship. Last year, we had a project in Dubai. My boss went there, and we had to communicate every day to prepare what he needed.

It is a 12-hour time difference.

Without high-speed Internet, with these huge files — some of them graphic files and 3D animations — we couldn’t have done anything...we couldn’t have gotten the job done. We would not have landed that contract at all, actually.”


Digital changes the picture
Stephen Fenech, freelance photo journalist
Most influential innovation:

DIGITAL CAMERAS
For 20 years Stephen Fenech has travelled extensively through more than 120 countries as a freelance photojournalist.

“It’s a whole different psychology that I use when I shoot digital. I just came from six months in West Africa, and it’s the first trip I took where I wasn’t so worried about either the number of photos I was taking, or the safety of the images.

It was the first trip where I could actually e-mail my pictures home while I was still travelling. In terms of safety, I am talking about everything from theft, to damage from the elements — it could be rain or humidity, dust and sand, or even X-ray machines (in airports). And when you are carrying thousands of dollars worth of film, that’s a heartache really. So digital eliminates all that, plus I could see exactly what I shot right away.

“It’s lighter, it’s more efficient. When digital cameras first came out, there wasn’t enough detail in the shadows, and everything was washed out.

I said I would never go that way. But eventually, when I saw what it could do, I was blown away.”


All communication, all the time
Dr. André Caron, professor in the communications department, Université de Montréal
Most influential innovation:

COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES
André Caron is director of CITÉ (Centre de recherche interdisciplinaire sur les technologies émergentes). The focus of his research is the impact new technologies have on society and culture.

“We need to become more aware about how technologies have come into our lives, and how we take them for granted now, to a certain extent. What we also need to realize is that, even five years ago, there were a lot of environments that used to be communication free, or information-free zones. Kids would get out of school, go home on the bus, be thinking, talking with friends. But now, wherever you go, people are communicating with each other (via cellphone, texting, etc.) almost all the time. So now, where there used to be peace and quiet and time for reflection, now they are occupied by this communication or they are occupied by an information source like the Internet. They are looking for information constantly.

“We looked at the situation where you are driving behind someone who is on the phone in his car. We were trying to figure out why this is irritating. People think it is because it is not safe — they can have an accident. But that’s not really what irritates us. What irritates us is that the person who is sharing this environment with us is not really with us. He is in another world. And it’s being excluded from that physical environment that irritates people most.”

“The combination of mobile technologies and accessibility have made everything in our lives really change — some for the good, some for the bad.”


Running on team collaboration
John Stanton, founder and president of Running Room
Most influential innovation:

MICROSOFT OUTLOOK TEAM FOLDERS
Running Room Canada was founded by John Stanton in 1984 in Edmonton, and now has 72 locations across North America.

“We use Outlook as a communication tool and we use Team Folders for special projects, like a new store opening or a major marathon.

They allow everyone involved in a project to understand what’s happening, and how it is happening.

When I look back years ago, we were sort of doing everything by fax machine, and it was comical when we first got an e-mail system because everything had to be uploaded to our main server manually once a day. In an organization like ours, it’s the shared information that allows you to grow. I love Team Folders in Outlook because not only do I get to see how everyone is doing on the project, my butt’s on the line too — everybody gets to see if I am delivering the things that are my responsibility.

We have things like checklists, so that when we are opening a new store, it could be something as mundane as ordering pencils and toilet paper, and all these tasks can be assigned to someone.

This has allowed us to have methods and procedures that are consistent, no matter which city we are in.”


BlackBerry goes the distance
James MacLean, senior vice-president, BMO Nesbitt Burns
Most influential innovation:

THE BLACKBERRY
BMO Nesbitt Burns is one of North America’s largest full-service investment firms. It is a member of the BMO Financial Group.

“My BlackBerry saves me an enormous amount of time because I can get all of my e-mails now from pretty well anywhere in the world. Prior to that, if I went away on holidays I would have 250 e-mails to go through, and that would take hours. I also used to have to come into the office on Sundays sometimes if I needed to work on something.

“And if you are going to Europe, for example, the cost differential is enormous: you can e-mail for very low cost, but if you had to telephone it’s very expensive. I first got [a BlackBerry] two years ago just before going on a trip to Europe...some of my colleagues already had BlackBerrys and found them very useful. With time zone changes and the cost of phoning back, the BlackBerry just made more sense.”


When video went to 1s and 0s
Jack Livesley, author, former TVO host
Most influential innovation:

DIGITAL VIDEO
Jack Livesley is the author and co-author of four books on media and education. A former teacher, he spent 20 years in television as a writer and on-air host.

“When I worked at TVOntario, this is going back 20 years ago now, we had these new portable cameras with their own batteries that were carried in a separate shoulder bag...they were called PortaPacs.

These were a great invention at the time, because the portability allowed the camera operators to have more flexibility with angles and they could be more creative.

The fact is, though, that these cameras were not available to the public, they were for professional use and quite expensive.

So it was limiting.

“But the new digital cameras for sale can shoot simple digital video. I think it is wonderful that consumers now have access to this type of creative tool, and just imagine how much more they can do with that lightweight technology at their fingertips. I also used to direct plays, and I can’t tell you how useful it would have been to have access to these digital cameras to set up scenes during rehearsal, so the actors would be able to see right away what was working and what wasn’t. These aren’t just for taking snapshots of Aunt Fanny, they are a very useful tool for creative expression.”