I am woken at the peak of my sleep cycle nearest to the hour I need to get up, my alarm using a fuzzy logic algorithm flashed to the internal circuits, which blends my typical snooze-cycle (stored on-line in the home NAS) and the bio-metric sensor placed under my mattress with today’s calendar appointments and to-do list (stored on-line in the home-NAS and updated by work’s messaging application and various social networking APIs), all in the context of the accumulated history of trying to wake me up (also stored on the home NAS).
I turn on the TV, which at this hour, defaults to the news channel I prefer at power-on (the preferences stored in an on-line service run by the TV company, a perk of which is that any of their TV’s anywhere in the world can access it, so my preferences travel with me since my preferred hotel also uses the same TV line). Since the signal is Standard Definition, the picture right justified and my personal data feed (weather, sports scores news headlines, open support cases for clients, etc.) is displayed on the free screen real estate at the left (this information, all gathered from the Internet is configured on-line and stored in my personal cloud service).
Simultaneously, my personal search agent is scanning the Internet radio feeds and podcasts of my favorite news programs, and if anything that interests me is found, an icon on the screen is displayed, alerting me to its availability. The remote control permits me to play the podcast on the TV without changing the input, and it automatically mutes the on-screen programming.
If there are any items I need to address for work before leaving, I can access them via my VPN connection to the corporate network – all of my files and applications are contained there, so my laptop can be lost or stolen without compromising any data. Because it contains a mobile network interface chip, it is never off-line, making desktop virtualization a possibility. Before I leave, my work is saved to the corporate network, and my personal preferences are synchronized via Bluetooth to my mobile device.
When I reach my car, the mobile device replicates the changes it received form the home network to the car network, again via Bluetooth. The new playlists I created the night before are available on the car audio system, just as the new contacts entered into the corporate CRM are available in the navigation system. As I drive to work, the smart-search displays all the coffee shops ahead, as well as any locations that correspond to a next-action in my to-do list or an appointment in the next 36 hours. (The smart search parameters are part of the online concierge and navigation package offered by the car vendor, with access to the to-do list and appointment calendar via APIs. This service also monitors engine performance and vehicle maintenance schedules, creating on-line reminders and opening service tickets automatically.)
Once at work, I insert my ID card into the reader at my workstation and the desktop I was working on at home via the VPN is displayed. My mobile device again synchronizes the changes I’ve made at home with my workstation via Bluetooth. My entire interaction with the network from my workstation is virtualized – the desktop is platform independent, every IP address is a virtual IP, every mount point is a virtual mount point, every DNS resolution is a virtual resolution, every application launched is executed by the grid on the next available grid processing unit, every file read or written is from a network storage device.
When I head to a meeting, I can remove my ID card and insert it into the meeting room workstation, restoring my desktop as before. I then switch contexts to the presentation mode, automatically muting and subordinating any application that might try to pop-up an on-screen or audible alert. During the presentation, I can record a screencast or podcast to distribute for later, share the meeting via a LiveMeeting or Groove session, and access any resource on the network, since my access credentials are carried by the ID card, not tied to the physical space. (This is accomplished by using 802.1x authentication and policy-based dynamic VLAN allocations, controlled by the directory server).
After the meeting, we want to go to lunch. A quick discussion settles on one of the group’s favorites, and a reservation is made via a mobile application. Along the way, we can see the menu and today’s specials using the same mobile application, so that once we are there, are table is ready and we are ready to order.
At the end of the meal, a customer calls my desk – because they are in a list of “never want to miss their call” customers it is forwarded to my mobile – and I am able to take the call. I am also able to conference in one of my colleagues who is with me at lunch and another who is at her desk by sending them IMs with a call bridge, and seamlessly transferring your call with the customer to the bridge.
Once back in the office, I grab the first unused desk, insert my ID card and then I can move my presence from my mobile to the desk phone with a few mouse clicks. (the desk phone number is your number, provisioned at the same time that your desktop was provisioned) My co-worker who was with me at lunch opts instead to use a VoIP soft phone. Once the customer leaves the call, I can add more co-workers into the call bridge and add in a virtual whiteboard to discuss the customer’s project. Once we have an action plan, the call bridge transcript and the whiteboard are all saved to the network, and any action items or resource requests are automatically created.