Upwardly mobile

We recently discussed the ways server-based modelling software facilitates collaboration across boundaries. Another important boundary is the office wall, although what was once considered an impermeable divide between work and the rest of our lives, is nowadays all-too porous. For most of us, there is no shoring up the dam; work will continue to bleed into our social lives, so we might as well take some pleasure in those developments that remove some of the pain. 

So perhaps you're on a train - going to a party, or a family event, or in some other way in danger of having a life.  But then you realise you forgot to schedule some modelling. And you need a complex optimisation on a large annuity book. You wanted it to run overnight, and (of course) the results are required in the morning...Oh well, reverse gear, off the train, back to the office (or home) to get some work done. Night cancelled?

The thing about thin-client applications is that given a device with modern internet-browsing capabilities (like those found on Apple's iPhone, Nokia's N900, or Google's Android range), your work can travel with you. Whilst nobody is suggesting working on your phone is a great experience, when the need arises it is a whole lot better than having to pull the emergency brake cord on the 18:50 from Paddington!

For interest I've attached some of screenshots of Longevitas running on a couple of different handheld devices. Smartphone technology is changing all the time, so undoubtedly many devices will work, but as usual, your mileage may vary!