Masonry Magazine October 1994 Page. 38
COMPUTERS FOR CONTRACTORS
Networking Not for Everyone
Networking concepts and the factors used to determine the most cost effective and appropriate solutions.
IT SEEMS THAT every day someone is asking me about networks. Mostly, "We are going to install a network. What do you think?" And of course, being the analytical type, I ask questions about how they intend to use this new found solution to all office problems. The interesting part is that more times than not, our conclusion is some less expensive version of computer sharing or just changing some office procedural things. So, for the next couple of articles, we will investigate networking concepts and the factors used to determine the most cost effective and appropriate solutions.
To network is to share. You are networking when you attend industry functions, read this article, or talk with other masons on the phone. There are many types and degrees of sharing. Some jokes can be shared over the phone, others require faxing a copy to get the proper effect. We could share my new driver, if we were playing golf in the same four some. If not, you would have to borrow it, an action similar to sharing except you get to keep control of it longer before I again can use it. No matter how we share, both of us could never use it at the exact same time. Loaning, lending, and borrowing are other forms of sharing, each has different lengths of time between exchanges. The important concept is that although most things can be shared, for some period of time, one user has control over the use and the others wait for it to be available for them. Never two users at the same time.
Most of you have had some contact with large "multi-user" computers costing millions of dollars and having several hundred users, such as those at your bank. Relative to this discussion, it's only important to know that although it appears that several users
For All Your
Scaffold Needs!
■STANDARD FRAMES
SHORING FRAMES
ACCESSORIES
SYSTEMS SCAFFOLDING
TUBE & CLAMP
CUSTOM FABRICATION
SALE/RENTAL
UNIVERSAL
S
SINCE
1923
Ask about our FREE
estimates and
engineering assistance.
SCAFFOLDS
1-800-836-8780
(412) 452-8300
FAX: (412) 452-0576
550 W. New Castle Street
Zelienople, PA 16063
38 MASONRY-SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER, 1994