5 Business Worktools From The Past

As the years go by, I realise that there are some business tools that used to be part of my workplace but now belong to the museum.

Now this would be around 1992 when I started my first job at Arthur Andersen & Co. in Nigeria (Even the Company had not yet split into Andersen Consulting and Arthur Andersen (now KPMG)

As I look at my last child, my 6 year old daughter flipping through the pages of her ebook on my iPad, I know that she will never use these "archaic" business tools.

For those who used these tools, roll with me. For those who do not know what I am talking about, just read and learn. (I got the appropriate definitions from Wikipedia)

1. The Fax machine - Fax (short for facsimile), sometimes called telecopying, is the telephonic transmission of scanned printed material (both text and images), normally to a telephone number connected to a printer or other output device. The original document is scanned with a fax machine (or a telecopier), which processes the contents (text or images) as a single fixed graphic image, converting it into a bitmap, and then transmitting it through the telephone system. The receiving fax machine reconverts the coded image, printing a paper copy.

2. The Floppy disk - A floppy disk, or diskette, is a disk storage medium composed of a disk of thin and flexible magnetic storage medium, sealed in a rectangular plastic carrier lined with fabric that removes dust particles. They are read and written by a floppy disk drive (FDD).  Floppy disks, initially as 8-inch (200 mm) media and later in 5.25-inch (133 mm) and 3.5-inch (90 mm) sizes, were a ubiquitous form of data storage and exchange from the mid-1970s well into the first decade of the 21st century

3. Rolodex. A Rolodex is a rotating file device used to store business contact information. The Rolodex holds specially shaped index cards; the user writes the contact information for one person or company on each card. The cards are notched to be able to be snapped in and out of the rotating spindle.

4. Correction Fluid. A correction fluid is an opaque, white fluid applied to paper to mask errors in text. Once dried, it can be written over. It is typically packaged in small bottles, and the lid has an attached brush (or a triangular piece of foam) which dips into the bottle. The brush is used to apply the fluid onto the paper.

5. Typewriter A typewriter is a mechanical or electromechanical device with keys that, when pressed, cause characters to be printed on a medium, usually paper. Typically one character is printed for keypress, and the machine prints the characters by making ink impressions of type elements similar to the sorts used in movable type letterpress printing.

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