2011 has been a year of milestone birthdays in tech. September saw Google become a teenager, email hit the big 40 in June, and even Twitter turned five back in March. Perhaps the most significant tech birthday this year, though, was the World Wide Web itself turning 20.

In 1991 British scientist Tim Berners-Lee posted a brief summary of the World Wide Web (or W3) project on the alt.hypertext newsgroup, writing:

“The WWW project was started to allow high energy physicists to share data, news, and documentation. We are very interested in spreading the Web to other areas, and having gateway servers for other data. Collaborators welcome.”

It’s safe to say that Berners-Lee’s invitation to potential collaborators went fairly well. That initial web page has expanded to more than 19 billion pages (at the last count) and there are millions and millions of workers across the globe who rely on the World Wide Web to go about their daily lives. In those 20 years, the changes to the workplace that have taken place thanks to the Internet are nothing short of remarkable. Email is as good a place as any to start.

You’ve got mail

Try to explain the workplace B.E. (before email) to someone under 30, and you could be describing life in the 19th century for all the relevance it has to their working day. Back then, we lived in a world in which quaint technologies such as the fax machine prevailed. With the fax machine, it was not unusual to wait days for a reply.

Later, when Web-based email began to grow in popularity, it transformed communication in the workplace. You could now receive a response to a question within minutes, especially once broadband connections became more commonplace. You could send information and documents to colleagues around the world at the click of a button.

Email overload

But technology was now developing at a pace that seemed astonishing even to those who worked in the industry, and email, after a honeymoon period, hit problems. “Too intrusive,” said some. “Too much of it,” said others. “Not quick enough,” moaned the rest.

When consumer-based instant-messaging technologies infiltrated the workplace – AIM launched in 1997 and Yahoo! Messenger (then Pager) in 1998 – users were suddenly able to communicate with co-workers in real-time. Years later, these tools would often be integrated into a platform that also included voice over Internet protocol (VoIP), shared whiteboards, video conferencing and file transfer features.

It was around this time that social networks also began to establish a presence. Some of these are undoubtedly more consumer-focused, but there can also be no denying that Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter have had a massive impact on working life, too. The ability to communicate and share content with your extended network (and beyond) has transformed many of our traditional working practices. As well as enabling businesses to engage in two-way conversations with their customers, these social networks are now a central part of the recruitment process. Last year, I wrote a piece on how Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter can enable you to find a team of peers without breaking the bank of recruitment agencies. You can tap into your workforce’s network and find like-minded, talented people to become part of your company.

Getting ready to collaborate

The net result of all the technological developments outlined above has been to change the very fabric of how we work. We now live in a collaboration economy. To share and communicate information, ideas and innovation has never been easier, or come more naturally to the workforce. The emergence of the Web has given rise to a global working village, with location and time zone utterly irrelevant. You can work as closely with someone in another country as you would with someone sitting opposite; work from home or on the move, and even send files from your mobile handset to someone on the other side of the world.

This has all been made possible by the World Wide Web. From Skype to smartphones and social networking to SaaS, it’s all underpinned by the internet and the changes to the workplace of 20 years ago are just extraordinary. With a global mobile worker population set to hit 1.19 billion by 2013, one can only wonder what the Internet will bring us next. Bring on the next 20 years!

Andy McLoughlin, Co-founder and EVP Strategy at Huddle, can be reached on Twitter@Bandrew.

Image courtesy of Flickr user thinknew.

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
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• The Future of Workplaces
• A 2011 NewNet Forecast
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In starting your individual business, his also means that you must plan for your workplace. And get yourself ready for your workplace also includes buying the necessary devices that you’ll often use. This includes a photocopy machine, a fax machine, a printer, a scanner, and lastly, a pc. A lot, right? Well, obviously not the case. Nowadays, you don’t have to buy a photocopy machine, a fax machine, a scanner and a printer individually. You need to simply buy an all in one printer, and a computer plus your office can have the many devices that it needs already.

All in one printer is simply merely a printer which could also perform the tasks that every the opposite mentioned machines perform. Meaning, it might print documents, fax them, photocopy them and even scan them. Company, I will be just talking about one device – the all in one printer.

So, how can you pick the best office printer for your new office? As you will probably be using these devices for your business, it must be very efficient. Also, unlike those who bring personal purposes, your all in one office printer will definitely be used and a good performance from it is important. Therefore, in choosing your workplace printer, you need high standards. Follow this advice:

1. The AIO in the printer has to be simple and fast to install plus it must be compatible for a PC or laptop. Furthermore, the AIO must be compatible to numerous kinds of computers in lieu of just one single specific computer.

2. It should be capable of print documents photos rich in quality in a fast manner.

3. The all in one printer should have an attribute which will enable it to automatically feed documents for scanning, faxing, and photocopying purposes. This feature is termed automatic document feeder (ADF) feature.

4. The scanned documents and/or pictures must be in high quality.

5. It should be capable of store receivable faxed documents by way of a USB or even a memory stick. In this way, documents are not lost if you will end up out paper.

6. It should be capable of work during wireless connection.

7. It should be capable of automatically turn papers for duplex scanning, photocopying or faxing purposes.

8. It should be cost effective.

Though don’t assume all all in one printers have these capabilities, whatever you choose should have many of them. There are lots of models and brands available for sale, and that means you just need to do a little research on what of them have these capabilities.

For busy offices, the best equipment must be supplied to workers to ensure that work is done in time and gets to where it needs to be efficiently. One of the machines that is making this possible is the Brother IntelliFax 4750e Printer because it is a fast fax machine that serves a variety of different functions. With the Brother 4750e toner producing a high grade of resolution, all faxes, documents, and copies come out clear and easily readable.

One of the first things that a tech person or business owner will look for in a fax machine is the speed at which it sends and receives faxes. This is one of the key aspects that make this type of office equipment stand out from other models. A Brother IntelliFax 4750e Printer’s modem is a high-speed 33.6k bit per second Super G3. This makes this appliance devastatingly fast when transmitting faxes.

Speed is relatively useless if a printing machine does not produce clear and well-defined documents. For this reason, the Brother IntelliFax 4750e toner produces a clear printout each time it is used, if the ink cartridge is kept in adequate supply. It prints documents out at 600 dpi, which is abnormally high for most fast acting fax machines. Remember that a high resolution will allow for clearer documents.

Another upgrade that has been installed into the base design of these pieces of office equipment is a great memory card. Having good memory on a fax machine enables these machines to store faxes in their memory bank when large documents come over the wire or if no paper is present. Up to 600 individual pages can be stored on this memory card allowing this machine to keep up with high volumes of use in the office environment.

An organized and clutter-free workspace generates higher rates of productivity. Separate fax machines, printers, copiers, scanners, and telephones can take up a lot of precious space in an office. This all-in-one piece of office equipment creates an attractive work environment while handling all the demands of a busy office. The Intellifax 4750e is a multi-function machine that generates quality results from all of its functions that are sure to impress colleagues and customers.

In a busy office, every minute of the workday counts. Taking precious time out of the day to refill paper in the fax, copy, and printing machines reduces the level of productivity. The multimedia Intellifax 4750e only has one tray that employees need to refill. With a capacity of 250 sheets, this machine can manage the stress of a hectic office on the busiest day. Employees will be able to focus more on their work when they do not have to make multiple trips to the printer or copy machine to refill the tray.

The Brother Intellifax 4750e printer and the accompanying Brother Intellifax 4750e are great additions to any office. The printer services customer needs as well as the communication needs of a busy company. The Brother IntelliFax printer toners keeps the equipment printing page after page. Small businesses that are looking for a cost-efficient, multi-media space and time saver should consider this quality piece of office equipment.

The Dell 3115cn printer is a machine that serves 4 different functions any office environment can benefit from. When coupled with great Dell Color Laser 3115cn printer toner cartridges, it’s also capable of making copies, scanning, and sending fax. There’s room for expansion, so it can easily catch up with the expanding demands of the office in the future.

There’s a 400 MHz processor inside its case which has a body that measures 18.1″ (W) x 22.4″ (D) x 28.7″ (H). Such packs enough power to copy and print 31 monochrome pages per minute, and 17 colored pages per minute. Print outs with resolutions of 600 x 600 dpi (dots per inch) can be made, 2400 image quality. There’s a document feeder that’s automated and has the capacity to hold up to 50 pages, so there’s no need to feed each sheet manually.

Its full-color flatbed scanner can scan documents and colored images with accuracy. It can work either hooked up to a network or directly connected to a computer. With a big document feeder, one doesn’t have to worry about paper jams or any other similar problems. In a busy office setting when everyone is ready to print, copy or scan, there’s little room for anything which causes delay.

Because it’s a stand-alone fax machine, it’s possible to send faxes on the 3115cn even without being attached to a PC. But when connected to one, it’s possible to send out a document directly from an e-mail account, thanks to a high-speed fax modem. Because of the 50-page capacity document feeder, multiple pages of documents may be faxed while you’re attending to other tasks.

One solution Dell has provided to help out with economizing is the ColorTrack color control tool. Such gives you the power to decide on access made to the color printer by an individual or a workgroup. It’s possible to create up to 50 user or department accounts, and monitor each one of them remotely with the use of a web configuration tool. Now you can enable or disable printer use, or set certain limitations for both monochrome and color printing.

Then there’s also the Dell Toner Management System, or DTMS. This is a proactive means of alerting the user should you run low on ink and toner. Notification is done in three different ways. First is by means of the alert on the machine’s LCD. Second is by means of any workstation that’s part of the network. Third is by sending an e-mail notification to the personnel responsible for replacing the cartridge.

Inbuilt memory amounting to 256 MB is shared equally by printing, reproducing, scanning and faxing tasks. However, such standard memory can be expanded to a maximum of 1152 MB for handling more demanding tasks. Aside for the memory, other features of the 3115cn can be upgraded as well. Such makes this 4-in-one machine flexible enough to catch up with the growing needs of a workplace that’s expanding.

An optional duplex unit may be added for fast, two-sided printing, while conserving ink and toner. Also, an optional 550-sheet paper drawer may be used with the existing 150-sheet multipurpose tray and 250-sheet drawer. With this flexibility, any office environment can benefit from the Dell 3115cn printer with Dell Color Laser toners, which also serves roles as a copier, scanner and fax machine in one versatile unit. If you decide to make this printer yours, be sure to stock up on the best Dell Color Laser 3115cn toner cartridge for your needs.

With each passing month, technology becomes outdated because of the rapid speeds at which computer companies release their upgrades. The Brother IntelliFax 2920 Printer is an example of one company upgrading previous models of their products with extreme proficiency. It produces high resolution pages at a fast pace. This fax machine works fast and is a great buy because of its relatively reasonable price.

Brother has upgraded its previous model of this machine to transmit its documents over the telephone lines faster than ever before. This piece of office equipment can transmit copies of papers to their intended destinations at the rate of 2 seconds per page. That is a dramatic step up from older machines with poorer modem quality than the 2920.

Using this machine also allows all documents that are received and printed out to be of the highest quality and the best definition available. A fax machine that does not print legible documents is literally a worthless piece of machinery. This Brother IntelliFax 2920 Printer model offers 300 by 200 dpi, which will allow for easy reading for whoever prints out or reviews one of these documents. This is also in part due to the Brother IntelliFax 2920 toner, which comes standard with these machines.

Memory is also an added bonus to this upgraded model of fax machine because it is double the size of previous models. Having a higher memory on a hard drive can enable this machine to store faxes when paper is not available. Because business rarely is complete when an office closes down, this feature enables a machine to store data at night when nobody is around. It can store up to 600 pages of material, making it much more useful than previous models.

It has been previously stated that this is a dual purpose office or home appliance because it doubles as a fax machine as well as a printer. It has an easy to use front loading tray that has the capacity to keep 250 pages in it. This makes it a great purchase for medium and small businesses because it will be able to handle a moderately sized workload.

One of the best aspects of looking into the purchase of this specific machine is the fact that it is so reasonably priced. Being both a printer and fax machine, this machine is priced at a fair price of $300. Most printers or fax machines can cost this much individually making this purchase a quality buy. It also comes with a one year warranty in case of any mechanical failures or manufacture defects.

The Brother IntelliFax 2920 Printer is a great piece of equipment to purchase because it serves more than one purpose, it is reasonable to purchase, and it saves time due to its high powered modem. Getting this upgraded machine enables employees to print with Brother 2920 toners for the best quality in page production. High-quality Brother IntelliFax toner, a fast-paced modem, high workload capacity, and a great memory are all examples of how this machine is a top of the line piece of hardware for the office.

The Samsung CLX 3160N Printer does more than just provide you the ability to print with either color or monochrome Samsung CLX 3160N compatible toner. Within one enclosure, it also works as a scanner, copier and fax machine. Everything is contained inside its body measuring 18.3 inches x 16.9 inches x 19.1 inches (W x D x H). Attachment to a PC is done by means of a USB port, although it’s also network-ready for use within a workgroup.

Being a laser printer, it can dish out 16 black-and-white pages each minute. That’s equivalent to 4 pages each minute when doing color jobs. But for both tasks, a resolution of up to 2400 dpi x 600 dpi (dots per inch) may be utilized. Upon purchase, starter toner cartridges are provided. The black toner can last for a max of 1500 pages, while the rest (cyan, magenta and yellow) each can last for up to 700 pages.

Standard media handling capacity is up to 150 sheets, courtesy of the single paper cassette available. The tray can be configured to handle a variety of media sizes. Speaking of media sizes, the machine can work on anything which measures from 3 inches x 5 inches to 8.5 inches x 14 inches. Compatible media types include plain paper, cards, transparencies, envelopes and labels. An optional 250-sheet capacity paper tray may be attached for increased media handling requirements.

An A4-size flatbed scanner is around, which can offer an interpolated image resolution of up to 4800 dpi x 4800 dpi. Out in the front is a USB 2.0 port. When scanning, you have the option to directly save the document to a USB flash memory plugged into the port. However, saving it to the computer’s hard drive or attaching it to an e-mail is also possible. Scan to network feature may be activated if the machine is shared by a workgroup.

As a copier, it works in the same speed exhibited when being used as a laser printer, for both color and mono documents. However, a resolution of 1200 x 1200 dpi may be taken advantage of. Up to 400 percent document enlargement may be done; that’s 35 percent for size reduction. You may choose between the automatic document feeder or flatbed scanner, and create a max of 99 reproductions.

Color and mono faxing are both allowed. Data transmission speed is up to 33.6 Kbps, thanks to the modem residing inside the CLX 3160N. Resolutions which can be used include 300 x 300 dpi and 200 x 200 dpi. As much as 320 pages may be stored on the allotted fax memory. Making up for the missing handset are user options on the control panel for easy redialing, accessing phone book address, etc.

Well laid out, the control panel makes the operation of this 4-in-one machine a breeze. Other than faxing, there are also dedicated buttons for copying, scanning and of course printing. Available USB port on the front panel may also be used for direct printing of files on a USB flash drive or digital camera. A total of 128MB RAM already comes installed. There’s support for an assortment of operating systems.

Duty cycle of the Samsung CLX 3160N Printer is set by the manufacturer at 24200 impressions a month. Providing a designated spot for this unit is recommendable, as it weighs a little over 45 pounds. And when you use Samsung CLX toner, your output will be consistently professional and sharp. Now only one nifty solution is needed to get printing, scanning, reproducing and faxing tasks done in the workplace.