Andrew Chadwick’s 1982 prediction for the ‘Office of the Year 2000’ was a mock-up of technologies that were still under development. One of the main differences between the mock-up and today’s laptop computers is its bulkiness – whereas in 1982 its compactness and portability were incredible – and the way that keyboards have moved backwards. The mock-up included a tape-recorder (remember them?) with a prophetic script that has proved remarkably accurate.
“Hello, I am the office of the future – yes me the briefcase. I have popped back from the year 2000 to tell you what is going to happen in 18 years time.
You assessors may find this a strange presentation but the fact is that the office as we know it will diversify from its present fixed location into a multitude of places, and that’s where I come in.
With me, everybody has an office from schoolboy to Prime Minister. Where you put me is quite another matter, in your car, in an aeroplane, in your meeting place because that’s what the office of today, sorry I mean tomorrow, is going to be all about.”