Janitorial services rely on computer programs to create work schedules. Nurses and doctors use computers to dish out medications and monitor vital signs. Casinos do likewise to create individualized customer profiles, trigger winning jackpots in slot machines and provide change. Waiters send orders to the kitchen by punching a computer. Consumers shop on the Internet from the comfort of their own home.
Lawyers depend on databases to research cases and modems to file briefs.
Instead of the typical law office lined with shelf after shelf of textbooks, documents, case histories and the like are stored on disc. With e-mail and shared documents, we're saving paper costs. Bill Gaydos, executive director of entertainment and special events for the Tropicana, uses the Internet to research acts and ticket prices before booking performers such as the Moody Blues. In years ahead, there will be new technologies unheard of today. For instance, lawyers and judges will use videoconferencing for such matters as mediation, eliminating travel and waiting time saving clients money and producing instant records in the bargain.