cation is the `pager system'. In order to locate a person a signal is sent out by a central facility that addresses a particular receiver unit (beeper) and produces an audible signal. In addition, it may display a number to which the called-party should phone back (some systems allow a vocal message to be conveyed about the call-back number). It is then up to the recipient to use the conventional telephone system to call-back confirming the signal and determine the required action. Although useful in practice there are still circumstances where it is not ideal. For instance, if the called party does not reply the controller has no idea if they: 1) are in an area where the signal does not penetrate 2) have been completely out of the area for some time 3) have been too busy to reply or 4) have misheard or misread the call-back number. Moreover, in the case where there are a number of people who could respond to a crisis situation, it is not known which one is the nearest to the crisis an

Technology is usually the main driving force behind the capabilities of our computer systems and as a result a change in technology can have far reaching consequences for the architecture of future systems. There has been a trend over recentyears for processors to be made that are small with low-power consumption, the smart card has to some extent encouraged their development. This paper discusses the varietyofPersonal Computing Objects that can now be made, some of their uses, and how they maychange our view of the traditional computing environment. Modern day distributed computer systems are often referred to in the context of a computing environment. As personal computing is becoming possible with smaller and smaller hand-held devices, there is the potential for the now familiar computing environment to become more tightly integrated into our daily lives, particularly in the context of an o#ce building. Portabilityisan essential factor providing the opportunity for us to car...