The data projector (Optoma EP716 PDF) has finally arrived and is able to be used by members both for use at AltSpace and for presentations outside the office. It will be added to the online booking system for reserving in the next few days. It is an
The of the amusing things running AltSpace has been the unexpected events that have occurred over the last six months. Over the Christmas/New Year break I reflected on what I think must have been one of the funniest voice mails I have ever received.
One morning in one of the warmer days in late November I had turned on both of the aircon units and left the smaller one on all night. The next morning when I arrived I found it was not working and thought it might be broken and just turned on the other unit. I did not think about this until later in the morning when I came back to AltSpace and found my notebook was off with no battery power. I then realised that the plug was not working. Checking around I released that about half the plugs were not working (all along that side of the office) and decide to look in the fuse box. It seems the aircon had blown the fuse which was easy to fix. My first attempt generated an interesting flash as the aircon was still plugged in. So I turned it off and unplugged and reset the fuse.
Then the fun starts.
The alarm which was installed by a previous tenant that we had assumed did not work must have been on the same circuit. As the power was restored it activated. This alarm is about a metre from the door and where I was standing and so I instantly turned the fuse off. I pondered this for a moment and then rung the land lord. After explaining to them that the alarm going off when we restored power they replied ‘it’s your alarm, it’s your issue’. I then explained that it was not installed by us and that it was their alarm to which they replied ‘alarm, what alarm?’. I finally convinced them that it was the landlords by process of it being here before us and they sent around an electrician to cut the power to it.
The next day I get a phone call while in an off site meeting and it went to voice mail. I clear the message about an hour later. It is one of the AltSpace members calling saying the alarm is going off and they cant get it to stop even by turning the circuit off. In the message you can hear the alarm wailing in the background.
Then I see a txt message stating ‘all OK. alarm off!’. I go to AltSpace and it seems that when it was disconnected from the power it was drawing power from an internal battery. When this battery started to get low it triggered the alarm again. The member called the security company listed on the alarm and they said best way was to use the code. Great, we had no idea of the code, and then they said if we did not plan to use the alarm system to cut one of the wires connecting the speaker. Which he did and the noise stopped.
BTW, we do not use the second aircon unit anymore either 
The throngs have left, the liquids have been drunk and the nibbles have been consumed. So ends the AltSpace Launch night held last Thursday that upwards of 50 people attended. If you managed to pop in I hope you enjoyed yourself and took a look around. For those that did not have a chance to join us you are more than
welcome to pay us a visit.
If you are interested you cn join the AltSpace Announce Google Group for low volume messages.
Has been a busy few weeks. Finally started planning launch drinks and pciked November 20th from 4pm in the office. if you would like to attend drop us a message or visit www.altspace.co.nz/rsvp. This is a mixof thanks and also a chance for people to drop in have a chat and alook around.
Things have been moving quickly of late. AltSpace is in discussions with 4 companies about possible sponsorship. This is better than expected as two of them have high awareness in the market. We can offer naming rights on the meeting rooms and for the actual desks which the sponsor also have usage rights with (say they let a community group use etc).
Looking to have the first once announced later this week.
Here at AltSpace HQ we have been thinking of ways to both help the freelancers and start ups and also ourselves. One idea we have had is offering reduced or even free membership to a small number of people that offer to help out. This could be as simple as helping dealing with questions and visitors (both in person and in the ether) while you are at AltSpace or providing some other service/feature/widget.
We have some ideas of what might be needed but we are open to taking offers and ideas on what you might be able to provide. Drop us a line, wander into the office or have your people call our people.
Over the last several weeks coworking SpaceOwners have been organising a programme to allow members of one coworking location to use the facilities of other locations.
This has finally been implemented and is called the Coworking Visa. It allows a members when they travel to use other locations (total of 17 sites in 4 countries) as if they were a member.
This is another positive way where coworking is helping people get together and remove the hurdles of finding a place to work when traveling.
The AltSpace website has the Coworking Visa details as this as well as the Coworking Wiki Visa page.
We are looking forward to AltSpace members visiting other locations as well as members from around the world coming to AltSpace.
Back when we launched AltSpace I had to come up with some names to describe the membership options we had. At the time we used ‘HotDesk’ and ‘Anchor’. Snazzy eh?
This week we have renamed the plans to ‘Nomads’ and ‘Residents’. We have also tweaked the agreement changing some of the aspects. As always the most recent version of the AltSpace members agreement is online.
When talking about AltSpace and coworking a statement along the line of ‘oh, like a serviced office then?’ The answer that I currently use is ‘kinda’ and then try to explain how coworking is different from a serviced office.
In general a serviced office has a private office with space for 1-3 people. You then have the option to get Internet access, telephones, fax service and other ‘business services’. The meeting rooms and board room often come at an extra cost. Most things are based on ‘usage’ which you get to decide to use or not.
To give an idea a colleague said he just rented a serviced office shortly before AltSpace opened just one block away. It has desks for 2, or 3 at a pinch for $2,600 per month. They then quoted ‘high speed Internet access’ at a further $1,000 a month and use of meeting rooms at $60 per hour. He has the private area for him and one other but anything else he does the billing starts. He also lacks the interaction with others as they are each walled off from each other. This is fine for a private conversation or phone call but 95% or more the walls are not required.
At AltSpace we have desks and chairs which are probably better than most serviced offices. We have two meeting rooms, library/lounge area, complete kitchen with tea, coffee, etc. also have WiFi and 24/7 access. All for the same monthly cost. The cost for 2 based on the above setup would be $1,000 or less. Only 25% of the equivalent serviced office costs. As well as that you can interact with those around you and make private calls in one of the meeting rooms if required.
The one thing, other than cost, that a serviced office has that AltSpace does not is the ability to store documents to any degree. If you are a lawyer or HR consultant and have lots of dead trees around you then serviced office could be better option for you.
This is a quick guide to the difference. Another key thing is coworking is very much aimed at the individual and not the company. While AltSpace does have a 2 person company working out of the office it is very much aimed at the individual and the interaction of everyone in the office. A serviced office provider seems more aimed at the client company and not about the community of those in the offices.
We’re hosting the next Wellington PHP usersgroup meet up, right here at AltSpace on Thursday the 4th of September.
If you’re interested in PHP (even just a little), you should come along. You can RSVP at meetup.com.