Technology Briefs - Nov. 29 - Dec. 5
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The Latest Headlines:
- Proposed CARB Diesel Rule Delayed
- FedEx to Deploy New Hand-Held Units
- New Orleans Sets up First Free City-Run WiFi
- Cingular Adds New Push-to-Talk Service
- Feds Settle Alternate-Fuel Vehicle Suit
- FedEx to Deploy New Hand-Held Units
Proposed CARB Diesel Rule Delayed
An official with the California Air Resources Board said last week owners and operators of heavy-duty diesel trucks will not be required to show proof by Jan. 1 that the vehicle’s engine meets federal emission standards for the model year in which it was manufactured.The proposal will be considered at the board’s meetings Jan. 26-27, said Karen Ceasar, a CARB spokeswoman, rather than Dec. 8, as previously reported. (Click here for previous coverage.)
Ceasar said she did not know when the new rule would take effect if it is approved in January. Thelma Guerrero
FedEx to Deploy New Hand-Held Units
Package carrier FedEx Corp. said it will provide 50,000 couriers working in the United States and 60 other countries with a new hand-held computer it said will make it easier for drivers to access data on the road.Traci Barnett, a FedEx spokeswoman, said PowerPad will allow drivers to quote rates for customers by accessing the Web site rather than having to consult a large book that is typically kept in a truck.
Barnett said the company will deploy 40,000 of the units in the United States by the end of 2006 and will replace the FedEx Supertracker hand-held device.
The units will also alert a driver making a pickup or delivery about another transaction at the same location, Barnett said. FedEx developed the U.S. version of PowerPad with wireless equipment manufacturer Motorola Inc. and the international system with Intermec Technologies Corp., Barnett said.
FedEx is ranked No. 2 on the Transport Topics 100 list of the largest U.S. and Canadian for-hire carriers. Transport Topics
New Orleans Sets up First Free City-Run WiFi
In the wake of Hurricane Katrina and to help boost its stalled economy, the city of New Orleans is offering the nation's first free wireless Internet network owned and run by a major city, the Associated Press reportedNew Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin (D) said the wiresss fidelity, or WiFi, system would benefit residents and small businesses who still can't get their Internet service restored over the city's washed out telephone network, AP reported.
The system began operation Tuesday in the central business district and French Quarter and is set to be available throughout the city in about a year, AP said.
Hundreds of similar projects in other cities have met with stiff opposition from phone and cable companies, which have poured money into legislative bills aimed at blocking competition from government agencies, including a state law in Louisiana that needed to be sidestepped for the New Orleans project, AP reported. Transport Topics
Cingular Adds New Push-to-Talk Service
Cingular wireless service said Monday it is adding a next-generation “push to talk” walkie-talkie type service with new features, in an effort to compete with other companies already providing such services, the Associate Press reported.By integrating walkie-talkie and traditional cellular technology, Cingular said its service will be able to be used by executives or employees at job sites.
“Cingular is taking the walkie-talkie service that is so important to blue-collar workers and adding wireless features to make it just as valuable in the white-collar world," Joe Lueckenhoff, vice president of business services, said in a statement.
Cingular is jointly owned by AT&T Inc. (formerly SBC Communications) and BellSouth Corp. Transport Topics
Feds Settle Alternate-Fuel Vehicle Suit
Four federal agencies settled a lawsuit with environmental groups and agreed to buy thousands of vehicles that run on natural gas, electricity, ethanol, propane and other alternative fuels, the Associated Press reported Wednesday.Under the settlement, the Commerce, Labor and Transportation departments and the Veterans Administration admitted that they violated the federal Energy Policy Act and agreed to buy enough alternative fuel vehicles to meet the law's requirements, AP reported.
Signed by President George W. Bush's father in 1992, the act requires that 75% of new cars and light trucks bought by federal agencies run on alternative fuels. The law was intended to reduce dependence on foreign vehicles, reduce air pollution, spur technological innovation and stimulate the market for such vehicles, AP said.
In April, the Tucson, Ariz.-based Center for Biological Diversity and the San Francisco-based Bluewater Network sued 14 federal agencies for failing to buy enough alternative vehicles to comply with the 1992 law. Transport Topics
