Trucking Technology Report - July 9
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Both the online report and e-mail are sponsored by @Track Communications, a supplier of wireless communications and dispatch services.
Today's Technology Headlines:
- LightSurf Piggybacks a Tiny Camera on a Cell Phone
- Port of Seattle Gearing Up to Do More Via Internet
- AT&T Finishes Wireless Spinoff
- Home Depot Acquires Avaya's Interaction Management
LightSurf Piggybacks a Tiny Camera on a Cell Phone
Philippe Kahn, the founder of LightSurf, is starting to market technology that will be able to send pictures--with voice attachments--from wireless phones to other phones, handheld devices, or PCs using wireless networks.LightSurf's technology is designed to conform the picture to the receiving device, and according to Kahn, the entire process should cost only 20 cents to 25 cents a shot and less than a minute to complete. Under the scenario envisaged by LightSurf, a user would attach a small digital camera to a cell phone, enabling him or her to send pictures as well as voice messages.
LightSurf technology is already being used in a Kodak digital photography system called Kodak Picture Center, which has been installed in a number of major drugstore chains, including Rite-Aid and CVS.
Eventually, users will also be able to gain access by using their cell phones. A num-ber of other software companies are trying to develop similar systems, and several camera manufacturers have brought out digital camera add-ons for hand-held devices like Palm Pilots, as well as for cellular phones. New York Times (07/09/01) P. C4; Flynn, Laurie J.
Port of Seattle Gearing Up to Do More Via Internet
The Port of Seattle recently approved a $10.7 million project to make its Web site fully interactive, allowing both clients and commercial tenants to conduct business online.The port will also create an internal network to move paper-based transactions to the Internet, letting port employees submit expense reports and manage construction documents online. Construction plans will be accessible online to both port managers and private sector contractors.
The port will also Web-enable its slip reservation and moorage queue systems. The elimination of copying expenses will save the port $100,000, estimates CTO Bill Swedish. Puget Sound Business Journal Online (07/09/01); Wilhelm, Steve
AT&T Finishes Wireless Spinoff
AT&T intends to finish its spinoff of AT&T Wireless to shareholders today. The spinoff calls for AT&T shareholders who chose recently not to exchange all of their shares for AT&T Wireless stock to get approximately a third of a share in AT&T Wireless for every share they possess in AT&T.AT&T announced last year that it intended to break itself up into four separate com-panies, namely AT&T Consumer, AT&T Business, AT&T Broadband, and AT&T Wireless. While analysts are not too optimistic about the short-term chances for AT&T Wireless, the spinoff does have a number of good consequences for the company. For one thing, AT&T Wireless will become the biggest publicly traded wireless company in the country, while its new independence will enable the company to more easily compete during the current period of upheaval and rapid change in the wireless industry.
In addition, the wireless company will now find it much easier to establish alliances with major operators overseas, where the more widespread adoption of wireless services has encouraged the expansion of such communications companies as NTT DoCoMo in Japan and Vodafone in the United Kingdom. New York Times (07/09/01) P. C2; Romero, Simon
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Home Depot Acquires Avaya's Interaction Management
Home Depot intends to polish its customer relationship management (CRM) and supply-chain management offerings by acquiring Avaya's Interaction Management for MultiChannel CRM and licensing IBMMQ Series middleware and EnableNet Data Integrator from CommerceQuest as a replacement for its proprietary supply-chain systems.The Avaya product will be the keystone for a new customer-service strategy in which customer calls will be routed from local stores to centralized regional call centers. The new supply-chain management system will enable store managers and supply-chain and business partners to access sales transaction data that can be transmitted in real time both ways.
Home Depot is also attempting to integrate standard software with proprietary applications through IBM's DB2 and Informix database systems, boosting the supply chain's efficiency and providing data to people through multiple devices, according to IT director Charlie Weston. InformationWeek Online (06/29/01); Rosen, Cheryl
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