Trucking Technology Report - Oct. 20
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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:
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Cost-Saving Idea: Virtual Warehouses
The rise of e-marketplaces are encouraging another type of sharing in the form of virtual warehouses. Although the idea that competitors would consider combining their inventories in a real-world or virtual warehouse was once unthinkable, the spirit of collaboration fostered by e-marketplaces has encouraged companies to consider forging tighter bonds with their rivals.
IBM is currently working on a warehouse project with trucking firm Ryder System. The companies are developing a system to enable companies to combine multiple warehouse operations in a single planning system.
Meanwhile, IBM e-business partner i2 Technologies (ITWO) is wooing three major airlines for a project to share a virtual warehouse of spare aircraft parts, parts that are expensive and rarely needed but must be available. Interactive Week Online (10/16/00); Duvall, Mel
Coming Attractions In Cell Phones
Many mobile phone manufacturers are gearing up to introduce their new smart phone models in time for Christmas. Internet access is a basic characteristic of these new phones. And manufacturers, in combination with other telecom companies, are already working to develop a wide variety of applications for future models.
Many developers are interested in incorporating flash storage technology into smart phones. Flash storage increases the amount of storage space available on the device, and could be used to give phones more PDA capabilities. Another way to increase functionality is too improve the Web server the phone communicates with. Sun Microsystems (SUNW) created its Java 2 Platform for this purpose. Nokia and Motorola (MOT) plan to introduce Java-based phones in 2001.
Bluetooth technology can also provide a short-range answer for connecting phones with other computer devices for data exchanges. And some companies are focusing on developing technology to be used with the Voice XML (VoXML) standard. The technology could enable users to surf the Web via voice commands.
Location services are also likely to play a prominent role for wireless users. The FCC's requirement that operators be able to track customers to within 400 feet for emergency purposes is also expected to create a wide variety of commercial applications. Additionally, despite being at least a year away, GPRS technology could increase transmission speeds to up to 2 Mbps.
Finally, some designers are developing technologies for mobile phones to download MP3 files. Entreprenuer (10/00) Vol. 28, No. 10, P. 34; Brown, Eric
OFDM: Not Ready for Prime Time?
OFDM may eventually win out over competing wireless technologies, such as CDMA and TDMA. The standard already has some major backers in Lucent Technologies (LU), Cisco Systems (CSCO), Philips Semiconductors, and Nokia. And OFDM could overtake CDMA as the preferred technology for operating new generation wireless LANs. But such supporters as Cisco have not yet established a substantial market for the technology.
Another company, AT&T (T), is using OFDM in its wireless local loop and fixed broadband access services, which are still under development. The firm would not release details about the debut of its OFDM system, which it refers to as Project Angel.
OFDM's main competitor remains CDMA. But according to Larry Swaysey, an analyst with Allied Business Intelligence, OFDM is seen by the industry as an improvement over CDMA. However, its critics point to the need to further develop the technology and wonder how effective it will be in diverse applications. Cost is also brought up as an issue since OFDM would have to function over a wide range of network settings.
But the technology is seen by many analysts as the best standard for multi-path distortion. Adaptive Broadband's (ADAP) vice-president of marketing, Todd Carothers, says cost concerns remain the biggest reason why OFDM has not been implemented on a wider scale. Some companies, such as Lucent, Cisco, and Gigabit Wireless, have attempted to combine OFDM with smart antenna technology. Cisco is combining the two technologies into a system that will not require line of sight. Americas Network (10/01/00) Vol. 104, No. 15, P. 71; Sweeney, Dan
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