From: Sally Khudairi (sk@zotgroup.com)
Date: Thu Sep 21 2000 - 08:33:00 PDT
Great to hear. And just this morning I was thinking of chucking out my Revo
in frustration that nobody seems to be able to interface with it.
- S
----- Original Message -----
From: Gregory Alan Bolcer <gbolcer@endtech.com>
To: FoRK <fork@xent.com>
Sent: Wednesday, September 20, 2000 3:07 PM
Subject: Anti- Anti-WAP
> See, you can do useful stuff with it....
> The Psion Revo and the Nokia 7110 talking
> over the IR port is cool stuff.
>
> Greg
>
>
http://search.ft.com/search/multi/globalarchive.jsp?docId=000920000752&query
=MAGI+WAP&resultsShown=20&resultsToRequest=100
>
> SURVEY - FT TELECOMMS: More business applications needed:
> RESEARCH TO EXTEND WAP SERVICES By Joia Shillingford:
> Improved software will expand the range of professional
> applications, something that could convert Wap from mere
> consumer gizmo to essential corporate technology
> Financial Times, Sep 20, 2000, 769 words
>
> Is Wap just the latest gizmo or something genuinely useful?
> MagiWap software, which lets business travellers call up
> files left in the office, is one example of a new breed of
> Wireless application protocol (Wap) services designed to
> solve real-life problems.
>
> "Lots of solutions are also being developed to connect
> mobile workers with information on the corporate intranet -
> an in-house version of the internet," according to Margaret
> Rice-Jones, managing director of Psion Computer.
> Even that age-old problem of how to send and receive e-mails
> on the move without carrying a back-breaking laptop, is
> starting to be solved.
>
> But for the busy businessperson separated from their files,
> MagiWap can solve an all-too common problem. If you are
> about to start work on a report but the file you need is on
> your office PC or you are in the office and it is sitting on
> your laptop at home, software from UK-based Tadpole
> Technology can help.
>
> It effectively turns your Wap mobile into a remote control
> device, that switches files from one computer to another.
> For example, you could switch a file from your office
> machine to the laptop in your hotel. Or, if you did not have
> the laptop with you, you could just send the file to the
> hotel fax.
>
> To use the system, your Wap mobile needs to be loaded with
> MagiWap software which can be downloaded free from the net
> by using the Wap browser in the phone to connect to
> www.magi.endeavors.org.
>
> The system works by making all the computer-based devices
> you use behave like secure computer servers on the internet.
> So the mobile is effectively transferring files at the
> user's request between one internet site and another.
> MagiWap software will also need to be downloaded on to the
> various computer devices to make them resemble servers on
> the internet. This is also available free from the website ,
> but Tadpole will be selling related workflow software to
> companies which want to include mobile workers in their work
> processes.
>
> For example, your boss could, in theory, sign-off your
> expenses from a mobile while playing golf with a supplier.
> The software, developed by California-based Endeavors
> Technology, acquired by Tadpole in March, grew out of
> research carried out at the University of California into
> the worldwide web and its use across mobile workforces and
> multiple organisations.
>
> Bernard Hulme, group chief executive at Tadpole, says:
> "Instead of just using Wap phones to read public broadcast
> information, such as stock prices, weather, business news
> and sports scores, our software allows phone users to obtain
> 'private broadcast information' - business plans, price
> lists, research documents - as well as those of colleagues
> within a trusted workgroup. The mobile user can read, edit,
> e-mail, fax or print documents, such as Microsoft Office
> 2000 documents, from a Wap mobile."
>
> It is also possible to retrieve files through a computer
> firewall, software many corporate networks have in place to
> prevent hackers getting in. The only drawback of the system
> is that the computer devices you want to retrieve files from
> have to be left switched on and connected to a modem or
> network.
>
> Mr Hulme says: "So far, the computer industry has not really
> succeeded in developing software that brings mobile workers
> into company processes."
>
> One company that is trying to is personal organiser company,
> Psion. The new Revo makes it much easier to connect to the
> internet and use e-mail than its previous organiser. So long
> as you have an infrared mobile, the Nokia 7110 Wap phone for
> example, you simply line up the phone with the Revo's
> infrared port, click on a few commands on the organiser, and
> hey presto (plus the usual Wap wait), you are connected to
> Psion's Wap site.
>
> It is also easy, using the Revo's Opera browser to connect
> to non-Psion Wap sites such as www.wap.yahoo.com and,
> because an e-mail ID is built into the Psion, you can send
> and receive messages.
>
> It is a shame, however, that a mobile phone is not built
> into the new Revo as lining up devices while on the move
> could be tedious. However, Ms Rice-Jones says: "We really
> think General Packet Radio Service (a higher-speed mobile
> data technology) will have a significant impact on mobile
> data and we're waiting for that to be widely available
> before launching an integrated device."
>
> Yet even with the limitations of today's technology, it is
> possible to see how a portable device such as this could
> help companies come up with solutions to real-life problems.
> For example, field engineers could connect to the company
> intranet via Wap to get information on how to fix an obscure
> problem.
>
> In Finland, service personnel working on site for Helsinki
> Energy will have access to a vast company database using
> Nokia Wap services over a Tetra mobile radio network. The
> services have been developed in conjunction with Helsinki
> Energy and another Finnish company, Tekla Corporation, a
> software business.
>
> Kari Suneli, senior vice president, professional mobile
> radio at Nokia Networks, believes Wap over Tetra technology,
> which reduces Wap waiting time, will help open up the market
> for professional Wap services.
>
> With better software becoming available and the sheer
> portability of Wap devices, Wap could be moving closer to
> becoming genuinely useful.
>
> Copyright © The Financial Times Limited
>
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