speaking of WRS: once software ported, hope WRS can steer customers ptsc way:
New software promises to connect the Internet to everything
By Robert Lemos, ZDNet
Check your stocks while you pump your gas?
Perhaps not yet, but interactive TV software maker Network Computer Inc.
wants to help businesses put the Internet in everything from personal
digital assistants to -- yes -- gas pumps.
"We approaching a point in the digital age when everything from
telephones to personal digital assistants will be equipped with software
connecting to the Internet," said David Roux, CEO of NCI. "This enables
users to send all sorts of content," said Randy Brasche, spokesman for
NCI. "It might be a simple thing, where the Internet feeds ads to a gas
pump LCD."
The Redwood Shores, Calif., company on Monday announced its eNavigator
software platform for connecting so-called embedded devices to the
Internet. Also called information appliances, these machines could
include phones, microwaves, personal digital assistants, Internet
switches and gas pumps that receive data electronically.
The first product using the new technology is a palm-top computer from
Japanese electronics giant Fujitsu Ltd.
What's on the fridge tonight, honey?
Such applications are expected to explode, according to a study by
market researcher International Data Corp. The firm estimates that the
information appliance market will hit 41 million units by 2002.
NCI's market is not limited to getting Web pages on your washing
machine. Home automation and workflow management could be major markets,
too.
"A factory worker could have new orders sent to his machine over the
Internet," said Brasche. "Or you might be able to control the
temperature of your house."
The eNavigator software requires less than 1 MB of memory and integrates
with the embedded operating system of devices. The software allows
e-mail, Web browsing, automatic software updates and includes full HTML
and JavaScript engines.
It's not a product that will be sold in stores, however.
Companies that want to build devices with the Internet built-in will
have to contact NCI's partner, Wind River Systems Inc., whose VxWorks
development system will include the ability to add in the eNavigator
functionality.
From Mars to the microwave
"You can't really use the Internet or your telephone, without going
through our embedded systems somewhere," said Jerry Fiddler, chairman
for Wind River, which created the operating system for the Pathfinder
mission to Mars.
Wind River helped Fujitsu embed the eNavigator software into its newest
product, the InterTop, sold only in Japan. The product includes e-mail
and Web browsing.
"Through our relationship with Wind River and Fujitsu, we envision
eNavigator inside millions of information appliances," Roux said.
See Also:
Get help for your computer problems at the Help! Channel
Read hot news at ZDNN
Work from home? Get good advice from the Small Business Advisor
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Index | Top Stories | Business | Tech | Politics | World | Health |
Entertainment | Sports | Local
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Questions or Comments
Copyright © 1998 ZDNet. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in
part in any form or medium without express written permission of ZDNet
is prohibited. ZDNet and the ZDNet logo are trademarks of Ziff-Davis
Publishing Company. |
