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To: djane who wrote (7393)	9/15/1999 4:44:00 PM
From: David Wiggins	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 29987

DAT Announces Development of 'Sky Vision 2000' Commercial Vehicle Mounted Anti-Theft Camera Unit Incorporating Satellite Data Communications see bolded areas below SANTA BARBARA, Calif., Sept. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Diversified Auto Technology (DAT), a U.S. transport electronic development company, announced its plans to introduce ``Sky Vision 2000,' its On-Board Anti-Theft camera unit for commercial trailers. Big Brother? ... you bet, but for a good purpose. Soon, fleet owners and individual owners of commercial vehicles that carry the daily cargo we need to survive, can enjoy what only governments in the past have relished ... ``spying.' In this case it will be to their advantage as the spying will be on their equipment and their cargo. With the reported estimates of stolen commercial trailer cargo in the United States ranging from $6 billion to $12 billion a year, DAT's engineers were prompted to develop and incorporate this technology into it's ``Vehicle Data Recorder System' (VDRS). The system is planned to be introduced by the end of the year. A recent quote from Transport Topics, a trucking industry internet and print newspaper, stated that Assistant FBI Director Thomas Pickard said, ``Vehicle and cargo thefts are becoming crimes of choice for organized crime groups.' The VDRS currently under development is comprised of Accident Recordation, Anti-Theft, and Electronic Log Book technologies as its base system. Weigh- in-Motion, Electronic Fee Collection, Global Positioning (GPS), Wireless Communications (Cellular Satellite, and Two-Way Mobil Radio), Voice-Command, Voice Synthesis and Navigation technologies will be offered as modular or up- gradable ``plug-in' options. ``Convergence' is DAT's goal. With the addition of the ``Sky Vision 2000' technology, the VDRS truly will be remarkable as the only complete system serving the trucking industry that integrates protection and control. The ``Sky Vision 2000' will contain a number of strategically located vehicle mounted miniaturized cameras that will be capable of capturing images in a dark environment as well as daylight. The proprietary software will be configured to recognize a theft condition, snap a sequential set of photo images and immediately transmit the images via satellite communication to a central North American monitoring facility. Should any attempt be made to destroy or tamper with the vehicular mounted VDRS prior to a cargo theft, the proprietary software will recognize the attempt and transmit that an emergency condition exists. In addition, high intensity vehicular mounted strobe lamps will automatically be engaged to flash intermittently upon receiving predetermined software instructions. The vehicle operator will also have the ability to manually engage this option. The strobe lamps, capable of being seen at long distances, will produce a ``light show' comparable to an outdoor rock concert. Such a ``light show' will be advantageous in alerting law enforcement officials to the possibility of a cargo theft in progress. The considerations as to which satellite telecommunications company DAT will be utilizing still remains to be decided as both Iridium (18% owned by Motorola) and ICO Global Communications (British) are currently in a bankruptcy reorganization position.(ed. LOL) The new Globalstar venture to DAT's understanding will launch this month. DAT foresees the tens of millions of dollars of anticipated satellite telecommunications revenue that would be generated yearly from the VDRS to be the ideal marketing dream for any telecommunications entity owning satellites. In addressing the worldwide problem of commercial cargo theft, DAT is informed that the U.S., European, and Mexican trucking industry suffers an estimated yearly loss of $10 billion to $20 billion dollars. The ``Sky Vision 2000' feature is anticipated to be available by the first quarter of next year. SOURCE: Transport Topics, July 5 1999 ``Cargo Thieves Stealing on Demand,' by Daniel Whitten

To: djane who wrote (7393)	9/16/1999 12:01:00 AM
From: John Stichnoth	Respond to of 29987

Response to pharmacon2k (reposted by djane from Yahoo) Liked the post. A couple (well, several) small points: The 7 million max subscribers must be spread around the globe. The US alone cannot handle that many. (I think you know this, but the statement in your post was ambiguous). One of the reasons that ATT's service is "stable", probably, it its analog component. Because of the early, fairly complete, analog buildout, it still provides more complete coverage than any of the digital alternatives. ATT has, I believe, used the TDMA as filler, to provide more capacity in given locations, while avoiding ripping out their analog presence. This also seems to have been Bell Atlantic's approach. The idea is that the analog works perfectly fine, you just wouldn't put it in today because the cost per minute of capacity is so high compared to digital. And this is one reason why CDMA will eventually supplant TDMA and GSM, even if they can't work out the 3G details (which they will). And I believe you are correct that the market is there. There are numerous examples of valid market areas posted on this thread. Marine. Logging. Oil. "Swiss cheese". etc. However, the frustration derives from a valid point. It's been known for a long time that handsets would be needed. There has also been some "slide to the right" in getting the business onstream. Some of this slide is inevitable, probably. But that doesn't make it any less frustrating. And some of the problems that have led to the slide have been foreseeable. And for forseeable issues to cause delays that lead to dilution of the early shareholders is not good. Like you, I think very highly of management. But, I have no problem in using this forum as a platform for discussing management mistakes, and perhaps helping management anticipate problems or fix them. The knowledge of the posters on this thread can be a valuable resource to management. I am long. And, I will continue to be long right through announcement of the 4Q99 results. Then, we'll see. Best regards, JS PS--djane, I thought this was posted by pharmacon2k. Missed the fact that it was a reposting by you. So, maybe he won't see it, but I generally write for the thread generally anyway. :o).