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To: Snow Shoe who wrote (1683)	10/17/1999 8:03:00 PM
From: KLP	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3376

Taxi Service, MCOM, on info Hwy in SFO KLP siliconinvestor.com Taxi Service On Info Superhighway In San Francisco By Michael Kahn Oct 17 12:01am ET SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Cross-town traffic is no problem for those navigating the information superhighway in San Francisco. As part of its campaign to provide all-encompassing Internet access, Yahoo! Inc. has outfitted 10 San Francisco cabs with web-ready laptop computers to let passengers surf away as they move through town. ``This is one more way to allow consumers to access the Internet beyond home and beyond work,' Luanne Calvert, a Yahoo! spokeswoman said. There is no extra charge for passengers to ride in them or log onto the Internet. The purple and yellow cabs are easy to spot as they whip through the city plastered with Yahoo!'s logo. But on the inside the cars are like any other cab, save for the small laptop computer jammed between the front seats and the wireless modem resting on the dashboard. The computer itself is only about the size of a thin, hardback novel and plugs into the cigarette lighter. A metal cord ensures that no one makes off with the machine. There is also no mouse so customers instead use a stylus -- a plastic, pen-shaped device. Mizran Rahman, who drove the first Yahoo! cab, says the response from customers has been mostly positive and that many people are calling specifically to ask for his taxi. The most popular uses of the computer have been checking sports scores, trading stocks or checking the weather, Rahman said. Better yet, the tips are higher, said Rahman, who eagerly assisted any customer having trouble navigating on the information superhighway. ``A lot of people use it,' he said. ``As soon as they get in my cab they ask where the computer is.' Yahoo! has a four-month deal with the city to keep the Internet taxis on the road. The cabs are equipped with NEC Corp.'s computers and Metricom Inc.'s wireless Ricochet modems. Yahoo!, though, declined to disclose the financial details of the deal. The company may also expand the program to other cities if passengers warm to the idea. ``We are looking at all kinds of places,' she said. ``We are rolling this out slowly, so the next likely step would be other cities.' But some said using the computer as the cab navigated San Francisco's notorious hills proved a bit tricky. ``It's a little hard to get your pointer in the right place when you hit the bumps,' said passenger Beverly Shoemaker, who checked the weather report while on her way to the airport. Other passengers said the glare from the sun made the screen hard to read or complained that working on a computer in a moving vehicle made them carsick. Attorney Chuck Juliana flagged the cab not for its snazzy exterior or chance to surf the web but because he had only 15 minutes to get across town to file some legal briefs. ``Usually when I take a cab it's because I'm in a hurry,' he said. In fact, not one of the customers who took the cab realized it was Internet-ready until they stepped inside. And with the average cab ride in the city lasting only about 10 minutes, many passengers said the computer seemed more suited to longer rides like trips to the airport. Still most of the passengers fiddled around with the computers, some with more success than others. ``I'm lost without my mouse,' said Steve Garese, a metal sheetworker on his way between bars, saying the computer would be useful for finding betting lines for sports games. There are also occasional technical glitches such as when the city's tall buildings block the wireless connection, causing the computer to go offline. But for the most part the connection is faster than the average home computer.