Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, March 7, 1995 TAG: 9503070081
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DAVID BUTLER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
A: If 1993 was the year of the PDA, 1995 is fast becoming the year of the PC (and I don't mean personal computer!). Witness the latest incarnation of what promises to become a permanent appendage to today's on-the-go office worker/mom/ student/citizen - the Personal Communicator.
If early Personal Digital Assistants had a single shortcoming, it was their failure to be sociable. Now that technology has had time to catch up with expectations, the era of "Anytime, Anywhere" communications has finally arrived. A two-way packet radio network is now in place that supports high-speed (4800 bits per second) wireless messaging. The network operates in more than 400 markets across the U.S.
Consider this: A clipboard-sized PDA recently debuted that can send and receive E-mail, send and receive faxes, and access on-line services. An Internet gateway extends its reach to literally millions of addresses in cyberspace. All this from a park bench, a parking lot or a parked airplane!
This revolutionary PDA, excuse me ... Personal Communicator is "wireless ready" right out of the box. In a matter of minutes, you can compose a handwritten or typed message and launch it on its journey through the ether. It could be destined for another communicator, an E-mail address or a fax machine. Incoming messages arrive as if by magic, even when the unit is off!
Packet radio isn't the only way to go wireless. One company produces an oversized portable cellular phone that doubles as a PDA. Its 4.5-inch by 1.5-inch touchscreen supports many of the same functions as other PDAs and organizers. A built-in cellular modem handles remote messaging. Other PDAs are gaining wireless access via an add-on cellular modem.
Perhaps the tougher challenge is to make personal communicators ridiculously simple to operate. The latest products have wisely abandoned handwriting recognition in favor of a touch-sensitive sketch pad with a pop-up on-screen keyboard. Beyond that, the complexity associated with on-line access and electronic messaging must be hidden from the user.
To achieve this, an alliance of respected electronics manufacturers has created an impressive graphical "front end" and communications management program called Magic Cap. It promises to make access to the information highway as easy as using a telephone. As of this writing, two alliance members have introduced Magic Cap personal communicators with others soon to follow.
In a nutshell, Magic Cap is a virtual world filled with metaphors - a personalized desktop, a street lined with businesses, and a hallway lined with rooms. You can write letters on smart stationery and mail them in smart envelopes. Smart stamps ensure that your letters are routed to the appropriate network. You can even liven your messages with musical ditties, personal voice clips or too-cute animations!
Underlying Magic Cap is Telescript, a simple yet deceptively powerful programming environment. If broadly adopted, it could redefine the way we interact with on-line services. Rather than connect to a remote computer, you can launch special messages, called agents, to retrieve information and services on your behalf in the electronic marketplace. Telescript also requires that service providers create agents.
Here's how Telescript might work: You and your spouse are celebrating your anniversary in the city. With your personal communicator in hand, you dispatch an electronic agent armed with instructions to acquire roses, theater tickets, and dinner reservations. Your agent even carries a contingency plan just in case the roses are too expensive or your preferred seats aren't available!
To receive more information on the products discussed in this article, please send $1.50 and a self-addressed envelope to David Butler F-452, Department TWN, in care of the Roanoke Times, P.O. Box 2491, Roanoke, Va. 24010-2491. You'll receive a list of manufacturers, product descriptions and toll-free numbers. You'll also receive information on a unique pager/watch that can receive financial data, weather, sports scores, traffic reports and lottery picks!
by CNB