Jeff Goldman

In a recent interview, Jeff Goldman spoke with Dan Mattox of the Walt Disney World Resort's Information Services department, and found there's a lot more wireless behind Mickey Mouse than you might expect. Next time you visit Florida's Walt Disney World Resort, you may want to take a closer look at the landscaping that surrounds you: that tree just might have a wireless antenna concealed in its branches. In fact, Disney's been using wireless technology for almost 15 years. In various locations throughout Disney's parks and resorts, a wireless network provides connectivity for everything from mobile food carts to warehouse logistics. In a recent interview, Dan Mattox, vice president of client services for Corporate Information Services at the Walt Disney World Resort, said the park's use of wireless technology dates back to 1988, when they started using 900MHz for po... (more)

iPhone or iRumor?

It's been around for years: a rumor that Apple is going to revolutionize the market with a radical new smartphone. A recent New York Times article sparked a new round of discussion on the issue ­ but is there really anything behind the rumor? Back in August, a New York Times article entitled, "Apple's Chief in the Risky Land of the Handhelds" sparked a new round of speculation on an age-old rumor. Citing a range of factors, from Apple's ongoing software agreement with Pixo, Inc., to features in the newest Macintosh operating system, the article suggested that the company may be ... (more)

The Wireless Weatherman

Every day, more than four million viewers nationwide watch weather forecaster Tony Perkins' reports on ABC TV's Good Morning America. What most of those viewers don't know is that wireless technology is essential to much of the work that Perkins does, from onsite reporting in the aftermath of a tropical storm to interviews in the crowd during Good Morning America's summer concert series. Depending on the situation, Perkins' wireless equipment can include a wireless lavalier microphone clipped to his shirt, a wireless IFB earpiece, and a wireless handheld microphone. "For most of... (more)

Symbian On the Rise

Symbian, Ltd. (www.symbian.com) was founded in 1998 by Nokia, Ericsson, Motorola, and Psion, using Psion's EPOC OS as a starting point for its new system. David Wood, Symbian's executive vice president, explains that the aim of the founders was to create a standard operating system for advanced mobile phones. "It was getting harder and harder to use the existing proprietary operating systems to quickly and inexpensively come out with new technologies," he says. By 1998, Wood says, it was already abundantly clear that operating systems of the time were being pushed to their limit... (more)

The Windup Phone

For anyone who uses a mobile phone on a regular basis, it's an all too familiar scenario. In the middle of an important call, the unimaginable happens: that annoying beep, the blinking red light, and your battery is dead. If you're on the phone with a friend, it's annoying; in an emergency, it can be catastrophic. There are a number of common ways to recharge a phone, of course, including a variety of home and car chargers. But what do you do when you're on the move? For outdoor activities and as a backup in case of an emergency, there aren't many options. Recently, a number of... (more)