Bob Brewin

The automobile industry will be using radio frequency identification ( RFID) technology to track parts throughout its supply chain within three to five years

The U.S. Department of Defense last week said it will require all of its suppliers to put radio frequency identification tags on their shipping pallets and cases by January 2005, a mandate that likely will have an even bigger impact than a similar move by Wal-Mart Stores Inc. in June.

The U.S.-backed governing authority in Iraq awarded three mobile phone licenses Monday to companies based in the Middle East, all of which plan to build networks based on European standards, and not a U.S.-developed standard.

The proprietary security system used by Cisco Systems Inc. to protect wireless LANs (WLANs) widely deployed by enterprises can be defeated by a "dictionary attack" designed to crack passwords. To counter the security threat, the company is warning customers to institute strong password policies

Half of the 55,000 pharmacies in the U.S. are due to be connected to an electronic prescription system by year's end as part of a nationwide rollout that's being announced Monday by SureScripts, a technology company founded by two drugstore industry associations.

Dell Inc. posted

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services this week announced a pair of initiatives to kick-start development of a standardized electronic medical records system that could be used nationwide. But some top health care companies said it could take years for the envisioned technology to be broadly adopted.

The Wireless Internet Institute, the United Nations and major Wi-Fi technology vendors Thursday kicked off a global effort here at U.N. headquarters to use wireless LANs and other inexpensive and unregulated wireless technologies to bridge the digital divide in developing nations.