Bob Brewin

CIOs from hospitals large and small remain reluctant to deploy paperless medical record and computer physician-order entry (CPOE) systems.

No one in need of a plumber wants to wait long for help to arrive, which is why Roto-Rooter Inc. plans to use advanced wireless technology to automate dispatch functions for the 1,500 plumbers and drain cleaners at its company-owned operations.

Intel Corp. is working to develop what it calls a "wireless ecosystem" that's aimed at eventually allowing users with any kind of computing device to tap into any kind of network worldwide.

Old Dominion Freight Line Inc. said this week that it expects a return on investment within two years of its US$3 million rollout of Symbol Technologies Inc. wireless handheld computers and bar code scanners to its 1,700 drivers.

FedEx Corp. in February plans to start deploying new custom-built handheld devices to its 40,000 FedEx Express couriers as part of a US$150 million investment that the company expects to yield savings of about $20 million per year.

Two aerospace companies hope to use high-altitude aircraft or airships to provide wide geographic coverage for cellular, wide-band data and high-definition television at a fraction of the cost of satellites and without the thousands of towers required to operate a cellular telephone system.

LAS VEGAS

The U.S. Secret Service has hooked up Pringles cans to notebook computers equipped with wireless LAN access cards and begun "war driving" around Washington and other cities in an effort to sniff out unsecured WLANs.