L e a d   S t o r i e s:
Publishing For Nothing, Science For Free
Content Management Systems - Hot Out Of Kindergarten - Look Set To Make The Grade

O t h e r   N e w s:
Hurricane Insurance Claims Processed In Minutes With Wireless Technology
Wearable Computers Bring Army Reprieve From 70 Deep Knee Bends An Hour
Flight Navigation Charts Go 3-D - Replacing Print & Electronic Versions
24/7 Virtual Reference Service Puts Librarians On Call Day & Night
Air Mobility Command Gets Electronic "Technical Bible"

A s i d e s:
Stumped? Take Heed From The Farmer’s Daughter

F a v o r i t e s:
Popular articles from recent issues

LEAD STORIES

Publishing For Nothing, Science For Free

Open-access advocates and government committees are lobbying to make scientific literature freely available; publishers want to know how they’ll pay their bills.

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Content Management Systems - Hot Out Of Kindergarten - Look Set To Make The Grade

DCLnews interviews Tony Byrne of CMS Watch, who says content management systems (CMS) are where the web was five years ago - but are catching up fast.

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OTHER NEWS

Hurricane Insurance Claims Processed In Minutes With Wireless Technology

Wireless laptops, GPS, and automated claims processing applications are helping the insurance industry speed up processing claims for losses arising in the aftermath of the hurricanes that hit Florida in August. To locate customers in hard hit areas, who were stranded without power or telephones, claims adjusters used Global Positioning Systems to pinpoint home addresses.

Information about damage was entered into wireless-enabled laptops, along with insurance claims and digital photos of damaged vehicles. This was sent to claims offices for processing. Approval e-mails were then sent out to claims adjustors who were able to write customers checks on the spot - within minutes of the whole process beginning.

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Wearable Computers Bring Army Reprieve From 70 Deep Knee Bends An Hour

During Operation Iraqi Freedom commanders of Army Stryker vehicles, equipped with Blue Force Tracker systems, had no choice but to do 70 deep knee bends an hour - until they adopted wearable computers. The Blue Force Tracker technology, which reveals allied and enemy positions on a digital map, proved highly effective. But it had one downside: Commanders couldn’t monitor the Blue Force Tracker screens inside their vehicles and watch the battlefield at the same time.

“They had to duck down into the vehicle, check the displays, and pop back out of the hatch - [they were] doing this 70 to 80 times an hour,” says Bruce Westcoat of Microvision Inc., makers of a wearable computer system that is being supplied to the Army.

The device, called NOMAD, has a head-mounted display and allows Stryker commanders to view their Blue Force Tracker displays while surveying the battlefield. “Commanders needed a display that they could use while standing out of the hatch,” adds Westcoat. “They wanted to look past the information at the horizon, but see the information in their field of view in case it changed.”

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See also:  Fighter Pilot Heads-Up Technology For Honda Mechanics

Flight Navigation Charts Go 3-D - Replacing Print & Electronic Versions

Flight map maker Jeppesen is working on a three-dimensional “synthetic vision” system that will show pilots life-like images of the terrain around them. The technology is still being tested, but within a few years is expected to replace not only printed charts (a 70-year-old technology still in use), but also modern electronic charts. Jeppesen officials say synthetic vision has the potential to change how pilots receive and interpret information.

“Essentially, we’re creating a tunnel that pilots drive the airplane through. It’s a very intuitive and visual way to navigate,” says Jeppesen spokesman Eric Anderson. “It’s a more complete view of the outside world. It increases the situational awareness of the crew.”

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See also:  Keeping A Pilot's Maps Up-To-Date Is No Simple Matter

24/7 Virtual Reference Service Puts Librarians On Call Day & Night

The State Library of Ohio has set up a 24/7 virtual reference service that gives residents of the state access to information, regardless of the time of day. Funded by a grant from the Federal Institute of Museums and Library Services (IMLS), the online service lets users ask questions on a variety of topics and chat in real time with a librarian.

Resources from business, finance, health, and medicine, to science, technology, and genealogy, are all accessible on the website. Tutors are available to assist students from 2:00 pm to 10:00 pm seven days a week. “To use the service, all that Ohio residents need to do is log on to www.KnowItNow.org, and enter their zip code,” says Joanne Butler, State Librarian of Ohio.

Air Mobility Command Gets Electronic “Technical Bible”

With Air Mobility Command aircrews and weapons systems pushing closer to combat zones, they have been issued electronic manuals detailing tactics, techniques, and procedures for wartime missions. “The adoption of ... our combat-fundamentals manual is an appropriate reaction to successfully accomplishing future airlift and tanker combat missions,” says AMC Vice Commander, Lt. Gen John Baker.

The manual, dubbed a “technical bible,” is on compact disc and has separate volumes addressing specifics for each of AMC’s cargo and tanker aircraft. Each volume has 350 to 500 pages describing aircraft performance, defensive systems, and mission planning operations. The CD also includes graphics, videos, tables and charts.

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ASIDES

Stumped? Take Heed From The Farmer’s Daughter

Next time your boss presents you with an insoluble problem, don’t frazzle your brain with logic - do what the farmer’s daughter did in this old Indian fable and think out of the box...

http://www.dclab.com/pebblefable.asp

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