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Handheld Computers Give Sailors a High-Tech Lifeline
From: William Knowles <wk () C4I ORG>
Date: Wed, 21 Feb 2001 16:41:24 -0600
http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGATVN4IHJC.html By D. Ian Hopper Associated Press Writer ABOARD THE USS CONSTELLATION (AP) - Sailors aboard the USS Constellation still look to the stars to help find their way. For a lot of other things, they gaze at their Palms. Handheld computers are bringing a high-tech touch to all hands - or many of them, anyway - on this sprawling ship, one of two steam-powered aircraft carriers still in service. The Navy is providing handheld computers to almost all of its new officers and giving them to graduates of the Naval Academy and other naval programs. "It cuts my workload literally in half," said Lt. Mike "Beemer" Biemiller, handheld computer in tow as he observed a Hornet jet screaming on to the deck and snagging an arrester cable aboard the ship floating in the waters near San Diego. In no time, Biemiller stores the data about the landing into his Palm Pilot, where he could later upload the data easily to the ship's main network. Moving from traditional Navy tools like the sextant - still used each night aboard the Constellation to pinpoint locations by the stars as a backup to satellite navigation - to gear like the Palm is always a logistical and cultural challenge, but the sailors agree it pays off. Before handheld computers were used, a landing signal officer would record onto a paper notebook how well an incoming pilot negotiated the 600-by-200 foot landing strip. When he left the deck, he would have to copy the information into a large binder, then finally type the information on a desktop computer. That is streamlined now by a program one of his colleagues wrote for the Palm Pilot. The concept is sweeping the Navy. A team at the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center in Chesapeake, Va., is developing Palm applications sailors can use at sea. Several programs can replace forms used for tasks such as ordering supplies and performing environmental testing. A program developed by a private company can be used by land forces in conjunction with a Global Positioning Satellite receiver to plot locations of friendly and enemy troops. The widespread distribution of handheld computers has helped boost morale aboard the Constellation and spurred ingenuity by sailors who are developing their own software to automate routine naval tasks. "I remember (Microsoft chairman) Bill Gates once talking about the paperless office. Then I saw this Palm, and said, 'This is it,'" said Lt. Ken Schnider, who developed the program with a fellow pilot on another carrier. The personal communications devices also are used below deck for roping in e-mail from a loved ones far away and entertaining the sailors. "I use games when I'm waiting in line," said Lt. J.G. Alex Mabini of Carlsbad, Calif., an engineering training officer. "There are a lot of lines in the Navy." As if preparations for real warfare are not enough, Schnider, 27, plays an infrared battleship game on his handheld computer. He also has a currency converter and time zone guide for ports. When he noticed that all the ship's TVs were the same model, but missing their remote controls, he loaded a program enabling him to use the handheld computer like a remote to change channels. Card games, Missile Command and Scrabble are also popular among the sailors. "It's amazing how when a tool comes along how quickly it propagates," said Cmdr. Justin Cooper, who uses a handheld to download shipboard e-mail and read it on his own time, without tying up any of the carrier's 750 desktop computers. The Constellation's computer security chief, Petty Officer 1st Class Curtis Sims, is exploring how to let communications technology flourish without compromising secrets and safety. A text scanner looks over every inbound and outbound e-mail, making sure that an officer does not give away sensitive information such as the exact location of the battle group. Users cannot download new programs while on the ship, and programs must be checked for viruses when brought onboard. The Constellation's true Internet address is not given out. Still, the ship is not immune: The Melissa virus penetrated the Constellation's defenses in 1999, and it took almost a day to debug the ship. At sea, the works goes on to find ever more useful functions for the technology. Schnider is working on an application that could be used in the cockpit, integrating flight planning, fuel consumption and other functions. "It's all going to be combined into one big package," Schnider said. "That would be really cool." *==============================================================* "Communications without intelligence is noise; Intelligence without communications is irrelevant." Gen Alfred. M. Gray, USMC ================================================================ C4I.org - Computer Security, & Intelligence - http://www.c4i.org *==============================================================* ISN is hosted by SecurityFocus.com --- To unsubscribe email LISTSERV () SecurityFocus com with a message body of "SIGNOFF ISN".
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- Handheld Computers Give Sailors a High-Tech Lifeline William Knowles (Feb 22)