Microvision unveils its latest headgear
Published 9:00 pm Friday, January 30, 2004
Bothell’s Microvision Inc. on Friday introduced a new version of its head-worn Nomad device, this one designed for auto repair technicians. The Nomad Expert Technician System includes a wireless Windows computer but weighs less than 5 ounces and can be mounted under a baseball cap or worn with a special headband. With the device, technicians can see text and diagrams from electronic versions of service manuals directly in front of them as they work. In field trials at American Honda Motor Co. and Volvo Trucks, technicians using the system reduced their time to perform a range of maintenance tasks by up to 40 percent, according to Microvision.
Microsoft Corp. said Friday it was working to ward off an Internet virus that was set to attack the software company’s Web site on Tuesday. “We’re definitely doing everything we can to make sure that our customers who need to get to our site are able to do so,” said Christopher Budd, Microsoft’s security program manager. Budd declined to give details on what specific steps the company was taking. The virus, called MyDoom.B, spreads by e-mail and causes infected computers to launch an electronic attack against Microsoft’s Web site. The virus is a variant of MyDoom.A, which spread rapidly across computers earlier this week. The new version doesn’t seem to be gaining much traction, officials said.
U.S. Steel Corp. on Friday reported a net loss for the fourth quarter following a year in which the company pared down its workforce and shed a money-losing online venture. But its sales jumped with the acquisitions of steel firms in the United States and Europe. The world’s largest integrated steel company reported a loss of $27 million, or 26 cents a share, in the last three months of 2003 compared with a profit of $11 million, or 10 cents a share, for the same period in 2002.
A bird flu that has killed chickens and some people in Asia has caused little worry in the U.S. poultry industry, which is relying on bans, tests and security safeguards to keep the virus away. “We’re trying to keep a firewall between our birds and the outside world,” said John Smith, health director for Fieldale Farms in Baldwin, Ga. Since the bird flu surfaced in October in Vietnam, domestic sales of chicken, turkey and other poultry have not dropped off. The Asian flu is actually helping the American market because Japanese bans on chickens from affected Asian countries have prompted a rise in sales – and prices – of U.S. poultry.
Herald staff and news services
