Although Psion stopped making consumer PDAs some time ago, its hardware arm, now called Psion Teklogix, specialises in rugged electronic mobile devices. The company's latest offering is the Netbook Pro and, with its clamshell design, looks like a cross between a handheld and a laptop. It is aimed at field workers who find a PDA too small for practical use, and a laptop too large and heavy. Half the size of the typical laptop, Psion says its colour screen can show complete web pages and the keyboard is large enough for touch-typing. The product is described as "semi-rugged" – it can withstand a drop from 70 cm and is rated to IP30. It runs the Windows CE.net operating system so it interfaces easily with the corporate IT system and has 32 Mb of flash memory and 128 Mb of RAM. Users can expect up to eight hours' use out of a single charge. It is 235 mm wide, 184 mm deep and 35 mm thick, weighs 1100 g and costs £950. Although it doesn't come with wireless connectivity built in, there are expansion slots to add this – or more memory – later.
Psion Teklogix
www.psionteklogix.com
www.building.co.uk/enquiries 301
PC to fit your pocket
Dell has brought out its range of Axim X3 pocket PCs to complement the company's original PDA, the X5. Dell say the X3 is nearly one-third lighter than the X5 and also 17% thinner. There are three models, the two cheaper versions being the £139 X3 with a 300 MHz processor and 32 Mb of RAM plus 32 Mb of flash memory and the £189 X3 with 400 MHz processor and 64 Mb of RAM and 64 Mb flash memory. The top-of-the-range model, the £229 X3i, has the same specifications as the £189 X3 plus integrated wireless connectivity. All the models feature a 3.5 in screen and Microsoft Windows Mobile 2003 software.
Dell
www.dell.co.uk
www.building.co.uk/enquiries 302
Speak, save and listen
Sanyo Speechtek has launched a three-in-one voice recorder, data storage device and MP3 recorder and player called the ICR-B80. Despite its range of functions the product is as diminutive as a small chocolate bar and weighs just 74 g. It is capable of holding up to 256 separate voice files – a total of 180 minutes of voice recording at standard quality or 300 minutes using the long play option. Alternatively, users can store up to 64 Mb of data. The product has a neat little fold-out stand that doubles up as a USB connector for connecting to a PC. When users get bored of office tasks they can relax with the MP3 player and recorder; the unit can store up to 999 music files provided that they don't exceed one hour's worth of music in total. The ICR-B80 is £117.
Sanyo
www.sanyo.co.uk
www.building.co.uk/enquiries 303
Super-sexy presentation screen
Architects who want to impress their clients should check out the Wilkhahn Interwall mobile presentation device. Costing a cool £14,000, it won't look out of place in the average architect's office with its 67 in holographic glass display screen that is transparent when not in use. It is designed for use as a presentation device, electronic whiteboard and flipchart. Users connect it into their computer network and project data onto the screen via a rear-mounted projector. The screen can then be marked up with an optional electronic wand called Mimio. The marks appear on the touch-sensitive screen and are saved as well as the original directly on to the company network. The company says the screen is always visible regardless of the levels of ambient light and the projector arm folds for easy transportation.
Wilkhahn
www.wilkhahn.co.uk
www.building.co.uk/enquiries 304
PDA with a sixth sense
Sony's latest flagship PDA, the PEG-UX50, resembles a small laptop with its built-in keyboard and clamshell design. This Clié is stuffed with features including a digital camera, MP3 player, voice recorder and Bluetooth wireless capabilities. It also features wireless connectivity with a feature that is claimed to "sniff out" nearby WiFi access points and eliminate the connection set-up process. The Clié also features Sony's new in-house processor, the Handheld Engine. Sony claims this has been optimised to operate at speeds demanded by particular applications in a bid to save battery power. It features the Palm 5.2 operating system and has a total 104 Mb of RAM. It is 103 mm wide, 86 mm deep and 18 mm thick, and is reasonably light at 175 g, considering all the features. The downside to all this is the wallet-crushing price of £599.
Sony
www.sony.co.uk
www.building.co.uk/enquiries 305
Desktop scanner for tight spots
The Fujitsu ScanSnap will find many fans among those who hate mountains of paper cluttering their desktops and is ideal for cramped site offices. It has a 50-page document holder that automatically feeds sheets up to A4 size through the scanner. The company says the product, which looks more like a small laser printer than a scanner, scans up to 15 double-sided pages a minute, automatically deletes blank pages and recognises whether documents are black and white or colour to help keep file sizes to a minimum. Included Adobe software then turns documents into PDF files for easy electronic storage. The Scansnap costs £350.
Fujitsu
www.fel.fujitsu.com/scansnap
www.building.co.uk/enquiries 306
James Bond-esque pen-cum-recording device
VTEC, which makes data storage devices, has dreamed up a double use for its latest product. Called the V-DRIVE Flash Pen, it can store up to 512 Mb of data and, as its name suggests, is also a pen. Unscrew the pen top and a USB2 connector is revealed so it can be plugged into a computer and data transferred between pen and PC. Data stored in the device can be password-protected in case it is lost. The pen is refillable with blue or black ink. The product is available in four different storage capacities ranging from 64mb to 512mb for £46 to £154 respectively.
VTEC
www.vtec.co.uk
www.building.co.uk/enquiries 307
Tough laptop from school of hard knocks
Specialist supplier of rugged computers Terralogic has introduced the Toughnote 4 laptop. It is made to a military standard making it suitable for tough operating environments where it is likely to be subject to drops, shocks and vibration. It features a Pentium 4 processor and is available with a range of options including an internal modem, LAN card and wireless LAN card, GPRS connectivity and a variety of docking options.
Terralogic
www.terralogic.co.uk
www.building.co.uk/enquiries 308
Phone and PDA in one
Mobile phone operator Orange has teamed up with Handspring to develop a high-specification combined mobile phone and PDA called the Treo 600. Running the Palm 5.2 operating system, it has a built in keyboard for quick text messaging, email and data entry. Data can also be entered using the touch-sensitive colour screen and stylus. A speedy GPRS connection allows it to connect to the web and corporate intranets, and Microsoft Word and Excel files can be downloaded this way. It also has all the latest must-have features including an integrated camera, multimedia messaging and a speakerphone. Orange says it is designed to offer users one-touch connection to Orange services. They cost £300 with contract.
Orange
www.orange.co.uk
www.building.co.uk/enquiries 309
Ten ways to safeguard your company’s IT security
Protecting IT systems from computer viruses and hackers is essential if a business wants to avoid grinding to a halt whenever the latest virus hits the networks. Applying the latest patches or virus software service packs will only secure data against currently known attacks – new ones are launched all the time. The only way to ensure systems are safe is to have an IT security strategy in place. Anna McCrea, a consultant with Davis Langdon Consultancy and adviser to the IT Construction Best Practice programme, suggests a 10-point strategy to ensure the security of your company’s electronic information.1 Develop both an IT security policy and a corresponding strategy. Information cannot be managed effectively and safely throughout the organisation unless an IT security policy is in place, backed up by a strategy detailing your IT security goals and how you are planning to achieve them. This should be driven, or at least fully endorsed, by the management and communicated to all employees throughout the organisation. Frequent reviews and updates are necessary as the risks to a company’s information change in parallel with organisational or business development.
2 Classify and allocate ownership of your company’s information assets. All major information assets must have a defined owner and location. This includes databases and documents, software, computer equipment and computing and communication services, as well as heating, power and air-conditioning, which could have a direct impact on information assets. A single individual must have ownership of each of these assets and take full responsibility for their integrity and condition.
3 Allow only minimum connection to the internet. The default security policy should be that the network cable is disconnected. So the first step towards internet security is to decide whether or not to connect to the internet. Start on the basis of “refuse all network connection unless specifically allowed”. In Microsoft Windows systems there are proprietary Microsoft protocols and network services for file and printer sharing and domain authentication, which will need detailed configuration in order to ensure a secure operating environment. When all the computer systems on the network are correctly configured and operating with this bare minimum of allowed network traffic, the default policy is completed.
4 Ensure IT perimeter security. All access points into your company’s network need to be secured with a firewall. Furthermore, all computers that provide services over the internet need special measures to eradicate any bugs or known loopholes in the software they are running. There are many different graphical interfaces to firewall software and many different operating paradigms for different vendors’ firewall hardware or software, but the concept of allowing the bare minimum network communications generally provides a best practice security policy.
5 Install an automatic back-up system. Protect the contents of file systems with automatic back up and keep a copy safe. To guarantee that your data is always available for recovery, it must be automatically backed up each night to an off-site location and stored on a hard disk, not a tape. This will ensure that data loss resulting from accidental data deletion, hard drive crash, theft or fire is minimised.
6 Give staff specific security responsibilities. Develop formal roles with clear responsibilities to aid implementation of the security strategy and ensure that staff understand what is required of them. This should be integrated with current management structures. Ensuring full information security is a very specialised activity and you might need to bring outside resources with specialist skills and experience. Typically, network specialists will be responsible for firewalls, routers, switches and other security and traffic devices, systems specialists for file permissions and other operating system-related tasks, while facilities management will look after physical security.
7 Train your staff. Developing a well-trained and motivated workforce is in practice one of the most important steps to ensuring continuing information security. Consider running an IT security awareness campaign to ensure all members of staff are familiar with and understand the importance of the policy. Resentful or ill-disposed staff can pose a real threat to your company’s information assets. In order to minimise this risk a few precautions should be taken, such as including security in job responsibilities, carrying out verification checks on permanent staff and adding confidentiality agreements as part of the employment contract.
8 Carry out regular independent reviews of your IT security. The IT security strategy should specify the frequency of reviews and identify who will carry these out. Ideally reviews should be performed by an internal resource outside the security providing organisation or department or by an external reviewer. This means that even if security provisions are outsourced, a regular independent review gives that little bit of extra “insurance”.
9 Ensure that your company meets all the legal requirements and obligations. All the relevant statutory, regulatory and contractual obligations should be identified and compliance with legal requirements, such as data protection, intellectual property rights, licensing of software, regulation of cryptographic controls and safeguarding organisational records must be ensured. This will make it easier to seek professional help in the event of corruption or loss of data, as well as enabling insurance compensation.
10 Go holistic. Holistic computer security is a way of approaching the security of your company’s systems so that nothing is missed: from the centre of the network to the end user, whether they are in their office or connecting from a remote site across the Internet. In the same way that BS 7799 (ISO 17799) looks at information security for the whole organisation starting at board level, holistic computer security starts from the same principle.
Software: The latest construction programs
Memory aid for safety trainingHealth, safety and environmental consultant Sypol has launched a software package called Health and Safety Adviser. It is intended to help reinforce what employees have been taught in health and safety courses. It does this by periodically delivering pop-up messages to the employee’s desktop to remind them of what they learned earlier and it also delivers update when the legislation changes. The software also incorporates quizzes to test knowledge levels and make the learning process more fun. The software covers first aid, fire and other emergency information, display screen requirements and manual handling data. This can be tailored to suit a particular organisations requirements and other data can be added if needed. The software can also be used by employees to complete online display screen equipment assessments which can then be submitted to line managers, and the tool also contains a range of management reports for checking employees understanding of health and safety issues.
Sypol
www.sypol.com
www.building.co.uk/enquiries 310
Asbestos extra for property database
Facilities managers using MICAD’s Intranet Property Register software may be interested in the latest plug-in module that helps compliance with the HSE’s asbestos legislation. The register enables users to view information including CAD drawings of buildings, photographs, maintenance manuals and site plans over an intranet or on the web. The plug-in module is an asbestos register for logging maintenance activities on asbestos containing materials for future reference.
MICAD
www.micad.co.uk
www.building.co.uk/enquiries 311
The website that knows where you are
Companies who want to check where their employees and vehicles are at any point in time should take a look at FleetOnline. Instead of using the GPS system and expensive hardware to locate people, the system works by checking which mobile phone mast an employees mobile phone is currently nearest to. The company says the location of the phone can be tracked to within 100 m in urban areas and 200 m in rural locations. The company says no capital costs are incurred because users can simply check the employees’ location on a map on FleetOnline’s website for a charge of 21p per location check. Text messages can also be sent to the employees phone from the website. The system works with Orange, T-Mobile, Vodafone and O2 networks and the charge for using the system is collected via the mobile phone bill. Users have to register on the website and owners of phones have to agree to be tracked by the system.
FleetOnline
www.fleetonline.net
www.building.co.uk/enquiries 312
Updated specification program
The National Building Specification, producer of the UK standard building specification system, has launched its NBS 2003 software. Enhancements include technical and user guidance being given a higher profile, and a more user-friendly graphical interface. Other improvements include more easily searchable manufacturers’ product information and wizards to help specifiers choose the right clauses for a particular contract when preparing preliminaries. The software now includes XML and Microsoft.net technology, which should mean sharing data becomes easier.
National Building Specification
www.thenbs.com
www.building.co.uk/enquiries 313
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