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... New IBM Internet Appliances provide
on-board access to e-mail, Internet and productivity applications
In Dublin Ireland, technology, geography, and heapd of trash have been brought together.
The result is another innovative LBS application.
Posted by WDN, May 15, 2001
In a cruise line industry first, IBM and Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines are putting
Internet access in the employee cabins of Royal Caribbean International's
newest ship, "Radiance of the Seas".
Using IBM technology and the new IBM NetVista Internet Appliance, Royal
Caribbean is giving its crew members on-board access to e-mail, Internet and
productivity applications.
IBM installed 500 new NetVista Internet Appliances, with IBM embedded
software, in crew cabins. Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines plans to equip two
additional ships with the service before the end of the year, as part of a strategy to
equip all new additions to its fleet. Last year, Royal Caribbean International
teamed with IBM to become the first cruise line to outfit its entire fleet with Internet
Cafes, providing Internet access to passengers.
"Providing the cabin crew, many of whom spend up to six months at a time at
sea, with the ability to e-mail home, take supplemental training courses and use
basic office software in the comfort and privacy of their cabin, will enable them to
stay connected -- both personally and professionally," said Jack Williams,
president of Royal Caribbean International.
Michael Hulley, vice president, IBM Global Travel and Transportation Industry,
said Royal Caribbean tapped into IBM's hardware, software and service
capabilities to create a "seaworthy e-business infrastructure" that will enable it to
help keep crew productivity and morale up. "The new IBM NetVista Internet
Appliances are great for this application because they're easy to use and
manage, reliable, and take up a relatively small space in the cabin," he said.
The IBM NetVista Internet Appliance is a compact device designed to provide
Web-based computing in customized solutions for specific businesses and
industries. It builds on IBM experience in networked, managed environments of
Thin Clients and other devices.
IBM's WebSphere Everyplace Suite Embedded Edition software, which resides in
the NetVista Internet Appliance, allows Royal Caribbean International to deliver
virtually instant access to the Web and business applications --without first
requiring its crews to be trained on the use of PCs. Additional IBM software used
in the application includes: Tivoli Personalized Services Manager, which provides
subscriber and device management across the ship's e-business infrastructure;
VisualAge Micro Edition embedded Java application development tools and IBM's
J9 Virtual Machine.
On the hardware side, Royal Caribbean has installed a Unix-based IBM server
onboard the ship to run the backend computing and handle upgrade and
maintenance chores. IBM NetVista personal computers are also used by ship
officers to perform managerial duties and connect to the network. IBM Global
Services assisted Royal Caribbean in project integration of the project.
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