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Old Apr 12, 2000 | 11:20 am
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shadow
 
Join Date: Jul 1999
Location: SEA
Posts: 3,178
Project to put E-Mail on planes

KIRKLAND, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 12, 2000--Seattle Lab, a leading developer of Web-based server software, and Honeywell, the world's largest supplier of aircraft engines, equipment, systems and services, announced today a project to make email available to commercial airline travelers.

The joint project, called Inflightmail, was unveiled by Honeywell at IPEC 2000, the Inflight Passenger Entertainment and Communications Conference and Exhibit being held April 10-12 in London.

"Inflightmail means that travelers will now be able to access their email on airplanes by using their laptops or seatback consoles to send or receive messages," explained L.A. Heberlein, president of Seattle Lab. "This will be a huge benefit for people who need to stay in touch while traveling."

The project utilizes the functionality of two of Seattle Lab's products -- Millennium Office, a virtual office software suite that includes email capability, and SLmail, the first commercial Internet email server for Windows. Millennium Office servers on the ground and in the air provide access to the email via the World Wide Web. Under contract to Honeywell, Seattle Lab is also creating a large amount of new, custom software, including a highly efficient protocol that uses the existing Honeywell communications systems.

One of the largest challenges of putting email on aircraft is the limited bandwidth available, but Seattle Lab and Honeywell are confident that they have a unique solution.

"We believe that the offering we're creating with Seattle Lab will provide a level of functionality difficult to match," said Don Shell, marketing manager for Honeywell's Aviation Services.

Seattle Lab is a leader in the development of Web-based server software for Windows. Founded in 1989 and based in Kirkland, Wash., the privately held company has been on the forefront of Windows NT development since NT's release. Since that time, Seattle Lab has established its position as a leading
developer of messaging and connectivity software. Full-featured versions of Seattle Lab products can be downloaded from www.seattlelab.com.
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