.KEYWORD santorum
.FLYINGHEAD PALM IN THE REAL WORLD
.TITLE Senators enter the wireless world
.FEATURE
.SPOTLIGHT FIGALT cover.gif
.SUMMARY United States Senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania held a press conference to talk about how Republican Senators have been making use of Palm VIIs to access Web-based content and applications. Steve Niles gives the full report.
.AUTHOR Steve Niles
On Friday, March 24, 2001, United States Senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania held a press conference in conjunction with AvantGo (at http://www.avantgo.com) to talk about how Republican Senators have been making use of AvantGo Enterprise software to access Web-based content and applications via Palm VII devices. Senator Santorum is pictured in the midst of this telephone conference in Figure A.
.FIGPAIR A Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA) addressed the press via telephone.
He also demonstrated his use of Palm handhelds for the cameras, as can be seen in Figure B.
.FIGPAIR B Santorum uses his wireless Palm VII to surf the wireless Web.
According to Santorum, these mobile initiatives are an attempt to "bring Republican senators into the digital world." Santorum also noted that his fellow Republicans on the hill hope that by using Palm VII handhelds to access and distribute information, they will "save money through more effective communication."
As an example of how this is being accomplished, Santorum explained that previously, when the Senate broke for recess, recess packets were handed out to the members at a cost of around $1,800. Now, however, that same material is made available online, and it can be easily accessed with a mobile device. This method is also being used to distribute press releases, position papers, and other announcements such as notices of actions, amendments, press conferences, and statements that will be made.
The Republican Senate Leadership’s Web-based interface for administrators is pictured in Figure C.
.FIGPAIR C The Republican Senate Leadership uses a Web-based interface to update information.
Santorum uses his Palm VII to access the Internet, as well as his personal schedule, which is maintained on the Republican intranet along with other documents he routinely uses for reference. The issue of security was raised, but Santorum says there’s nothing on the intranet of a sensitive nature that would prove dangerous for the Republican Conference, should someone hijack his Palm VII.
Seven members of Santorum’s personal staff are equipped with Palm devices, and by Santorum’s current count, there are about eleven Republican senators who use the handhelds. The devices are purchased through the U.S. General Services Administration (at http://www.gsa.gov).
Santorum reports no trouble at all establishing a wireless connection in Washington D.C., except for in the Capital Building’s basement. He’s even able to access his critical data while the Senate is in session. Interestingly, Palm devices aren’t necessarily recognized as computers by the Senate establishment, so they don’t fall under the prohibition against the use of laptop computers on the Senate floor.
According to Santorum, the nature of their job requires senators to be mobile, and the use of Palm devices affords them the quick and easy access to information they need. He believes that the use of handheld computers will eventually become commonplace, mirroring the gradual adoption of desktop computers over the last few decades.
Until that time comes, however, he expects his Palm VII to continue to attract attention from his peers as he wows them with his ability to pull up-to-the-minute information literally out of thin air.
"Just yesterday I was presiding over the Republican Conference," Santorum said, "and Pete Domenici (R-NM) was pitching the budget and mentioned that when he left the floor, the market was down 400 points. So I just flipped up my little wand there and got on and checked the Dow Jones chart." The market had rebounded on Thursday, so Santorum continued, "As Pete was finishing his sentence
