|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
PALM IN THE REAL WORLD
Palm computers turn data into wine
By Steve Niles
Typically when I consider the integration of Palm computing into the enterprise, I imagine a cubicle-filled corporate office with HotSync cradles on every desk. However, many of the employees at a company called Stimson Lane don't have cubicles. Nor do they have desks. Their workplace is outdoors, among the vast rows of grapevines filling their numerous vineyards, like the one pictured in Figure A.
FIGURE A
The vineyards of Stimson Lane aren't your typical business environment. Click picture for a larger image.
Stimson Lane operates 4,500 acres of vineyards in Washington, with contracts for grapes on another 12,000 acres. The company also has vineyards in California, Europe, and soon, Australia. You might be familiar with some of their brands, such as Chateau Ste. Michelle, Columbia Crest, Snoqualmie, and Domaine Ste. Michelle, as well as Villa Mt. Eden and Conn Creek wines. Stimson Lane is one of the top ten producers of premium wines in the United States, on the list with Beringer, Mondavi, and Kendall-Jackson in terms of both quality and volume.
Eric Wylie is an agricultural engineer at Stimson Lane's Columbia Crest vineyard in Paterson, WA. The vineyard is pictured in Figure B.
FIGURE B
Stimson Lane's Columbia Crest vineyard looks out over the Columbia River. Click picture for a larger image.
Wylie is in charge of the vineyard's computer and data handling as well as field matters like irrigation scheduling. In fact, currently, Wylie and his team are hard at work conducting some irrigation experiments, testing a variety of strategies at various points throughout the vineyard in order to determine which method gets the best results. He found it a welcome relief to tear himself away from one of the more labor-intensive aspects of these experiments, hole digging, in order to talk to me about Stimson Lanes' successful integration of Palm computing into their business.
Old fashioned data collection
A great tasting wine like Stimson Lanes' Columbia Crest doesn't come along by chance. An enormous amount of work is required to create just the right balance of growing conditions and timing in order to produce the perfect grape. Some things cannot be controlled. What the French call the terroir, the natural conditions like climate, soil, and landscape that effect the biology of the vinestock and thus the composition of the grape, cannot be changed. However, there's an old aphorism that says, "Great wine is made in the vineyard." It's a matter of debate, but many argue the role of the grower in the field is just as important, if not more so, than that of the winemaker.
[ Next ]
|
|
|
|
|
|
-- Advertisement --
NO HASSLE PHOTO PRINTING, SHARING, AND STORAGE -- AS LOW AS $2.54 PER MONTH
Discover an easier way to share, print and manage your photos online! Get your own online photo album site for sharing photos, as well as easy-to-use editing tools to make sure your photos look their very best. You can even order high quality prints directly from your album -- and have them delivered right to your door!
Best of all, you can also get login-free photo sharing at your personal domain name (if you have one), so your friends and family don't have to hassle with signing up or logging in just to view your pictures. It's the perfect solution for sharing, printing and storing all your favorite images!
And it's only from The Duck! Tap here to get started. |
-- Advertisement --
Write for Computing Unplugged!
Share your experience and expertise with other handheld device users. There are new opportunities at ZATZ for contributing authors and editors.
Write about something you're an expert on and get your name in lights.
For Writers' Guidelines and to discuss topics, contact Staff Editor Steve Niles. This is your opportunity to shine in front of your peers, your clients, and friends.
Click for more info! |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
