201011 roadmap newsletter - november 2010

Roadmap Monthly Newsletter | [email protected] | Tel + 351 214 135 670 | Fax +351 214 135 678 Frotcom vehicle tracking system | www.frotcom.com Angola |Belgium | Brazil | Bulgaria | Cameroon | Cyprus | D. R. Congo | Greece | Kenya | Luxemburg | Macedonia | Madagascar | Mauritius | Morocco | Portugal | Reunion Islands | Romania | Rwanda | Senegal | Seychelles | Sierra Leone | Slovenia | Spain | Tanzania | Uganda

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Roadmap monthly newsletter

Editorial

ravo! Great! Excellent!

Yes, quite quick and pleasant!

These are some of the enthusiastic expressions we

got as feedback to the beta release of the brand new Frotcom

SL edition.

For the last 4 months, Frotcom International’s R&D team has dedicated a good part

of their resources in the development of Frotcom SL. Now, the beta release was

launched and we couldn’t be more pleased with the reactions from users.

Frotcom SL is based on Microsoft’s Silverlight technology. The result is a quicker,

smoother and more user-friendly interface. Frotcom SL uses a Silverlight plug-in

to the web browser – just like a Flash plug-in, for instance. Then, instead of

downloading the whole web interface from the server each time a Frotcom page has

to be shown, only the necessary data is downloaded. As a result, the time to

download and view maps, tables and graphs is quite shorter, creating a much nicer

user experience.

Another great advantage for Frotcom is the fact that software development with

Silverlight can be done faster and better. Therefore, you can expect new features to

be released in the times to come, at a faster pace.

Although most users will for sure prefer to use Frotcom SL, Frotcom International

will continue to support also the legacy HTML version. However, new features will

only be added to the SL edition.

If you still haven’t tried the beta release of Frotcom SL, please do. Just login and then

select the Frotcom SL beta release option. You will be pleased too.

Valério Marques CEO - Frotcom International

A note from the editor – If you would like to have your own say in the next edition of this newsletter

please do not hesitate to get in touch at [email protected].

B

November 2010

In this issue

Frotcom SL

Frotcom just got quicker

and more powerful

Roaming in Africa

now possible with Frotcom

Case study - De Beers

Because a diamond is

forever…

News and events

Frotcom sponsors

India riders

This and much more…

mailto:[email protected]


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New Features

Frotcom SL Frotcom just got quicker and more powerful

Last November 4th, Frotcom proudly launched Frotcom Premium SL (Beta release).

This new version of Frotcom’s web interface is based on a technology created by

Microsoft, called Silverlight (SL).

The new version is not only much quicker but additionaly uses the full width of the

computer screen.

Soon Frotcom SL will become the default version for new users, substituting the

legacy html interface. Naturally, current users will also be able to upgrade from the

previous html version to Frotcom SL. As usual, this upgrade is free.

Roaming in Africa now possible with Frotcom

Does your fleet travel throughout several African

countries? Frotcom has a solution.

Frotcom has extended its GPRS roaming agreements

to several African countries. It is now possible to

follow the whereabouts of Frotcom equipped

vehicles in real time, in all of the following countries:

Algeria; Angola; Egipt; Gabon; Ghana; Kenya; Madagascar; Mali; Mauritius

Islands; Morocco; Mozambique; Namibia; Nigeria; Reunion Island; Seichelles;

Senegal; South Africa; Sudan.

For further information, please contact your Frotcom Certified Partner.

Did you know

Frotcom tracking devices are

100% recyclable

We already told you how Frotcom is

having a huge impact on the

environment, by reducing the amount

of carbon expelled by the tracked

vehicles:

Fewer km

+

Better driving behavior

=

Reduced carbon footprint

On a different level, you will also like

to know that the devices being used

by Frotcom to track the vehicles are

100% recyclable: they are lead-

free, therefore totally recyclable.

You only have to remove the battery

and recycle it separately.

The case where the device is

packaged and shipped is also 100%

recyclable. It is made of recyclable

carton board and paper.


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Case Study

De Beers Angola Prospecting, LTD

Because a diamond is forever…

Established in 1888, De Beers is the world’s leading rough diamond company with

unrivalled expertise in the exploration, mining and marketing of diamonds.

Together with its joint venture partners, De Beers operates in more

than 20 countries across six continents employing more than 13,000

people, and is the world’s largest diamond producer with mining

operations across Angola, Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and

Canada.

The Head Office in Angola is based in Luanda and the field operations are mainly

based in the Lunda North province. The company has committed itself to Zero Harm

to its employees, the community and the environment. Various controls have been

implemented in order to achieve this objective and, as light vehicles form an

important part of the operation, their control is of utmost importance.

The Frotcom vehicle monitoring system was installed in early 2010 in all Luanda

based vehicles as well as in some vehicles allocated to the field operations which

were used for long distance travelling. The system enables 24/7 surveillance in

terms of the whereabouts of the vehicles as well as the behavior of the drivers.

Law enforcement on driving habits and

speed control in the country is still in its

early days, but the Frotcom system enables

the company to proactively introduce these

controls and a remarkable improvement in

terms of vehicle usage and driver behavior

has been noted since the system was

installed.

According to Fanie Terblanche, HSE Manager in De Beers Angola, “The system is

currently managed and controlled through the Safety Department and, being a web

based program, it is easy to access irrespective of the controller’s location. The

technical support from Frotcom Angola is professional and they always deliver on time

which supports the company’s objective of Zero Harm.”

The company is also proud to announce that no serious accidents or incidents have

been reported since the installation of the Frotcom vehicle control system.

ROADMAP congratulates António, Pedro and the Frotcom Angola team for this

great achievement and their once again recognized excellence in customer

support.

Tip of the month

Place a Frotcom shortcut

on your desktop

The best and easiest way to create a

shortcut to open Frotcom’s website is

to do the following:

1. Open www.frotcom.com

2. Right click on the page itself, for

example on the white part in the

header of the page, where no

lettering or interactive content is

running.

3. From the drop-down menu that

shows up, choose “Create

shortcut”.

4. You will be asked “Do you want to

put a shortcut on your

desktop?” Answer “Yes”.

5. From now on, the Desktop in your

computer will include a shortcut

with Frotcom’s short logo, which

can be clicked to open Frotcom’s

website automatically. You can

also change the caption of the icon.

Alternatively, you can add Frotcom as a

Favorite site in your web browser.

For instance in Internet Explorer 8, you

can proceed as described in 1 and 2 in

the list above. Then, do as follows:

3. From the drop-down menu that

shows up, choose “Add to

Favorites…”

4. You will be asked a name for this

favorite page as well as the folder

(classification) where you want to

save it.

Fanie Terblanche, HSE Manager (left) and

Amâncio Leite, ECOHS Assistant (right)

http://www.debeersgroup.com


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News and events

Frotcom International enlarges office

Frotcom’s network is growing. And so is Frotcom

International. In October, the office was enlarged to

more easily accommodate the growing team and

improve the working conditions.

The total area has doubled, with special focus on R&D

and Logistics, whose activities have grown

significantely in the last 12 months.

Frotcom International’s office is conveniently located

in the city of Linda-a-Velha, Portugal, about 20 mns

from Lisbon’s international airport.

Frotcom sponsors India riders

From Delhi to Kanyakumari, in the south of India,

and back to Delhi via Kolkata (formerly Calcutta).

This is the ride that Inácio and Leninha, a couple of

portuguese adventurers have envisaged. Add to

this project the fact that the whole ride will be

done on a Royal Enfield Bullet 350cc motorbike

with sidecar, built in 1966 (!) and, you have all the

ingredients for a great adventure.

Frotcom has decided to join in, by sponsoring the trip. The motorbike is equipped

with a Frotcom tracking device, which will help visitors of www.daravolta.com to

follow the two riders as the trip progresses. There is a great video showing the

Frotcom tracking device being installed in a repair shop in Deli. You can find it in

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoCrD6tFNdo. Or just search “Frotcom” in

Youtube and pick “Instalacao Frotcom”. You will see a great example of how the

newest technology and traditional working methods still coexist in many parts of the

world.

ROADMAP wishes Inácio and Leninha

all the luck with their great endeavor.

Next, on Roadmap

News and events,

more new Frotcom features

and tips will be presented.

This and more, so don’t miss

the next issue of Roadmap.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kolkata

http://www.daravolta.com/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoCrD6tFNdo

201011 roadmap newsletter - november 2010

Technology