No 1 IN THE USA   FIRST IN DAILY READERS

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 18, 1994

 

 

THUMBS-UP:

To a new product that, someday might let you

 

sneak a peak at someone else’s laptop during a long jet flight — and see something interesting.

 

KDP Digital Systems of East Rutherford, N.J., wants to help NFL teams put their playbooks and game plans, including game him, onto computer soft­ware coaches and players can call up on personal computers.

 

KDP’s Kai Patterson says it’s not a futuristic fantasy: To ac­cess all that Information, In­cluding a package of as many as 150 film highlights that can be customized for each player or coach, users would only have to use four keys ---“fewer keys than a telephone”.

 

Patterson admits no teams have signed up yet, although he says the Washington Redskins are testing it and other teams have shown interest Cost: from $40,000, plus $8,000 in annual fees, to $400,000 for a premium package including 100 laptops and software handling 200 game-film clips.

Pricey? Sure, but coaches would love this: The system allows them to monitor how much time each player spends studying — and exactly what the player studied.

 

And, says Patterson, high-tech safeguards would let teams get around the problem of the lost or stolen playbook. The software self-destructs af­ter a certain date, for instance, or if someone repeatedly uses the wrong password.