Successful information appliances have two distinct characteristics: they must be as easy to install as a toaster and as easy to use as a phone. With Salutation's 'find-and-bind' technology, installation is easy. Salutation is also a key factor in providing ease of use.
Today's multifunction devices are a complex integration of scanner, copier, printer, and fax devices with an information access terminal. Each vendor has approached the user interface from a different prospective. Some have large displays with on-screen buttons, others have physical buttons and small displays. Some displays are in color, some support graphics. The process for an end user to log on to the network, access information and have it printed on the device or distributed to colleagues can be a daunting task on any device. Performing these tasks on a device you have never operated is even more challenging.
Salutation's capability discovery, coupled with smart card technology, can simplify the use of networked appliances. A smart card is a microprocessor-based, credit card-sized device. Unlike traditional mag-stripe credit cards, which can hold a few hundred characters of information, a smart card will hold 64 thousand characters. By the turn of the century, the smart card will have the processing power of the first IBM PC. Functions provided via the smart card technology include:
Service providers can harness these functions through Salutation to simplify the utilization of network connected equipment. With smart card, a knowledge worker simply plugs the smart card into a reader on the device and begins to access information. This is the new form of plug and play, designed for users instead of electronic components. Here's how it will work.
A mobile knowledge worker wishes to scan a document for distribution to colleagues. The worker enters a storefront copy center and locates a multifunction device supporting Salutation protocol. The worker plugs the smart card into the reader on the device. The device responds through its user interface panel, requesting the worker enter a security PIN. The rest is automatic.
The device authenticates the worker via a Public-key cryptography scheme on the card. When authentication takes place, the private key is used to encrypt a message that is passed to the device. The device, having access to the corresponding key, can then authenticate the request by decrypting the message using this key.
Next, the device accesses the personal profile encoded on the smart card. Although the holder of the smart card is sensitive to sharing personal information with others, the holder is willing to do so if services provided are worthwhile. In this case, the personal profile will indicate, among other things, the URL of the worker's information service. The device uses this information to make a network connection between the worker and his/her information.
The information service uses a Salutation DocStore Functional Unit to access the profile information. This information indicates the user's preferences for remote information access. For example, the profile information may contain the configuration preferred by the user, one or more of the worker's distribution lists, or workflow process targets for inputs. This information configures the network connection and establishes the functions that may be performed. The information server also uses Salutation to access the device's display capabilities, which enable the server to responds with user interface content designed for both the specific workers profile and the capabilities of the device being used by the worker.
As a result, simple choices, tailored specifically to the worker's profile and the devices capabilities, can be presented on the device's display. For example, the initial set of choices might be "For Print press 1, for Scan press 2, for Schedule press 3." If the worker selects scan, a list of destination choices are presented, such as personal in-box, department distribution, manager, OCR process, and billing process. If print is selected, the worker is asked to input the document id. If schedule is selected, the worker's appointments for the next three days are printed in the preferred format.
Salutation forms the base for determining not only the capabilities of the device but also the preferred user interface characteristics. Salutation is the only architecture required to plug and play both the device and the user.