43 

2004

degree viewing angles in all directions. (The new ThinkPad T42p mobile workstation is selected 

in November as the central information hub for the Clever Homes' NewHouse demonstration 

home. The ThinkPad works with the integrated home network system to monitor household 

functions such as energy usage, security, lighting and music.) In October, IBM introduces the 

first ThinkPad with an integrated fingerprint reader. Selected models of the ThinkPad T42 offer 

an unmatched level of data protection through a new biometric capability and embedded security 

subsystem. That same month, the company launches the IBM ThinkPad G41, a powerful 

notebook that incorporates the dynamic processing power and high precision graphics of a 

desktop in a mobile system.  

The IBM ThinkPad notebook computer becomes the first product to be named to 

PC World

's 

World Class Hall of fame. The magazine's editors recognize the ThinkPad because it has 

consistently embodied innovative design, excellent reliability and powerful features since its 

1992 introduction.  

The company introduces the IBM ThinkCentre A51p, incorporating advanced performance 

graphics and enhanced processing power for small and medium business customers looking to 

run multiple applications simultaneously without overwhelming the PC.  

IBM announces sleek, rugged new SurePOS 500 point of sale systems for the demanding food 

service and hospitality industries, with faster, more compact, easier to use models that feature 

infrared touch screen technology and  cooling tunnel  technology designed to help protect 

sensitive electronics from the heat, smoke and crumbs in a restaurant kitchen.  

The company introduces the Store Integration Framework    the architecture and technology 

tools to link a retailer's point of sale systems with new wireless devices such as kiosks, Webpad 

tablet computers, smart shopping carts and Personal Digital Assistants, and then link all of these 

to the rest of the retailer's systems across the entire store and into the supply chain.  

During the year, Pathmark Stores, the first IBM supermarket customer to use scanning point of 

sale systems 30 years ago, is upgrading all of its stores to advanced IBM SurePOS 700 systems 

and new supermarket application software to speed checkout and increase capabilities. 

Meanwhile, Sears Roebuck and Co. is updating its existing POS systems with IBM's new 

SurePOS 740 systems, 4610 receipt printers and flat panel touch displays throughout its U.S. 

retail stores. 

IBM says that will provide the systems integration for a groundbreaking Radio Frequency 

Identification (RFID) project with METRO Group, the world's fifth largest retailer. RFID tags 

enable physical objects to be identified at any point during manufacturing and distribution. At 

METRO Group's Extra Future Store in Rheinberg, Germany, all RFID components 

communicate through one flexible central system hub developed by IBM.  

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