20 - North Shore News — Sunday, May 14, 2000 Michael Becker News Editar mbecker@nsnews.com A North Vancouver company has developed a tool to make divers more efficient in water searches and surveys. Foreshore — Technologies recendy sold four Toad Sled underwater habitat mapping vehicles to the RCMP. The sleds will be used throughout the county. Said Foreshore echnologies project manager of the sled, “It's basically a search platform for any kind of search, whether it’s a manne biological survey or search and recovery of bodies and evidence for the police.” Canadian military combat divers already own three units. The military uses them for some of their more covert operations. Added — Hafev, “They also use it for searching BUSINESS North Van techn harbour bottoms and recover- ing lost gear.” The sleds, towed behind boats, provide protection for divers and allow for a greater amount of area to be covered. The sleds were initially designed by the company for marine biological surveys. in 1995. “We did a large survey through the Vancouver har- bour and all the different arms,” Hafey said. At first divers used the same plywood planing board towed behind a boat and used by police forces throughout Canada and the ULS. “It just didn’t give us enough protection fron) water current and impact,” he said. The sleds are made of hea duty welded aluminum. A plas- tic shield, with the equivalent strength of the aluminum, pro- tects a diver’s head. The sled will allow for a rel- atively swift surface speed, depending on the weather, of about 20 to 30 kilometres per hour (12 ¥to 19 miles per hour). Said Hafey, “You have to be careful of course, but that is handy because you can go from one search area to anoth- er on the surface.” Divers can Microsoit invest OK, it’s official. We have seen many months of speculation about what the United States Department of Justice (DoJ) might do to eliminate the’: monopoly that it has suc- ade for divers “Ves 7 le NEWS photo Mike Wakefield.” GLENN Hafey, left, and Scott Christie tested Toad sleds at Ambleside recently. The devices are used by divers for searches and surveys. Technologies of North Vancouver. Technology staff. The sleds comfortably participate _ in searches down to 30.5 m (100 ) The sled design was a col- lective effort of Foreshore cessfully proven thar Microsoft Corporation holds in the software industry. In fate April, assistant U.S. attorney-general Joe! Klein finally revealed that the DoJ wants Microsoft to be split into two companies — one to make and sell the Windows operating system | and another to handfe every- thing else Microsoft pro- duces. ; The news should come as no surprise to veteran Microsoft-watchers. It has been clear for some time that the U.S, government wanted a “structural reme- have been in production since 1996. The Niagra regional -police have also purchased two of the units. Foreshore dy” to keep Microsoft from committing future violations of anti-trust law — and that would require some method of breaking up the company. The failure of Microsoft’s last “consent decree” agree- ment in the mid-1990s, wherein the company agreed to “be good and never sin again” after a protracted battle over alleged monopo- listic behaviour in relation to the sales of Microsoft MS-. © DOS operating system, - always made it unlikely that the DoJ would seek any- thing less than the maximum sanction against the compa- . They are built by Foreshore - Technology’s main business is marine biological surveys. and foreshore structural inspections - throughout B.C., Washington ” State, Alaska and California. |. ‘. ors face a choice | ny. . The big question now is what all of this means for holders of Microsoft stock. . While many industry observers believe that the © case will not be resolved": until we have all watched one or two years of exhaus- tive appeals, any protracted uncertainty cannot be good for Microsoft stock. If you ® ° believe that Bill Gates and - Microsoft will escape in the final reel of this gnpping courtroom/beardroom: | - drama, then obviousls “ See Pick page 22