BizTech

More IT research forums needed

Anjana Samarasinghe

Sri Lanka needs more IT research forums to infuse innovative IT research to empower the business systems and process of enterprises in the country Dean/ Research Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology (SLIIT) Dr Koliya Pulasinghe said.

Dr Koliya Pulasinghe Dean/Research SLIIT along with the SLIIT Research Symposium Organising Committee.

Speaking at the Fourth Annual SLIIT Research Symposium 2008 held in last week, he said research done on various fields in ICT help the country to find solutions for issues in energy, education and help developing the national economy.

“However Sri Lanka has only three to four ICT research forums. This needs to be increased and the government needs to facilitate these forums and encourage ICT research in the country. These forums will help researchers to share their knowledge and experiences”, he said.

We need to develop a research culture in the industry where it will take sometime. The research culture will encourage companies to involve more in Research and Development he said. “As the premier IT institute in the country, it is our duty to foster and promote research in the field of ICT. This year theme of the SLIIT Research Symposium 2008 was “ Information Technology for National Empowerment “, Pulasinghe said.

Research work presented at this forum addressed some of the issues in security, energy, economy, environment and education.

This year we planned to go beyond the SLIIT limits to make this forum a national level IT research symposium. We received research papers from other tertiary education institutes and from industry providing a cross section of the progress in research of the Sri Lankan IT sector, he said.

“We had international level key note speakers to grace the occasion and national level support from National Science Foundation, ICTA and IFS”, he said.

E-WIS launches ‘Mithuru PC’

E-WIS launches energy saving and economical “Mithuru PC” concept recently.

‘Mithuru PC’ computer laboratory in Janadhipathi Balika Vidyalaya,

General Manager Projects and Business Development E-WIS Saman Silva said a computer’s resources are never used 100% when a person is using it. It always depends on the capacity required by the task the user is engaged in. Only 15 percent of the resource been utilised in a PC and balance been neglected.

Under ‘Mithuru PC’ concept using one CPU nearly ten users could work individually at the same time without any interruption. Each user will have separate monitor and keyboard enabling them to work independently with maintain privacy of their own work.

“According to the ‘Mithuru PC’ concept, a computer only consumes the necessary resources for its task out of a computer which is connected to a Local Area Network.

So there is no waste of resources at the same time it produces the opportunity to gain the maximum output with a lesser amount of resources.” This concept will reduce initial headwear cost of the company where company no need to purchase individual PCs for every employee. With 10 PCs they could provide computer facility for nearly 100 users. Many organisations focus on energy saving in their operations. ‘Mithuru PC’ also save energy in company’s day to day operations he said.

The main disadvantage of this system is large number of users depending on one CPU. This risk factor could be eliminate through having another backup CPU to the system. Threats such as computer viruses could be mitigated installing proper virus guards to the system, Silva said.

This system is ideal for schools, IT training institutes and can be use for offices as well he added.

The first ever ‘Mithuru PC’ computer laboratory in Sri Lanka was opened recently amplifying the opportunities for using IT resources more effectively.

E-WIS, donated this first ever ‘Mithuru PC’ computer laboratory to Janadhipathi Balika Vidyalaya, Nawala.

(AS)

Sala introduces Hasee 1.2KG netbook

Intel Corp., the world’s largest semiconductor manufacturer, has collaborated with China’s Second largest computer manufacturer to introduce the latest 1.2 KG Netbook.

Managing Director Sala Enterprises Chinthaka Wijewickrama with the Hasee Netbook

This Hasee netbook is their latest addition to Intel’s lineup of wireless Internet access-enabled ultra mobile PCs (UMPCs). This netbook is powered by Intel’s Atom processor, which is specially developed for netbooks.

This year alone, netbooks have intensified their presence with a 90 percent share in the ultra mobile device (UMD) market, according to ABI Research. Gartner forecasts that the netbook market will grow to 50 million units by the year 2012, prompting more PC vendors to follow Hasee with the launching of smaller and cheaper versions of laptops. Some PC makers have estimated that in 2008 netbook sales will reach 15 million units world wide.

While some laptop vendors expressed fears of netbooks taking a slice off laptop sales, particularly due to the present global economic state, others regard netbooks and laptops as independent segments.

Many companies, including Intel, believe that netbooks will become and are likely to remain supplementary products to high-performance and more powerful laptops.

Hasee netbook including a 1.6-GHz Intel Atom processor, a 1.3-megapixel webcam and 1GB of RAM with its larger 10.2-inch screen, 120GB Hard Disk, WI-FI, Card Reader three USB ports and a spacious keyboard all at a price to suite your budget and you will be happy to know that Windows XP comes pre installed.

Hasee netbook has an Elegant look from outer appearance. The glossy black “Fine Ebony” lid is accented with the new Hasee logo. Add in the improved silver hinge and the black-on-silver combination and you have a high-fashion look. With its larger 10.2-inch screen, the Hasee netbook is the largest mini-notebook to date:

Measuring 10.5 x 7.5 x 1.0 inches and weigh’s 1.2 KG. The 10-inch screen allowed us to keep two windows open side-by-side. The matte screen looked sharp from a variety of angles. Horizontal viewing angles were better and vertically tilting the screen caused only a negligible amount of glare. Above the display is a 1.3-MP webcam that provided clear images and solid colors in a videoconference over the internet.

This Hasee netbook speakers deliver strong and solid sound. Streaming music over Hasee netbook was loud enough to fill a small living room.

Sala Enterprises are the sole agents for Hasee products in Sri Lanka. Their operations have achieved a remarkable success so much that that within a very short period of time they have reached new heights, in the market of high quality innovative ‘IT’ products.

Experience tele-viewing with a difference

Viewers in Sri Lanka now have the opportunity to experience the first IPTV service in Sri Lanka as a Personalised Entertainment Option with the launching of PEO TV, a revolutionary new medium of television entertainment. With the power to transform your tele-viewing experience, it gives you a greater degree of control of watching what you want, when you want - even old programmes that you have missed!

PEO is now ready to become your newest family member in taking care of all the entertainment in your living room. Customers can walk into the experience center’s at the SLT VisionCom showroom, which is strategically located at Duplication Road as well as the SLT Teleshop in Slave Island. Trained staff are on hand to look into queries that you might have as well as give you a first hand look into the groundbreaking technology as well as its host of features.

Customers can also register for the service at both outlets.

CEO, SLT VisionCom (Pvt) Ltd, Thusha Weerasooriya, said, “This is a great way for the public to have on hand a simple and seamless experience for the user of how the PEO TV system works.

People are used to standardised television, whereas Internet Protocol television offers a host of on demand, personalised services that reflect your tastes, in addition to giving you greater choice and control of what you want to watch, at a time that is convenient to you.”

Currently the only one of its kind in Sri Lanka, PEO TV enables viewers clearer, better, digital quality pictures on MPEG 4 Advance Video Compression (AVC) format.

Working through your existing Sri Lanka Telecom wire line, PEO TV delivers 24 hour service of an exciting array of local and international channels under the genre’s from the very latest, the golden oldies, action, romance, comedy as per one’s choice as well as free-to-air local television stations, which includes Rupavahini, Channel Eye, ITN, Derana and Max TV.

In addition, PEO TV is using cutting edge technology, it is able to deliver digital quality pictures and sound, virtually eliminating the usual disruptions that occur with regular satellite TV during the rainy season.

Microsoft supports innovative teachers competition

The Innovative Teachers Competition will be held exclusively for teachers across the country on an annual basis.

This competition is designed to help motivate and recognise all teachers who actively use Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in their teaching and learning, to create effective and productive learning experiences in their classrooms on a day-to-day basis.

The main objective of this competition is to jumpstart the use of ICT in schools, so that children become aware of the potential of IT from a young age and also to encourage educators to adopt ICT as part and parcel of their teaching methods. As it is a main objective of the Ministry of Education and Microsoft’s efforts to bridge the digital divide by making IT more accessible to students across the island.

It is both Microsoft Sri Lanka’s and the Ministry of Education’s primary aim, to reach out to all schools across the island via this competition.

Microsoft’s global initiative ‘Partners in Learning’ focuses on the development and sustainability of three main pillars in the education system, namely; Innovative Teachers, Innovative Students and Innovative Schools. This competition deals with the Innovative Teachers pillar, one component of which is the annual Innovative Teachers Competition, which is conducted by Microsoft Sri Lanka, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education.

The Innovative Teachers programme is built on the understanding that informed and empowered teachers will be at the heart of the constructive and powerful teaching and learning process. Innovative Teachers, enables teachers to learn from one another and work collaboratively on new approaches to learning through national or region-wide portals.

Going beyond traditional methods of teaching, they will inspire educators to teach students in effective ways that were previously considered impossible. They will also help pioneering educators to identify which of the new learning programs are most effective and will enable teachers and schools to share their knowledge with colleagues around the world, so new practices can continue to grow and thrive.

All submissions are judged by a panel of IT experts and academics, in each province using a set of predefined measurement criteria. The criteria for selection includes, exemplary and innovative use of technology in teaching, educational talent as evidenced by instructional practices in the classroom, demonstration of an engaging and inspiring presence to motivate and impact students, and the optimum use of technologies available in their school or community.

Commencing as of 2008, Microsoft is partnering with the Ministry of Education in conducting a student competition similar to the Innovative Teachers Competition, which focuses on students demonstrating their ICT skills through creating a lesson plan based on a subject of choice.

Telephone users in China approach 1 b

Telephone users in China are approaching the 1 billion mark and Internet users are nearing 300 million.

New technologies and businesses driven by the popularization of the Internet are developing at a high speed and are promoting the transformation of China’s telecommunications industry. At present, data services including text messaging and broadband Internet access account for 33.4% of total revenue in the telecommunications industry. The trend to integrate telecommunications networks, which previously mainly transmitted voice content, with the Internet and cable TV networks is becoming increasingly apparent.

Xi Guohua, deputy minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology disclosed at the recently-held 2009 China Telecom Group Working Conference that, by the end of October, total number of telephone users in China reached 979 million, including 627 million mobile telephone subscribers and 352 million fixed-line users. The mobile phone business is continuing to replace the fixed-line business.

Xi said, there is no technical problem in integrating telecommunication networks, the Internet and cable TV networks. The main barriers lie in the institutions. The government is actively promoting the integration process of the three networks, and telecommunication operators should attach great importance to the development trend that is closely connected with the expansion of this business.

The 3G business operators’ annual investments in telecommunications infrastructure construction will reach 200 billion yuan for the next five years.

People’s Daily Online
 

E-Learning seminar on SA 8000 held

The National Productivity Secretariat, under the Ministry of Laour Relations and Manpower conducted a Distance Learning Seminar on Social Accountability System: SA 8000 with the collaboration of Asian Productivity Organisation, Japan.

The Asian Productivity Organisation offered these courses to enhance the productivity of their member countries. For this course, there were three member countries were participated with Sri Lanka such as Cambodia, Mongolia and Nepal.

The resource persons were represented from Malaysia and Thailand this course was held on December 2-4 2008 at the Distance Learning Centre of Sri Lanka Institute of Development Administration, Col-ombo 7.

There were 27 participants had been participated for this course which represented the private sector and public sector.

The local project moderator was Director General of Sri Lanka Standards Institution Dr. L. N. Senaweera. He conducted and facilitated the course.

The objective of this programme was to train participants through e-learning platform on SA 8000 standards, requirements and application and prepare them as to be certified SA 8000 auditors in order to enhance the social responsibility and productivity.

This program was covered the areas of concepts of corporate social responsibilities in business, SA 8000 as a Social Accountability Management System, intent and interpretation of the requirements of the SA 8000 standards, Implementation of SA 8000 and certification for SA 8000.

Assessing Android’s potential in 2009

Perhaps one of the most exciting developments in the cell phone industry this year was the final release of the T-Mobile G1 (also known as the HTC Dream), and with it, the first commercial version of the Android operating system.

Even though we thought the G1 itself left much to be desired, we were impressed overall at the potential of the Android OS, and encouraged that Google’s Open Handset Alliance might finally move the open-source platform forward. But, of course, Google faces great challenges ahead just in terms of market share-Symbian and Windows Mobile have a huge stake in the smart phone market, not to mention the Apple iPhone and RIM’s line of BlackBerrys.

Still, there are several indications that 2009 might be the year Android truly comes into its own. We’ve heard news that Sony Ericsson and HTC are planning new Android phones in time for summer next year; Chinese company Huawei is developing an Android smart phone; and Samsung has revealed Plans for a “full touch screen” Android handset by next year as well.

cnet

Biz Tech quiz

Next week’s Biz Tech quiz is “Where are the device drivers’ settings for Microsoft Windows stored?”

The winner will receive the world’s smallest computer mouse sponsored by Sala Enterprises. Sala Enterprises is involved in marketing IT related products for over 14 years.

You can send your answers to [email protected] or post your answers to Sala Enterprises No 445, Havelock Road Colombo 06. Please mark “Daily News Biz Tech quiz” on your answers. The winner will be announced every two weeks.