[BIZTECH]

Etisalat, Ministry in laptop project

Etisalat Lanka (Pvt.) Limited, in collaboration with the Education Ministry, recently contributed towards providing laptops to selected schools in rural areas.

The objective of the project, titled the OLPC Project (One Laptop per Child), aims to enhance computer literacy among students in rural schools. Other corporations that joined hands for this worthy cause are Hatton National Bank and the Charter Foundation of Sri Lanka.

Etisalat Lanka is at the forefront in contributing towards improving the literacy and IT skills of children by providing opportunities and resources for the accessibility of knowledge through its CSR initiatives.

In keeping with Etisalat's socially responsible policy, the project aims to provide means through which the academic performance of children will be enhanced by IT knowledge and skills, a vital platform which prepares today's youth for the competitive and demanding work environment.

Also, since the entire syllabus is uploaded onto the computers, the students have all the information they need at their fingertips.

All students up to grade five have received laptops which have been uploaded with their current syllabus. Thus far, fifty five students at Kukulkatuwa Vidyalaya, Nochchiyagama, have been fortunate recipients of laptops, made available to them since the beginning of this month. Etisalat Lanka CEO Dumindra Ratnayaka expressed pride at being involved in a project of this nature. Children are the foundation for a brighter future, and we are honoured to supply their needs by building a solid academic base for these children to enhance their life opportunities, arming them with the gift of knowledge and skills necessary to further their dreams and aspirations, he said.

Intel builds partner expertise

Intel Sri Lanka recently concluded training sessions for sales representatives of all its retail partner outlets in Galle, Kandy and Colombo.

The training programs, focused on the Intel Core i7, Core i5 and Core i3 family of processors.

Intel EM Limited, Country Business Manager Indika de Zoysa said, "Familiarizing our retail partners with the latest Intel technology is part of an effort to ensure our customers receive a knowledgeable and professional service.

Intel introduced a new range of processors in Sri Lanka which feature intelligent technology that adapts to individual requirements and guarantees accelerated performance.

The training sessions were also an opportunity to update our partners on industry trends and strengthen the retail network" Around 250 sales representatives participated in the orientation programs conducted by Retail Marketing Manager - South India and Sri Lanka, Deepak Yadav and Indika de Zoysa on the new range of Intel processors.

The programs detailed the features and benefits of the processors, providing insights and clarifications that would enable retailers to provide a superior service to the end user.

Based on Intel's award-winning "Nehalem" micro architecture, the processors deliver smart performance for music, gaming, videos, movies, photos, social networking and other demanding mainstream applications.

The Intel Core i7 and Core i5 processors also feature exclusive Intel Turbo Boost Technology, which automatically accelerates performance and ensures smart computing.

Improve mobile phone customer service:

IBM anti-spam software

IBM said Thursday it has developed a system for a Chinese mobile phone operator that blocks spam text messaging, but denied the software could be used as a censorship tool.

The US software giant said the system had been developed for a subsidiary of China Mobile, the world's biggest telecom operator.

"The anti-spam texting system IBM developed for Fujian Mobile is solely designed to improve the performance of telecommunications networks by blocking high network traffic associated with spam SMS activity," IBM spokeswoman Harriet Ip told AFP.

"It is not designed to filter content or censor data and it is not technically capable of doing so."

"Its sole purpose is to improve mobile phone customer service by eliminating meddlesome spam text messages." No other companies had plans to install the system, she added.

Ip's comments came after the Financial Times reported that IBM's anti-spam software could be used by the Chinese mobile phone operator to censor text messages. China is the biggest mobile phone market in the world, with more than 750 million subscribers, official figures show.

AFP

PC House introduces "PC Clinic"

PC House launched a comprehensive hardware maintenance service free for the first time in Sri Lanka.

This is executed regional wise as a part of the company's national sales project, primarily targeting the government sector.

"PC Clinic" is a venture steered by a specially assigned team, which consists of a well-experienced and trained technical experts offering comprehensive on-site service that would resolve any technical issues occurred even for unwarranted products.

In addition, customers will be able to benefit through special offers of selected range of products and services such as Anti virus, UPS, Power Supply Units, Genuine Windows Vista license, and other hardware services required.

The first PC clinic was conducted in the Ratnapura district, and the next clinics will commence at Ampara, Negombo, Kandy, Badulla, Bandarawela, Kurunegala, Anuradhapura, Matara, Vavuniya, Jaffna, Kaduruwela and Ampara.

Existing and new customers will be able to benefit through prompt responses to unlimited service calls of hardware related service issues, priority services for Annual Maintenance Contract clients (AMC) and the introduction of standby support. Response time will be within two to four working hours, while this mobile service is running within the vicinity.

Chairman, and founder of PC House S. H. M. Rishan said, "the Government sector is 65 percent - 70 percent in terms of market share for PC House.

With the escalating IT literacy rate and the rapid expansion and adaptation of Information and Technology, communities and institutions understand the requirement and use of IT.

Hence, the use of hardware will grow and so will the requirement of hardware maintenance services. We are honoured to pioneer the initiative, giving significance to our valued customers," he said.

Egypt bans international Internet voice calls

Egypt has banned international calls made through mobile Internet connections, one of Egypt's top three mobile phone operators said on Tuesday, which would include internet Skype calls.

The ban applies to Egypt's three mobile operators.

AFP

E-WIS becomes the Best Premier Partner of HP

EWIS acquired the Premier Business Partner of the year 2009 - PSG (Personal Systems Group) award for the fifth consecutive year, proving its service excellence yet again, at HP (Hewlett Packard) Business Partner Forum "HP Deep Blue".

This was awarded in recognition of the outstanding performance of E-WIS by achieving a significant year-on-year revenue growth and about 40 percent significant contribution to HP PSG business, penetration to key customer accounts and its exceptional performance in the public sector.

The award ceremony took place at Amaya Reef, Hikkaduwa, recently.

The event took place under the patronage of Tian Chong - Vice president PSG South East Asia Taiwan and Korea, Philip Lau - General Manager -PSG- Asia Emerging Countries, Irving Oh -General Manager - IPG - Asia Emerging Countries and officials from HP Sri Lanka.

E-WIS Sales Manager Nalaka Ranasinghe acquired the Sales Excellence award in the PSG category for the year 2009 in recognition of achieving the highest contribution to HP PSG business by an individual.

He was also recognized for the excellent performance in retaining current customers, building new accounts, commitment to achieving a task etc.

HP is ranked ninth in the Fortune 500 listing and is the world's largest IT company with a revenue totaling US $ 114.6 billion in 2009.

More than 300,000 employees of HP are working in 170 countries are serving more than one billion customers.

Nintendo to launch 3D portable game console

Nintendo has unveiled plans to launch a handheld 3D video game console that does not require special glasses, seeking to harness surging interest in images that appear to jump out of the screen.

The Japanese electronics giant, which competes with Sony and Microsoft in the multi-billion dollar video game industry, said the new machine, tentatively called the Nintendo 3DS, would be introduced some time by March next year.

The device will succeed Nintendo's DS series - the best-selling portable video game console ever with sales of more than 125 million units since its launch in 2004 - and will be compatible with DS games, the company said.

The announcement on Tuesday comes as handheld game consoles face growing competition from games available on mobile telephones such as Apple's iPhone.

Nintendo, the maker of the hit Wii games console, did not say how much the 3Ds would cost, promising more details in June at the annual E3 videogame convention in Los Angeles.

Consumer electronics makers are battling for a share of the market for 3D televisions and other gadgets, aiming to ride a new wave of interest in the technology thanks to recent movies such as sci-fi blockbuster "Avatar".

Sony is also aiming to make its PlayStation 3 compatible with 3D games but, unlike Nintendo's planned device, users are expected to have to buy a new television and special glasses to enjoy 3D images.

AFP

Japanese publishers to discuss on e-books

Japan's top book publishers Wednesday formed an alliance to harness the growing e-book market as Amazon's Kindle and e-book readers by Sony and other companies are set to battle for market share.

The Electronic Book Publishers Association of Japan was launched with 31 members to discuss formats for Japanese e-books, legal issues related to the expanding industry, and to analyse what people like to read digitally.

"We cannot ignore the impact which the expanding market for electronic books has on the publishing industry," said Yoshinobu Noma, vice president of publisher Kodansha and the leader of the new association.

The Japanese electronic book market is now estimated to be worth 46 billion yen (about 500 million dollars), with most titles distributed via mobile telephones and conventional computers.

Japanese major electronics companies including Sony and Panasonic have introduced e-book readers in the past but they have yet to win the hearts of Japanese readers. Amazon now sells its popular Kindle e-book reader in Japan, but has yet to introduce Japanese-language books for the device.

AFP

India's Bharti boss on cusp of realising African dream

Indian telecom tycoon Sunil Bharti Mittal is on the cusp of achieving his dream of building a presence in Africa with a planned 10.7 billion dollar buy-out of assets from Kuwait-based Zain.

But analysts say Mittal, a self-confessed business "junkie" always hungering for the next deal, will need all his entrepreneurial chutzpah to turn around Zain's loss-making phone operations. Mittal, who heads India's largest mobile company Bharti Airtel, will be entering "not just one market but 15 markets," said Romal Shetty, telecommunications head at global consultancy KPMG's India unit.

"You can't play a single strategy for all of them," he said. "He has a lot of work ahead."

Bharti, hoping to make it third-time lucky in Africa after two failed bids for South African giant MTN, said Friday it expected to seal a deal in the coming days by which the firm would buy most of Zain's African networks. Mittal, 52, is looking to expand foreign revenues amid a savage price war at home.

He has already warned shareholders the purchase will hit Bharti's earnings but the trim and dapper CEO says the company needs a "growth story" in sub-Saharan Africa, one of the world's least developed phone markets.

AFP