From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Sun Aug 1 18:17:10 1999 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id SAA07079; Sun, 1 Aug 1999 18:10:54 GMT Received: from isp.super.net.pk (isp.super.net.pk [203.130.2.4]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id SAA07065 for ; Sun, 1 Aug 1999 18:10:21 GMT Received: from excel586 (khi-line-125.super.net.pk [203.130.5.125]) by isp.super.net.pk (8.9.1/8.9.1) with SMTP id XAA08001 for ; Sun, 1 Aug 1999 23:09:10 +0500 (GMT+0500) Message-Id: <199908011809.XAA08001@isp.super.net.pk> From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Sun, 1 Aug 1999 23:11:38 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: Conference on IT in Asia X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.01d) Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT [from IICD Email Report (1 Aug 1999)] Event: Conference on Information Technology in Asia: Information Equality in the Next Millennium (CITA '99) Date: 15/9/1999 until 16/9/1999 Location: Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia The Asia Regional Conference of The International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP), Working Group 9.4 - on The Social Implications of Computers In Developing Countries The United Nations is greatly concerned about the imbalance in access to communication facilities. The information technology gap and related inequities between industrialized and developing nations are widening. Most developing countries are not sharing in the communication revolution. A new type of poverty - information poverty - looms. Information Technology has undoubtedly fuelled the startling pace of Asia's recent development. Yet, tremendous contrasts still exist throughout Asia in the extent and depth of IT use. For most Asians, telephone calls are a rare luxury and computers are unknown. Are the poor destined to be perpetual bystanders on the information superhighway? Will the next millennium herald an information age which is inhabited by a minority elite only or will the poor majority be allowed to share equally in the benefits of a wired society? For more information: http://www.unimas.my/cita99/ From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Sun Aug 1 19:06:28 1999 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id TAA08316; Sun, 1 Aug 1999 19:04:53 GMT Received: from isp.super.net.pk (isp.super.net.pk [203.130.2.4]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id TAA08308 for ; Sun, 1 Aug 1999 19:04:32 GMT Received: from excel586 (khi-line-125.super.net.pk [203.130.5.125]) by isp.super.net.pk (8.9.1/8.9.1) with SMTP id AAA31201 for ; Mon, 2 Aug 1999 00:03:39 +0500 (GMT+0500) Message-Id: <199908011903.AAA31201@isp.super.net.pk> From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Mon, 2 Aug 1999 00:06:11 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: Consortium for IT Benchmarking in India X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.01d) Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT [the following is from Newsbytes Asia Week In Review (30 Jul 1999). may i request fellow S-Asia-ITers (especially Frederick Noronha) to help the mailing list follow-up this story. irfan] QAI (India) Ltd formed the Consortium for IT Benchmarking in India which will benchmark the performance of Indian software products against competing products globally. Copyright (c) Post-Newsweek Business Information, Inc. All rights reserved. For more NEWSBYTES see http://www.newsbytes.com From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Wed Aug 4 08:49:36 1999 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id IAA09935; Wed, 4 Aug 1999 08:30:02 GMT Received: from rmx07.globecomm.net (rmx07.iname.net [165.251.8.75]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id IAA09890 for ; Wed, 4 Aug 1999 08:29:54 GMT From: irfankhan@altavista.net Received: from weba8.iname.net by rmx07.globecomm.net (8.9.1/8.8.0) with ESMTP id EAA22930 Received: (from root@localhost) by weba8.iname.net (8.9.1a/8.9.2.Alpha2) id EAA23583; Wed, 4 Aug 1999 04:29:39 -0400 (EDT) MIME-Version: 1.0 Message-Id: <9908040429384I.15208@weba8.iname.net> Date: Wed, 4 Aug 1999 04:29:38 -0400 (EDT) Content-Type: Text/Plain Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Cc: khania@super.net.pk Subject: India Says Has Issued 132 Internet Licenses Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit India Says Has Issued 132 Internet Licenses July 30 (Reuters) - The Indian government said on Friday that it has issued 132 licences to Internet service providers (ISPs) since it freed up the state-controlled sector last November. Of these, 22 have Category A licences which enable firms to offer services all across India, the Communications Ministry said in a statement. Pacific Internet of Singapore is among firms which have won Category A licences. Forty three firms have been given Category B licences to cover states or metropolitan cities, while 67 licences have been in the Category C that covers small or medium-sized towns, the statement said. Other Category A licencees are Satyam Infoway, a unit of Satyam Computer Services Ltd, the Wipro group, Zee Telefilms, CMC, BPL Telecom and Punjab Wireless. http://asia.internet.com/Reuters/1999/07/3003-news.html ---------------------------------------------------------------- Get your free email from AltaVista at http://altavista.iname.com From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Wed Aug 4 17:22:58 1999 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id RAA16156; Wed, 4 Aug 1999 17:22:02 GMT Received: from rmx09.globecomm.net (rmx09.iname.net [165.251.8.95]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id RAA16136 for ; Wed, 4 Aug 1999 17:21:49 GMT From: irfankhan@altavista.net Received: from weba7.iname.net by rmx09.globecomm.net (8.9.1/8.8.0) with ESMTP id NAA20394 Received: (from root@localhost) by weba7.iname.net (8.9.1a/8.9.2.Alpha2) id NAA12425; Wed, 4 Aug 1999 13:21:04 -0400 (EDT) MIME-Version: 1.0 Message-Id: <9908041321035G.07819@weba7.iname.net> Date: Wed, 4 Aug 1999 13:21:03 -0400 (EDT) Content-Type: Text/Plain Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Cc: khania@super.net.pk Subject: [Pakistan] EPB plans to boost software exports to $1 bil Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Date sent: 3 Aug 1999 Export Promotion Bureau plans to boost software exports to $1 billion: chairman distributes certificates MUZAFFAR QURESHI KARACHI (August 2) : The Export Promotion Bureau has drawn up a plan to boost export of software to one billion dollars in next three years and for this purpose it would promote computer education in collaboration with technical institutes in the country. Addressing the certificate distribution ceremony at the Towel Manufacturers Association (TMA) Textile Institute in Korangi on Saturday, Minister of State and Chairman Export Promotion Bureau M. A. Wajid Jawwad said that to achieve the software export target the country needed about 50,000 computer graduates and a sufficient number of teachers to train these graduates in next three years. He said that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was very keen to develop computer education in the country necessary to clinch a reasonable share in global software trade. The Prime Minister has directed the concerned authorities to submit a special report on software development in the country in the next Cabinet meeting. Comparing software exports with India the EPB chief said that Pakistan's annual software export is just over five million dollars against India's six billion dollars. The present number of computer graduates in the country was not sufficient. He said that the Bureau would give funds from the Export Development Fund to promote quality computer education and it will join hands with all technical institutes to ensure that the level and quality of computer education specially for the export oriented industries is increased. Copyright 1999 Business Recorder (www.brecorder.com) http://www.brecorder.com/story/S0011/S1102/S1102107.htm ---------------------------------------------------------------- Get your free email from AltaVista at http://altavista.iname.com From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Wed Aug 4 17:25:13 1999 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id RAA16312; Wed, 4 Aug 1999 17:25:12 GMT Received: from rmx07.globecomm.net (rmx07.iname.net [165.251.8.75]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id RAA16306 for ; Wed, 4 Aug 1999 17:25:09 GMT From: irfankhan@altavista.net Received: from weba8.iname.net by rmx07.globecomm.net (8.9.1/8.8.0) with ESMTP id NAA19304 Received: (from root@localhost) by weba8.iname.net (8.9.1a/8.9.2.Alpha2) id NAA27975; Wed, 4 Aug 1999 13:23:22 -0400 (EDT) MIME-Version: 1.0 Message-Id: <990804132321AN.08621@weba8.iname.net> Date: Wed, 4 Aug 1999 13:23:21 -0400 (EDT) Content-Type: Text/Plain Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Cc: khania@super.net.pk Subject: [Pakistan] EPB plans to boost software exports to $1 bil Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Date sent: 3 Aug 1999 Export Promotion Bureau plans to boost software exports to $1 billion: chairman distributes certificates MUZAFFAR QURESHI KARACHI (August 2) : The Export Promotion Bureau has drawn up a plan to boost export of software to one billion dollars in next three years and for this purpose it would promote computer education in collaboration with technical institutes in the country. Addressing the certificate distribution ceremony at the Towel Manufacturers Association (TMA) Textile Institute in Korangi on Saturday, Minister of State and Chairman Export Promotion Bureau M. A. Wajid Jawwad said that to achieve the software export target the country needed about 50,000 computer graduates and a sufficient number of teachers to train these graduates in next three years. He said that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was very keen to develop computer education in the country necessary to clinch a reasonable share in global software trade. The Prime Minister has directed the concerned authorities to submit a special report on software development in the country in the next Cabinet meeting. Comparing software exports with India the EPB chief said that Pakistan's annual software export is just over five million dollars against India's six billion dollars. The present number of computer graduates in the country was not sufficient. He said that the Bureau would give funds from the Export Development Fund to promote quality computer education and it will join hands with all technical institutes to ensure that the level and quality of computer education specially for the export oriented industries is increased. Copyright 1999 Business Recorder (www.brecorder.com) http://www.brecorder.com/story/S0011/S1102/S1102107.htm ---------------------------------------------------------------- Get your free email from AltaVista at http://altavista.iname.com From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Wed Aug 4 17:28:18 1999 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id RAA16422; Wed, 4 Aug 1999 17:28:10 GMT Received: from rmx09.globecomm.net (rmx09.iname.net [165.251.8.95]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id RAA16418 for ; Wed, 4 Aug 1999 17:28:08 GMT From: irfankhan@altavista.net Received: from weba2.iname.net by rmx09.globecomm.net (8.9.1/8.8.0) with ESMTP id NAA23504 Received: (from root@localhost) by weba2.iname.net (8.9.1a/8.9.2.Alpha2) id NAA07828; Wed, 4 Aug 1999 13:26:56 -0400 (EDT) MIME-Version: 1.0 Message-Id: <9908041326561P.06030@weba2.iname.net> Date: Wed, 4 Aug 1999 13:26:56 -0400 (EDT) Content-Type: Text/Plain Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Cc: khania@super.net.pk Subject: [India] Most banks, financial institutions are Y2K ready Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Most banks, financial institutions are Y2K ready All commercial banks, non-banking subsidiaries, financial institutions and primary and satellite dealers, with the exception of a few, have been found Y2K compliant. This was declared at a high- level working group of the Reserve Bank of India that met in Bombay recently. The meeting was held under the chairmanship of RBI Deputy Governor S P Talwar. It reviewed contingency plans of 95 commercial banks and recommended that they have dry runs of the plans in simulated environment and ensure availability of resource persons and vendors during the transition period. The committee felt that banks would have to also ensure that the recovery plans of their main systems are in place in the event of failure so as to cut the duration to operate contingency plans to the minimum. At the meeting, there were special invitees from institutions like the Industrial Development Bank of India, Life Insurance Corporation, Securities and Exchange Board of India and the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development. They apprised members of their contingency plans in a simulated environment. The meeting also considered the proposal of declaring January 1 and 3 as exceptional holidays for the purpose of Y2K preparatory arrangements but felt that such a declaration would come in the way of smooth transition to the next millennium. It was felt that the infrastructure and corporate sectors should disseminate information on their Y2K preparedness as widely as possible to further the confidence in their businesses. UNI http://www.rediff.com/computer/1999/aug/02y2k.htm ---------------------------------------------------------------- Get your free email from AltaVista at http://altavista.iname.com From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Thu Aug 5 02:23:56 1999 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id CAA09997; Thu, 5 Aug 1999 02:22:46 GMT Received: from rmx07.globecomm.net (rmx07.iname.net [165.251.8.75]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id CAA09985 for ; Thu, 5 Aug 1999 02:22:42 GMT From: irfankhan@altavista.net Received: from weba7.iname.net by rmx07.globecomm.net (8.9.1/8.8.0) with ESMTP id WAA05325 Received: (from root@localhost) by weba7.iname.net (8.9.1a/8.9.2.Alpha2) id WAA21194; Wed, 4 Aug 1999 22:22:29 -0400 (EDT) MIME-Version: 1.0 Message-Id: <99080422222985.14093@weba7.iname.net> Date: Wed, 4 Aug 1999 22:22:29 -0400 (EDT) Content-Type: Text/Plain Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Cc: khania@super.net.pk Subject: [India] National Library to go international on the Net Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit National Library to go international on the Net Kalyan Parbat and Sugata Ghosh CALCUTTA 1 AUGUST THE NATIONAL Library of Calcutta, India’s largest single library, will soon keep its tryst with virtual reality. Efforts are underway to host the library’s priceless archives on the Internet for the benefit of scholars and bibliophiles across the globe. The endeavour is monumental because it involves the digitisation of a staggering 3- million books. If one includes the library’s collection of rare journals, the total number of titles that will have to undergo digital conversion is close to 8 million. “Our prime objective is preserving these historical volumes for posterity. We have rare documents such as the East India Company Gazette, and others dating back to 1720,” National Library director Asit Ranjan Banerjee, told The Economic Times. Notably, some of the journals in the National Library’s possession such as Prabashi, one of the earliest magazines on Calcutta, are the sole existing copies in the world. The library is also the repository of priceless collections of Sir Ashutosh Mukherjee’s 80,000-odd rare volumes, which include the earliest editions of Chaucer’s Aesop’s Fables and Grimm’s Fairy Tales. National Library’s partner in this dream exercise is Calcutta-based Stex Software, a key player in imaging technology with over 600 high- flier clients in India and across south-east Asia. Digital conversion would typically mean scanning the documents in black and white, or colour, depending on their nature, digitally cleaning them, compressing and indexing them to facilitate easy access after storage on CD-ROMs. The digitisation of the National Library’s works will be implemented in several stages. The first phase will involve the digital archiving of the oldest books which are in fragile condition. In the second phase, Stex Software will take up the digital conversion of another 10,000 titles. The initial pilot project, which involves the digital conversion of 4.21 lakh pages, will be completed soon. “The final task is making the National Library’s valuable books and documents available on the Internet which surfers can access from their own PCs around the world,” said B H Gupta, director of Stex Software. But the National Library director concedes that digitisation of the entire library would take a long time, given the sheer magnitude of the work. http://www.economictimes.com/020899/02tech03.htm ---------------------------------------------------------------- Get your free email from AltaVista at http://altavista.iname.com From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Thu Aug 5 02:23:56 1999 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id CAA09996; Thu, 5 Aug 1999 02:22:46 GMT Received: from rmx07.globecomm.net (rmx07.iname.net [165.251.8.75]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id CAA09986 for ; Thu, 5 Aug 1999 02:22:42 GMT From: irfankhan@altavista.net Received: from weba4.iname.net by rmx07.globecomm.net (8.9.1/8.8.0) with ESMTP id WAA04248 Received: (from root@localhost) by weba4.iname.net (8.9.1a/8.9.2.Alpha2) id WAA06187; Wed, 4 Aug 1999 22:19:35 -0400 (EDT) MIME-Version: 1.0 Message-Id: <990804221935DT.24066@weba4.iname.net> Date: Wed, 4 Aug 1999 22:19:35 -0400 (EDT) Content-Type: Text/Plain Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Cc: khania@super.net.pk Subject: [India] E-commerce laws draft handed over to law ministry Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit E-commerce laws draft handed over to law ministry The commerce ministry has formulated and sent a draft of the Electronic Commerce Act and Electronic Commerce Support Act to the law ministry for adoption. This draft is being hosted on the site of the National Informatics Centre since yesterday. The Electronic Commerce Act aims to facilitate the development of a secure regulatory environment for electronic commerce by providing a legal infrastructure governing electronic contracting, security and integrity of electronic transactions, the use of digital signature and other issues related to electronic commerce. UNI http://www.rediff.com/computer/1999/aug/02draft.htm ---------------------------------------------------------------- Get your free email from AltaVista at http://altavista.iname.com From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Thu Aug 5 02:26:18 1999 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id CAA10209; Thu, 5 Aug 1999 02:26:16 GMT Received: from rmx05.globecomm.net (rmx05.iname.net [206.253.130.43]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id CAA10200 for ; Thu, 5 Aug 1999 02:26:13 GMT From: irfankhan@altavista.net Received: from weba1.iname.net by rmx05.globecomm.net (8.9.1/8.8.0) with ESMTP id WAA02167 Received: (from root@localhost) by weba1.iname.net (8.9.1a/8.9.2.Alpha2) id WAA01151; Wed, 4 Aug 1999 22:25:40 -0400 (EDT) MIME-Version: 1.0 Message-Id: <990804222540FA.00228@weba1.iname.net> Date: Wed, 4 Aug 1999 22:25:40 -0400 (EDT) Content-Type: Text/Plain Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Cc: khania@super.net.pk Subject: First World Web Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit [the following appeared on a website, hence reference to online connectivity. ik] First World Web By John S. McCright, PC Week Online 13 July 1999, 1:44 PM ET If you're reading this column, you should feel pretty special. No, I don't say that because I have anything spectacularly unique to say, but because if you're reading this, it means you have Internet access. While that has become commonplace in the United States and not at all unusual in Western Europe, much of the other three-fifths of the world is a long way from being connected to the World Wide Web (or any other computer network). According to the United Nations' 1999 Human Development Report, 88 percent of the world's 143 million Internet users are in the two dozen or so wealthiest countries. "Stop-the-presses" news this is not. Most netizens could have guessed that number within 10 percentage points. Most also will not be surprised to learn that they are, like me, young, white, male and well-educated. A tear in the fabric Other than as one of the hundreds of curious bits of information that inundate us, why should we spend more than a minute or two on this story? Because it's another sign of the growing tear in the worldwide fabric of our economy. We are already in the midst of a great change that is making our economy run at the speed of information. If we don't take steps to make this wonderful communications medium more broadly used, the result will be a lifestyle that won't be half as good as it could be. Disparity between rich and poor nations is nothing new. In 1960, the wealthiest 20 percent of the world's population earned 30 times more than the poorest 20 percent. In 1999, the top group made 74 times more. The U.N. study outlines threats to international stability: HIV infection, international crime, human rights abuses by multinational corporations and transnational pollution (such as acid rain). The introduction of more widespread technology to poorer countries would undoubtedly mean better-educated and better-informed people, who in turn are more likely to successfully battle HIV, crime and acid rain. Of course, a wired work force in Third World countries would probably also throw a brighter spotlight on human rights abuses. One has to wonder if that plays a role in some people's reluctance to push the spread of technology to the farthest corners of the impoverished world. Some people looking at these statistics will say that bleeding-heart liberals just want to redistribute wealth to no good end. But look at it selfishly. If you want more return on your investments in foreign countries, make sure they have the best tools to work with. The Internet is a great tool. In centuries gone by, wealthy nations sent missionaries to poorer countries in hopes of making converts and bringing them under their sphere of influence. Beginning in the 1960s, the United States began sending Peace Corps workers to these same countries to improve infrastructure and educate their people. Besides building a physical plant, these travelers opened the rest of the world to Western ways of thinking and brought back nontraditional ideas to Westerners. I don't have the prescription for ensuring broader worldwide access to the Internet and to computer technology. Maybe, as the U.N. report suggests, it is a "bit tax" that creates a pool of money for infrastructure development among the have-nots. (Despite loud criticism, the e-rate program, in which phone users subsidize some Internet access costs, has already, in a year and a half, begun to get more schools and libraries online.) Perhaps there is a way, through tax breaks, to encourage multinational companies to increase infrastructure investments in the world's poorest countries. Regardless of the method for encouraging the growth of a truly worldwide Web, it is important to get the discussion started. What should we do to encourage the reach of the Internet throughout the world? Tell me at john_mccright@zd.com. Off the Cuff, an online exclusive column, appears Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Copyright (c) 1999 ZDNet http://www.zdnet.com/pcweek/stories/news/0,4153,2292880,00.html ---------------------------------------------------------------- Get your free email from AltaVista at http://altavista.iname.com From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Thu Aug 5 02:28:41 1999 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id CAA10315; Thu, 5 Aug 1999 02:28:39 GMT Received: from rmx05.globecomm.net (rmx05.iname.net [206.253.130.43]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id CAA10308 for ; Thu, 5 Aug 1999 02:28:36 GMT From: irfankhan@altavista.net Received: from weba1.iname.net by rmx05.globecomm.net (8.9.1/8.8.0) with ESMTP id WAA02822 Received: (from root@localhost) by weba1.iname.net (8.9.1a/8.9.2.Alpha2) id WAA01349; Wed, 4 Aug 1999 22:28:24 -0400 (EDT) MIME-Version: 1.0 Message-Id: <99080422282450.20758@weba1.iname.net> Date: Wed, 4 Aug 1999 22:28:24 -0400 (EDT) Content-Type: Text/Plain Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Cc: khania@super.net.pk Subject: India to have 5m Net users by 2003 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit India to have 5m Net users by 2003 Our Bureaus Bangalore, Mumbai 3 AUGUST INDIA will be among the four Asian markets to have five million Internet users by the year 2003. Market research agency IDC India Ltd made this forecast at its 12th annual industry briefing. China is expected to have over 15m users, followed by India with about 8m, and Australia and Korea slightly behind. IDC has forecast that personal computers (PC) will continue to drive hardware market growth and that the future would see a tussle between multinational and local PC brands. HCL led in desktop numbers sold in '98-99 with an 8.6 per cent market share, followed by Zenith with 7.1, Compaq with 7, while IBM and Wipro had 3.5 per cent each. However, Compaq led in portables followed by IBM and Toshiba, said Mr Aditya Pant, manager, supply-side research, IDC (India) Ltd. The Indian market is set to become the third largest market in the Asia Pacific (Apac) region by the year 2003 from its current fifth position. IDC also said that a 28 per cent compounded annual growth rate between '98-2003 would catapult India into the third largest market in the region after China and Australia, said Mr Dane Anderson, vice-president, computing systems, IDC Asia/Pacific. Much of the growth will be fuelled by demand in the consumer and small business segments. The Asia Pacific region however, traditionally excludes the Japanese market. As for networking, the choice for access options will not only shift towards new technologies such as DSL-based variants (digital subscriber loop) but also points towards a prominence of Frame relay and E1 technologies. At the same time, the analogue leased lines in vogue today are expected to face diminishing usage over the next one year. In software, the enterprise resource planning (ERP) package sales and services are continuing to grow in India, though elsewhere they may be falling, said Mr Dewang Mehta, president, National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom). In India, ERP software sales will reach Rs 315 crore in '99-2000, with a growth percentage of 43.2 per cent over the '98-99 figure of Rs 220 crore. Between '97-98, where sales were worth Rs 137 crore and '98-99, the growth percentage was 60.9 per cent.In ERP vendor share by customer base, SAP led with 20 per cent as on March '99, followed by Baan with 13 per cent, QAD with 12 per cent and Ramco and Scala with 11 per cent each, Mr Mehta said. Interestingly, while ERP vendor shares among new customers in '98-99 indicate SAP still leading with 23 per cent, followed by Baan with 18 per cent, QAD with 15 per cent, Ramco with 11 per cent and Oracle with 10 per cent, the shares of SAP, Baan and Oracle have decreased from '97-98, while that of QAD has increased considerably and that of Ramco marginally. http://www.economictimes.com/today/04tech01.htm ---------------------------------------------------------------- Get your free email from AltaVista at http://altavista.iname.com From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Thu Aug 5 02:33:28 1999 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id CAA10558; Thu, 5 Aug 1999 02:33:23 GMT Received: from rmx07.globecomm.net (rmx07.iname.net [165.251.8.75]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id CAA10552 for ; Thu, 5 Aug 1999 02:33:21 GMT From: irfankhan@altavista.net Received: from weba7.iname.net by rmx07.globecomm.net (8.9.1/8.8.0) with ESMTP id WAA09091 Received: (from root@localhost) by weba7.iname.net (8.9.1a/8.9.2.Alpha2) id WAA21850; Wed, 4 Aug 1999 22:33:13 -0400 (EDT) MIME-Version: 1.0 Message-Id: <99080422331390.14093@weba7.iname.net> Date: Wed, 4 Aug 1999 22:33:13 -0400 (EDT) Content-Type: Text/Plain Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Cc: khania@super.net.pk Subject: Indian software cos to share productivity data Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Indian software cos to share productivity data Our Bangalore Bureau 3 AUGUST FOR THE first time, Indian software companies are sharing data about their productivity. Quality Assurance Institute (QAI), India has begun an initiative wherein software companies have formed a consortium to benchmark productivity and profitability. At the kick- off meet on Tuesday, 30 companies shared data and the preliminary findings were interesting. While Indian software companies compared better than international ones in terms of productivity, they were poorly off when it came to quality of output. It was also found that in terms of phases of work, a good quantity was taken up by coding rather than by project design and evaluation. This could mean that the companies were still "programming shops" rather than doing entire projects based on their own designs. Also, software companies based in India took more time to complete their projects despite having a comparable number of people working on the projects. Not that there were alarming schedule overruns; in fact, project teams were so schedule-conscious that most of them spent significantly more number of hours in their offices working. Obviously, something seems to be amiss, because although the sample was very small, many of the 30 companies have already got CMM SEI level 3 and above certification. With more and more software companies in India opting to get certified, it does make sense to find out whether these efforts were actually having any impact on the bottomlines. Said Mr Navyug Mohnot, executive director, QAI, "This consortium will help companies benchmark themselves against each other. It will give a business perspective to software engineering." Some of the participants were Infosys, NIIT, ICIL, Motorola, Philips, Mahindra British Telecom, Citicorp Overseas Software, Digitala and Tata Infotech. QAI had already roped in QSM, a US-based consultancy that helps organisations reduce the overall expense of major software development projects. It has now reached an agreement with Insead, popularly known as the Harvard Business School of Europe, which will share statistics about European software companies. http://www.economictimes.com/today/04tech03.htm ---------------------------------------------------------------- Get your free email from AltaVista at http://altavista.iname.com From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Thu Aug 5 02:35:48 1999 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id CAA10712; Thu, 5 Aug 1999 02:35:44 GMT Received: from rmx09.globecomm.net (rmx09.iname.net [165.251.8.95]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id CAA10705 for ; Thu, 5 Aug 1999 02:35:42 GMT From: irfankhan@altavista.net Received: from weba6.iname.net by rmx09.globecomm.net (8.9.1/8.8.0) with ESMTP id WAA21897 Received: (from root@localhost) by weba6.iname.net (8.9.1a/8.9.2.Alpha2) id WAA28978; Wed, 4 Aug 1999 22:35:20 -0400 (EDT) MIME-Version: 1.0 Message-Id: <990804223520D6.14251@weba6.iname.net> Date: Wed, 4 Aug 1999 22:35:20 -0400 (EDT) Content-Type: Text/Plain Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Cc: khania@super.net.pk Subject: [India] Satyam Infoway launches online political game Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Satyam Infoway launches online political game CNS Bureau Satyam Infoway has introduced `Polit-Ex' - an online political stock exchange game as part of the website, satyamonline.com. The virtual stock exchange allows users to buy and sell securities (Indian politicians) on the net. The player is given Rs 20 lakh of virtual money once he registers. With this, he can invest in any politician of his choice - Sonia Gandhi, Laloo Prasad Yadav, Vajpayee and so on. The listing price is the same for all the securities/politicians and the value fluctuates in accordance with changes in the actual political scenario. Said Padma Chandrasekaran, Vice President, Internet Online Business, Satyam, "With elections around the corner, this game could prove to be very exciting. There will be hourly updates of news as well, which will enable the users to make their portfolio decisions. There is a provision to bid for stocks as well, against someone who is looking to sell, just like a regular stock exchange. Moreover, the game will serve as a barometer of public sentiment. The portfolios will indicate which politician is the most popular among the users." On the other hand, P Chidambaram, ex-Finance Minister, who inaugurated the launch, said, "The only problem will be that those who play this game are not likely to go out and vote. I am hoping that Polit-Ex will create a healthy interest in politics and encourage people to vote." Prizes are offered to the user whose portfolio has the highest net worth at the end of each day. One of the prizes is apparels from Pepsi Urbanway. Said Padma, "Those users whose portfolios have a high net worth enter the Hall of Fame. From this list prizes are given to the top investor." She added, "We are also planning to include forums for discussion and live chat sessions with politicians in the future." A similar game, called Cric-Ex, was launched by Satyam Infoway during the World Cup. It was a virtual cricket stock exchange game along the same lines as Polit-Ex. Copyright (c) 1996-1999, Cyber Media India Limited. http://www.ciol.com/newsroom/aug99/08.asp ---------------------------------------------------------------- Get your free email from AltaVista at http://altavista.iname.com From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Thu Aug 5 02:37:16 1999 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id CAA10808; Thu, 5 Aug 1999 02:37:12 GMT Received: from rmx07.globecomm.net (rmx07.iname.net [165.251.8.75]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id CAA10802 for ; Thu, 5 Aug 1999 02:37:10 GMT From: irfankhan@altavista.net Received: from weba7.iname.net by rmx07.globecomm.net (8.9.1/8.8.0) with ESMTP id WAA10560 Received: (from root@localhost) by weba7.iname.net (8.9.1a/8.9.2.Alpha2) id WAA22037; Wed, 4 Aug 1999 22:37:02 -0400 (EDT) MIME-Version: 1.0 Message-Id: <990804223702KP.03562@weba7.iname.net> Date: Wed, 4 Aug 1999 22:37:02 -0400 (EDT) Content-Type: Text/Plain Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Cc: khania@super.net.pk Subject: Microsoft Certification: child's play? Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit In India Subia Hashmat, 11 and Supriya Singh, 12 are probably the youngest "person ever to attempt and clear the Microsoft Certified Professional examination." Story at http://www.rediff.com/computer/1999/aug/04mcp.htm Meanwhile in Pakistan a 14-year student Bilal Iqbal "is the youngest Microsoft Certified System Engineer". Details at http://www.brecorder.com/story/S0011/S1102/S1102103.htm My question: Are these children intelligent or is Microsoft certification easier to obtain? irfan ---------------------------------------------------------------- Get your free email from AltaVista at http://altavista.iname.com From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Thu Aug 5 04:20:57 1999 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id EAA16134; Thu, 5 Aug 1999 04:19:05 GMT Received: from pop.sat.net.pk ([63.71.58.4]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id EAA16128 for ; Thu, 5 Aug 1999 04:19:01 GMT Received: from akunet.org ([63.70.25.3]) by pop.sat.net.pk (Post.Office MTA v3.5.3 release 223 ID# 0-59759U15000L15000S0V35) with ESMTP id pk; Thu, 5 Aug 1999 04:19:04 -0500 Message-ID: <37A91099.3FAE2B80@akunet.org> Date: Thu, 05 Aug 1999 09:18:34 +0500 From: Ahmed Omair X-Mailer: Mozilla 4.5 [en] (Win95; I) X-Accept-Language: en MIME-Version: 1.0 To: irfankhan@altavista.net, S-Asia-IT Subject: Re: Microsoft Certification: child's play? References: <990804223702KP.03562@weba7.iname.net> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Here both of the facts may be true. The old habit of "learning like a parrot" (with which our kids well used to) works well in Microsoft Certification case. Also, when US$200 courses available at Rs. 400/- in a local markets, one could make a dream into reality. It is high time to see do these kids really know what they get? -Omair irfankhan@altavista.net wrote: > > In India Subia Hashmat, 11 and Supriya Singh, 12 are probably the youngest "person ever to attempt and clear the Microsoft Certified Professional examination." Story at http://www.rediff.com/computer/1999/aug/04mcp.htm > > > Meanwhile in Pakistan a 14-year student Bilal Iqbal "is the youngest Microsoft Certified System Engineer". Details at > http://www.brecorder.com/story/S0011/S1102/S1102103.htm > > My question: Are these children intelligent or is Microsoft certification easier to obtain? > > irfan > > ---------------------------------------------------------------- > Get your free email from AltaVista at http://altavista.iname.com -- -------------------------------------------- Ahmed Omair Internal: 3437 Technical Support (Internet Services) The Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan Tel.: 0092-21-4930051 Fax: 0092-21-4934294 Personal Voice Mail/Fax @: 718-764-5013 -------------------------------------------- From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Fri Aug 6 02:10:13 1999 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id CAA17142; Fri, 6 Aug 1999 02:06:00 GMT Received: from pop.sat.net.pk ([63.71.58.4]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id CAA17136 for ; Fri, 6 Aug 1999 02:05:55 GMT Received: from akunet.org ([63.70.25.3]) by pop.sat.net.pk (Post.Office MTA v3.5.3 release 223 ID# 0-59759U15000L15000S0V35) with ESMTP id pk for ; Fri, 6 Aug 1999 02:05:57 -0500 Message-ID: <37AA42ED.59DA75A1@akunet.org> Date: Fri, 06 Aug 1999 07:05:34 +0500 From: Ahmed Omair X-Mailer: Mozilla 4.5 [en] (Win95; I) X-Accept-Language: en MIME-Version: 1.0 To: S-Asia-IT Subject: Internet Reaches Layman in Middle East Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Internet Reaches Layman in Middle East Internet Arab World gauges new trends in Internet growth in region: surge in non-specialized users, growth in home use, and marginal increase in women users By Fawaz Jarrah, DIT Online Editor DUBAI: August 5, 1999 The Internet is gaining a wider popular appeal among communities in the Middle East, drawing more users from lower educational backgrounds and entering more homes than offices, according to a study by Internet Arab World (IAW) magazine. In the past year and a half the number of Internet users in the region who held only a high-school certificate or less has dramatically increased, surging from 17 percent to 27 percent. The increase comes entirely from new adult users since the study showed that the percentage of users at school age remained unchanged over the period. The percentage of users with only an undergraduate (bachelor) university degree decreased by about five points, but the group remained dominant, standing at 58.6 percent. As the total number of Internet users in the Arab world has risen to an estimated 1.1 million today, the population of the group should be more than 600,000. Holders of PhDs and master's degree accounted for 14.5 percent of those surveyed, which was a drop of about five percent over 18 months. The study, which is based on a user profile survey conducted online for the second time in a year and a half by the IAW Research Unit on a sample of more than 1000 Internet users in Arab countries, also showed that an increasing number of users were spending more time on the Internet at home than in office. The new study showed that four percent of users were accessing the Web mainly at school, college or university, and two percent used mainly Web cafes. "The trend where home is becoming the primary place for Internet access and the increasing use of the Web by the layman generally follows the same pattern observed in the United States. It's an indicator of the increasing popularity of the Internet," said Abdul Kader Kamli, editor-in-chief of Internet Arab World and PC Magazine Arabic. "Though Internet penetration in the Arab world as a whole is still limited despite the potentially huge market, the Internet has become part of the daily life for hundreds of thousands of users in the region," he said. The study also showed that the average age of Internet users in the Arab world had meanwhile increased by one year to reach 30, but remained younger than the global average, which stands at 33 years. Users between the age of 21 and 35 constituted the largest age group in the sample, accounting for 70 percent of the sample. Those between the age of 16 and 20 were almost nine percent, users at the age of 15 and below were only one percent. User between the 36 and 45 accounted for almost 16 percent of the sample, and those above 45 years were only 4.5 percent. The youngest respondent was 13 years old while the oldest was 68. The study showed that Internet traffic in the region was highest between 10:00 pm and midnight, with 21 percent of the respondents saying it was the most convenient time for them. Ten percent of the sample used the Internet after midnight and nine percent used it 8:00-10:00 pm. Fifteen percent, however, surfed the Net anytime during the day. Traffic was lowest in the early morning hours and throughout the afternoon. English was the second language at varying levels of proficiency for 88 percent of those surveyed, followed by French. The figure, however, should not be taken as reflecting the pan-Arab language scene since only small numbers of the respondents came from Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia and Lebanon, where French is widely spoken as a second language. The majority of the respondents were in Saudi Arabia; 34 percent, followed by Egypt; 18 percent, United Arab Emirates; 12 percent, Jordan; eight percent, Bahrain; seven percent, and Kuwait; six percent. The Internet community in the Arab world remained overwhelmingly dominated by men, with only a marginal increase in the number of women users in the sample from 4.2 percent to six percent. However, the smaller participation in the survey by Arab countries with more liberal attitude towards women may be offset in the survey by adding two or three percentage points to the outcome. Professional groups included engineers in other specializations, management or technical consultants, businessmen, marketing, advertising and sales executives, medical professionals, journalist, accountants and students. -- -------------------------------------------- Ahmed Omair Internal: 3437 Technical Support (Internet Services) The Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan Tel.: 0092-21-4930051 Fax: 0092-21-4934294 Personal Voice Mail/Fax @: 718-764-5013 -------------------------------------------- From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Fri Aug 6 06:06:17 1999 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id GAA00567; Fri, 6 Aug 1999 06:03:51 GMT Received: from rmx05.globecomm.net (rmx05.iname.net [206.253.130.43]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id GAA00558 for ; Fri, 6 Aug 1999 06:03:44 GMT From: irfankhan@altavista.net Received: from weba1.iname.net by rmx05.globecomm.net (8.9.1/8.8.0) with ESMTP id CAA08791 Received: (from root@localhost) by weba1.iname.net (8.9.1a/8.9.2.Alpha2) id CAA01905; Fri, 6 Aug 1999 02:02:36 -0400 (EDT) MIME-Version: 1.0 Message-Id: <9908060202357U.14124@weba1.iname.net> Date: Fri, 6 Aug 1999 02:02:35 -0400 (EDT) Content-Type: Text/Plain Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Cc: khania@super.net.pk Subject: [Pakistan] Internet users of Lahore facing serious problems Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Internet users of Lahore facing serious problems RECORDER REPORT LAHORE (August 5) : A large number of Internet users of Punjab metropolis are facing serious problems, arising out of the 'overloaded' system of Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL). According to a survey report prepared by Business Recorder, most of the Internet users complained that they were continuously experiencing interruptions and other difficulties such as low speed and delay in accessing web-sites, etc. Despite repeated complaints, the PTCL officials have failed to resolve the problems faced by the consumers, they added. When contacted, PTCL officials said that they were installing a new system to maximise the existing Internet facilities, because the users were experiencing some inconveniences. The existing Internet system, they added, had the capacity of connecting 150 Internet users simultaneously, but after the installation of the new system, this number will increase to 1,100 users. "The speed of the present system will also be enhanced from 350 KB/s to 2 MB/s," they added. PTCL officials claimed that efforts were being made to resolve the problems by the end of this month. It is important to note that PTCL has recently entered into an agreement with Siemens to extend its network to a maximum number of cities in the country. At present, the Internet facility is available in 13 cities while the PTCL plans to extend it to 22 cities including Bahawalpur, Jhelum, Gujrat, Sargodha, Abbottabad and Murree. When contacted A. D. Raza, Director, Data Network, PTCL, said that the difficulties being faced by the Internet users were not due to the installation of new system. He was of the view that overloading on present Internet system was the main reason for such problems. He said that currently the PTCL was serving as many as 2,500 Internet users in Lahore city against its capacity of 1,500 users. After the installation of the new system, the capacity will increase to 10,000, he added. Meanwhile, there are reports of a serious error in computer network of PTCL, which has rendered around 30,000 telephone lines out of orders in southern parts of the provincial capital. Copyright 1999 Business Recorder (www.brecorder.com) http://www.brecorder.com/story/S0010/S1002/S1002106.htm ---------------------------------------------------------------- Get your free email from AltaVista at http://altavista.iname.com From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Fri Aug 6 06:07:26 1999 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id GAA00714; Fri, 6 Aug 1999 06:05:44 GMT Received: from rmx05.globecomm.net (rmx05.iname.net [206.253.130.43]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id GAA00701 for ; Fri, 6 Aug 1999 06:05:41 GMT From: irfankhan@altavista.net Received: from weba8.iname.net by rmx05.globecomm.net (8.9.1/8.8.0) with ESMTP id CAA09244 Received: (from root@localhost) by weba8.iname.net (8.9.1a/8.9.2.Alpha2) id CAA21790; Fri, 6 Aug 1999 02:04:45 -0400 (EDT) MIME-Version: 1.0 Message-Id: <9908060204457Y.06740@weba8.iname.net> Date: Fri, 6 Aug 1999 02:04:45 -0400 (EDT) Content-Type: Text/Plain Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Cc: khania@super.net.pk Subject: Most nations are not equipped to deal with millennium bug, says Y2K Centre Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit [Official Y2K Websites: Highly Informative: India; Somewhat Informative: Bangladesh, Pakistan; Limited Information: Sri Lanka] Most nations are not equipped to deal with millennium bug, says Y2K Centre Jim Wolf WASHINGTON 4 AUGUST NEARLY half the world’s nations lack Web sites dealing with the Year 2000 computer glitch, a potential blow to investor confidence, a UN-backed clearing house said on Tuesday. A survey by the Washington-based International Y2K Co-operation Centre found that 87 countries had no Internet sites about preparations for the possible failure of some automated systems on January 1 2000. Only 27 nations’ Y2K websites were "highly informative", while 15 were "somewhat informative" and 23 provided "limited information", the centre said. Another 47 nations provided information in languages other than English that the World Bank-funded centre said it could not fully evaluate. Bruce McConnell, a former technology official at the White House Office of Management and Budget who is director of the International Y2K Co-operation Centre, said the more readiness information disclosed, the better a country’s chance to maintain confidence at home and in international markets. "If little information is released, people will make decisions based on consultants or rumours," he said in a statement. "They may assume the worst - that adequate preparations have not been made." The International Y2K Centre was set up in February under UN auspices to promote global co-operation to minimise problems due to the date change. It defines readiness as upgrading systems to deal with the old practice of storing dates in two-digit fields and having back-up plans for systems that are not fixed. If information on the state of preparations is not provided, the consequences will be unpredictable and could be severe, the centre warned. It said an English-language website was essential for a country to be effective in the "international finance community and the press". The centre said, it was exploring ways to assist nations in translating their Y2K web-sites into English. The so-called Y2K glitch stems from fears that computers may misread the date on January 1 as 1900 ! instead of 2000, possibly disrupting systems from airlines to bank teller machines to power grids. The centre’s survey was carried out in July. Countries with "highly informative" Y2K websites included: Australia, Botswana, Great Britain, Canada, Chile, France, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Japan, Kenya, Lithuania, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Philippines, South Korea, Singapore, South Africa, Uganda and the United States. Somewhat informative Y2K websites were maintained by the governments of Azerbaijan, Austria, Bangladesh, Cyprus, Finland, Germany, Italy, Jamaica, Latvia, Malaysia, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Sweden and Switzerland. Limited information was found on the Y2K websites of the governments of Albania, Bahamas, British Virgin Islands, Bulgaria, Cayman Islands, Colombia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ethiopia, Lebanon, Malta, Mauritius, Nicaragua, Rwanda, Slovenia, Sri Lanka, St. Kitts & Nevis, Swaziland, Thailand, Trinidad & Tobago, United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam, the centre said. - Reuters http://www.economictimes.com/today/05tech05.htm ---------------------------------------------------------------- Get your free email from AltaVista at http://altavista.iname.com From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Fri Aug 6 06:10:26 1999 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id GAA00957; Fri, 6 Aug 1999 06:08:45 GMT Received: from rmx05.globecomm.net (rmx05.iname.net [206.253.130.43]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id GAA00952 for ; Fri, 6 Aug 1999 06:08:42 GMT From: irfankhan@altavista.net Received: from weba8.iname.net by rmx05.globecomm.net (8.9.1/8.8.0) with ESMTP id CAA09855 Received: (from root@localhost) by weba8.iname.net (8.9.1a/8.9.2.Alpha2) id CAA21919; Fri, 6 Aug 1999 02:07:18 -0400 (EDT) MIME-Version: 1.0 Message-Id: <990806020717DA.25090@weba8.iname.net> Date: Fri, 6 Aug 1999 02:07:17 -0400 (EDT) Content-Type: Text/Plain Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Cc: khania@super.net.pk Subject: South Asia meeting on Global Knowledge Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit [from "Bellanet Information Dissemination List" ] Date sent: Wed, 4 Aug 1999 6:0:33 From: "Shadrach" TASKNET: Towards a South Asia Knowledge Network More than 300 people involved in international development and information technology will gather in Delhi, Vigyan Bhawan, November 23-24 for a major international conference to explore the role of knowledge, information and technology in development. The conference, entitled TASKnet: Towards a South Asian Knowledge Network, will focus on turning the information revolution into a force for economic development, social cohesion and poverty alleviation in the 21st century. TASKnet is a part of the Global knowledge Partnership which is an evolving, informal partnership of organisations - public, private and not-for-profit - committed to sharing information, experiences and resources to promote broad access to, and effective use of, knowledge and information as tools of sustainable, equitable development. TASKnet will be co- hosted by National Informatics Centre and The British Council. Other major partners in this effort include UNDP, British Department for International Development (DFID), UNICEF, UNESCO, WHO, The World Bank, Delegation of European Commission in India, CAPART, The Hindu, VSNL, Development Alternatives and M S Swaminathan Research Foundation. TASKnet will focus on three major themes: · To raise awareness of the Global Knowledge agenda · To facilitate partnerships and exchange best practice to give poor people access to information and knowledge · To build networks to preserve and promote indigenous knowledge Participants will include key people from a variety of organisations in government, development organisations, media, business and industry, education and science. Besides Plenary sessions featuring keynote speeches, the conference will include a number of working sessions on a wide variety of subjects. Video and virtual conferencing will be used to explore ways in which information and knowledge technology can contribute to global poverty reduction and sustainable development. For more information, contact: TASKnet secretariat C/O British Council 17, Kasturba Gandhi Marg New Delhi 110001 E-mail: tasknet@in.britishcouncil.org Fax: 91-11-3710717 Telephone: 91-11-3711401 Website: http://www.tasknet.nic.in ---------------------------------------------------------------- Get your free email from AltaVista at http://altavista.iname.com From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Sun Aug 8 03:45:42 1999 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id DAA20348; Sun, 8 Aug 1999 03:41:59 GMT Received: from rmx04.globecomm.net (rmx04.iname.net [206.253.130.33]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id DAA20341 for ; Sun, 8 Aug 1999 03:41:56 GMT From: irfankhan@altavista.net Received: from weba3.iname.net by rmx04.globecomm.net (8.9.1/8.8.0) with ESMTP id XAA21086 Received: (from root@localhost) by weba3.iname.net (8.9.1a/8.9.2.Alpha2) id XAA27344; Sat, 7 Aug 1999 23:41:46 -0400 (EDT) MIME-Version: 1.0 Message-Id: <99080723414647.23302@weba3.iname.net> Date: Sat, 7 Aug 1999 23:41:46 -0400 (EDT) Content-Type: Text/Plain Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Cc: khania@super.net.pk Subject: [India] Kerala's RD-Net Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit George Iype in Thiruvananthapuram Kerala's e-governance initiative is off the ground. The RD-Net, the Rural Development Network, unleashes the power of the Internet on the state's 152 development blocks. RD-Net should now enable rural folks to access government data, apply for loans and lodge complaints from their remote villages. Kerala has 900 'panchayats', the village level civic bodies. Whenever people living in the panchayat-administered areas have a grievance, they trudge either to the district headquarters or to the state capital of Thiruvananthapuram itself. There they have to wait till their applications are dug up from piles of dusty files in government offices. RD-Net hopes to end this misery for good. For instance, a freedom fighter living on his 30 cents of land in a remote village in the northernmost Kasargod district will now never have to travel all day to the district headquarters to know the status of a housing loan he may have applied for one year ago! Instead, he can now walk over to the nearest development block, where a team of officers will track his application on computers, let him know its status and lodge his complaint, if any, through email. Last week the government commissioned this rural technology mission. The RD-Net has linked the state capital and the 14 district headquarters to all the 152 block panchayats already. Commissionarate of Rural Development Joint Director P C Jain told Rediff "Rural development across Kerala will not be the same now. We hope this technological feat we have achieved will help in the execution of rural development projects much faster." "The objective of RD-Net is to take development information to the rural poor and empower them to become participants in village development activities," he said. RD-Net is actually the brainchild of Jain. In the last one year, along with a team of computer engineers from the National Informatics Centre, Jain travelled across the state to build the country's first rural computer network. The Ministry of Rural Development launched RD-Net on July 28. Jain and his team have ensured that the whole project remains a low-cost affair. The total expenditure up to the commissioning of RD-Net has been just Rs 20 million. How does it work? The operational unit of the RD-Net comprises * the computer division of the Commissionarate of Rural Development in Thiruvananthapuram, * the computer cells of the 14 district rural development agencies headquartered in each district centre and * the 152 block panchayat offices in villages across the state. For these sub-units to communicate smoothly, the National Informatics Centre developed for them an exclusive file and mail transfer utility software. RD-Net uses the simple technology that the 'Unix to Unix copy protocol' enabled disc operating system offers. While NIC installed powerful servers in all the 14 district headquarters, central government's Department of Telecommunications set up separate telephone connections in the 152 development blocks. The Commissionarate of Rural Development then installed two Pentium processor based computers and two modems each in all the 152 development blocks. It also trained 700 officers to manage and operate the RD-Net. Now, RD-Net starts every day at 9.30 am as all the 152 blocks establish dial-up connectivity to the NIC servers in district centres and the Commissionarate of Rural Development in Thiruvananthapuram. District officers of NIC have been entrusted with the responsibility of maintaining RD-Net. Jain explains that email, data transfer, data downloading, application processing and lodging and settling complaints are all possible through RD-Net. It also provides instant details about all the poverty alleviation and rural schemes of the state and the central governments to the villagers. Officers claim that just four days after RD-Net was launched, people in have been rushing to the block panchayat offices, especially to send emails. Jain points out that "Since there are a large number of Malayalis abroad, RD-Net officers are mostly helping people send emails." But the email facility on RD-Net will not be free. At present, the Commissionarate is charging per email only what a local telephone call is worth, Rs 2. Soon, it plans to open separate email counters in all the 152 blocks to enable people to use RD-Net's email facility instead of the post offices to send messages. http://www.rediff.com/computer/1999/aug/05kerala.htm ---------------------------------------------------------------- Get your free email from AltaVista at http://altavista.iname.com From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Sun Aug 8 03:45:42 1999 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id DAA20174; Sun, 8 Aug 1999 03:39:15 GMT Received: from rmx04.globecomm.net (rmx04.iname.net [206.253.130.33]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id DAA20165 for ; Sun, 8 Aug 1999 03:39:11 GMT From: irfankhan@altavista.net Received: from weba6.iname.net by rmx04.globecomm.net (8.9.1/8.8.0) with ESMTP id XAA20494 Received: (from root@localhost) by weba6.iname.net (8.9.1a/8.9.2.Alpha2) id XAA27524; Sat, 7 Aug 1999 23:38:47 -0400 (EDT) MIME-Version: 1.0 Message-Id: <99080723384762.21583@weba6.iname.net> Date: Sat, 7 Aug 1999 23:38:47 -0400 (EDT) Content-Type: Text/Plain Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Cc: khania@super.net.pk Subject: [Bangladesh] on Drik Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit [with thanks to Frederick Noronha who posted the following to the Cybercom India mailing List] Drik, vision, philosophy of vision aptly stands for a picture library which is based in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. The Third World has traditionally been portrayed by western photographers on short term assignments. Their need to take "sure sell" photographs prevent them from taking pictures that stray outside the proven hits: poverty, disaster or nostalgia. The combination of posh hotels, jet lag and diarrhoea leaves little scope for pictures that go deeper than the surface. The predictable outcome, yet another rehashed fund raising picture of starving children is what Drik is trying to break out of. Drik operates as a photographic resource centre and nine years and 1 0 0 , 0 0 0 images later it stands tall amongst the image banks in the developing world. The in-house gallery, again one of the finest, holds several major international exhibitions every year. The centre boasts a modern studio, photographic laboratories, a multimedia centre and also operates as an Internet service provider. Drik pioneered the introduction of Information Technology into the country. Drik works in partnership with the leading international agencies and educational institutes like World Press Photo Foundation, The Panos Institute, The British Council, The Thompson Foundation, MIT Media Lab etc. Drik has also worked in over twenty-five countries across the world, and has a reputation for quality that is recognised internationally. It's multimedia unit spearheads Drik's attempt at producing innovative and entertaining information based products aimed at changing the world perception of developing nations. For more information, http://www.drik.net ________________________________________________________ ---------------------------------------------------------------- Get your free email from AltaVista at http://altavista.iname.com From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Sun Aug 8 03:47:23 1999 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id DAA20496; Sun, 8 Aug 1999 03:44:19 GMT Received: from rmx04.globecomm.net (rmx04.iname.net [206.253.130.33]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id DAA20490 for ; Sun, 8 Aug 1999 03:44:17 GMT From: irfankhan@altavista.net Received: from weba6.iname.net by rmx04.globecomm.net (8.9.1/8.8.0) with ESMTP id XAA20101 Received: (from root@localhost) by weba6.iname.net (8.9.1a/8.9.2.Alpha2) id XAA27406; Sat, 7 Aug 1999 23:36:30 -0400 (EDT) MIME-Version: 1.0 Message-Id: <9908072336307S.19462@weba6.iname.net> Date: Sat, 7 Aug 1999 23:36:30 -0400 (EDT) Content-Type: Text/Plain Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Cc: khania@super.net.pk Subject: India Paves Way to Net Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit [with thanks to Frederick Noronha who posted the following to the Cybercom India mailing List] The Industry Standard Aug. 2, 1 9 9 9 India Paves Way to Net By Sanjit Singh Sanjit Singh writes for the IDG News Service. NEW DELHI, India - In a flurry of activity aimed at getting the country online, India has licensed over 100 private Internet service providers since it ended a state monopoly on Nov. 6, 1 9 9 8. The new ISPs promise to lead millions more Indians to the Internet. With the proliferation of ISPs, analysts predict a huge boom in Internet usage in India. The crowd of new providers has ended a lock by the state-run international telecommunications carrier, Videsh Sanchar Nigam, which kept access rates high and connection speeds low. Last week, the Indian government said that the number of licenses issued was expected to top 175. Since December 1998, the access rate per hour has dropped by more than 50 percent to 34 cents per hour from 70 cents per hour - and the number of Internet users in India has doubled to 3 0 0 , 0 0 0 from 1 5 0 , 0 0 0. If predictions hold true, the number of users will touch 1.5 million by the end of 2 0 0 0. Across Asia, Internet users are expected to total 64 million in 2003, up from 15 million in 1 9 9 8, according to Rajeev Gupta, Asia Internet analyst at Goldman Sachs. Of the 64 million users, 70 percent will come from India, Australia, China and South Korea. In a recent report, Gupta forecast that Internet users in India would climb to 9 million by 2003, while the number of ISPs would top 400 by that year. "We believe even this number could be understated, given collective computing [the sharing of one computer by many people] in India," Gupta said. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Get your free email from AltaVista at http://altavista.iname.com From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Sun Aug 8 03:47:29 1999 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id DAA20512; Sun, 8 Aug 1999 03:44:28 GMT Received: from rmx04.globecomm.net (rmx04.iname.net [206.253.130.33]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id DAA20505 for ; Sun, 8 Aug 1999 03:44:26 GMT From: irfankhan@altavista.net Received: from weba7.iname.net by rmx04.globecomm.net (8.9.1/8.8.0) with ESMTP id XAA21589 Received: (from root@localhost) by weba7.iname.net (8.9.1a/8.9.2.Alpha2) id XAA18531; Sat, 7 Aug 1999 23:44:18 -0400 (EDT) MIME-Version: 1.0 Message-Id: <9908072344182J.16151@weba7.iname.net> Date: Sat, 7 Aug 1999 23:44:18 -0400 (EDT) Content-Type: Text/Plain Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Cc: khania@super.net.pk Subject: India May Permit VOIP Despite DoT Resistance Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit India May Permit VOIP Despite DoT Resistance By Uday Lal Pai InternetNews India Correspondent [August 4, 1999--MUMBAI] Although India's Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is trying to stall all attempts to introduce Internet Protocol (IP) telephony in India, some higher officials feel that the government should lift its ban on the technology. Montek Singh Ahluwalia, a member of the Planning Commission, said voice-over-IP (VOIP) would help in rationalizing tariffs and would boost the growth of the information technology (IT) industry. He said the government is reviewing its position on voice telephony and is expected to allow it soon. Recently, Andhra Pradesh chief minister and co-chairman of the National IT Task Force has come out with a strong statement favoring IP telephony and emphasized the need to speed up the process of enacting the cyber laws in India. N. Vittal, chief vigilance commissioner (CVO), indicated that, in order for India to become a IT super-power, the government should allow IP telephony. "To achieve this, we need technology in real time. It should also allow the use of VSATs for sending voice from the present use of data only." However, the Group of Telecommunications (GoT), which formulates new telecom policy, is divided over the issue of allowing private parties to provide telephony based on IP in India. The three DoT officials in the group are opposed to permitting private parties to provide IP telephony, fearing substantial loss in DoT's revenue. DoTs logic is simple: it has invested a considerable amount of resources into building voice networks and wants a return on its investments by charging special rates for international calls. If it allows Internet telephony, it would be denied this source of revenue. However, observers point out that it is rather odd that in India a user is penalized for using the telephone with per-minute charges rising with the length of the calls rather than decreasing. Bandwidth is considered a scarce resource in the country, and so it is rationed. Recently, all those interested in becoming private ISPs had to sign an agreement with DoT promising that they would not allow their customers to use the Net for telephony. DoT states that ISPs are not allowed to provide Internet telephony services, but does not explicitly state that it is illegal. Sources say that, if one examines India current telecom laws under the Indian Telegraphs Act (ITA), a two page document formulated in 1885, there is obviously no indication that VOIP is illegal and none of the governments in power since 1885 have chosen to introduce a new telecom policy. However, VSNL has blocked access to some of the popular websites promoting Internet telephony. Last year, the sites known to be blocked because of IP telephony were Vocaltec, WebPhone, Net2Phone, global exchange carrier and Netspeak. One ex-DoT official pointed out, "even if VSNL files a case against those providing such services, there is no way that it can prove that Internet telephony was being provided". This is because VSNL's Gateway Access for Internet Services (GAIS), the node that routes Internet traffic, cannot differentiate between voice and data. The voice is converted in data form while going through the GAIS. However, VSNL is escaping from pre-historic mind-set. The blockade is over now. The chairman of Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited (VSNL), Amitabh Kumar, has indicated that India would have to consider lifting the current ban on the Internet telephony. It seems DoT is fighting a losing battle as public opinion strongly favors the cheaper IP telephony. "The country should not suffer in order to protect the interests of DoT" feel observers. Conventional wisdom indicates that the new government coming into power in October 1999 is likely to lift ban VOIP. http://asia.internet.com/1999/8/0401-india.html ---------------------------------------------------------------- Get your free email from AltaVista at http://altavista.iname.com From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Sun Aug 8 03:49:43 1999 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id DAA20749; Sun, 8 Aug 1999 03:46:42 GMT Received: from rmx04.globecomm.net (rmx04.iname.net [206.253.130.33]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id DAA20741 for ; Sun, 8 Aug 1999 03:46:38 GMT From: irfankhan@altavista.net Received: from weba8.iname.net by rmx04.globecomm.net (8.9.1/8.8.0) with ESMTP id XAA22132 Received: (from root@localhost) by weba8.iname.net (8.9.1a/8.9.2.Alpha2) id XAA11616; Sat, 7 Aug 1999 23:46:30 -0400 (EDT) MIME-Version: 1.0 Message-Id: <9908072346300I.10532@weba8.iname.net> Date: Sat, 7 Aug 1999 23:46:30 -0400 (EDT) Content-Type: Text/Plain Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Cc: khania@super.net.pk Subject: E-Commerce Law Nears Completion, Says Indian Govt. Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit E-Commerce Law Nears Completion, Says Indian Govt. By Uday Lal Pai InternetNews India Correspondent [August 5, 1999--MUMBAI] For the first time, the government of India has drawn up a draft Electronic Commerce Act (ECA) to lay down a secure regulatory framework for e-commerce. It is understood that the government is also contemplating amendments in the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Act, 1934 and the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, to facilitate electronic commerce in India. "The shift from paper-based to electronic transactions has raised questions concerning the recognition, authenticity and enforceability of electronic documents and signatures. The challenge for lawmakers has been to balance the sometimes conflicting goals of safeguarding electronic commerce and encouraging technological development," says the government statement. ECA provides a legal infrastructure governing electronic contracting, security and integrity of electronic transactions as well as use of digital signatures. The Act authorizes any department or ministry to accept electronic filing of documents and to issue permits licenses or approval electronically. However, it does not bind the government to accept or issue any document in electronic form if does not wish to do so. The draft is divided into fifteen parts and addresses to various aspects such as general purpose of the Act, electronic records and electronic signatures, integrity and authentication of secure electronic records and secure electronic signatures, issues of electronic contracting, legal issues related to the use of digital signatures, acceptance and use of electronic records and electronic signatures by governmental entities. Amendments in RBI Act, 1934, include a new section which would permit setting up of multiple electronic transfer (EFT) system, to deploy fast and efficient electronic payment system. The amendments will also enable banking companies, financial institutions, or any other private institution to set up EFT systems. If the proposals are passed, the government will make necessary amendments in related laws to permit the RBI Governor to establish an EFT Ombudsman office to adjudicate EFT related cases. "The commerce ministry's draft on E-commerce Act, Department of Electronics' Information Technology (IT) Bill and the white paper on e-commerce could be synthesized and an ordinance could be issued if necessary so that the appropriate legal framework for e-commerce is immediately available." said N.Vittal, Central Vigilance Commissioner. India is expected to emerge as a major e-commerce service provider during the next 2-3 years with exports from this sector touching $1 billion by 2002. This was pointed out by National Association for Software and Services Companies (Nasscom) president Dewang Mehta. So it is very important to enable ECA soon. Nasscom has released a 20-point action plan for boosting e-commerce and working with the government to develop and an implementation framework for these action plans. The plan includes early passage of cyberlaws, three-year tax waiver on e-commerce sales, establishment of a national digital certification authority, providing global parity of telecom infrastructure and tariffs in India and allowing private gateways to ISPs. If these action points are implemented at the earliest, especially those relating to cyber laws and telecom infrastructure, India could emerge as an e-business hub, Dewang Mehta said. http://asia.internet.com/1999/8/0503-india.html ---------------------------------------------------------------- Get your free email from AltaVista at http://altavista.iname.com From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Sun Aug 8 15:33:31 1999 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id PAA20251; Sun, 8 Aug 1999 15:31:14 GMT Received: from rmx04.globecomm.net (rmx04.iname.net [206.253.130.33]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id PAA20245 for ; Sun, 8 Aug 1999 15:31:08 GMT From: irfankhan@altavista.net Received: from weba1.iname.net by rmx04.globecomm.net (8.9.1/8.8.0) with ESMTP id LAA21774 Received: (from root@localhost) by weba1.iname.net (8.9.1a/8.9.2.Alpha2) id LAA07045; Sun, 8 Aug 1999 11:30:20 -0400 (EDT) MIME-Version: 1.0 Message-Id: <99080811302076.18022@weba1.iname.net> Date: Sun, 8 Aug 1999 11:30:20 -0400 (EDT) Content-Type: Text/Plain Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Cc: khania@super.net.pk Subject: [Pakistan] Economic survey on Internet Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Economic survey on Internet RECORDER REPORT ISLAMABAD (August 7) : The Ministry of Finance is launching Economic Survey for 1998-99 on the Internet for the first time in the next few days, it was learnt. The Economic Survey had been uploaded on the Internet and it would soon be launched formally by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar. "The survey was to be launched a couple of weeks ago, but the finance minister's engagements in Washington had delayed its launching," a source told Business Recorder. Survey's launching on Internet has helped the ministry to cut its expenditure on it by 50 percent as number of copies had been halved, said the source. Copyright 1999 Business Recorder (www.brecorder.com) http://www.brecorder.com/story/S0010/S1002/S1002101.htm ---------------------------------------------------------------- Get your free email from AltaVista at http://altavista.iname.com From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Sun Aug 8 15:35:21 1999 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id PAA20381; Sun, 8 Aug 1999 15:33:52 GMT Received: from rmx05.globecomm.net (rmx05.iname.net [206.253.130.43]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id PAA20375 for ; Sun, 8 Aug 1999 15:33:49 GMT From: irfankhan@altavista.net Received: from weba3.iname.net by rmx05.globecomm.net (8.9.1/8.8.0) with ESMTP id LAA15617 Received: (from root@localhost) by weba3.iname.net (8.9.1a/8.9.2.Alpha2) id LAA22837; Sun, 8 Aug 1999 11:32:58 -0400 (EDT) MIME-Version: 1.0 Message-Id: <990808113258CK.09278@weba3.iname.net> Date: Sun, 8 Aug 1999 11:32:58 -0400 (EDT) Content-Type: Text/Plain Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Cc: khania@super.net.pk Subject: [India] IISc gets C-DAC's PARAM 10000 supercomputer Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit IISc gets C-DAC's PARAM 10000 supercomputer Michael Gonsalves in Pune The Pune based Centre for Development of Advanced Computing and the Bangalore based Indian Institute of Science today signed a memorandum of understanding to install PARAM 10000, the most powerful supercomputer ever built in India, at the Supercomputing Education and Research Centre, IISc, Bangalore. According to the memorandum C-DAC will install the PARAM 10000 system at IISc campus in Bangalore initially and later with an access facility to the National PARAM Supercomputing Facility at Pune to facilitate students and researchers of IISc in software development on various science and engineering applications of national interest using PARAM 10000. Along with the system C-DAC will also provide system software, software tools and requisite training to operate and use PARAM 10000. "C-DAC views this programme as one of developing greater synergy between its own efforts of building application software and those of pioneer education and research centres such as IISc, in the country to address mission critical applications," R K Arora, executive director, C-DAC, said. "C-DAC's earlier association with IISc will further be strengthened by this DoE initiative which according to the secretary of DoE is an investment towards nation building," he added. "The Bangalore team, apart from developing several HPCC tools is also engaged in developing Web based applications using PARAM as an advanced application server," Professor N Chandrasekaran, director, C-DAC said. He added several electronic-business, electronic-governance and digital library applications using cutting edge technology tools are being developed at Bangalore. In its efforts to promote the use of parallel processing technology and nurture and build the high-end manpower for such technologies, the Department of Electronics of the Indian government decided to provide 12 PARAM 10000 supercomputers to the selected premier academic institutions, including the six Indian Institutes of Technology, select regional engineering colleges and other premier academic institutions. Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, is among the first institutes to receive this system and induct it into its educational research and development activities. C-DAC has been developing various computer intensive applications using the PARAM series of computers. The important applications are weather forecasting, seismic data processing and applications related to space. Other scientific applications in physics, chemistry, biotechnology and business applications in banking financial modelling, insurance, telecom and electronic governance have been also developed. Since the launch of PARAM 10000, C-DAC has been also concentrating on the usage of such high-end technology in education to address the important need of generating high-end labour in the next millennium. For this, C-DAC has already installed the PARAM 10000 based technology in Amrita Institute of Technology, Coimbatore. Usage of this high-end technology by Indian educational institutes will help provide experienced manpower in the cutting-edge technology to work for industry and the national institutions in the near future. C-DAC is India's national initiative in high performance computing and has been engaged in research and development and high-end solutions based on high-end computing. C-DAC is not engaged in developing next generation high performance computing and communication technologies and application covering system software and parallel programming tools, specific libraries and multidisciplinary applications. For this, C-DAC is also implementing major scaleable end-user specific applications in computational fluid dynamics, finite element method, image processing, atmospheric sciences, seismic data processing and business applications including huge amounts of data. UNI http://www.rediff.com/computer/1999/aug/06cdac.htm ---------------------------------------------------------------- Get your free email from AltaVista at http://altavista.iname.com From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Mon Aug 9 14:51:25 1999 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id OAA24158; Mon, 9 Aug 1999 14:48:36 GMT Received: from rmx05.globecomm.net (rmx05.iname.net [206.253.130.43]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id OAA24153 for ; Mon, 9 Aug 1999 14:48:32 GMT From: irfankhan@altavista.net Received: from weba8.iname.net by rmx05.globecomm.net (8.9.1/8.8.0) with ESMTP id KAA23879 Received: (from root@localhost) by weba8.iname.net (8.9.1a/8.9.2.Alpha2) id KAA14412; Mon, 9 Aug 1999 10:48:07 -0400 (EDT) MIME-Version: 1.0 Message-Id: <99080910480701.14349@weba8.iname.net> Date: Mon, 9 Aug 1999 10:48:07 -0400 (EDT) Content-Type: Text/Plain Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Cc: khania@super.net.pk Subject: [Pakistan] Government adopting steps to promote e-commerce Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Government adopting steps to promote e-commerce SIALKOT (August 9) : The federal government has adopted effective measures for the promotion and expansion of electronic commerce in the country, official sources told APP here on Sunday. Many steps have been taken keeping in view the rapid development of Internet system in the world over, which has reduced the limits of time and distance, sources said. Under a special directive of the federal government, the Export Promotion Bureau of Pakistan has adopted urgent measures for conducting a "special study" on electronic commerce and its impact on export activities in the country. In order to achieve maximum benefits and healthy results of electronic commerce the general performance and trade profiles of 1,100 exporters have been put in Internet system. Under this programme the general performance and profiles of 9,500 exporters belonging the different parts of the country will be fed to Internet system. The feeding process will be accomplished by the end of this month, sources added.--APP Copyright 1999 APP http://www.brecorder.com/story/S0010/S1002/S1002102.htm ---------------------------------------------------------------- Get your free email from AltaVista at http://altavista.iname.com From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Wed Aug 11 06:26:36 1999 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id GAA26444; Wed, 11 Aug 1999 06:20:19 GMT Received: from isp.super.net.pk (isp.super.net.pk [203.130.2.4]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id GAA26433 for ; Wed, 11 Aug 1999 06:20:09 GMT Received: from excel586 (khi-line-134.super.net.pk [203.130.5.69]) by isp.super.net.pk (8.9.1/8.9.1) with SMTP id LAA13044 for ; Wed, 11 Aug 1999 11:17:54 +0500 (GMT+0500) Message-Id: <199908110617.LAA13044@isp.super.net.pk> From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Wed, 11 Aug 1999 11:20:22 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: [India] High Court goes on the net to help lawyers, litigants X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.01d) Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT High Court goes on the net to help lawyers, litigants By Darlington Jose Hector BANGALORE The Karnataka High Court has come out with its own web site, which will go a long way in fostering a faster disposal rate and augment interaction between attorneys and clients. The web site can be accessed at http://kar.nic.in/hcourt. Lawyers all over the city have welcomed this breakthrough in judicial proceedings. The home page of the web accommodates a photograph of the Karnataka High Court. If you go on and click at the cause list, a detailed break-up of cases court-wise, judge-wise and lawyer-wise appears on the screen. The high court has even spelt out the number of cases coming up for preliminary hearing, for framing charges and for orders and evidence. A weekly cause list is also available and a warning cause list is under preparation. Justice G.C. Bhakruka, who is the brain behind the computerisation of the high court, has said that prior to the launch of the site, lawyers were only able to get the cause list very late in the evening. "Now they can access it well in advance. It gives them extra time to study the cases and prepare themselves," he said. The site will help the lawyers to get in touch with their clients and inform them about the status of their cases. The advocates can download further information from the net about the judge before whom his/her case is coming up, the stage at which a particular case is and other vital details. Many lawyers have applied for internet connections after coming to know the developments. Some of them have even decided to pool in to buy the terminals. "The idea is to make things more transparent. The web site has been functioning for the last four days on a trial basis. Everyday we are improving it and expermenting," a judicial source said. The intention is to help reduce hardship for litigants and provide facilities for judges to finish their work faster and also develop an infrastructure which the lawyers can rely on. Soon computers will be installed in every court hall. (c) Copyright Bennett, Coleman & Co Ltd http://202.54.119.138/planetasia/indi17.htm From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Wed Aug 11 15:55:29 1999 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id PAA04282; Wed, 11 Aug 1999 15:52:59 GMT Received: from isp.super.net.pk (isp.super.net.pk [203.130.2.4]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id PAA04216 for ; Wed, 11 Aug 1999 15:52:13 GMT Received: from excel586 (khi-line-022.super.net.pk [203.130.5.161]) by isp.super.net.pk (8.9.1/8.9.1) with SMTP id UAA15906 for ; Wed, 11 Aug 1999 20:51:16 +0500 (GMT+0500) Message-Id: <199908111551.UAA15906@isp.super.net.pk> From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Wed, 11 Aug 1999 20:53:47 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: [India] Bring in electronic governance: Vittal X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.01d) Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT [with thanks to Frederick Noronha who posted the following on the Cybercom India mailing list] Bring in electronic governance: Vittal by Vijay Lakshmi, India Abroad News Service New Delhi, Aug 6 - Introduction of electronic governance is the only way to make information technology (IT) relevant to ordinary citizens in a country like India where at least 30 per cent of the population lives below the poverty line and nearly 50 per cent is illiterate, according to a top official. India's Chief Vigilance Commissioner N. Vittal said electronic governance would help make life easier for people who have to constantly interface with the government on most matters, thanks to the largely socialist system that was adopted after independence. Vittal, a former Secretary in the Department of Electronics (DoE), was addressing experts gathered here for the Manufacturers' Association for Information Technology's (MAIT's) 17th annual conference, which was concentrating on ways to make world-class IT relevant to ordinary Indians. Vittal said the process could start with computerisation of all banks. Of 60,000 banks in the country, only 5, 0 0 0 are reportedly computerised, he said. To achieve the objective of world-class usage of IT by common people, at least 75 per cent of banks should be computerised so that if a user comes with an outstation cheque, it must be credited in his account the same day, he said. DoE Secretary Ravindra Gupta said the government took an important initiative in making IT relevant to ordinary Indians by launching an ambitious project under the 'Jai Vigyan' (Hail Science) series to develop Indian language software. Gupta said an ordinary person would not be able to relate to IT even if he or she is aware unless the content can be put to some use. So it was important for the government to develop and provide the right kind of content in the Internet that a common Indian could make use of. Advocating a concept of what he called "the six Cs," Vittal said IT would be relevant to the ordinary person only if the country could increase computer density (the first C) by introducing it at the school level. Connectivity, he said, is the second C which is important to create a national network, adding that there should be no ban on Internet telephony. Vittal said making the content (the third C) in the Internet relevant to the common man and also enacting good cyber laws (the fourth C) would be major steps towards the spread of IT in India. The fifth C, he said, was cost -- one of the most imporant factors. Good technology be should provided at attractive prices and the government should make e-commerce or trade on the Internet tax-free for the next 10 years in order to make India an eagerly-sought investment destination, he added. The sixth C, Vittal said, was the common-sensical use of IT and developing visionary projects. He called for implementation of the IT Task Force report and the National Telecom Policy of 1 9 9 9. Vittal lauded the government's efforts in the IT sector, saying it has finally recognised that IT will drive the country's future. The speed with which the federal government accepted the first report of the National Task Force for Information Technology is proof of that, he said. Sugata Mitra, chief of the R&D unit of the National Institute of Information Technology (NIIT), said language and formal education are not very important for a person to use IT. He said an NIIT project, under which some slum children were introduced to the PC and Internet, proved that they could understand and use it quite fluenty even without a formal education in computers. The DoE, Gupta said, was planning a national convention on IT to develop a national consensus on issues surrounding the sector. He said an international exhibition would be held in the capital to promote awareness about the IT industry. Gupta expressed the hope that as soon as a new government is in place after the September-October election, a new cyber law would be passed. -------------------------------------------- From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Wed Aug 11 16:29:52 1999 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id QAA06119; Wed, 11 Aug 1999 16:29:42 GMT Received: from web601.yahoomail.com (web1101.mail.yahoo.com [128.11.23.121]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with SMTP id QAA06108 for ; Wed, 11 Aug 1999 16:29:38 GMT Message-ID: <19990811162949.26875.rocketmail@web601.yahoomail.com> Received: from [204.148.82.204] by web1101.mail.yahoo.com; Wed, 11 Aug 1999 09:29:49 PDT Date: Wed, 11 Aug 1999 09:29:49 -0700 (PDT) From: "S. Kritikos" Subject: Re: Microsoft Certification: child's play? To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Cc: khania@super.net.pk MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk > My question: Are these children intelligent or is Microsoft > certification easier to obtain? --- irfankhan@altavista.net wrote: > My question: Are these children intelligent or is Microsoft > certification easier to obtain? Irfan, Im sure these kids are very smart but the purpose of the MS exams is really to make people feel good about themselves and invest their time and future in Microsoft. BTW I do not have the URL but there were successful efforts last year in some US states to take away the designation of "engineer" from the MS sponsored exams. That was done after protests from professional engineering groups. Keep up the good work Regards Sam kritikos _________________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Wed Aug 11 21:33:10 1999 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id VAA19901; Wed, 11 Aug 1999 21:32:16 GMT Received: from isp.super.net.pk (isp.super.net.pk [203.130.2.4]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id VAA19889 for ; Wed, 11 Aug 1999 21:32:08 GMT Received: from excel586 (khi-line-035.super.net.pk [203.130.5.174]) by isp.super.net.pk (8.9.1/8.9.1) with SMTP id BAA23964 for ; Thu, 5 Aug 1999 01:24:25 +0500 (GMT+0500) Message-Id: <199908042024.BAA23964@isp.super.net.pk> From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Thu, 5 Aug 1999 01:24:06 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: Microsoft Certification: child's play? X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.01d) Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT In India Subia Hashmat, 11 and Supriya Singh, 12 are probably the youngest "person ever to attempt and clear the Microsoft Certified Professional examination." Story at http://www.rediff.com/computer/1999/aug/04mcp.htm Meanwhile in Pakistan a 14-year student Bilal Iqbal "is the youngest Microsoft Certified System Engineer". Details at http://www.brecorder.com/story/S0011/S1102/S1102103.htm My question: Are these children intelligent or is Microsoft certification easier to obtain? irfan From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Wed Aug 11 22:09:10 1999 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id WAA21319; Wed, 11 Aug 1999 22:08:57 GMT Received: from isp.super.net.pk (isp.super.net.pk [203.130.2.4]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id WAA21314 for ; Wed, 11 Aug 1999 22:08:52 GMT Received: from excel586 (khi-line-104.super.net.pk [203.130.5.243]) by isp.super.net.pk (8.9.1/8.9.1) with SMTP id HAA07790 for ; Tue, 3 Aug 1999 07:40:28 +0500 (GMT+0500) Message-Id: <199908030240.HAA07790@isp.super.net.pk> From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Tue, 3 Aug 1999 07:40:21 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: [India] E-commerce laws draft handed over to law ministry X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.01d) Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT E-commerce laws draft handed over to law ministry The commerce ministry has formulated and sent a draft of the Electronic Commerce Act and Electronic Commerce Support Act to the law ministry for adoption. This draft is being hosted on the site of the National Informatics Centre since yesterday. The Electronic Commerce Act aims to facilitate the development of a secure regulatory environment for electronic commerce by providing a legal infrastructure governing electronic contracting, security and integrity of electronic transactions, the use of digital signature and other issues related to electronic commerce. UNI http://www.rediff.com/computer/1999/aug/02draft.htm From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Wed Aug 11 22:09:18 1999 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id WAA21340; Wed, 11 Aug 1999 22:09:14 GMT Received: from isp.super.net.pk (isp.super.net.pk [203.130.2.4]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id WAA21324 for ; Wed, 11 Aug 1999 22:09:09 GMT Received: from excel586 (khi-line-077.super.net.pk [203.130.5.216]) by isp.super.net.pk (8.9.1/8.9.1) with SMTP id UAA15883 for ; Tue, 3 Aug 1999 20:47:17 +0500 (GMT+0500) Message-Id: <199908031547.UAA15883@isp.super.net.pk> From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Tue, 3 Aug 1999 20:49:43 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: [India] E-commerce laws draft handed over to law ministry X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.01d) Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT E-commerce laws draft handed over to law ministry The commerce ministry has formulated and sent a draft of the Electronic Commerce Act and Electronic Commerce Support Act to the law ministry for adoption. This draft is being hosted on the site of the National Informatics Centre since yesterday. The Electronic Commerce Act aims to facilitate the development of a secure regulatory environment for electronic commerce by providing a legal infrastructure governing electronic contracting, security and integrity of electronic transactions, the use of digital signature and other issues related to electronic commerce. UNI http://www.rediff.com/computer/1999/aug/02draft.htm From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Wed Aug 11 22:38:40 1999 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id WAA22108; Wed, 11 Aug 1999 22:38:12 GMT Received: from isp.super.net.pk (isp.super.net.pk [203.130.2.4]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id WAA22104 for ; Wed, 11 Aug 1999 22:38:07 GMT Received: from excel586 (khi-line-077.super.net.pk [203.130.5.216]) by isp.super.net.pk (8.9.1/8.9.1) with SMTP id UAA19669 for ; Tue, 3 Aug 1999 20:33:46 +0500 (GMT+0500) Message-Id: <199908031533.UAA19669@isp.super.net.pk> From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Tue, 3 Aug 1999 20:36:15 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: India Says Has Issued 132 Internet Licenses X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.01d) Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT India Says Has Issued 132 Internet Licenses July 30 (Reuters) - The Indian government said on Friday that it has issued 132 licences to Internet service providers (ISPs) since it freed up the state-controlled sector last November. Of these, 22 have Category A licences which enable firms to offer services all across India, the Communications Ministry said in a statement. Pacific Internet of Singapore is among firms which have won Category A licences. Forty three firms have been given Category B licences to cover states or metropolitan cities, while 67 licences have been in the Category C that covers small or medium- sized towns, the statement said. Other Category A licencees are Satyam Infoway, a unit of Satyam Computer Services Ltd, the Wipro group, Zee Telefilms, CMC, BPL Telecom and Punjab Wireless. http://asia.internet.com/Reuters/1999/07/3003-news.html From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Thu Aug 12 00:12:58 1999 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id AAA25237; Thu, 12 Aug 1999 00:11:00 GMT Received: from isp.super.net.pk (isp.super.net.pk [203.130.2.4]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id AAA25219 for ; Thu, 12 Aug 1999 00:10:55 GMT Received: from excel586 (khi-line-104.super.net.pk [203.130.5.243]) by isp.super.net.pk (8.9.1/8.9.1) with SMTP id HAA06475 for ; Tue, 3 Aug 1999 07:39:10 +0500 (GMT+0500) Message-Id: <199908030239.HAA06475@isp.super.net.pk> From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Tue, 3 Aug 1999 07:40:21 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: [India] Most banks, financial institutions are Y2K ready X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.01d) Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Most banks, financial institutions are Y2K ready All commercial banks, non-banking subsidiaries, financial institutions and primary and satellite dealers, with the exception of a few, have been found Y2K compliant. This was declared at a high-level working group of the Reserve Bank of India that met in Bombay recently. The meeting was held under the chairmanship of RBI Deputy Governor S P Talwar. It reviewed contingency plans of 95 commercial banks and recommended that they have dry runs of the plans in simulated environment and ensure availability of resource persons and vendors during the transition period. The committee felt that banks would have to also ensure that the recovery plans of their main systems are in place in the event of failure so as to cut the duration to operate contingency plans to the minimum. At the meeting, there were special invitees from institutions like the Industrial Development Bank of India, Life Insurance Corporation, Securities and Exchange Board of India and the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development. They apprised members of their contingency plans in a simulated environment. The meeting also considered the proposal of declaring January 1 and 3 as exceptional holidays for the purpose of Y2K preparatory arrangements but felt that such a declaration would come in the way of smooth transition to the next millennium. It was felt that the infrastructure and corporate sectors should disseminate information on their Y2K preparedness as widely as possible to further the confidence in their businesses. UNI http://www.rediff.com/computer/1999/aug/02y2k.htm From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Thu Aug 12 00:12:58 1999 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id AAA25251; Thu, 12 Aug 1999 00:11:08 GMT Received: from isp.super.net.pk (isp.super.net.pk [203.130.2.4]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id AAA25239 for ; Thu, 12 Aug 1999 00:11:03 GMT Received: from excel586 (khi-line-077.super.net.pk [203.130.5.216]) by isp.super.net.pk (8.9.1/8.9.1) with SMTP id UAA19168 for ; Tue, 3 Aug 1999 20:48:37 +0500 (GMT+0500) Message-Id: <199908031548.UAA19168@isp.super.net.pk> From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Tue, 3 Aug 1999 20:49:43 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: [India] Most banks, financial institutions are Y2K ready X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.01d) Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Most banks, financial institutions are Y2K ready All commercial banks, non-banking subsidiaries, financial institutions and primary and satellite dealers, with the exception of a few, have been found Y2K compliant. This was declared at a high- level working group of the Reserve Bank of India that met in Bombay recently. The meeting was held under the chairmanship of RBI Deputy Governor S P Talwar. It reviewed contingency plans of 95 commercial banks and recommended that they have dry runs of the plans in simulated environment and ensure availability of resource persons and vendors during the transition period. The committee felt that banks would have to also ensure that the recovery plans of their main systems are in place in the event of failure so as to cut the duration to operate contingency plans to the minimum. At the meeting, there were special invitees from institutions like the Industrial Development Bank of India, Life Insurance Corporation, Securities and Exchange Board of India and the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development. They apprised members of their contingency plans in a simulated environment. The meeting also considered the proposal of declaring January 1 and 3 as exceptional holidays for the purpose of Y2K preparatory arrangements but felt that such a declaration would come in the way of smooth transition to the next millennium. It was felt that the infrastructure and corporate sectors should disseminate information on their Y2K preparedness as widely as possible to further the confidence in their businesses. UNI http://www.rediff.com/computer/1999/aug/02y2k.htm From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Thu Aug 12 00:17:31 1999 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id AAA25586; Thu, 12 Aug 1999 00:17:25 GMT Received: from isp.super.net.pk (isp.super.net.pk [203.130.2.4]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id AAA25580 for ; Thu, 12 Aug 1999 00:17:20 GMT Received: from excel586 (khi-line-104.super.net.pk [203.130.5.243]) by isp.super.net.pk (8.9.1/8.9.1) with SMTP id HAA03703 for ; Tue, 3 Aug 1999 07:37:51 +0500 (GMT+0500) Message-Id: <199908030237.HAA03703@isp.super.net.pk> From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Tue, 3 Aug 1999 07:40:21 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: [Pakistan] EPB plans to boost software exports to $1 billion X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.01d) Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Export Promotion Bureau plans to boost software exports to $1 billion: chairman distributes certificates MUZAFFAR QURESHI KARACHI (August 2) : The Export Promotion Bureau has drawn up a plan to boost export of software to one billion dollars in next three years and for this purpose it would promote computer education in collaboration with technical institutes in the country. Addressing the certificate distribution ceremony at the Towel Manufacturers Association (TMA) Textile Institute in Korangi on Saturday, Minister of State and Chairman Export Promotion Bureau M. A. Wajid Jawwad said that to achieve the software export target the country needed about 50,000 computer graduates and a sufficient number of teachers to train these graduates in next three years. He said that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was very keen to develop computer education in the country necessary to clinch a reasonable share in global software trade. The Prime Minister has directed the concerned authorities to submit a special report on software development in the country in the next Cabinet meeting. Comparing software exports with India the EPB chief said that Pakistan's annual software export is just over five million dollars against India's six billion dollars. The present number of computer graduates in the country was not sufficient. He said that the Bureau would give funds from the Export Development Fund to promote quality computer education and it will join hands with all technical institutes to ensure that the level and quality of computer education specially for the export oriented industries is increased. Copyright 1999 Business Recorder (www.brecorder.com) http://www.brecorder.com/story/S0011/S1102/S1102107.htm From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Thu Aug 12 00:18:53 1999 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id AAA25665; Thu, 12 Aug 1999 00:18:48 GMT Received: from isp.super.net.pk (isp.super.net.pk [203.130.2.4]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id AAA25656 for ; Thu, 12 Aug 1999 00:18:43 GMT Received: from excel586 (khi-line-077.super.net.pk [203.130.5.216]) by isp.super.net.pk (8.9.1/8.9.1) with SMTP id UAA01523 for ; Tue, 3 Aug 1999 20:51:14 +0500 (GMT+0500) Message-Id: <199908031551.UAA01523@isp.super.net.pk> From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Tue, 3 Aug 1999 20:49:43 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: [Pakistan] EPB plans to boost software exports to $1 bil X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.01d) Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Export Promotion Bureau plans to boost software exports to $1 billion: chairman distributes certificates MUZAFFAR QURESHI KARACHI (August 2) : The Export Promotion Bureau has drawn up a plan to boost export of software to one billion dollars in next three years and for this purpose it would promote computer education in collaboration with technical institutes in the country. Addressing the certificate distribution ceremony at the Towel Manufacturers Association (TMA) Textile Institute in Korangi on Saturday, Minister of State and Chairman Export Promotion Bureau M. A. Wajid Jawwad said that to achieve the software export target the country needed about 50,000 computer graduates and a sufficient number of teachers to train these graduates in next three years. He said that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was very keen to develop computer education in the country necessary to clinch a reasonable share in global software trade. The Prime Minister has directed the concerned authorities to submit a special report on software development in the country in the next Cabinet meeting. Comparing software exports with India the EPB chief said that Pakistan's annual software export is just over five million dollars against India's six billion dollars. The present number of computer graduates in the country was not sufficient. He said that the Bureau would give funds from the Export Development Fund to promote quality computer education and it will join hands with all technical institutes to ensure that the level and quality of computer education specially for the export oriented industries is increased. Copyright 1999 Business Recorder (www.brecorder.com) http://www.brecorder.com/story/S0011/S1102/S1102107.htm From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Thu Aug 12 00:32:11 1999 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id AAA26229; Thu, 12 Aug 1999 00:32:03 GMT Received: from isp.super.net.pk (isp.super.net.pk [203.130.2.4]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id AAA26224 for ; Thu, 12 Aug 1999 00:31:58 GMT Received: from excel586 (khi-line-008.super.net.pk [203.130.5.147]) by isp.super.net.pk (8.9.1/8.9.1) with SMTP id JAA16471 for ; Wed, 4 Aug 1999 09:43:20 +0500 (GMT+0500) Message-Id: <199908040443.JAA16471@isp.super.net.pk> From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Wed, 4 Aug 1999 09:45:50 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: [India] Satyam Infoway launches online political game X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.01d) Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Satyam Infoway launches online political game CNS Bureau Satyam Infoway has introduced `Polit-Ex' - an online political stock exchange game as part of the website, satyamonline.com. The virtual stock exchange allows users to buy and sell securities (Indian politicians) on the net. The player is given Rs 20 lakh of virtual money once he registers. With this, he can invest in any politician of his choice - Sonia Gandhi, Laloo Prasad Yadav, Vajpayee and so on. The listing price is the same for all the securities/politicians and the value fluctuates in accordance with changes in the actual political scenario. Said Padma Chandrasekaran, Vice President, Internet Online Business, Satyam, "With elections around the corner, this game could prove to be very exciting. There will be hourly updates of news as well, which will enable the users to make their portfolio decisions. There is a provision to bid for stocks as well, against someone who is looking to sell, just like a regular stock exchange. Moreover, the game will serve as a barometer of public sentiment. The portfolios will indicate which politician is the most popular among the users." On the other hand, P Chidambaram, ex-Finance Minister, who inaugurated the launch, said, "The only problem will be that those who play this game are not likely to go out and vote. I am hoping that Polit-Ex will create a healthy interest in politics and encourage people to vote." Prizes are offered to the user whose portfolio has the highest net worth at the end of each day. One of the prizes is apparels from Pepsi Urbanway. Said Padma, "Those users whose portfolios have a high net worth enter the Hall of Fame. From this list prizes are given to the top investor." She added, "We are also planning to include forums for discussion and live chat sessions with politicians in the future." A similar game, called Cric-Ex, was launched by Satyam Infoway during the World Cup. It was a virtual cricket stock exchange game along the same lines as Polit-Ex. Copyright (c) 1996-1999, Cyber Media India Limited. http://www.ciol.com/newsroom/aug99/08.asp From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Thu Aug 12 00:37:09 1999 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id AAA26405; Thu, 12 Aug 1999 00:37:04 GMT Received: from isp.super.net.pk (isp.super.net.pk [203.130.2.4]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id AAA26401 for ; Thu, 12 Aug 1999 00:36:58 GMT Received: from excel586 (khi-line-008.super.net.pk [203.130.5.147]) by isp.super.net.pk (8.9.1/8.9.1) with SMTP id JAA11946 for ; Wed, 4 Aug 1999 09:41:37 +0500 (GMT+0500) Message-Id: <199908040441.JAA11946@isp.super.net.pk> From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Wed, 4 Aug 1999 09:44:07 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: Indian software cos to share productivity data X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.01d) Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Indian software cos to share productivity data Our Bangalore Bureau 3 AUGUST FOR THE first time, Indian software companies are sharing data about their productivity. Quality Assurance Institute (QAI), India has begun an initiative wherein software companies have formed a consortium to benchmark productivity and profitability. At the kick- off meet on Tuesday, 30 companies shared data and the preliminary findings were interesting. While Indian software companies compared better than international ones in terms of productivity, they were poorly off when it came to quality of output. It was also found that in terms of phases of work, a good quantity was taken up by coding rather than by project design and evaluation. This could mean that the companies were still "programming shops" rather than doing entire projects based on their own designs. Also, software companies based in India took more time to complete their projects despite having a comparable number of people working on the projects. Not that there were alarming schedule overruns; in fact, project teams were so schedule-conscious that most of them spent significantly more number of hours in their offices working. Obviously, something seems to be amiss, because although the sample was very small, many of the 30 companies have already got CMM SEI level 3 and above certification. With more and more software companies in India opting to get certified, it does make sense to find out whether these efforts were actually having any impact on the bottomlines. Said Mr Navyug Mohnot, executive director, QAI, "This consortium will help companies benchmark themselves against each other. It will give a business perspective to software engineering." Some of the participants were Infosys, NIIT, ICIL, Motorola, Philips, Mahindra British Telecom, Citicorp Overseas Software, Digitala and Tata Infotech. QAI had already roped in QSM, a US-based consultancy that helps organisations reduce the overall expense of major software development projects. It has now reached an agreement with Insead, popularly known as the Harvard Business School of Europe, which will share statistics about European software companies. http://www.economictimes.com/today/04tech03.htm From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Thu Aug 12 00:46:49 1999 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id AAA26730; Thu, 12 Aug 1999 00:45:03 GMT Received: from isp.super.net.pk (isp.super.net.pk [203.130.2.4]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id AAA26692 for ; Thu, 12 Aug 1999 00:44:53 GMT Received: from excel586 (khi-line-077.super.net.pk [203.130.5.216]) by isp.super.net.pk (8.9.1/8.9.1) with SMTP id UAA21209 for ; Tue, 3 Aug 1999 20:49:54 +0500 (GMT+0500) Message-Id: <199908031549.UAA21209@isp.super.net.pk> From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Tue, 3 Aug 1999 20:49:43 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-transfer-encoding: Quoted-printable Subject: [India] National Library to go international on the Net X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.01d) Content-Transfer-Encoding: Quoted-printable Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk Content-Transfer-Encoding: Quoted-printable National Library to go international on the Net Kalyan Parbat and Sugata Ghosh CALCUTTA 1 AUGUST THE NATIONAL Library of Calcutta, India=92s largest single library, will soon keep its tryst with virtual reality. Efforts are underway to host the library=92s priceless archives on the Internet for the benefit of scholars and bibliophiles across the globe. The endeavour is monumental because it involves the digitisation of a staggering 3- million books. If one includes the library=92s collection of rare journals, the total number of titles that will have to undergo digital conversion is close to 8 million. =93Our prime objective is preserving these historical volumes for posterity. We have rare documents such as the East India Company Gazette, and others dating back to 1720,=94 National Library director Asit Ranjan Banerjee, told The Economic Times. Notably, some of the journals in the National Library=92s possession such as Prabashi, one of the earliest magazines on Calcutta, are the sole existing copies in the world. The library is also the repository of priceless collections of Sir Ashutosh Mukherjee=92s 80,000-odd rare volumes, which include the earliest editions of Chaucer=92s Aesop=92s Fables and Grimm=92s Fairy Tales. National Library=92s partner in this dream exercise is Calcutta-based Stex Software, a key player in imaging technology with over 600 high- flier clients in India and across south-east Asia. Digital conversion would typically mean scanning the documents in black and white, or colour, depending on their nature, digitally cleaning them, compressing and indexing them to facilitate easy access after storage on CD-ROMs. The digitisation of the National Library=92s works will be implemented in several stages. The first phase will involve the digital archiving of the oldest books which are in fragile condition. In the second phase, Stex Software will take up the digital conversion of another 10,000 titles. The initial pilot project, which involves the digital conversion of 4.21 lakh pages, will be completed soon. =93The final task is making the National Library=92s valuable books and documents available on the Internet which surfers can access from their own PCs around the world,=94 said B H Gupta, director of Stex Software. But the National Library director concedes that digitisation of the entire library would take a long time, given the sheer magnitude of the work. http://www.economictimes.com/020899/02tech03.htm From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Thu Aug 12 00:47:11 1999 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id AAA26758; Thu, 12 Aug 1999 00:45:29 GMT Received: from isp.super.net.pk (isp.super.net.pk [203.130.2.4]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id AAA26751 for ; Thu, 12 Aug 1999 00:45:22 GMT Received: from excel586 (khi-line-104.super.net.pk [203.130.5.243]) by isp.super.net.pk (8.9.1/8.9.1) with SMTP id HAA29592 for ; Tue, 3 Aug 1999 07:41:45 +0500 (GMT+0500) Message-Id: <199908030241.HAA29592@isp.super.net.pk> From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Tue, 3 Aug 1999 07:40:21 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-transfer-encoding: Quoted-printable Subject: [India] National Library to go international on the Net X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.01d) Content-Transfer-Encoding: Quoted-printable Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk Content-Transfer-Encoding: Quoted-printable National Library to go international on the Net Kalyan Parbat and Sugata Ghosh CALCUTTA 1 AUGUST THE NATIONAL Library of Calcutta, India=92s largest single library, will s= oon keep its tryst with virtual reality. Efforts are underway to host the library=92s priceless archives on the Internet for the benefit of scholars= and bibliophiles across the globe. The endeavour is monumental because it involves the digitisation of a staggering 3-million books. If one includes= the library=92s collection of rare journals, the total number of titles th= at will have to undergo digital conversion is close to 8 million. =93Our prim= e objective is preserving these historical volumes for posterity. We have rare documents such as the East India Company Gazette, and others dating back to 1720,=94 National Library director Asit Ranjan Banerjee, told The Economic Times. Notably, some of the journals in the National Library=92s possession such as Prabashi, one of the earliest magazines on Calcutta, ar= e the sole existing copies in the world. The library is also the repository of priceless collections of Sir Ashutosh Mukherjee=92s 80,000-odd rare volumes, which include the earliest editions of Chaucer=92s Aesop=92s Fabl= es and Grimm=92s Fairy Tales. National Library=92s partner in this dream exer= cise is Calcutta-based Stex Software, a key player in imaging technology with over 600 high-flier clients in India and across south-east Asia. Digital conversion would typically mean scanning the documents in black and white,= or colour, depending on their nature, digitally cleaning them, compressing= and indexing them to facilitate easy access after storage on CD-ROMs. The digitisation of the National Library=92s works will be implemented in seve= ral stages. The first phase will involve the digital archiving of the oldest books which are in fragile condition. In the second phase, Stex Software will take up the digital conversion of another 10,000 titles. The initial pilot project, which involves the digital conversion of 4.21 lakh pages, will be completed soon. =93The fina= l task is making the National Library=92s valuable books and documents available on the Internet which surfers can access from their own PCs around the world,=94 said B H Gupta, director of Stex Software. But the National Library director concedes that digitisation of the entire library= would take a long time, given the sheer magnitude of the work. http://www.economictimes.com/020899/02tech03.htm From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Thu Aug 12 01:00:32 1999 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id BAA27777; Thu, 12 Aug 1999 01:00:24 GMT Received: from isp.super.net.pk (isp.super.net.pk [203.130.2.4]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id BAA27772 for ; Thu, 12 Aug 1999 01:00:18 GMT Received: from excel586 (khi-line-008.super.net.pk [203.130.5.147]) by isp.super.net.pk (8.9.1/8.9.1) with SMTP id JAA13289 for ; Wed, 4 Aug 1999 09:38:39 +0500 (GMT+0500) Message-Id: <199908040438.JAA13289@isp.super.net.pk> From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Wed, 4 Aug 1999 09:41:09 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: India to have 5m Net users by 2003 X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.01d) Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT India to have 5m Net users by 2003 Our Bureaus Bangalore, Mumbai 3 AUGUST INDIA will be among the four Asian markets to have five million Internet users by the year 2003. Market research agency IDC India Ltd made this forecast at its 12th annual industry briefing. China is expected to have over 15m users, followed by India with about 8m, and Australia and Korea slightly behind. IDC has forecast that personal computers (PC) will continue to drive hardware market growth and that the future would see a tussle between multinational and local PC brands. HCL led in desktop numbers sold in '98-99 with an 8.6 per cent market share, followed by Zenith with 7.1, Compaq with 7, while IBM and Wipro had 3.5 per cent each. However, Compaq led in portables followed by IBM and Toshiba, said Mr Aditya Pant, manager, supply-side research, IDC (India) Ltd. The Indian market is set to become the third largest market in the Asia Pacific (Apac) region by the year 2003 from its current fifth position. IDC also said that a 28 per cent compounded annual growth rate between '98-2003 would catapult India into the third largest market in the region after China and Australia, said Mr Dane Anderson, vice-president, computing systems, IDC Asia/Pacific. Much of the growth will be fuelled by demand in the consumer and small business segments. The Asia Pacific region however, traditionally excludes the Japanese market. As for networking, the choice for access options will not only shift towards new technologies such as DSL-based variants (digital subscriber loop) but also points towards a prominence of Frame relay and E1 technologies. At the same time, the analogue leased lines in vogue today are expected to face diminishing usage over the next one year. In software, the enterprise resource planning (ERP) package sales and services are continuing to grow in India, though elsewhere they may be falling, said Mr Dewang Mehta, president, National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom). In India, ERP software sales will reach Rs 315 crore in '99-2000, with a growth percentage of 43.2 per cent over the '98-99 figure of Rs 220 crore. Between '97-98, where sales were worth Rs 137 crore and '98-99, the growth percentage was 60.9 per cent.In ERP vendor share by customer base, SAP led with 20 per cent as on March '99, followed by Baan with 13 per cent, QAD with 12 per cent and Ramco and Scala with 11 per cent each, Mr Mehta said. Interestingly, while ERP vendor shares among new customers in '98-99 indicate SAP still leading with 23 per cent, followed by Baan with 18 per cent, QAD with 15 per cent, Ramco with 11 per cent and Oracle with 10 per cent, the shares of SAP, Baan and Oracle have decreased from '97-98, while that of QAD has increased considerably and that of Ramco marginally. http://www.economictimes.com/today/04tech01.htm From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Thu Aug 12 01:22:44 1999 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id BAA28798; Thu, 12 Aug 1999 01:22:12 GMT Received: from isp.super.net.pk (isp.super.net.pk [203.130.2.4]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id BAA28790 for ; Thu, 12 Aug 1999 01:22:05 GMT Received: from excel586 (khi-line-087.super.net.pk [203.130.5.226]) by isp.super.net.pk (8.9.1/8.9.1) with SMTP id XAA14142 for ; Tue, 3 Aug 1999 23:56:19 +0500 (GMT+0500) Message-Id: <199908031856.XAA14142@isp.super.net.pk> From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Tue, 3 Aug 1999 23:58:49 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: First World Web X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.01d) Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT [the following appeared on a website, hence reference to online connectivity. ik] First World Web By John S. McCright, PC Week Online 13 July 1999, 1:44 PM ET If you're reading this column, you should feel pretty special. No, I don't say that because I have anything spectacularly unique to say, but because if you're reading this, it means you have Internet access. While that has become commonplace in the United States and not at all unusual in Western Europe, much of the other three-fifths of the world is a long way from being connected to the World Wide Web (or any other computer network). According to the United Nations' 1999 Human Development Re-port, 88 percent of the world's 143 million Internet users are in the two dozen or so wealthiest countries. "Stop-the-presses" news this is not. Most netizens could have guessed that number within 10 percentage points. Most also will not be surprised to learn that they are, like me, young, white, male and well-educated. A tear in the fabric Other than as one of the hundreds of curious bits of information that inundate us, why should we spend more than a minute or two on this story? Because it's another sign of the growing tear in the worldwide fabric of our economy. We are already in the midst of a great change that is making our economy run at the speed of information. If we don't take steps to make this wonderful communications medium more broadly used, the result will be a lifestyle that won't be half as good as it could be. Disparity between rich and poor nations is nothing new. In 1960, the wealthiest 20 percent of the world's population earned 30 times more than the poorest 20 percent. In 1999, the top group made 74 times more. The U.N. study outlines threats to international stability: HIV infection, international crime, human rights abuses by multinational corporations and transnational pollution (such as acid rain). The introduction of more widespread technology to poorer countries would undoubtedly mean better-educated and better-informed people, who in turn are more likely to successfully battle HIV, crime and acid rain. Of course, a wired work force in Third World countries would probably also throw a brighter spotlight on human rights abuses. One has to wonder if that plays a role in some people's reluctance to push the spread of technology to the farthest corners of the impoverished world. Some people looking at these statistics will say that bleeding-heart liberals just want to redistribute wealth to no good end. But look at it selfishly. If you want more return on your investments in foreign countries, make sure they have the best tools to work with. The Internet is a great tool. In centuries gone by, wealthy nations sent missionaries to poorer countries in hopes of making converts and bringing them under their sphere of influence. Beginning in the 1960s, the United States began sending Peace Corps workers to these same countries to improve infrastructure and educate their people. Besides building a physical plant, these travelers opened the rest of the world to Western ways of thinking and brought back nontraditional ideas to Westerners. I don't have the prescription for ensuring broader worldwide access to the Internet and to computer technology. Maybe, as the U.N. report suggests, it is a "bit tax" that creates a pool of money for infrastructure development among the have-nots. (Despite loud criticism, the e-rate program, in which phone users subsidize some Internet access costs, has already, in a year and a half, begun to get more schools and libraries online.) Perhaps there is a way, through tax breaks, to encourage multinational companies to increase infrastructure investments in the world's poorest countries. Regardless of the method for encouraging the growth of a truly worldwide Web, it is important to get the discussion started. What should we do to encourage the reach of the Internet throughout the world? Tell me at john_mccright@zd.com. Off the Cuff, an online exclusive column, appears Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Copyright (c) 1999 ZDNet http://www.zdnet.com/pcweek/stories/news/0,4153,2292880,00.html From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Thu Aug 12 01:26:54 1999 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id BAA28978; Thu, 12 Aug 1999 01:26:50 GMT Received: from isp.super.net.pk (isp.super.net.pk [203.130.2.4]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id BAA28972 for ; Thu, 12 Aug 1999 01:26:43 GMT Received: from excel586 (khi-line-028.super.net.pk [203.130.5.167]) by isp.super.net.pk (8.9.1/8.9.1) with SMTP id LAA00183 for ; Thu, 29 Jul 1999 11:08:08 +0500 (GMT+0500) Message-Id: <199907290608.LAA00183@isp.super.net.pk> From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Thu, 29 Jul 1999 11:06:04 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: [India] Agreeable India may push E-commerce agenda X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.01d) Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT [originally posted on the Cybercom India mailing list by Frederick Noronha ] >From INDNET-E mailing list. Visit the Web page for old digest/archives at http://www.indianetwork.org Agreeable India may push E-commerce agenda Our Correspondent PARIS, July 26: The sudden turnaround announced by India on its long- standing opposition to keeping e-commerce free from any customs duty has boosted the prospects of a general agreement on how to conduct negotiations over this issue when it is taken up at the Millennium Round of WTO. The negotiations are slated to begin soon after the Seattle Ministerial Conference from November 30 to December 3. The turnaround has, however, also raised doubts whether India has not handed over its trump card for the Seattle negotiations. So far, India had been opposing the idea of continuing with a standstill that was agreed upon at the end of the Uruguay Round five years ago. The standstill basically meant that all countries will keep the electronic commerce transmissions free of any customs duty or any other tariff barriers for a long period time, or at least till the end of the negotiations that commence post-Seattle. However, last month, in a sudden announcement, the government decided to support the freeze. And ifthe turnaround itself sounded odd, the reason behind it is close to bizarre. "The United States has supported us throughout the Kargil crisis and as a gesture of goodwill, we will drop our opposition to their proposals on e-commerce," was how the commerce ministry officials put it and earned the ridicule of several international observers. "It is like a dejected lover who will give up anything in order to have a glance from her paramour. It appears that India had been feeling ignored by the United States and even a hint of a recognition from US is enough to have India on her knees," said an observer. International experts say that e-commerce will be the single most important issue for the United States in the forthcoming Millennium Round and most other countries would stand to derive tremendous benefits from this. "The US has already expressed its keenness to have the e-commerce negotiations get underway quickly and conclude without much ado, as soon as possible. And they have also conceded, ratherimplicitly, that they would give up anything or almost anything in order to have e-commerce through on the Seattle agenda. This means that all other countries can draw up their shopping lists for rest of the agenda and then ensure that the Americans support them, in turn," said an expert on international negotiations. International experts feel, developing countries like India can extract major benefits from their opposition to e-commerce. India, South Korea and Brazil have been leading the opposition and international observers feel that these countries could push their opposition till the last minute and then extract a real concession before giving in. India has also been saying that safety and encryption rules, especially those prevalent in the US, are barriers to trade. "I have a feeling it is a negotiating stance, rather than real opposition and quite like the last time around, India may come on board literally at the last minute, with some handsome bargains," said an expert. But that is possible,only if India does not make any more emotional blunders like the one over Kargil. The European Commission -- the other major promoter of the idea -- has clearly indicated where it stands and how far it will go. "We have been saying that there should be a balanced package of basic governing principles. We would like to prepare a package for the final negotiations. But we are not prepared to give up anything in return for an agreement on e-commerce. It is absolutely way down on our priority list,'' said a senior EC official. The EC draft proposal for negotiations lists nine basic principles, which include a definition of e-commerce, requiring member states to provide market access, transparency and maintain a competitive environment by doing away with the monopoly of the internet service providers. The EC has also brought in a point of technical assistance for developing countries in order to promote e-commerce there. This paper, along with those prepared by other developed countries including the US,will be circulated in the United States next week in Geneva amongst the WTO members. And the developing countries can extract several concessions even at that stage. The EC itself is looking for several concessions from the United States on e-commerce. "We would like something in return in the areas of maritime and air transport, where the US needs to liberalise its markets and allow access to foreign players," the EC official said. _____________________________________________________________ From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Thu Aug 12 09:58:21 1999 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id JAA02736; Thu, 12 Aug 1999 09:46:03 GMT Received: from post.super.net.pk (post.super.net.pk [203.130.2.9]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id JAA02676 for ; Thu, 12 Aug 1999 09:45:45 GMT Received: from excel586 (khi-line-081.super.net.pk [203.130.5.220]) by post.super.net.pk (8.9.1/8.9.1) with SMTP id OAA16971 for ; Thu, 12 Aug 1999 14:51:56 -0500 Message-Id: <199908121951.OAA16971@post.super.net.pk> From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Thu, 12 Aug 1999 14:46:48 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: GraphoNet all set to launch 'digital gateway of India' X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.01d) Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT GraphoNet all set to launch 'digital gateway of India' Our Bureau HYDERABAD, Aug. 10 THE Haifa, Israel-based GraphoNet Ltd, through its Indian subsidiary, GraphoNet (India) Ltd, is launching an Internet portal site on Thursday which promises to offer a host of services including a search engine specially designed for Indians and NRIs. The portal - Gnan.COM - is backed by e-commerce tools like Online Ordering and Tracking System (OOTS), Hotline Web Communication Server for eService and Dvu (The View), a real time monitoring tool developed by GraphoNet Ltd. Describing the portal as the "ultimate digital gateway of India", the co-founder and CEO of GraphoNet Ltd, Mr. Madhu M. Avalur, said it delivered the promise of a true and comprehensive Indian portal. Gnan.COM symobolises gnanam anantham (knowledge and wisdom are infinite). GraphoNet is an Internet strategy and consulting firm providing turnkey Internet-based solutions. Since 1997, it has focussed on e- commerce applications. Gnan.COM plans to design and develop India- specific information services. "Our search facility will be like that of Infoseek and Alta Vista," Mr. Avalur said. The portal has three components. One is basic content. While providing news, business and finance-related information, Gnan.COM will also offer book reviews, travel advice and information on arts, music, fashion and medicine. There are several free services and down the line certain paid services will be offered. Under free services, the site offers a search directory, e-mail and URL redirection, classifieds, auctions and address finder facilities. The site also hosts information about missing persons (foreigners). In the paid services section, the portal plans to offer access to shopping malls, Internet Posts (iPosts), NRI service points, and Yatri helpdesk for travellers. "Commerce on the Internet represents a revolutionary departure from traditional business methods. The move to e-commerce involves new technologies, new ways of doing business and new processes. This presents a whole range of opportunities and challenges in terms of design, tools, strategies and implementation skills," Mr. Avalur said. Ms. Anna Koren, a world-renowned graphologist and President of GraphoNet, has co-founded the company with Mr. Avalur. Savitr Software Services (P) Ltd, a Hyderabad-based software development and consultancy company, is the co-promoter of GraphoNet (India). It will act as the hardware and software content provider for Gnan.COM, according to the Savitr Director, Mr. Raghava Akshintala. (c) Copyright Kasturi & Sons Ltd http://202.54.119.138/planetasia/bl11_053.htm From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Thu Aug 12 10:03:22 1999 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id KAA04542; Thu, 12 Aug 1999 10:03:03 GMT Received: from svc00.apnic.net (svc00.apnic.net [202.12.28.131]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id KAA04531 for ; Thu, 12 Aug 1999 10:02:59 GMT Received: from post.super.net.pk (post.super.net.pk [203.130.2.9]) by svc00.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id JAA05039 for ; Thu, 12 Aug 1999 09:46:00 GMT Received: from excel586 (khi-line-081.super.net.pk [203.130.5.220]) by post.super.net.pk (8.9.1/8.9.1) with SMTP id OAA16982 for ; Thu, 12 Aug 1999 14:52:35 -0500 Message-Id: <199908121952.OAA16982@post.super.net.pk> From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Thu, 12 Aug 1999 14:46:48 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: Indian Private Players Plan Global Gateways X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.01d) Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Indian Private Players Plan Global Gateways By Uday Lal Pai InternetNews India Correspondent [August 10, 1999--MUMBAI] Private Internet Service Providers (ISPs) have said that they are setting up their own private gateways soon to do away with the dependence on Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited (VSNL) for back-end connectivity to internet. The move follows the government's recent decision to let private ISPs to set up their own international gateways. The DoT had announced guidelines for the private ISPs to apply for international gateways to provide Internet access directly or through other ISPs. Currently, VSNL has the monopoly in operating international gateways in the country. Satyam Infoway said it would put up 10 gateways. It has finished with the groundwork for setting up international gateways. The company is planning to float tenders to source equipment for its gateways shortly. "So far, we were dependent on VSNL. Now, with our own set- up, we can offer a better service," said R.Ramraj, managing director, Satyam Infoway. According to sources at Satyam, the company has initiated talks with Loral and other satellite service providers to either purchase or lease out transponder space to link up its gateway network. The cost of the project would be around $ 24 million, which Satyam will be raising through its forthcoming American Depository Receipts (ADR) issue. Satyam Infoway has already filed its ADR application. Another option in front of Satyam is to install a cable-based network. This would mean installing a single gateway in Mumbai because the cable has a solitary landing point here and connects to a Trans-Atlantic cable which provides a direct connectivity to the US and Europe. This option would mean a lower capital expenditure, but would involve high revenue expenditure, as Satyam would have to shop around for a lot more leased lines to offer the gateway benefits across all its centres. On the other hand, Bharti BT Internet Private Limited is opting for setting up two international gateways, which will enhance its Internet services in Delhi and Bangalore. According to N. Arjun, chief executive officer, Bharti BT his company's objective was to start offering Internet services through its own international gateways by March 1, 2000. He said that the total cost of the project would be about $ 12 million. "We still have to take a decision on the mode of financing." Arjun said. "What we want is to have a better control on the backbone in order to provide better service to the customers," he added. Like Satyam, BhartiBT, too, is combating with similar options for gateways. For its satellite connectivity, the company is planning to land its satellite signal somewhere in Europe to be carried to the US through an Trans-Atlantic cable. The private ISPs are still awaiting the clear-cut modalities with regard to security clearances and investment norms. However, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is yet to come out with final guidelines for them. According to sources, the delay is due to the furious lobbying by VSNL (with its over 80 Mbps bandwidth capacity for the operators) against such a provision, which is insisting that international leased circuits to the Internet should be routed through it. BPL Net also has evinced interest in installing a gateway. http://asia.internet.com/1999/8/1001-india.html From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Thu Aug 12 10:03:23 1999 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id KAA04534; Thu, 12 Aug 1999 10:03:00 GMT Received: from svc00.apnic.net (svc00.apnic.net [202.12.28.131]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id KAA04526 for ; Thu, 12 Aug 1999 10:02:57 GMT Received: from post.super.net.pk (post.super.net.pk [203.130.2.9]) by svc00.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id JAA05052 for ; Thu, 12 Aug 1999 09:46:03 GMT Received: from excel586 (khi-line-081.super.net.pk [203.130.5.220]) by post.super.net.pk (8.9.1/8.9.1) with SMTP id OAA16987 for ; Thu, 12 Aug 1999 14:52:44 -0500 Message-Id: <199908121952.OAA16987@post.super.net.pk> From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Thu, 12 Aug 1999 14:46:48 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: apologies for duplicate postings X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.01d) Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT there was some problem with my local ISP's mail server which resulted in a majority of e-mail messagess sent on 3 and 4 August 1999 to get "stuck" on their machine. as the messages were not appearing on the list, i switched to my altavista e-mail account which did the work. the e-mail messagess "stuck" on my ISP's machine got "released" today after a lapse of almost nine days. these messages are dated 3/4 Aug 1999, and almost all of them are duplicate. my apologies for flooding your mailboxes with duplicate postings. irfan From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Thu Aug 12 10:09:48 1999 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id KAA04996; Thu, 12 Aug 1999 10:09:38 GMT Received: from post.super.net.pk (post.super.net.pk [203.130.2.9]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id KAA04988 for ; Thu, 12 Aug 1999 10:09:32 GMT Received: from excel586 (khi-line-081.super.net.pk [203.130.5.220]) by post.super.net.pk (8.9.1/8.9.1) with SMTP id PAA17285 for ; Thu, 12 Aug 1999 15:09:15 -0500 Message-Id: <199908122009.PAA17285@post.super.net.pk> From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Thu, 12 Aug 1999 15:04:07 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-transfer-encoding: Quoted-printable Subject: =?ISO-8859-1?Q?UBSPD_set_to_launch_India=92s_largest_book-website_?= X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.01d) Content-Transfer-Encoding: Quoted-printable Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk Content-Transfer-Encoding: Quoted-printable [the URL of UBSPD's website is http://www.ubspd.com/ (http://216.121.101.160/)] UBSPD set to launch India=92s largest book-website Sudipto Roy CALCUTTA 10 AUGUST MOVE over Amazon.Com. The largest website for Indian books is coming from the house of UBS Publishers=92 Distributors (UBSPD) and Indian books will soon be just a mouse click away. "Our site, which should be ready by August 14, will offer some 15,000 Indian titles from 700 publishers," said Sukumar Das, executive director of the Delhi-based publisher and bookseller UBSPD. Mr Das said, initially only English titles printed and published from India will be available from the UBSPD site. Later the bookseller will also offer vernacular titles in all regional languages. Mr Das said the website was being developed along the lines of the one that Amazon.Com has. The books will be listed on the site under three classifications of titles, authors and subjects. The site will offer chatroom feature for on-line booklovers and will also have the facility for readers to review books. Surfers will have the option to order out of print books and UBSPD=92s knowledge of the book trade will help it locate such out of print titles, Mr Das said. "Our aim is to free readers from the clutches of middlemen and retailers and offer books to readers at a discount," Mr Das said. He said UBSPD was also planning to get into digital publishing in a big way. Digitial publishing helps a publisher to print books in small numbers. "Books which have a small niche market are ideal for digital publishing," Mr Das said. This will help the company to reduce expenditure on inventory management, he said. "If a book has a market for only 50 copies then also we will be able to publish it. This is unthinkable in the current system of off-set printing where the minimum print order runs into a few thousand," Mr Das said. He said research papers and technical subjects are ideal for publishing in the new digital system. Apart from publishing books, UBSPD is also looking at the emerging CD- ROM publishing market. The publisher will first come out with a CD- ROM on `books in print=92 in the Indian market, work on which is at an advanced stage of completion. However, the company is cautious about getting into CD-ROM title publishing. "At the moment the cost of developing a CD-ROM title is very high. We have done some market research and would like to enter the field only when the market matures," Mr Das said. http://www.economictimes.com/today/11tech05.htm From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Thu Aug 12 19:32:27 1999 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id TAA05708; Thu, 12 Aug 1999 19:31:06 GMT Received: from isp.super.net.pk (isp.super.net.pk [203.130.2.4]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id TAA05651 for ; Thu, 12 Aug 1999 19:30:22 GMT Received: from excel586 (khi-line-051.super.net.pk [203.130.5.190]) by isp.super.net.pk (8.9.1/8.9.1) with SMTP id NAA03618 for ; Wed, 28 Jul 1999 13:18:38 +0500 (GMT+0500) Message-Id: <199907280818.NAA03618@isp.super.net.pk> From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Wed, 28 Jul 1999 13:19:43 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: Telecom De-Monopolisation in India X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.01d) Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Date sent: Mon, 26 Jul 1999 23:25:59 +0500 [from the India-GII mailing list] ------- Forwarded Message Follows ------- Date sent: Mon, 26 Jul 1999 17:18:26 +0530 From: Udhay Shankar N -------- Original Message -------- Date: Mon, 26 Jul 1999 16:38:22 +0530 From: Saslin_Salim@maaln.satyam.net.in To: udhay@pobox.com Could you pl post this info in your mailing list. Thanks Dr T H Chowdary's latest book 'Telecom De-Monopolisation in India' is now available on Satyamonline's book channel. Click here to read more about the author and to buy: http://www.satyamonline.com/books/telecom.asp. T.H. Chowdary is Information Technology Advisor to the Government of Andhra Pradesh, Director of the Center for Telecom Management & Studies (CTMS) and Chairman of Pragna Bahrati of Andhra Pradesh. He was the founding Chairman and Managing Director of Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited (VSNL). Since 1960, he has written over 1,000 Articles and Papers and Pamphlets and Booklets on various aspects of telephone and other telecom services in the country and abroad in newspapers, journals, periodicals and professional publications in India and abroad. He is a Senior Member of IEEE. Fellow of the Institution of Engineers (India). Distinguished Fellow of the Institution of Electronics and Telecom Engineers (IETE) and past President of the IETE (India). He was awarded the degree of Doctorate of Philosophy (Honor's cause) by the Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University (JNTU) in 1999 for his distinguished services for the promotion of telecommunications technology, technical education and public instruction. --------------------------------------------------------------------- From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Fri Aug 13 04:19:26 1999 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id EAA27638; Fri, 13 Aug 1999 04:18:23 GMT Received: from post.super.net.pk (post.super.net.pk [203.130.2.9]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id EAA27629 for ; Fri, 13 Aug 1999 04:18:15 GMT Received: from excel586 (khi-line-042.super.net.pk [203.130.5.181]) by post.super.net.pk (8.9.1/8.9.1) with SMTP id JAA06645 for ; Fri, 13 Aug 1999 09:25:06 -0500 Message-Id: <199908131425.JAA06645@post.super.net.pk> From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Fri, 13 Aug 1999 09:19:58 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: [India] from INDEV e-mail digest no. 19 X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.01d) Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT [the following three items are from the INDEV e-mail digest no. 19 (7 Aug 1999). for full text visit the INDEV website at http://www.indev.nic.in/] Asia Recovery Information Center The Asian Development Bank has approved a US$ 1 million technical assistance grant to help establish an Asia Recovery Information Center (ARIC). This Internet-based facility will support the collaborative exchange and analysis of information on the social and economic impacts of the Asian financial crisis, and the pace and sustainability of the economic recovery process. It will also publish an Asia Economic Recovery Report on a biannual basis. Empowering villagers The information age, so far confined to the urban population, is making an entry in rural India. The Chennai based M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation has set up an "Information Village," with an aim to provide location specific information to five villages near Pondicherry. Enabling E-Commerce in India A survey of companies in India revealed that although e-commerce was regarded as key to the business strategy of private companies in India, only 20% of the 318 chief information officers (CIO's) surveyed had implemented e-commerce in their operations. Of the households surveyed, only 26 percent of PC-owners were aware of e- commerce, with the majority of them indicating that they would prefer to not make purchases on-line until quality and delivery could be guaranteed. From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Fri Aug 13 18:53:59 1999 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id SAA13111; Fri, 13 Aug 1999 18:51:24 GMT Received: from post.super.net.pk (post.super.net.pk [203.130.2.9]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id SAA13091 for ; Fri, 13 Aug 1999 18:51:04 GMT Received: from excel586 (khi-line-076.super.net.pk [203.130.5.215]) by post.super.net.pk (8.9.1/8.9.1) with SMTP id XAA28553 for ; Fri, 13 Aug 1999 23:57:41 -0500 Message-Id: <199908140457.XAA28553@post.super.net.pk> From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Fri, 13 Aug 1999 23:51:50 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: [CITA '99] Asian IT Conference X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.01d) Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT ------- Forwarded Message Follows ------- Date: Fri, 13 Aug 1999 05:12:33 +0800 To: s-asia-it@teckla.apnic.net From: Roger Harris Subject: Asian IT Conference C A L L F O R P A R T I C P A T I O N Conference on IT in Asia, CITA'99 The IFIP Working Group 9.4 on the social implications of computers in developing countries announces its first Asian regional conference. The Merdeka Palace Hotel, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia, 16-17 September, 1999 Organised by Universiti Malaysia Sarawak. The conference theme features "Information Equality in the Next Millennium". It will draw together academics, practitioners, managers, executives, policy makers and planners with an interest on the application of IT to Asia's development problems. Speakers from more than 10 countries will be presenting over 40 papers, organised into various sub themes. These include; IT in Education; Organisational Responses to IT Innovation; Specific Applications of IT; National Perspectives of IT Deployment; Cultural Impacts; Adoption of IT and Research and Development in IT. Registration US$250/RM750 (Malaysian Ringit) via the conference web site at http://www.unimas.my/cita99 to: CITA'99 Secretariat Faculty of Information Technology Universiti Malaysia Sarawak 94300 Kota Samarahan Sarawak, Malaysia Telephone +60 82 671000 x 374 Fax +60 82 672301 Email cita99@fit.unimas.my Roger Harris Dr. Roger Harris Head of the Information Systems Core Group Faculty of Information Technology - Universiti Malaysia Sarawak Programme Chair - CITA99, Guest Editor - Journal of Global Information Technology Management Track Chair - HICSS 2000 - IT in Developing Countries Track Chair - IRMA 2000 - IT in Asia Pacific http://www.unimas.my/fit/roger/ From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Fri Aug 13 18:53:59 1999 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id SAA13103; Fri, 13 Aug 1999 18:51:20 GMT Received: from post.super.net.pk (post.super.net.pk [203.130.2.9]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id SAA13089 for ; Fri, 13 Aug 1999 18:51:00 GMT Received: from excel586 (khi-line-076.super.net.pk [203.130.5.215]) by post.super.net.pk (8.9.1/8.9.1) with SMTP id XAA28548 for ; Fri, 13 Aug 1999 23:57:37 -0500 Message-Id: <199908140457.XAA28548@post.super.net.pk> From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Fri, 13 Aug 1999 23:51:50 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-transfer-encoding: Quoted-printable Subject: Virtual Discussion: Infrastructure Services in the Service of the Poor X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.01d) Content-Transfer-Encoding: Quoted-printable Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk Content-Transfer-Encoding: Quoted-printable ------- Forwarded Message Follows ------- From: KARINA_GRIFFITH@acdi-cida.gc.ca To: s-asia-it-owner@apnic.net Date sent: Fri, 13 Aug 1999 12:41:00 -0400 Subject: Information for members of S-Asia-IT Please post the following information on your listserv. Attention S-Asia-IT, The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) is the lead player in delivering Canada's official development assistance program. In attempt to better understand the complexities of poverty, determine lessons learned from poverty focused projects in the field and develop a new poverty reduction strategy, CIDA's Asia Branch recently launched a virtual discussion forum. This series of dialogues is open to everyone around the world, particularly NGOs, the private sector, academics and students. As a member of S-Asia-IT, you are invited to participate in "Infrastructure Services in the Service of the Poor" one of the 14 discussion topics in our forum. The equitable provision of infrastructure services for example, potable water, roads, electricity, telecommunications services etc., to all citizens is crucial to their socio-economic development. We would like to explore in this forum, the linkages between the provision of these basic services and their impact on poverty reduction. Your opinions /comments would be highly appreciated I encourage you to visit our web pages http://www.acdi- cida.gc.ca/poverty/asia to offer your ideas, discuss different topics and share your knowledge on proven poverty reduction strategies. These web pages not only present a forum for virtual discussion, but also provide information about the project's goal, a list of FAQs, a report on each topic, and other people's comments on poverty reduction in Asia. We would appreciate it if you could forward this e-mail to your colleagues so that they can share their knowledge on poverty reduction with us. Thank you for your help. Your ideas are very important to us. Looking forward to your continued support, Karina Griffith The Poverty Reduction Project Team Asia Branch Canadian International Development Agency ----------------------------------------------------------- Aux membres de S-Asia-IT, L'Agence canadienne de d=E9veloppement international (ACDI) est le joueur le plus important parmi ceux qui livrent les programmes canadiens d'aide publique au d=E9veloppement. Dans le but de mieux comprendre la complexit=E9 de la pauvret=E9, de mieux tirer les le=E7ons apprises des autres projets concrets s'y rattachant et de mieux d=E9velopper une nouvelle strat=E9gie pour r=E9duir= e la pauvret=E9, la Direction g=E9n=E9rale de l'Asie =E0 l'ACDI a r=E9cemmen= t lanc=E9 un forum virtuel de discussion sur la r=E9duction de la pauvret=E9= en Asie. Cette s=E9rie de discussions est ouverte =E0 quiconque dans le monde, notamment aux ONG, au secteur priv=E9, aux chercheurs et aux =E9tudiants. En tant que membre de S-Asia-IT, vous =EAtes invit=E9s =E0 consulter =ABLe= s services d'infrastructure au service des pauvres=BB, l'un des 14 sujets de discussions de notre forum. Les tr=E8s grands besoins de l'Asie en mati=E8re d'infrastructures et les co=FBts =E9normes qu'il faudrait engage= r pour les mettre en place et comment le profit, qui est le facteur d=E9cisif, est li=E9 =E0 la r=E9duction de la pauvret=E9 sont quelques-uns= des sujets trait=E9s sur lesquels nous demandons votre opinion. Je vous invite =E0 visiter ces pages Web =E0 www.acdi- cida.gc.ca/pauvrete/asie pour faire conna=EEtre vos id=E9es, discuter diff=E9rents sujets et partager votre savoir sur des strat=E9gies qui ont fait leurs preuves en mati=E8re de r=E9duction de la pauvret=E9. Ces pages= Web n'offrent pas seulement un forum de discussions, mais fournissent =E9galement de l'information sur le but du projet, une foire aux questions (FAQ), un rapport sur chaque sujet et des commentaires d'autres intervenants sur la r=E9duction de la pauvret=E9 en Asie. Nous vous saurions gr=E9 de faire suivre le pr=E9sent message =E0 vos coll=E8gues qui d=E9sirent apporter leur contribution. Merci de votre appui. Vos commentaires nous sont pr=E9cieux. En esp=E9rant pouvoir compter sur votre collaboration, nous vous prions d'agr=E9er l'expression de nos sentiments distingu=E9s. Karina Griffith =C9quipe du Projet de r=E9duction de la pauvret=E9 Direction Asie Agence canadienne de d=E9veloppement international From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Fri Aug 13 20:02:51 1999 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id UAA16484; Fri, 13 Aug 1999 20:02:15 GMT Received: from post.super.net.pk (post.super.net.pk [203.130.2.9]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id UAA16446 for ; Fri, 13 Aug 1999 20:01:44 GMT Received: from excel586 (khi-line-046.super.net.pk [203.130.5.185]) by post.super.net.pk (8.9.1/8.9.1) with SMTP id BAA30126 for ; Sat, 14 Aug 1999 01:07:59 -0500 Message-Id: <199908140607.BAA30126@post.super.net.pk> From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Sat, 14 Aug 1999 01:02:50 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: [India] Madras' High-Tech City to be ready by January X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.01d) Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Madras' High-Tech City to be ready by January Asia's biggest software park, coming up at High-Tech City in Tharamani, Madras, will be operational by January, Murasoli Maran promised today. He is the vice-chairman of the Tamil Nadu government's Information Technology Taskforce and has been an industry minister with the central government. Maran mentioned the January deadline while inaugurating the India operations of the United States based Megasoft Consultants Inc. He said the 1.2 million square-foot park would have the most modern communication facilities and would be comparable to the best in the United States. Tamil Nadu is creating modern infrastructure to woo investments from global information technology and related companies, he said. UNI http://www.rediff.com/computer/1999/aug/12park.htm From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Fri Aug 13 20:03:21 1999 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id UAA16536; Fri, 13 Aug 1999 20:03:18 GMT Received: from post.super.net.pk (post.super.net.pk [203.130.2.9]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id UAA16501 for ; Fri, 13 Aug 1999 20:02:42 GMT Received: from excel586 (khi-line-046.super.net.pk [203.130.5.185]) by post.super.net.pk (8.9.1/8.9.1) with SMTP id BAA30157 for ; Sat, 14 Aug 1999 01:09:16 -0500 Message-Id: <199908140609.BAA30157@post.super.net.pk> From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Sat, 14 Aug 1999 01:04:09 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-transfer-encoding: Quoted-printable Subject: =?ISO-8859-1?Q?[India]_Goa_competes_with_K=92taka,_offers_sops_to_software_cos?= X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.01d) Content-Transfer-Encoding: Quoted-printable Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk Content-Transfer-Encoding: Quoted-printable Goa competes with K=92taka, offers sops to software cos Panaji 12 AUGUST THE Goa government has offered tax breaks and incentives to the computer software sector in an effort to compete with neighbouring Karnataka which is developing advanced facilities for information technology centres in many towns. Recently, the Goa government declared that 285,296 square metres at Taleigao village will be set aside "exclusively for information technology (IT) industries with immediate effect". In another gazette notification, the state government has, 'in public interest', exempted from central sales tax all exim scrips, replenishment licences and special import licences obtained by registered software units in Goa. Exim scrips are licences that allow exporters to import a certain amount of duty-free items. Not all exporters need imports. These are transferable and exporters often are able to sell their exim scrips. All goods used as raw materials in the "manufacture, processing or assembling by software units, computers and computer- peripherals industries" are also being exempted from sales tax. Meanwhile, Hubli =97 the commercial centre of northern Karnataka, close to the Goa border =97 has announced plans to position itself as a new centre for IT companies. Hubli is being solely developed for IT- enabled services such as back office operations, data conversion, remote maintenance and support, medical transcription and insurance claim processing, call centres, GIS data processing and contact development. The coastal city of Mangalore in Karnataka is also to be built up as a base for e-commerce business and its software development. Mysore in southern Karnataka is also being developed as a centre for embedded software. Karnataka=92s strategy is to create specialised centres, as in the US where certain cities are totally dedicated to one area of IT. This means that Goa will have competition from nearby. Local plans for the IT sector here have so far taken time to materialise. The Software Park at Verna hasn=92t been progressing as fast as planned. Reports from Karnataka say the software park at Hubli has been getting encouraging response and already two companies, involved in medical transcriptions, have decided to set up their centres here. http://www.economictimes.com/today/13tech03.htm From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Sat Aug 14 00:35:23 1999 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id AAA27436; Sat, 14 Aug 1999 00:34:43 GMT Received: from fh105.infi.net (fh105.infi.net [209.97.16.35]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id AAA27428 for ; Sat, 14 Aug 1999 00:34:23 GMT Received: from akron.infi.net (AKRNB103-32.splitrock.net [209.156.82.78]) by fh105.infi.net (8.8.8/8.8.8) with ESMTP id UAA16634; Fri, 13 Aug 1999 20:33:13 -0400 (EDT) Message-ID: <37B4B966.2877CD93@akron.infi.net> Date: Fri, 13 Aug 1999 20:33:43 -0400 From: Bob Pyke Jr Reply-To: repyke@akron.infi.net X-Mailer: Mozilla 4.04 [en] (Win95; U) MIME-Version: 1.0 To: APHA CC: South Asia List , TIE , Bob Pyke , Community Health List , DEOS-L , EDTECH , Fast Company , Hospital-Webmaster , ITNA , Kaiser Family Foundation , NPINFO , Telehealth-L , Trends , waoe-views , Workshop: Future of Higher Education and Learning Subject: Videoconferencing & UB School of Nursing Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit This comes from Scott Erdley, a Doctoral Candidate in Nursing. The implications for all of us, in Health, Education, Telehealth and other areas of technologly , is as my 10 year old would say, "Cool" Scott is also a decent person and has a nice web site too. Sorry for any cross postings. Thanks, Bob Pyke Jr.,RN,CPNP Folks, this was an interesting experience that I thought I'd share with all of you. This is copied directly from the article in the Reporter, one of the university's newspapers (http://www.buffalo.edu and click on News). Apologies if it sounds like I'm 'tooting a horn' . Scott W. Scott Erdley, MS, RN SoN - SUNY@Buffalo, NY Doctoral Candidate, Nursing erdley@acsu.buffalo.edu SoN Curriculum DB Mgr. http://www.acsu.buffalo.edu/~erdley ********************************************************************* UB Group Brings High-Quality Videoconferencing And Streaming Video To The Desktop Release date: Tuesday, August 10, 1999 Contact: Ellen Goldbaum, goldbaum@buffalo.edu Phone: 716-645-2626 Fax: 716-645-3765 BUFFALO, N.Y. -- How long will it be before you can participate in a videoconference or "visit" with an overseas client without leaving your desk? If a recent experiment at the University at Buffalo is any indication, it could be much sooner than many people think. "It worked beautifully," said Nancy Campbell-Heider, Ph.D., UB nursing professor, of the demonstration in which UB staff brought high-quality videoconferencing and streaming video to the desktop over the Internet. The success has major implications for health-care delivery in remote areas and for distance learning, especially within the next few years when Internet2, with its huge bandwidth capacity, is up and running. The purpose of the experiment was practical: UB nursing faculty wanted to tap into and broadcast an evaluation of a student working with a patient in a clinical setting for a conference presentation in California about the use of videoconferencing to remotely evaluate students. But the usual videoconferencing linkup using telephone lines was not available at the conference site. So UB information-technology staff decided to use the Internet, an extremely attractive -- if technically challenging -- option. The interactive session was transmitted to desktop viewers at UB and throughout the clinical site at Erie County Medical Center (ECMC) over an Internet conference "bridge" at Ohio State University. Currently, videoconferencing takes place over ISDN (integrated services digital network) lines, which are installed individually and incur charges as telephone calls do. But with the Internet, anyone with a desktop PC and Internet access is suddenly a potential audience member. The experiment taxed the resources of UB staff and faculty. Right up until airtime, UB staff members were working to fix technical glitches. Peter Jorgensen, UB senior programmer analyst, literally was slicing into cables with a knife to remedy a problem that was interfering with video transmission. In the meantime, James Whitlock, UB associate director of computing services who was coordinating controls from Maine, where he was on vacation, was making plans to fly equipment to Buffalo, if necessary. Luckily, with four minutes left until scheduled airtime, Jorgensen found and fixed the problem. At the same time, Zydacron, Inc.; Cisco Systems, Inc., and RADvision and Viewcom, the companies responsible for developing the technologies that eventually will make desktop videoconferencing and streaming video ubiquitous, provided the UB group with major donations of equipment and staff assistance. According to Whitlock, UB, ECMC, Ohio State and the companies all saw the value of making this demonstration work. "We needed to do this," said Whitlock, who, along with UB IT staff members and their counterparts from the UB nursing and medical schools and ECMC, spent the two weeks leading up to the experiment working on the project nearly round-the-clock. "People need to see these things in order to understand what they are," said Whitlock. "It's very visceral. What we managed to do was give people a glimpse of the horizon, which is coming at them very rapidly. It may be five years before we can do this with relative ease, but that's very rapid in comparison to how long it will take people and institutions to adapt to it." From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Sat Aug 14 06:42:13 1999 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id GAA18211; Sat, 14 Aug 1999 06:18:22 GMT Received: from post.super.net.pk (post.super.net.pk [203.130.2.9]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id GAA18195 for ; Sat, 14 Aug 1999 06:18:15 GMT Received: from excel586 (khi-line-077.super.net.pk [203.130.5.216]) by post.super.net.pk (8.9.1/8.9.1) with SMTP id LAA02967 for ; Sat, 14 Aug 1999 11:24:44 -0500 Message-Id: <199908141624.LAA02967@post.super.net.pk> From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Sat, 14 Aug 1999 11:19:35 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: Indian E-Commerce Forecast To Reach $575m By 2002 X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.01d) Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Indian E-Commerce Forecast To Reach $575m By 2002 By Uday Lal Pai InternetNews India Correspondent [13 August 199] India will be among the four Asian markets to have more than five million Internet users and e-commerce will account for $575 million by financial year 2002-03, says IDC India, Indian arm of the global IT market research. But a good number of companies in India have still not entered the field, says another survey. According to Ravi Sangal, president of IDC (India), the low cost of computers, increasing penetration of the Internet and cyber laws will fuel the growth of e-commerce in India. Last year (1998-99) transactions over the Net in India stood at a mere $ 30 million. Ravi said that initially, the business to consumer (B to C) segment would account for the deals done on the Net while the rest would be Business to Business (B to B). Cyber Laws are yet to be approved by Parliament. The survey also revealed that most PC owners would plan to get their PCs connected to the Internet. The current installed base of PCs in India is estimated at 3.2 million (legal markets). IDC expects annual sales of PCs to jump to 2.62 million units by 2001-02. The Indian IT market is set to become the third largest market in the Asia Pacific region in four years time from its current fifth position. A 28 per cent compounded annual growth rate between 1998- 2003 would catapult India into the third largest market after China and Australia, said Dane Anderson, vice-president, computing systems, IDC Asia pacific. With five million users adding to the Net, India will be the second largest market in Asia Pacific. China is expected to have over 15 million users, followed by India with about 8 million, and Australia and Korea slightly behind. However, Indian companies are yet to tap e-commerce potential, according to yet another survey. A survey result released by India's market research company IMRB revealed that Indian companies are optimistic about the potential of this medium. Companies expect e- commerce to contribute nearly 17% to their turn over by 2004. At present, however, of the 318 chief information officers surveyed, only 20 percent said that their organizations were trying to use e- commerce to some extent. The remaining 80 per cent are still in the process of gearing up for the show. According to the respondents, the key barriers in the adoption of e- commerce include lack of proper commercial and legal system, lack of infrastructure, awareness and a conducive environment. However, the department of electronics (DoE) is also bullish on e- commerce. "The nest millennium will be one of e-culture. We expect that E-C will account for $ 175 million in India over the next two years. Every 1.67 seconds, one new user will sign up on the Net" said Ravindra Gupta, secretary, DoE. http://asia.internet.com/cyberatlas/0812a-india.html From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Sun Aug 15 19:12:17 1999 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id TAA01366; Sun, 15 Aug 1999 19:09:13 GMT Received: from post.super.net.pk (post.super.net.pk [203.130.2.9]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id TAA01350 for ; Sun, 15 Aug 1999 19:08:56 GMT Received: from excel586 (khi-line-088.super.net.pk [203.130.5.227]) by post.super.net.pk (8.9.1/8.9.1) with SMTP id AAA06961 for ; Mon, 16 Aug 1999 00:15:21 -0500 Message-Id: <199908160515.AAA06961@post.super.net.pk> From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Mon, 16 Aug 1999 00:10:16 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: WITH CONCERTS AND WEB SITE, UN AGENCY ATTACKS POVERTY X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.01d) Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT [from the World Bank's Development News (12 August 1999)] WITH CONCERTS AND WEB SITE, UN AGENCY ATTACKS POVERTY. Bidding to fight poverty with music and megabits, the UNDP and Cisco Systems Inc., the No. 1 maker of data communications gear, have enlisted a dozen popular entertainers to kick off an Internet-based initiative to help the world's poor, the New York Times (p.A8) reports. The new project, called Netaid, appears to represent the most extensive partnership the UN has ever formed with a private enterprise in trying to relieve poverty in the developing world. Ultimately, the hope is that even tiny villages in the Third World will have public computers linked to the Internet, adds the Washington Post (p.E1). Local artisans might use them to find markets abroad, the logic goes, and farm cooperatives might use them to study up-to-date agricultural techniques. The UNDP's new Administrator, Mark Malloch Brown, described the NetAid effort as "thoroughly subversive, in ways that old-line dictators have trouble getting a handle on." He said he is betting that even rulers who don't want peasants or factory workers to have global access to information will be reluctant to shut down or expel the UNDP for providing it. NetAid's public debut is scheduled for Oct. 9, when the group will stage overlapping concerts at Giants Stadium in New Jersey, Wembley Stadium in London and the Palais des Nations in Geneva, featuring musicians including Jimmy Page, Pete Townshend and Jewel, the NYT piece adds. The MTV and VH1 cable television channels have agreed to televise the concerts in the United States and the BBC will televise the concerts in Britain, the story says. But Cisco and Malloch Brown say that Netaid is not just another charity telethon. The heart of Netaid is not the concerts, they say, but the Web site ( www.netaid.org). "The money raised is not the measure of success of this project", Malloch Brown is quoted as saying. "For me the money will come, but it will come out of building a very large number of people in the millions who will keep coming back to the issues through the Web site," he adds. From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Mon Aug 16 08:52:01 1999 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id HAA07901; Mon, 16 Aug 1999 07:07:28 GMT Received: from post.super.net.pk (post.super.net.pk [203.130.2.9]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id HAA07884 for ; Mon, 16 Aug 1999 07:07:20 GMT Received: from excel586 (khi-line-096.super.net.pk [203.130.5.235]) by post.super.net.pk (8.9.1/8.9.1) with SMTP id MAA17483 for ; Mon, 16 Aug 1999 12:13:54 -0500 Message-Id: <199908161713.MAA17483@post.super.net.pk> From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Mon, 16 Aug 1999 12:08:47 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-transfer-encoding: Quoted-printable Subject: (Fwd) Bytes for All : a newsletter from South Asia X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.01d) Content-Transfer-Encoding: Quoted-printable Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk Content-Transfer-Encoding: Quoted-printable [from the SAsiaNet mailing list] ------- Forwarded Message Follows ------- Date sent: Sat, 14 Aug 1999 01:13:10 +0600 From: partha Subject: Bytes for All : a newsletter from South Asia ********************************************* bYtES For aLL * bYtES For aLL * bYtES For aLL CyberSolutions that Place People Before Profits ********************************************* Dear friends around the world, Realities of the Third World =3D 'a modem can cost more than a cow' + access to telecommunication is a previledge + information by definition is a property of the government. Welcome to South Asia. This talent-rich, resource-poor, tragic- powerhouse of immense software skills, finds its abilities recognised across the globe. And yet millions here can't find the solutions that could make life a little less of a struggle. Likewise, software brains from the region are serving some of the biggest companies in the globe... But it also finds itself ironically unable to afford the prices of 'legal' software that it very badly needs for itself. Some of the most relevant software/Internet/computer/IT ventures in South Asia, ironically, fail to get the attention they merit. Attending to the needs of the poor doesn't make good business sense. bYtES For aLL is an attempt to swim against the tide. Through a website (currently under construction) and an e-mail based mailing list, we hope to update interested readers about interesting ventures. Attempts that focus on people before profits. This venture is being jointly undertaken by Frederick Noronha a freelance journalist based in Goa-India interested in developmental issues, and by Partha Pratim Sarker a web designer and an online activist based in Dhaka, Bangladesh. A trial version of bYtES For aLL has already been put out via email. Do visit our (still incomplete) web-site at http://www.bytesforall.org We seek inputs of interesting news events from your part of the region, or any information that would be of interest to our readers. Do feel free to send us news-updates, URLs, photographs, video clips or demo versions of software which you feel might be of interest. To give an idea on the type of developments we plan to focus on, here are some of the issues highlighted by bYtES For aLL recently: * Advancing telecommunications for rural development * Basic-needs library free on a CD * Information Poverty Research Institute's work in the US * Community radio project in Karnataka, India * Rural telephones for Bangladesh * TV satellite transmission project in Madhya Pradesh, India * Mailing-list for IT developments in South Asia * MIT Media Lab.joins Drik-Learn initiative in Sylhet, Bangladesh * Information about the development sector, through INDEV. * Kannada (Indian language) keyboards for cyberspace. * Software package for farmers (Maharashtra-India) * Virtual university in Madhya Pradesh (India) * Software for Pakistan, and for Arabic script * Internet-radio plan for the masses from Delhi * Meet to focus on Urdu software in Pakistan * Indian open university (IGNOU) plan for rural areas * Internet radio in Sri Lanka * Village knowledge centres plan. * Multimedia for villagers in India * Telemedecine in Gujarat, India. * Indian email-software Indomail can write 12 languages * Internet growth lags in the Third World ********************************************* "The most fundamental way of helping other people is to teach people how to do things better, to tell people things that you know that will enable them to better their lives. For people who use computers, this means sharing the recipes you use on your computer, in other words the programs you run." -- Richard Stallman, Free Software Foundation. ********************************************* Many of the best minds of our time are engaged in finding ways for the already wealthy to claim even more of the world's real wealth for themselves. -- David C Korten yes@futurenet.org ********************************************* =93[India, China] and other developing nations have the chance to rethink the meaning of being rural. If just a few political leaders were to reexamine their telecommunications agenda for the rural populace, poverty could be redefined in the digital age.=94 -- Nicholas Nigroponti, Director, MIT Media Lab.(also in June Wired.) ********************************************* The root of wealth or poverty lies in the ends we have in mind, not in the means to those ends. If the hand is ready then finding the instrument of action should not be difficult. ----Rabindranath Tagore ( a legendary poet in Bengali literature and a Noble laureate of 1913 ) ********************************************* Frederick Noronha (India) Partha Pratim Sarker (Bangladesh) founder editors bytes for all From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Mon Aug 16 09:22:01 1999 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id HAA07931; Mon, 16 Aug 1999 07:07:35 GMT Received: from post.super.net.pk (post.super.net.pk [203.130.2.9]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id HAA07893 for ; Mon, 16 Aug 1999 07:07:24 GMT Received: from excel586 (khi-line-096.super.net.pk [203.130.5.235]) by post.super.net.pk (8.9.1/8.9.1) with SMTP id MAA17499 for ; Mon, 16 Aug 1999 12:14:12 -0500 Message-Id: <199908161714.MAA17499@post.super.net.pk> From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Mon, 16 Aug 1999 12:08:47 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-transfer-encoding: Quoted-printable Subject: Women-Connect-Asia Update X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.01d) Content-Transfer-Encoding: Quoted-printable Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk Content-Transfer-Encoding: Quoted-printable [from the SAsiaNet mailing list] ------- Forwarded Message Follows ------- Date sent: Sun, 15 Aug 1999 20:26:14 -0700 To: sasianet@pan.idrc.org.sg From: Rosemary Brisco Subject: Women-Connect-Asia Update August 9, 1999 Welcome to the latest edition of news and events from Women-Connect- Asia.com. We are moving ahead at Internet speed to bring you more interesting and compelling news on issues affecting businesswomen in Asia. Our Network is growing every day and if you are looking for import/export partners - SEARCH the database first! http://www.women- connect-asia.com/search.htm Feel free to email us with any feedback or suggestions for the newsletter. And if you think a friend or colleague would enjoy this newsletter, please forward it! Rosemary Brisco Founder & Publisher Women-Connect-Asia.com ****************************** N E W S & E V E N T S * Starting in July we are providing links to news stories specifically relating to women's issues in Asia. Visit our homepage twice a week for the very latest news, sourced by Rose Aguilar * Call For Papers: Women's Studies: Asian Connections Symposium", University of B.C., Vancouver, Canada, November 3-5, 2000. Call for Papers deadline February 29, 2000. Themes to focus on women's issues intersecting various Asian regions such as health care, economic security, violence against women, etc. For details, contact Corae Litton * Second China - US Conference of Women's Issues in Beijing : Join national women's organizations in Beijing for a 1-week conference on various issues affecting women. Please contact Jerri Ueberle * Ford Motor Credit is offering FREE PHONE CARDS for use in the USA. http://www.women-connect-asia.com/banners/ford/ford.htm * DISCUSSION of the MONTH: Some Asian countries are restricting what types of information Internet users can access, particularly through the Web. Share your views on our Discussion Board. http://www.women- connect-asia.com/msgboard1.mv * SUCCESS STORIES: Have you connected with a businesswoman in our database for business networking? Email us about your experience and be eligible for any one of the books on our Bookshelf page. http://www.women-connect-asia.com/bookshelf/index.htm * THAILAND: Asia Pacific Women 2000 : Gender Quality, Development and Peace for the Twenty-first Century. http://www.women-connect- asia.com/notices.htm#NGO * SRI LANKA: Regional Consultation on Violence against women. http://www.women-connect-asia.com/notices.htm#APWLD * WorldWide Escapes is giving away a trip in Thailand. The contest runs from August 1 to 31, 1999 and the trip MUST be taken in September 1999 -- perfect for someone already in Asia. This contest is open to legal Residents of the U.S. Full details at: http://www.wwescapes.com/wintrip.html P R O F I L E S * Ibu Suryani Motik (Indonesia) is on her way to becoming a global player in the business world. Her companies are in diverse sectors, ranging from manufacturing, animal feed, and ceramic roof tiles to management consulting with a focus on job creation. http://www.women- connect-asia.com/watch/suryani.htm * Mariam Tan Sri Sulaiman (Malaysia) is the Managing Director of IBYO (M) Sdn Bhd, a network franchise system covering Kuala Lumpur and the Klang Valley. IB Your Office provides a convenient one-stop base of operations supported by complete and professional facilities. http://www.women-connect-asia.com/watch/mariam.htm * Hoang Thi Dung (Vietnam) is a member of the Women's Union of the Water User Group in Vietnam. Learn how women are using new techniques in farming to build businesses. http://women-connect- asia.com/watch/hoangthidung.htm * Khun Boonruay Chobchai (Thailand) is the Deputy Director General. Her department monitors all aspects of Thailand's Department of Aviation. We oversee 87 Air Services Agreements (ASAs) and 70 international airlines. http://www.women-connect- asia.com/watch/boonruay.htm A R T I C L E S * Negotiating the Interview Process: Patti Wilson offers insight into how to effectively use your resume to land that coveted high-profile job. http://www.women-connect-asia.com/career.htm * Sak=E9 - Soul and Spirit of Japan: Mora Chartrand is passionate, perhaps even obsessed with food, wine, and Sak=E9. Learn everything you need to know about selecting and enjoying Sak=E9. http://www.women- connect-asia.com/articles/sake.htm O R G AN I S A T I O N S * Bindubasini Women Community Group (Nepal), has established a community-based loan program to increase women's empowerment activities and to allow women to generate their own income. http://women-connect-asia.com/bindubasini/index.htm O U R S U P P O R T T E A M Women-Connect-Asia.com would not be possible without the support of a great network of women (and a few men). Over the next few months we'd like to introduce you to wonderful faces behind the scene: * Lisa Caywood, Editor: Lisa has lived and traveled throughout Greater China and continues to be involved with China professionally. When not marketing technology products, she can often be found at the opera. * BaoHuong Phan, Graphics: Bao was transplanted to the US at the age of three, but keeps close ties to her Vietnamese culture and community. She performs with the Wings of 100 Viet Dance Company. * Gina Mission, Writer: Gina is based in the Philippines and is a multimedia writer and investigative journalist and is travelling around the Philippines for the second edition of the Insight Guide to the Philippines, and adventure and travel guidebook. ***Problems accessing the site or resource network should be directed to: Results@ToTheWeb.com If you do not wish to receive future messages from us, please respond with the word "Remove" in the subject line and we will honour your request. We apologize for sending this message if it is not wanted. Thank you again for being involved in Women-Connect-Asia! Rosemary Brisco Tel: (650 ) 654 6926 Rosemary Brisco, Publisher WOMEN-CONNECT-ASIA.com Connecting Asian businesswomen. From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Mon Aug 16 15:22:01 1999 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id PAA05710; Mon, 16 Aug 1999 15:19:59 GMT Received: from giasdl01.vsnl.net.in (giasdl01.vsnl.net.in [202.54.15.1]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id PAA05698 for ; Mon, 16 Aug 1999 15:19:51 GMT Received: from dkagencies.com ([202.54.99.252]) by giasdl01.vsnl.net.in (8.9.2/8.9.2) with ESMTP id UAA14706 for ; Mon, 16 Aug 1999 20:51:40 +0500 (GMT+0500) Message-ID: <37B82B79.A13E20B0@dkagencies.com> Date: Mon, 16 Aug 1999 20:47:13 +0530 From: "D.K. Agencies (P) Ltd." Organization: D. K. Agencies (P) Ltd. X-Mailer: Mozilla 4.05 [en] (Win95; I) MIME-Version: 1.0 To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Subject: Re: UBSPD set to launch Indias largest book-website References: <199908122009.PAA17285@post.super.net.pk> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit From: D.K. AGENCIES (P) LTD. E-MAIL TRANSMISSION Our Ref. No.: EMISC-7463-99 Aug. 16, 1999 To: s-asia-it@apnic.net We are glad to learn that UBSPD is launching its book-website. It is a welcome news for all those associated with book-info from India. I hope you are aware that we specialize in Indian publications only and that our website was launched in June 1996 with about 40,000 title records, which has now grown to be a database of over 60,000 titles . It supports searches by author, title (keywords also), publisher, ISBN, year of publication, subject(s) and combinations of any of these. You may like to visit our website and try the facilities available there. This site is updated at least twice in a week and nearly 6,000 new Indian publications in English Language alone are added to the database every year. At the moment this database consists primarily of publications brought out during the 1990s. The work is in progress to give bibliographic details of books released during the 1980s as well. Our software team is currently working out details for releasing book-info on Modern Indian Languages (including Sanskrit) through the web. Our site has also been well received by the press in India on a few occasions. Please go through the following news items in this context: "The Hindustan Times, New Delhi, Friday August 14, 1998 (Section India 2.0)" http://www.hindustantimes.com/nonfram/140898/net.htm : look for "Friday" "Largest info-base of Indian books: If you love Indian literature, navigate to http://www.dkagencies.com . DK Agencies have been supplying Indian books and periodicals to all the five continents over the past three decades. The site design is simple. All the clickable icons are shaped like books and every page is down-loaded with the rustle of opening the book. The famous book suppliers have devoted this site to the Goddess of Learning - Devi Sarasvati. What should appeal to a serious book lover is the facility to look for out-of-print books. The site also consists of a section where librarians world over shower praise and eulogies for the efficient and professional service of the agency. Do bookmark this site." "The Economic Times, Monday 16 March 1998". Net Investment / by Debasis P. Roy. "Bookmark: Forget about http://www.amazon.com or even http://www.barnesandoble.com We have, right here in India http://www.dkagencies.com with its super service. I had ordered "May It Please Your Honour" by Nathu Ram Godse. (The man who had assassinated Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi). They sent the book by courier within two days. I suggest they improve their letterhead with a fancy logo". With best Wishes, Surya P. Mittal surya@pobox.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ From: D.K. AGENCIES (P) LTD. Fax: (+91-11) 5647081, 5648053 A/15-17 Mohan Garden Phones: (011) 5648066, 5648067 Najafgarh Road E-mailto:custserv@dkagencies.com New Delhi - 110 059. Other e-addresses: i) For Accounts related matters E-mailto:act@dkagencies.com ii) For ordering via email E-mailto:ordproc@dkagencies.com Our Website : http://www.dkagencies.com Online Search : http://www.dkagencies.com/booksearch ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 2 Irfan Khan wrote: Subject: UBSPD set to launch India’s largest book-website Date: Thu, 12 Aug 1999 15:04:07 +0500 From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net > > [the URL of UBSPD's website is http://www.ubspd.com/ > (http://216.121.101.160/)] > > UBSPD set to launch India’s largest book-website > > Sudipto Roy > CALCUTTA 10 AUGUST > > MOVE over Amazon.Com. The largest website for Indian books is coming > from the house of UBS Publishers’ Distributors (UBSPD) and Indian > books will soon be just a mouse click away. "Our site, which should > be ready by August 14, will offer some 15,000 Indian titles from 700 > publishers," said Sukumar Das, executive director of the Delhi-based > publisher and bookseller UBSPD. > > Mr Das said, initially only English titles printed and published from > India will be available from the UBSPD site. Later the bookseller > will also offer vernacular titles in all regional languages. > Mr Das said the website was being developed along the lines of the > one that Amazon.Com has. The books will be listed on the site under > three classifications of titles, authors and subjects. The site will > offer chatroom feature for on-line booklovers and will also have the > facility for readers to review books. Surfers will have the option to > order out of print books and UBSPD’s knowledge of the book trade will > help it locate such out of print titles, Mr Das said. > > "Our aim is to free readers from the clutches of middlemen and > retailers and offer books to readers at a discount," Mr Das said. He > said UBSPD was also planning to get into digital publishing in a big > way. Digitial publishing helps a publisher to print books in small > numbers. > > "Books which have a small niche market are ideal for digital > publishing," Mr Das said. This will help the company to reduce > expenditure on inventory management, he said. "If a book has a market > for only 50 copies then also we will be able to publish it. This is > unthinkable in the current system of off-set printing where the > minimum print order runs into a few thousand," Mr Das said. > He said research papers and technical subjects are ideal for > publishing in the new digital system. > > Apart from publishing books, UBSPD is also looking at the emerging CD- > ROM publishing market. The publisher will first come out with a CD- > ROM on `books in print’ in the Indian market, work on which is at an > advanced stage of completion. However, the company is cautious about > getting into CD-ROM title publishing. "At the moment the cost of > developing a CD-ROM title is very high. We have done some market > research and would like to enter the field only when the market > matures," Mr Das said. > > http://www.economictimes.com/today/11tech05.htm From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Tue Aug 17 08:02:35 1999 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id HAA15569; Tue, 17 Aug 1999 07:56:26 GMT Received: from goa1.dot.net.in (goa1.dot.net.in [202.54.17.30]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id HAA15510 for ; Tue, 17 Aug 1999 07:55:29 GMT Received: from goanews ([202.54.17.102]) by goa1.dot.net.in (8.9.2/8.9.2) with SMTP id NAA28155; Tue, 17 Aug 1999 13:25:32 +0530 (GMT) Message-Id: <3.0.6.32.19990817120853.008a3c80@goa1.dot.net.in> X-Sender: fred@goa1.dot.net.in (Unverified) X-Mailer: QUALCOMM Windows Eudora Light Version 3.0.6 (32) Date: Tue, 17 Aug 1999 12:08:53 +0500 To: magiclf@vsnl.com, luannecoutinho@hotmail.com, kevint@BENTON.ORG, jal@jalnews.com, roger@mailhost.fit.unimas.my, cita99@fit.unimas.my, s-asia-it@apnic.net From: Frederick Noronha Subject: bYtES For aLL Issue # 2 , August 99 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk 01010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010 10101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101 01010101 bYtES For aLL * bYtES For aLL * bYtES For aLL 10101010 10101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101 n e w t e c h n o l o g i e s w i l l m e a n h a v i n g m o r e i n t h e h a v e-n o t c a m p i f w e a r e n o t c a r e f u l 10101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101 01010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010 0101010101 Issue No 2 * Aug 1999 1010101010 1010101010 AN OCCASIONAL NEWSLETTER TO MAKE 0101010101 0101010101 COMPUTING AND TECHNOLOGY 1010101010 1010101010 FRIENDLY TO THE NEEDS OF THE MILLIONS 0101010101 1010101010 Compiler: Frederick Noronha fred@vsnl.com 0101010101 10101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101 01010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ROADBLOCKS BEFORE MUCH OF THE WORLD IN GETTING ACCESS TO I.T. Says Dr Michael L. Dertouzos (engineer, inventor, theretician and director of the Laboratory for Computer Science at the MIT): "A while ago, I had this naive assumption that I could go to Nepal, obtain computers and training from the Nepalese and get them to have a 20 percent jolt in the GNP. But here's what I found out: only 30 percent of the Nepalese are literate. Of that 30 percent, only 10 percent speak English. Even if I got someone to provide everyone of them with a computer with communications, what could they do with them? They have no skills to sell. To get people to do this, I would have to educate them, and people don't get educated overnight. So, 15 years....From this and other experiences, I've concluded that the information revolution, if left to its own devices, will mean that the rich are going to buy more computers, be more productive and become richer, and the poor will not be able to that and will stand still. History teaches us that whenever the gap between rich and poor increases, we have all kinds of troubles." -- Quoted in NEW YORK TIMES. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ INTERNET IS RARE, COSTLY IN MOST OF THE WORLD Petrazzini, Ben and Mugo Kibati. "The Internet in Developing Countries" Communications of the ACM 42(6) (June 1999) http://www.acm.org/pubs/articles/journals/cacm/1999-42-6/p31- petrazzini/p31-petrazzini.pdf For most of the world, Internet access is a rare and costly thing. Topics addressed are the lack of low-cost regional IP backbones (eg monthly charges for circuits between Asia-Pacific countries are much higher than monthly charges between those countries and the US), limited availability of local call rates for dialup services, and of course the inescapable facts of poverty and purchasing power. In Ghana, an account with Africa Online costs $50 per month, almost twice the monthly income of most Ghanians. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ SITE FOR POVERTY RESEARCH IN ASIA CIDA (Canadian International Development Agency) has The Poverty Project Team (Asia Branch) at the site http://www.acdi-cida.gc.ca/pauvrete/asie +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ UNDP REPORT SAYS U.S. HAS MORE COMPUTERS THAN REST OF THE WORLD On July 12, the United Nations Development Programme released its 1999 Human Development Report. It notes that the U.S. has more computers than the rest of the world combined. More than 80% of Web sites are in English, and less than 1% of the world's population reads this language. The U.N. authors said that the price of a personal computer amounts to about a month's salary in the U.S., but eight years' salary for the average person in Bangladesh. http://www.undp.org/hdro/E3.html http://www.undp.org/hdro/99.htm ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ INDIAN DoT TO SET UP NATIONAL BACKBONE By Uday Lal Pai/ InternetNews India Correspondent India's department of telecom (DoT), monopoly telecom player, will establish its own Internet backbone, crossing the entire Indian sub-continent within six months! The Telecom Commission of India has set January 26, 2000 as deadline for setting up Internet access nodes at every district in India. The project cost for the national Internet infrastructure is estimated to the tune of $ 100 million. The DoT has the basic network in place. According to its deputy director-general N. Parameswaran, DoT has to increase the bandwidth and other facilities for easy Internet access and the entire project would be completed in a year. According to sources, DoT plans to set up five international gateways in India's mega metros - New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Calcutta and Bangalore - with 34 Mbps connectivity in the first instance. DoT launched Internet services last year and now is operating Internet nodes in 54 areas. It has a customer base of nearly 50,000 subscribers. The national Internet backbone would mainly help the ISPs in the smaller cities, said Parameswaran. http://asia.internet.com/1999/7/2304-india.html ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ INFORMATION PROCESSING HOLDS THE KEY, SAYS POLICY ADVISOR An ubiquitous telecommunications infrastructure linking up all villages and towns with the rest of the world is essential for information flow, says Dr T H Chowdary. This paper's author is the Information Technology Advisor to Government of Andhra Pradesh and Chairman, Pragna Bharati, Hyderabad. http://news.satyamonline.com/section.asp?SectionName=&FileName=1999071 6/choedharyjuly16.htm ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ OPERATING SYSTEM WITH A DIFFERENCE: LINUX GAINS IN INDIA For those searching for a sturdy, appropriately-priced affordable computer operating system, please consider Linux. Linux is promoted in India through the web-site http://www.linux-india.org Check it out for answers to questions such as: * What is Linux? * Why is it becoming popular? * Why do you need Linux? * Does Linux have applications? * There is no support for Linux... * But there are no big companies behind Linux... * Don't I need to be a computer guru to use Linux? To subscribe to the Linux-India users group, send mail to majordomo@aunet.org and in the body write subscribe linux-india-digest For Linux books and a wide range of software easily accessible in India, visit http://www.gtcdrom.com Email for a catalogue: gtcdrom@vsnl.com ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ CONFERENCE: INFORMATION EQUALITY IN THE NEXT MILLENIUM The Conference on Information Technology in Asia: Information Equality in the Next Millennium (CITA '99) will be held on September 15 & 16, 1999 at Kuching, Sarawak in Malaysia. The information technology gap and related inequities between industrialized and developing nations are widening. Most developing countries are not sharing in the communication revolution. A new type of poverty - information poverty - looms. Information Technology has undoubtedly fuelled the startling pace of Asia's recent development. Yet, tremendous contrasts still exist throughout Asia in the extent and depth of IT use. For most Asians, telephone calls are a rare luxury and computers are unknown. Are the poor destined to be perpetual bystanders on the information superhighway? Will the next millennium herald an information age which is inhabited by a minority elite only or will the poor majority be allowed to share equally in the benefits of a wired society? For more information: http://www.unimas.my/cita99/ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ PAKISTAN TO UNVEIL INFO TECHNOLOGY POLICY ON AUGUST 16 ASIF FAROOQUI reports from Islamabad: Chief Coordinator Programme 2010 Ahsan Iqbal revealed that the government has finalised first ever National Information Technology Policy and the same would be unveiled on August 16, 1999. http://www.brecorder.com/story/S0011/S1103/S1103107.htm ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ PAKISTAN SUGGESTS LOWER DATA TRANSMISSION TARIFF LAHORE (July 18) : The Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB) has suggested to the Pakistan Telecommunication Limited (PTCL) to lower its tariff for data transmission users so that country can join the Information Super Highway. The PITB has informed the Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif that the idea of an electronic government can only materialise if the PTCL allows differentiation between local and international access. The PITB Chief said that they were also planning to establish a local back-bone for the internet users which would save 60 percent of their time during surfing of local sights. He said that the sub-marine communication lines could be the best alternative to the high cost satellite data communication. However, Pakistan has yet to join this line and it would take time to establish but nonetheless Pakistan would have to establish its own local back-bone for the internet users. http://www.brecorder.com/story/S0010/S1002/S1002108.htm ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ASIAN INTERNET USERS MAY SOAR BY 40 PERCENT IN THE NEXT FIVE YEARS SEOUL: The number of Asian Internet users is expected to soar by 40 percent a year to hit 64 million in 2003, generating billions of dollars in e-commerce and advertising revenue, research seen Thursday showed. http://www.brecorder.com/story/S0010/S1002/S1002110.htm ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ CAN I.T. SOLVE *ALL* OUR PROBLEMS? A recent discussion on the mailing list S-Asia-IT focuses on this issue. Sean Kline (Mostar, Bosnia) writes: Clearly to expect the internet (or IT generally) to serve disenfranchised people throughout the world is unrealistic, particularly given that we already have plenty of important proxies of well-being before us (literacy, health, telephone usage, etc.). What about other agents of change such as governments (those that have made a fiscal commitment to improving the condition of their people), NGOs and international agencies? I wouldn't necessarily suggest that these actors should be the focal point for yet more finite funding, but wouldn't it be fair to say there are ripple and/or indirect effects of information flows and technological development that do in fact benefit marginalized people? Just a thought... Commented Ahmed Omair , of The Aga Khan University in Karachi: I personally feel that this information technology is only benefiting few areas. Main problems like clean water and health care for everyone is still a dream. The distribution of wealth is to be blamed for it.... If you'd like to join this interesting and informative list on South Asian IT, contact Irfan Khan or owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ RESEARCH ON IT IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES Venkatesh 'Venks' Hariharan writes in to say that he is to join the Indian Institute of Information Technology Bangalore and his area of research there is Information Technology in Developing Countries (ITDC). He looks forward to having "lots of notes to exchange in the future". ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ FREE FONTS IN REGIONAL LANGUAGES, TOWARDS AN INDIAN O.S. Bharatbhasha (http://www.bhratbhasha.org) is an initiative to promote the use of computers in Indian and South Asian languages. It give away freeware fonts in Bangla, Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati and Gurmukhi through this site. It has ported these fonts to Linux and are now looking for collaborators who can join us in creating India's first Indian language operating system. "Over the next few years, we want to localise the Linux user interface into as many Indian languages as possible," writes Venky More details also from kumar_harsh@hotmail.com ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ INDIA PERMITS PRIVATE GATEWAYS, WITH STRINGS ATTACHED By Uday Lal Pai InternetNews India Correspondent (July 26, 1999) The government of India has finalized guidelines for setting up of private international Internet gateways by Internet Service Providers (ISPs). This breaks Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited's (VSNL) monopoly on Internet gateway services. In the absence of security guidelines, ISPs could not establish their gateways and were hence, forced to lease capacities from VSNL. Now, it is mandatory for the private gateway providers to connect all routers above 2 Mbps with monitoring facilities of national security agencies such as the Intelligence Bureau (IB) and RAW. The permission is not required for use of encryption up to 40-bit key length. For stronger encryption, the de-cryption key split into two parts is to be deposited with the telecom authority. Soon after the ISP policy was announced by the government in November last year, several ISPs including Satyam Infoway, Bharti-BT, Global Electronic Commerce Services and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) contacted DoT expressing interest in setting up their own gateways. http://asia.internet.com/1999/7/2602-india.html ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ A SOUTH-ASIAN WHO HAS WORKED ON 128-bit ENCRIPTION SOFTWARE.... Rediff on the Net has done an interview with Ram Suri, the developer of a new 128-bit encryption software. The URL is http://www.rediff.com/computer/1999/jul/09suri.htm ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ WEB-TRAINING FOR NON-PROFIT ORGANISATIONS... Interested in conducting a short training workshop for non-profit organisations wanting to learn web-design? Oneworld-South Asia (http://www.oneworld.org) can help you organise the same. For details contact Nitya Jacob, Regional Coordinator, South Asia +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ COMPUTER AND COMMUNICATIONS IN LOW-INCOME COMMUNITIES Check out community technology center (telecenter) experiences in communities in the U.S. One report included is Steve Cisler's Computer and Communications Use in Low-Income Communities 12/98 http://www.ctcnet.org/publics.html +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ VILLAGE VITAL STATISTICS ON THE HARD-DISK OF A COMPUTER The chief minister of India's largest state has something to boast about -- he has the vital statistics of every village in his state stored on hard disc. Digvijay Singh has worked hard to ensure that the central state of Madhya Pradesh is one of a handful of states to have Internet access in each of its districts, with details about each village stored in computers. http://asia.internet.com/Reuters/1999/07/2001-news.html +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ INFO SOUGHT ON SOFTWARE BEING USED BY THIRD-WORLD RURAL POOR Dr Jane Millar of Science and Technology Policy Research (SPRU), University of Sussex, is interested in hearing about any software applications that are being used among Third World communities and whether/how they impact community welfare. She writes: "I am particularly keen to hear examples of systems that are being used to support small businesses, the use of geographical or environmental information systems and systems that are installed in schools, libraries and telecentres." +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ INDIAN LANGUAGE, TAMIL, GETS UNIVERSALLY-ACCEPTED KEYBOARD The South Indian language, Tamil has become the first language in India to have a universally accepted keyboard and encoding scheme for use in information technology. The Government will make them available to the users through various forums including the Internet. There are an estimated 71 million Tamil speakers worldwide, mainly in South India, Sri Lanka and Malaysia. http://www.indev.nic.in/news/2june99.html +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ SCHOOL PROJECT IN NAMIBIA FOR BIODIVERSITY AWARENESS A school internet development project has been recently launched in Namibia. *Insect@thon* is a new annual school contest created by the National Museum of Namibia. Its purpose is to inventory national biodiversity information (this year, the insects of Namibia), and promote the Internet at schools in Namibia (less than 30% of schools in Namibia presently have telephones!). This is an interactive, participatory event intended to encourage students to take advantage of the Internet as a vast, and constantly growing, source of information. The target of the Insect@thon is to inventory *70,000* hand- written insect records (comprising 11 data-fields) in *two* days (14-15 August), employing 15 school teams of 4 - 6 students each. The Insect@thon event is entirely sponsored by the local corporate community. Subsequent school involvment by way of the Internet, i.e., adding more biodiversity records to our webtop databases, will be rewarded with credit points. These will allow the students at these schools to obtain additional equipment, software, Internet subscriptions, payment of telephone bills,etc. http://www.natmus.cul.na/insectathon.html Details: Joris Komen, Curator/IT Manager, National Museum of Namibia +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ INDIA: SOUTHERN STATE PLANS FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT NETWORK Kerala's e-governance initiative is off the ground. The RD-Net, the Rural Development Network, unleashes the power of the Internet on the state's 152 development blocks. RD-Net should now enable rural folks to access government data, apply for loans and lodge complaints from their remote villages. Last week the government commissioned this rural technology mission. The RD-Net has linked the state capital and the 14 district headquarters to all the 152 block panchayats already. Commissionarate of Rural Development Joint Director P C Jain told Rediff "Rural development across Kerala will not be the same now. We hope this technological feat we have achieved will help in the execution of rural development projects much faster." Jain explains that email, data transfer, data downloading, application processing and lodging and settling complaints are all possible through RD-Net. It also provides instant details about all the poverty alleviation and rural schemes of the state and the central governments to the villagers. http://www.rediff.com/computer/1999/aug/05kerala.htm +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ARE WE HEADING FOR A WORLD WITHOUT WORK? Economist and social critic Jeremy Rifkin says we're entering a new phase in history marked by a sharp and inevitable decline of jobs as a result of computers, robotics, telecommunications and other technological advances. Many jobs, he says, are destined for extinction (blue collar workers, secretaries, receptionists, librarians, middle managers,and many others), while most of the new jobs that are created provide low-paying and generally temporary employment. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0874778247/newsscancom/ "The End of Work: The Decline of the Global Labor Force and the Dawn of the Post-Market Era," by Jeremy Rifkin (Tarcher/Putnam 1995). +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ RESEARCH ON I.T. AND LATINOS: INEQUITIES IN ACCESS The Tomas Rivera Policy Institute (TRPI) has been conducting national research on the issue of information technology and Latinos since 1986. Its TRPI's most recent report on information technology is "Closing the Digital Divide: Enhancing Hispanic Participation in the Information Age" (1998). iNEQUITIES in access to information technology exist among certain segments of the population. Those least likely to have access to information technology include the poor, minorities and those living in rural areas. Contact: Dr. Paula Bagasao, (909) 621-8897, 241 East 11th Street, Steele Hall, Third Floor, Claremont, CA 91711-6194 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ DRIK: PICTURE LIBRARY IN DHAKA SHOWING ANOTHER REALITY Drik is a picture library which is based in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. The Third World has traditionally been portrayed by western photographers on short term assignments. Their need to take "sure sell" photographs prevent them from taking pictures that stray outside the proven hits: poverty, disaster or nostalgia. The combination of posh hotels, jet lag and diarrhoea leaves little scope for pictures that go deeper than the surface. The predictable outcome, yet another rehashed fund raising picture of starving children is what Drik is trying to break out of. Drik operates as a photographic resource centre and nine years and 100,000 images later it stands tall amongst the image banks in the developing world. It's multimedia unit spearheads Drik's attempt at producing innovative and entertaining information based products aimed at changing the world perception of developing nations. http://www.drik.net Email: partha@drik.net +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ INTERNET INCREASES GLOBAL INEQUALITY, SAYS UN The Internet is contributing to an ever-widening gap between rich and poor which has now reached "grotesque" proportions, according to the new annual UN Human Development Report. The UN report says the Internet provides enormous benefits in terms of improved information and contacts. However, it is mainly used by educated young white males with access to money - so they benefit, while others are left out in the cold. The report condemns the polarisation between those who are able to take advantage of the benefits of economic globalisation and technological advances like the Internet, and those forced to suffer its effects. It says that, for inequalities to be reversed, the rules of globalisation need to be rewritten. http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/newsid_392000/392171.stm +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ CLEARING HOUSE OF RESOURCES ON THE DIGITAL DIVIDE Washington, DC -- In response to NTIA's release of the Falling Through the Net III report, the Internet Public Policy Network (IPPN) has created a clearinghouse of resources for organizations interested in the digital divide. Included is information about different types of programs that address social issues created by the Information Revolution: * Education: Tech Corps (http://techcorps.org/) and the 21st Century Network (http://www.21ct.org/) show teachers how to use and teach the use of technology. * Access: Technology for All (http://tfa-houston.org/) is creating community computer access sites. The Eugene Free Community Network (http://www.efn.org/) is working to lower the cost of telecommunications to disadvantage communities. * Training: Cityskills.org (http://www.cityskills.org/) offers tools to prepare urban residents for jobs in web development. Cultural issues: The Administration's campaign to improve the image of IT workers is important. SeniorNet (http://www.seniornet.org/) creates a supportive community for senior citizens to interact and learn. Details: Lawrence Hecht hechtl@internetpublicpolicy.com +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ COMMON GROUND ELUSIVE AS TECHNOLOGY HAVE-NOTS MEET HAVES San Jose, Calif. -- some of the earth's most remote places are now linked to the Net -- one recent addition is Bhutan, a small kingdom in the Himalayas, which inaugurated its first Internet link last month. But there are still no connections at all in Iraq, North Korea and a handful of African countries. In many countries that have Internet connections, Net access is concentrated in the largest cities and is prohibitively expensive when set against an individual's typical income. That expense largely restricts the use of the Internet to an elite, mostly made up of foreigners, government workers and business people. And in some cases, government censors put the Internet out of reach for most people in their countries. The conference here, called INET 99, was the annual meeting of the Internet Society, a nonprofit group that coordinates Internet- related projects around the world and has the motto "Internet Is for Everyone." http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/07/circuits/articles/08nett.htm +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ LIST OF INDIA-RELATED WEB SITES Compiled with an aim of promoting India-related content in cyberspace. http://www.apnic.net/mailing-lists/s-asia-it/9905/msg00015.html +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ GERMAN STUDIES FROM CENTRE FOR DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH Center for Development Research (ZEF Bonn) on the Grameen Bank * Village Pay Phone Project at http://www.zef.de/zef_englisch/f_first.html * A. Bayes, J. von Braun, R. Akhter; Village Pay Phones and Poverty Reduction: Insights from a Grameen Bank Initiative in Bangladesh http://www.zef.de/download/zef_dp8-99.pdf * A. Bedi; The Role of Information and Communication Technologies in Economic Development http://www.zef.de/download/zef_dp7-99.pdf * Details from ZEF Bonn - Zentrum fuer Entwicklungsforschung, Center for Development Research, Walter-Flex-Str. 3, D-53113 Bonn, Germany Email: d.mueller-falcke@uni-bonn.de +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ SOME LINKS FOR THOSE WHO MISSED OUR EARLIER ISSUE: * The *First* Mile of Connectivity: Advancing Telecommunications for Rural Development http://www.fao.org/WAICENT/FAOINFO/SUSTDEV/Welcome_.htm * BASIC-NEEDS LIBRARY ON A CD http://www.oneworld.org/globalprojects/humcdrom * INFORMATION-POVERTY RESEARCH Contact: mail@ipri.org http://www.ipri.org/ * LIST-SERVER FOR I.T. DEVELOPMENTS IN SOUTH ASIA Archives: http://www.apnic.net/wilma-bin/wilma/s-asia-it * INFORMATION ABOUT THE DEVELOPMENT SECTOR / INDIA http:// www.indev.org Contact Neena Jacob neena.jacob@bc-delhi.bcindia.sprintsmx.ems.vsnl.net.in * SOFTWARE PACKAGE FOR MAHARASHTRA FARMERS / INDIA http://www.indian-express.com/ie/daily/19990508/ige08014.html * VIRTUAL UNIVERSITY IN MADHYA PRADESH / INDIA http://www.mpchronicle.com/daily/19990506/0605001.html * INTERNET-RADIO FOR THE MASSES / INDIA http://www.cerfnet.com/~amehta/ * INTERNET RADIO IN SRI LANKA http://www.unesco.org/webworld/highlights/internet_radio_130599.html * VILLAGE KNOWLEDGE CENTRE http://www.mssrf.org/information village/knowledge-system-info- empowerment.html * MULTIMEDIA FOR VILLAGERS / Project Vidya-India http://www.rediff.com/computer/1999/jun/08intel.htm * EMAIL-SOFTWARE 'INDOMAIL' CAN WRITE 12 LANGUAGES / INDIA http://www.economictimes.com/today/15tech10.htm http://www.lastech.com/ * ANOTHER SOFTWARE FOR PAKISTAN, ARABIC SCRIPT http://raakim.com * MEET TO FOCUS ON URDU SOFTWARE IN PAKISTAN http://www.sdpi.org oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo bYtES For aLL * Compiled by Frederick Noronha, Journalist Goa India fred@vsnl.com or fred@goa1.dot.net.in & Partha Pratim Sarker, Dhaka-Bangladesh partha@drik.net Published in public interest * May be freely circulated WEB-SITE (under construction) http://www.bytesforall.org oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Tue Aug 17 09:40:14 1999 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id JAA27037; Tue, 17 Aug 1999 09:39:34 GMT Received: from post.super.net.pk (post.super.net.pk [203.130.2.9]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id JAA26976 for ; Tue, 17 Aug 1999 09:39:00 GMT Received: from excel586 (khi-line-093.super.net.pk [203.130.5.232]) by post.super.net.pk (8.9.1/8.9.1) with SMTP id OAA23230 for ; Tue, 17 Aug 1999 14:45:45 -0500 Message-Id: <199908171945.OAA23230@post.super.net.pk> From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Tue, 17 Aug 1999 14:40:40 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-transfer-encoding: Quoted-printable Subject: [India] 2 Hyderabad IT cos make finding blood donors easy X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.01d) Content-Transfer-Encoding: Quoted-printable Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk Content-Transfer-Encoding: Quoted-printable 2 Hyderabad IT cos make finding blood donors easy N Venugopal HYDERABAD 16 AUGUST THANKS to the spirited efforts of two Hyderabad-based IT companies, the hassles of finding a matching blood donor and making a deal in an emergenc= y are going to be lessened. One can find a prospective blood donor and acces= s the donor instantaneously from a large database, with only the click of a button. Enfolg NetSoft Solutions (ENS) and Cyber Planet Web Services (CPWS), the two IT companies focusing on Internet-related software services, have come out with the site www.blood-donors.com, to be launched= shortly. "Our site on blood donation will serve two social causes, of saving lives and preventing or controlling AIDS through blood transfusion,= " said Mr K P Lakshminarayanan, chief executive, ENS. The services are free of cost and the promoters plan to raise money through advertising, sponsorship and donations. The site enables a person in need of blood to locate donors according to different parameters =97 city, area and blood group. The site will have databases of blood donors, doctors, hospitals an= d blood banks. "We expect to rope in about five lakh donors within 12 to 18 months. We hope to have 20,000 donors within a month," said Mr Manohar C V= , chief executive, CPWS. The promoters are already in touch with Rotary and Lions=92 Clubs, Indian Medical Association, AP Nursing Association, AIDS Protection Society, Indian Red Cross Society, corporate hospitals, corporate houses and NGOs for the required data, he added. In the initial phase, the site will have databases from 10 major cities in the country. The site plans to offer info on value-added services like Medi-care, Doctor=92s Forum, Thank You section, questions and answers, e-mail, chat, etc, along the line. Cyber Planet Web Services (CPWS) is an Internet consultancy firm focusing on a range of services including website design, development and hosting, website promotion, corporate training and interactive multimedia presentations. The firm has created about 50 sites in its less than one year of existence. Currently, CPWS is engaged in developing a huge context= - based search engine and e- commerce enabled shop fronts as well as doing research on XML and SGML. Enfolg NetSoft Solutions is an Internet startup company aiming to provide different services by creating websites tailored= to meet the needs of its customers. http://www.economictimes.com/today/17tech04.htm From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Tue Aug 17 09:52:01 1999 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id JAA27069; Tue, 17 Aug 1999 09:39:50 GMT Received: from post.super.net.pk (post.super.net.pk [203.130.2.9]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id JAA27024 for ; Tue, 17 Aug 1999 09:39:26 GMT Received: from excel586 (khi-line-093.super.net.pk [203.130.5.232]) by post.super.net.pk (8.9.1/8.9.1) with SMTP id OAA23244 for ; Tue, 17 Aug 1999 14:46:10 -0500 Message-Id: <199908171946.OAA23244@post.super.net.pk> From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Tue, 17 Aug 1999 14:40:39 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: [Pakistan] IT Summit Recommendations: New law on freedom of information X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.01d) Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Information technology summit recommendations: New law on freedom of information must for e-government IKRAMUL HAQ ISLAMABAD (August 17) : New legislation on freedom of information at the federal and provincial levels was seen as top priority for inducting e- government for good governance in the country. This was one of several recommendations made by a working group on this subject and presented at the concluding session of the summit on Information Technology. The session was presided over by President Muhammad Rafiq Tarar. The new legislation was considered as a prime symbol of transparency of government operations, as well as its sense of accountability and reliability. Arjumand Shaikh of NTC who presented the recommendations of the group headed by Mutawwakal Qazi, Member Planning Commission, said the group was of the view that access to information should be available for the federal and provincial governments, semigovernment and autonomous institutions. Since the groups were asked to give result-oriented suggestions with time frames, it also recommended that the legislation should be ready by March 2000. The other proposal is that the government website should be extended to three important government activities namely procurement of goods of over Rs 10 million; recruitment and foreign scholarships. This should be implemented in phases first by December 1999 and full implementation by March 2000. The other recommendations are: -- there should be networking at the local level, provincial governments and federal government by June 2000. -- standardisation of procedures. -- to improve law and order situation by networking with the judiciary, police, law enforcement agencies and community centres by December 2000. This should include crime information and finger printing. -- Establishment and Cabinet Division should promote development of IT human resources. A special cadre for IT should be created and promotions should be linked with IT literacy. The other groups, which presented their reports were software development, human resource development in information technology and e-commerce. The group on software development suggested that monopoly of PTCL should be ended to bring in competition and facilities for software development. The PTCL rates were high, though lower than in the region, still costlier than other developed countries. There should be one window operation for internet and data connectivity. Software developers should get concessional loans or export refinance and that collateral requirement for loans was difficult to meet. The group on human resources development in IT recommended that the computers proposed to be imported under PL 480 must not be imported as these are the obsolete ones. There should be more and more training programme for the computer literates. Instead of focusing on general skills, emphasis should be specialised skills. For promotion of e- commerce, the group recommended a national committee comprising representatives of industrialists, IT companies and government representatives. http://www.brecorder.com/story/S0011/S1103/S1103109.htm From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Wed Aug 18 07:54:45 1999 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id HAA12356; Wed, 18 Aug 1999 07:52:24 GMT Received: from pop.sat.net.pk ([63.71.58.4]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id HAA12349 for ; Wed, 18 Aug 1999 07:52:19 GMT Received: from akunet.org ([63.70.25.44]) by pop.sat.net.pk (Post.Office MTA v3.5.3 release 223 ID# 0-59759U15000L15000S0V35) with ESMTP id pk for ; Wed, 18 Aug 1999 07:51:56 -0500 Message-ID: <37BA6639.7AA1DD4F@akunet.org> Date: Wed, 18 Aug 1999 12:52:25 +0500 From: Ahmed Omair X-Mailer: Mozilla 4.61 [en] (Win95; I) X-Accept-Language: en MIME-Version: 1.0 To: S-Asia-IT Subject: Taiwan Defense Ministry Sets Up Information Warfare Committee Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Taiwan Defense Ministry Sets Up Information Warfare Committee (Asia/ROC) Taipei, Aug. 16 (CNA) http://www.chinatimes.com.tw/english/epolitic/88081604.htm The Republic of China's Ministry of National Defense (MND) on Monday said it had established a committee to deal with information warfare. A MND official disclosed the information at a public hearing on the protection of Taiwan's computer systems from mainland Chinese intrusion. He noted that "we are able to defend ourselves in an information war, but we will not initiate an offensive." According to the official, in 1985 Beijing had already developed its plans for information warfare, and actual implication of the plan started in 1995. He claimed that in 1997 Beijing conducted exercises in Nanjing and Beijing using computer viruses to interrupt broadcasting systems and military communication systems. Those at the public hearing were also told that mainland China has introduced advanced technology from Britain and France for use in simulated wars. To counter the mainland moves, the official said the MND has set up an advisory committee on information warfare strategy, and in the future will invite experts and party representatives to study its comprehensive strategy to combat information warfare. Regarding the safety of the island's military data, the official said the MND computer system can be separated from outside connections. He went on to say the ability to separate was why the MND computer system was not affected during the July 29 islandwide power blackout nor by recent incidents of website invasion by computer hackers. The public hearing, held at the Legislative Yuan, was presided over by two Democratic Progressive Party legislators, Lee Wen-chung and Tsai Ming-hsien. -- -------------------------------------------- Ahmed Omair Extension: 3437 Technical Support (Internet Services) The Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan Tel.: 0092-21-4930051 Fax: 0092-21-4934294 -------------------------------------------- From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Thu Aug 19 16:03:50 1999 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id PAA27545; Thu, 19 Aug 1999 15:59:32 GMT Received: from post.super.net.pk (post.super.net.pk [203.130.2.9]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id PAA27527 for ; Thu, 19 Aug 1999 15:59:25 GMT Received: from excel586 (khi-line-077.super.net.pk [203.130.5.216]) by post.super.net.pk (8.9.1/8.9.1) with SMTP id VAA07114 for ; Thu, 19 Aug 1999 21:06:14 -0500 Message-Id: <199908200206.VAA07114@post.super.net.pk> From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Thu, 19 Aug 1999 20:59:30 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: IBM Soft launches speech analyser for Indian English X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.01d) Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT IBM Soft launches speech analyser for Indian English Our Mumbai Bureau 17 AUGUST IBM Software Group today launched the 'Indian English' version of speech recognition software, ViaVoice, for the OEM (original equipment manufacturer) market. IBM ViaVoice has been developed to suit the Indian English accent with the help of Speech & Software Technologies (India), a Tata group company. IBM had been working for nearly a year to develop ViaVoice. In order the make the software recognise Indian accented speech, an Indian acoustic model with frequently-used Indian words has been built, the company said. Speech recognition software is used for giving commands to computers, as a dictation tool and as a reader, among other things. ViaVoice was developed using 40,000 sentences spoken by geographically distributed native Indian speakers. The starter set vocabulary consists of 62,000 words occurring frequently in the 16 million sentences collected from various Indian publications. The software has been taught the English language and IBM does not have any plan to launch regional language versions. The company did not quote a price for the product saying it would be sold directly to PC assemblers, manufacturers and the like. The software is pretty simple to use. After training it to recognise and understand users' voice, the software can understand most inflections of speech, making it less cumbersome than the previous versions. The software also sports a read out feature which can read out highlighted text. The software has been trained to recognise words such as lakh, crore, Mumbai and Chennai and other proper nouns which are unique to India. Internationally, ViaVoice was voted the premier speech software by PC Data in 1998. This is IBM's first attempt to deliver a software product which has been specially designed for the country. Said Vishwesh Padmanabhan, vice president of Tata IBM Software Marketing; "The launch of the Indian English version is a part of IBM's strategy to bring in products suitable for the Indian market." The Indianness of the product was built by Speech & Software Technologies. Said Prakash Shukla, president of Speech & Software; "ViaVoice Indian English version was developed with extensive effort to ensure maximum accuracy to the Indian user." - ET Online, Aug 17, 1999 http://www.economictimes.com/today/18tech01.htm From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Thu Aug 19 16:03:50 1999 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id PAA27543; Thu, 19 Aug 1999 15:59:31 GMT Received: from post.super.net.pk (post.super.net.pk [203.130.2.9]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id PAA27521 for ; Thu, 19 Aug 1999 15:59:23 GMT Received: from excel586 (khi-line-077.super.net.pk [203.130.5.216]) by post.super.net.pk (8.9.1/8.9.1) with SMTP id VAA07104 for ; Thu, 19 Aug 1999 21:06:10 -0500 Message-Id: <199908200206.VAA07104@post.super.net.pk> From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Thu, 19 Aug 1999 20:59:30 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: Info India to offer services at infonity.com X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.01d) Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Info India to offer services at infonity.com Sunil Rajanala HYDERABAD 17 AUGUST INFO INDIA Private Ltd is planning to unveil information services and provide databases for the tourism, hospitality, business and legal industry. The company, which will launch its site www.infonity.com on August 26 this year, has drawn up plans to invest $1 million over the next 18 months. Speaking to The Economic Times, Info India's chairman, Mr P Ramesh Kumar said the company will commence initial operations from Hyderabad, Chennai and Bangalore by September 30 this year before opening 24 offices across the country over the next 18 months. The company is also in the process of opening two offices in Southeast Asia. "We will have 200 centres in each city providing access to information on various areas. We have planned a comprehensive information centre with the added feature of offering transactions between buyers and sellers of various products. The software is being tested, while infrastructure to link all the centres is being put in place," said Mr Kumar. The hotel and travel related services to be offered include providing online booking in hotels with visual graphics and videos of various hotels, information of various cities for both business and leisure travellers, booking for car rentals and information regarding niche products available in each city. "We are looking at associating with travel agents, private bus operators and other tourism related service providers to make the service authentic, affordable and reliable," Mr Kumar added. "The confirmation will be given in less than four hours and a 100 per cent guaranteed confirmation can be made if the customer pays an advance at any of the information centres in the city from where the bookings are being made," said Mr Aveena Gudipati, Info India's managing director. Besides, Infonity's business services will ensure timely movement of goods, information about products and prices including transportation costs. Mr Kumar said the company is also exploring opportunities to have agreements with banks for use of debit cards for transactions. "Infonity will ensure quality and also that timely payment is made for any transaction that takes place," Mr Kumar said. The company will progressively launch new services like personal credit information to financial institutions, counselling services on insurance, legal services to lawyers and networking of management professionals across the country. http://www.economictimes.com/today/18tech10.htm From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Thu Aug 19 16:03:50 1999 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id PAA27548; Thu, 19 Aug 1999 15:59:34 GMT Received: from post.super.net.pk (post.super.net.pk [203.130.2.9]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id PAA27526 for ; Thu, 19 Aug 1999 15:59:24 GMT Received: from excel586 (khi-line-077.super.net.pk [203.130.5.216]) by post.super.net.pk (8.9.1/8.9.1) with SMTP id VAA07110 for ; Thu, 19 Aug 1999 21:06:12 -0500 Message-Id: <199908200206.VAA07110@post.super.net.pk> From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Thu, 19 Aug 1999 20:59:31 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: Third World struggles to get into the world wide web X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.01d) Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Third World struggles to get into the world wide web Nicole Volpe NEW YORK 17 AUGUST IN theory, the Internet's ability to bypass borders and inter-weave world cultures was going to shrink the globe. In reality, Third World countries, faced with poverty, illiteracy, politics and lack of adequate communication infrastructure are having to show remarkable dexterity to eke out a place on the Internet. The hard, and perhaps unsurprising, truth is that despite some amazing end-runs by poorer countries, experts say the gap between plugged-in and shut-out is widening every bit as fast as the gap between rich and poor. With only two per cent of the global population on line, according to United Nations figures, the Internet in 1999 is still more of a golden thread connecting the most privileged global classes than a true World Wide Web. "You'll find people in developing countries doing incredible things with their fingernails, scratching out access," said Raul Zambrano, information technology specialist for the UN development project. "But while this is wonderful, the gap between the haves and have-nots is widening." The efforts by Third World countries, however, go largely unnoticed. Most analysts who cover technology in the United States do not cover places like Goma, a city in the Democratic Republic of Congo that relies on Uganda for its link to the Net. Nor do many watch Haiti, the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere, a country that has less than one phone line for every 100 people. Electricity is only available in urban areas, and then for only a couple of hours per day. The average per capita income is $250 per year. Yet the first site to be entirely written in Haitian Creole came online earlier this month, built in an office in downtown Port-au- Prince that has had to turn to solar power to fuel its operations. "We have to use solar power and batteries and generators because there is no electricity most of the time," Patrice Talleyrand, who creates content for the Web site http://ht.orientation.com, said in a telephone interview. "We have to be a little creative." The site features discussion groups, Voodoo links and surveys Although the site is in Creole, it can be switched to English. New York-based Orientation.com is trying to form a network of such Web sites for underserved nations, on the view that eventually, profits will come from even these markets. "Eventually, the Internet is going to become more important in these countries, and it is an advantage to be one of the first ones to be involved," said Phil Ingram, international marketing manager for Orientation.com. Having Web sites on the Internet is only half the battle. The real challenge is to provide access nationally in a country with very little infrastructure, said Mr Talleyrand. "The telephone company here in Haiti sees Internet service providers as competition," he said. "They keep cutting their phone lines," he added. Some Haitians are now using wireless connections and radio modems to connect to the service providers, also known as ISPs. "It's amazing, the things they do down there is like something out of MacGyver," said Mr Ingram, referring to an American television show about an agent who was able to construct gadgets. -Reuters http://www.economictimes.com/today/18tech04.htm From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Thu Aug 19 17:40:13 1999 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id RAA03311; Thu, 19 Aug 1999 17:39:54 GMT Received: from post.super.net.pk (post.super.net.pk [203.130.2.9]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id RAA03299 for ; Thu, 19 Aug 1999 17:39:48 GMT Received: from excel586 (khi-line-078.super.net.pk [203.130.5.217]) by post.super.net.pk (8.9.1/8.9.1) with SMTP id WAA10955 for ; Thu, 19 Aug 1999 22:46:37 -0500 Message-Id: <199908200346.WAA10955@post.super.net.pk> From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Thu, 19 Aug 1999 22:41:23 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-transfer-encoding: Quoted-printable Subject: PlaNet Library X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.01d) Content-Transfer-Encoding: Quoted-printable Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk Content-Transfer-Encoding: Quoted-printable [from the Devel-L mailing list] ------- Forwarded Message Follows ------- Date sent: Wed, 18 Aug 1999 15:02:11 +0200 From: Gnassounou Viwanou Dear All, Following the development of its activities, PlaNet Finance will be launching the on-line information center on micro- finance, PlaNet Library, during the month of September. Through PlaNet Library, you will have access to several different information tools. For instance, you will be able to : - View on-line on-going events from the world of micro finance, publications, up-to-date newsletters from specialists and interviews - Gain real access to an on-line documentation center storing scientific and technical reports, case studies, articles, methodology, working papers, project publications, report notes and theses. - join the international directories grouping together all the micro finance actors across the world (more than 1600 listings) - Refer to an atlas that gives you an overall view of the actors in the micro finance sector, through a world map. - Use the practitioners tool box which offers you useful calculating tools, financial forecasts, micro finance programmes, legal aspects, tools for the creation of web sites. - View our dictionary of technical terms for practitioners. - Participate in our discussion forums, a place to freely exchange points of view, knowledge and experiences. Several practitioners and documentation centers have already given us their support through integrating their documents and publications on to the PlaNet Finance Web site. Different messages will follow according to particular concerns. To participate in the dissemination of information and to become a partner of PlaNet Finance, Visit our web site http://www.planetfinance.org/fr/library/library.htm or contact us at library@planetbank.org ---------------------- Viwanou Gnassounou PlaNet Finance vgnassou@planetbank.org Charg=E9 des Projets financiers & Coordinateur PlaNet Library Coordinateur Afrique tel 33 (0)1 42 66 11 42 fax 33 (0)1 42 66 06 70 http://www.planetfinance.org From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Thu Aug 19 19:12:13 1999 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id TAA07423; Thu, 19 Aug 1999 19:11:39 GMT Received: from meter.eng.uci.edu (meter.eng.uci.edu [128.200.85.3]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id TAA07415 for ; Thu, 19 Aug 1999 19:11:36 GMT Received: from eagle.ece.uci.edu (mundkur@eagle.ece.uci.edu [128.200.9.9]) by meter.eng.uci.edu (8.8.8/) with ESMTP id MAA19551 for ; Thu, 19 Aug 1999 12:11:34 -0700 (PDT) Received: from localhost (mundkur@localhost) by eagle.ece.uci.edu (8.8.8/) with ESMTP id MAA14080 for ; Thu, 19 Aug 1999 12:11:31 -0700 (PDT) Date: Thu, 19 Aug 1999 12:11:31 -0700 (PDT) From: Prashanth Mundkur To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Subject: Re: IBM Soft launches speech analyser for Indian English Message-ID: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk Lishen, yaar! I tink our compyooters will phinally be able to undershtand bhat be shay! Why IBM always fust to get good idea is? Anyway, ish dish cool or bhat? --prashanth PS: How long are they going to wait to analyse Scottish English? From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Sun Aug 22 13:04:40 1999 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id LAA17533; Sun, 22 Aug 1999 11:39:51 GMT Received: from post.super.net.pk (post.super.net.pk [203.130.2.9]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id LAA17500 for ; Sun, 22 Aug 1999 11:39:38 GMT Received: from excel586 (khi-line-017.super.net.pk [203.130.5.156]) by post.super.net.pk (8.9.1/8.9.1) with SMTP id QAA29509 for ; Sun, 22 Aug 1999 16:46:25 -0500 Message-Id: <199908222146.QAA29509@post.super.net.pk> From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Sun, 22 Aug 1999 16:41:06 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: [India] IISc taps industry for joint research, gets good response X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.01d) Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT IISc taps industry for joint research, gets good response Vishwanath Kulkarni BANGALORE 21 AUGUST BANGALORE-based Indian Institute of Science (IISc), the premier research institute in the country, which last year allowed private sector to set up research laboratories in its premises has received an overwhelming response to this initiative. Eight major Indian companies have now lined up to set up joint research centres at the institute's premises to carry out both basic and applied research. Among the companies that have already finalised their plans and signed agreements with IISc include Himachal Futuristic Communications Limited, Cadila, Bharat Biotech and Dorabji Tata Trust, said H P Khincha, chief executive of the Society for Innovation and Development (SID). The SID is an outfit of the institute whose main role is to act as a link between the industry and the institute. Other companies are still in negotiations with the institute to set up joint R&D centres, Mr Khincha. The R&D centres of the companies that have already finalised their plans are expected to come up in the next six to nine months, he added. IISc director Govardhan Mehta said the setting up of joint laboratories with the private sector companies was part of an endeavour to establish a science and technology park in the campus. "The faculty and the students of the institute will get an opportunity to work with the industry either in a sponsored project or joint research project," he added. Mr Mehta said the current level of investment by the industry in R&D was not adequate and may pick up slowly in the coming years. The joint research work with the industry would help the institute to upgrade its level of interaction and transform intellectual wealth into commercial wealth. However, the institute would make sure that intellectual property rights were protected in joint research, he added. Prof Khincha said the companies were expected to make substantial investments in the joint research centres. "The institute would be providing the basic infrastructure which includes the built-up area in its premises and computer network facilities, while the companies would bring in their own equipment and develop other necessary infrastructure," he said. About 25,000 square feet of the built-up area in the campus has already been booked by these companies to set up the laboratories, Prof Khincha added. While the joint R&D centre of Himachal Futuristic Communications Ltd would focus on the research activities in telecommunication and related areas, Bharat Biotech would carry out R&D in new drug development and vaccines. Pharmaceutical major Cadila would also focus on new drugs, he said. The Dorabji Tata Trust's research centre would carry out joint research on infectious and tropical diseases. The centre would be known as the Dorabji Tata Medical Centre for Infectious and Tropical Diseases. Prof Khincha said the interaction between the industry and the institute has increased during the past several years and projects with an investment of about Rs 40 crore have been initiated in the past three years. Apart from having collaborations with the Indian companies, the institute also has a joint research centre with lifesciences multinational Monsanto. It may be recalled that Monsanto had invested $5m in setting up the research centre to carry out basic research on bio-informatics, crop protection, crop transformation and nutrition. http://www.economictimes.com/today/22tech01.htm From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Mon Aug 23 06:24:26 1999 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id GAA01806; Mon, 23 Aug 1999 06:03:11 GMT Received: from post.super.net.pk (post.super.net.pk [203.130.2.9]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id GAA01783 for ; Mon, 23 Aug 1999 06:03:00 GMT Received: from excel586 (khi-line-034.super.net.pk [203.130.5.173]) by post.super.net.pk (8.9.1/8.9.1) with SMTP id LAA16312 for ; Mon, 23 Aug 1999 11:09:48 -0500 Message-Id: <199908231609.LAA16312@post.super.net.pk> From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Mon, 23 Aug 1999 11:04:38 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: Rediff on ISPs in India X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.01d) Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Rediff on the Net [http://www.rediff.com/] has published a good story on the pricing of internet services in India, and why, inspite of the presence of private ISPs, the internet access remains expensive in India. Read the article at http://www.rediff.com/computer/1999/aug/21isp.htm irfan From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Mon Aug 23 06:54:25 1999 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id GAA01835; Mon, 23 Aug 1999 06:03:23 GMT Received: from post.super.net.pk (post.super.net.pk [203.130.2.9]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id GAA01813 for ; Mon, 23 Aug 1999 06:03:15 GMT Received: from excel586 (khi-line-034.super.net.pk [203.130.5.173]) by post.super.net.pk (8.9.1/8.9.1) with SMTP id LAA16353 for ; Mon, 23 Aug 1999 11:10:03 -0500 Message-Id: <199908231610.LAA16353@post.super.net.pk> From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Mon, 23 Aug 1999 11:04:37 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: [Pakistan] Internet backbone to be operative by October X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.01d) Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Internet backbone to be operative by October RECORDER REPORT LAHORE (August 23) : National Internet Backbone (NIBB) of the country will be operative by October this year decreasing the time consumed in surfing for the user of Internet manifold. This will not only help Pakistanis have easy access to the information highway but also support the local software industry, said the Chairman, Pakistani Information Technology Board, Dr Jawed Ghani, while talking to Business Recorder. This is in line with the government policy to introduce electronic government and to facilitate access of the public to all the concerned documents, said PITB. He said that PTCL has laid additional fibre optics lines on both sides of the Indus of which 12 line pairs are lying un- utilised. Only one line pair will be sufficient to meet the data transmission needs of the country as it could carry 150 Mega bites of database while the country's international traffic of data is not more than 12 megabytes, he added. He said that the PTCL has been reluctant to help develop the NIBB pleading that the people may use it for long distance calls thus adversely effecting the business of the PTCL. However, we have promised to introduce precautionary measures to check such illegal usage, he added. He said that currently majority of the companies have either acquired their own leased line for the data communication or they have hired the radio frequency, thus making the cost of the data transmission very high. Cost, he added, could drastically be decreased by share mode of communication. He said that they have had to face the same problem while launching e- government set up for the Punjab province. He said that in case of the installation of dedicated lines for the data transmission, the Punjab Government might have to bear a cost of Rs 800 to 1,400 per kilogram per year for the 64 Kilobytes transmission line. In this way the inter- connectivity of 30 districts of the Punjab would be at a huge cost which we, given our limited resources, cannot afford at all, he added. He said that currently PTCL was not separating international traffic from national or local traffic which was why tariff for both were equal. However, after the launching of NIBB, there would be clear distinction between both the internet traffic level and internet service would become more sufficient and accurate. Copyright 1999 Business Recorder (www.brecorder.com) http://www.brecorder.com/story/S0010/S1002/S1002106.htm From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Thu Aug 26 05:05:36 1999 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id FAA19292; Thu, 26 Aug 1999 05:01:59 GMT Received: from akunet.org (qasid.akunet.org [208.244.71.2]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with SMTP id FAA19279 for ; Thu, 26 Aug 1999 05:01:48 GMT Received: from akunet.org by akunet.org (SMI-8.6/SMI-SVR4) id JAA00585; Thu, 26 Aug 1999 09:57:22 -0500 Message-ID: <37C4CA47.84D88859@akunet.org> Date: Thu, 26 Aug 1999 10:01:59 +0500 From: Ahmed Omair X-Mailer: Mozilla 4.61 [en] (Win95; I) X-Accept-Language: en MIME-Version: 1.0 To: S-Asia-IT Subject: [Pakistan] Overseas phone call charges increased Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit KARACHI, Aug 24: The Pakistan Telecommunication Company (PTCL) has increased overseas call charges by about 17 per cent to the more popularly called destinations. Under the revised tariffs for overseas calls issued by PTCL last week, per minute charges have increased by an average of Rs 10 for four countries where Pakistanis make and receive most calls. This includes US where rates have increased from Rs 50 to Rs 63.37, U.K. -Rs 48 to Rs 58.48, UAE -Rs 37 to Rs 45.11 and Saudi Arabia -Rs 44 to Rs 53.59 per minute. While telephone charges have increased to 91 destinations around the world, under the revised tariffs the per minute charges for Bahrain are now Rs 45.11, Qatar Rs 48.70, Muscat Rs 45.11, Bangladesh Rs 26.85, France Rs 79.18, Germany Rs 52.39, Hong Kong Rs 71.85 and India Rs 68.26. The PTCL maintains that since it has reduced Central Excise Duty by 15 per cent, subscribers will not feel the effect of enhanced overseas call rates. However, inside sources acknowledged that the effect of upward revision of overseas call rates will decrease the volume of international calls made from Pakistan to all the countries of the world. Currently, officials maintained that international accounting rates (IAR) between Pakistan and foreign countries is unfavourably tilted against Pakistan, forcing PTCL to pay in dollars for calls made from here while telephone companies abroad pay it in rupees for every call made to Pakistan. With the rupee depreciating against the dollar, the company is now attempting to hold on to its profitability by reducing the volume of overseas calls being made from Pakistan. The company maintains that it will only be after 1 1/2 years, when international trade agreements go into effect that they will be able to reduce their rates for overseas calls and become "competitive". Currently, the PTCL is also facing competition from internet service providers (ISPs) overseas and inside the country which issue telephone cards that allow phone calls to be made very cheaply. The company maintains that the transmission of "voice mail" through international bandwidths has been robbing it of legitimate earnings. While the telephone company is cracking down on ISPs which are illegally using their central exchanges to transmit voice mail, in future it plans to use technology to block the national access points used by the providers to make cheap telephone calls. Officials acknowledged however that the only successful method of ending voice transmission by the ISPs would be to compete through the reduction of overseas calling rates. [SOURCE: The daily Dawn http://dawn.com] -- Ahmed Omair [ahmed.omair@aku.edu] & [ao@akunet.org] Technical Support (Online Services) The Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan Tel: 92-21-48593437 Fax: 92-21-4934059 --------------------------------------------------- From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Thu Aug 26 16:11:28 1999 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id QAA09269; Thu, 26 Aug 1999 16:10:14 GMT Received: from fh105.infi.net (fh105.infi.net [209.97.16.35]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id QAA09264 for ; Thu, 26 Aug 1999 16:10:11 GMT Received: from akron.infi.net (AKRNB107-01.splitrock.net [209.156.82.231]) by fh105.infi.net (8.8.8/8.8.8) with ESMTP id MAA27041; Thu, 26 Aug 1999 12:08:17 -0400 (EDT) Message-ID: <37C56647.E774E3A7@akron.infi.net> Date: Thu, 26 Aug 1999 12:07:35 -0400 From: Bob Pyke Jr Reply-To: repyke@akron.infi.net X-Mailer: Mozilla 4.04 [en] (Win95; U) MIME-Version: 1.0 To: Bob Pyke Jr Subject: Retiring USAID Head Vents Frustration Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit >From the Community Health List, sorry fro any cross postings. Bob Pyke Jr {Always inspiring when someone stands out and takes a stand!} > Copyright 1999 Associated Press/AP Online > June 30, 1999; Wednesday 04:11, Eastern Time > > > HEADLINE: Retiring AID Head Vents Frustration > > J. Brian Atwood has a disquieting message as he prepares to step down as head of the U.S. foreign aid agency: Don't believe those stories about democracy and free enterprise enabling developing countries to lift themselves out of poverty. > > And part of the problem, according to Atwood, is what he sees as > Washington's pinch-penny attitude toward Third World problems. > > ''What will it take to wake up our political leaders?'' he asked. > ''More failed states? More wars? More south-to-north migration? More > transmission of infectious diseases? More terrorism?'' > > After six years as head of the Agency for International Development, > Atwood will return to the private sector next week. He could have gone quietly, as his predecessors have done, but decided not to. > > He gave his valedictory Tuesday at a luncheon at the Overseas > Development Council, which attempts to sensitize opinion-makers > on Third World issues. > > ''The sad and even dangerous reality is that globalization and the > democratic market economy movement have not closed the gap between rich and poor,'' he said. > > ''Much of the change we are seeing is occurring within the previous > ruling classes of these societies. Some in the donor community seem content to nurture reform without equity.'' > > Economic growth, he said, can reduce poverty only with investments in > health care, education, job creation, community development and food security. > > The industrial world is getting ''shamelessly rich'' while most of > the world's people are losing ground, Atwood said. He put the ratio of rich > to poor at about 65 to 1, or for every $65 earned in industrial countries, $1 is earned in poor ones. About 1.3 billion people live in extreme poverty, he said. > > Atwood called the government's international affairs budget ''a joke. > There is no money to do anything,'' he said. ''It's outrageous.'' > > He took aim at the congressional class of 1994, the election that > gave Republicans control of the House and Senate. It was filled with > ''nonpassport-carrying members,'' Atwood said, a not-so-subtle suggestion that such people think provincially, not globally. > > Another source of distress for Atwood was U.S. policy toward the > United Nations. ''What we are doing to the United Nations system is > unconscionable,'' he said. > > ''At a time when the U.N. is bending under the weight of human > crises, most emanating from the developing world, we are sapping > it of its vitality by refusing to pay our bills. Then we criticize it for > not doing its job.'' > > He described as ''shameful'' a recent compromise under which the > Clinton administration would pay $819 million in arrears on the condition that it pay a smaller share in the future. The congressionally drafted approach is 'designed to appease people whose real goal is to kill the United Nations,'' > Atwood said. > > Atwood was scheduled to become ambassador to Brazil after his service > at AID, but Sen. Jesse Helms, R-N.C., the Senate Foreign Relations Committee > chairman, refused to convene hearings on the nomination. > > Helms was smarting from Atwood's characterization of him as an > ''isolationist'' and his accusation that Helms drew up complicated > government reorganization plans ''on the back of an envelope.'' > > Atwood withdrew his name from consideration for the Brazil post in > May. to: IN: Zammit@southcentre.org cc: IN: afro-nets@usa.healthnet.org IN: mod1@jazz.worldbank.org IN: ideal@cunews.carleton.ca IN: community-health-l@mail.msh.org IN: healthwrights@igc.org IN: equinet-l@lists.sn.apc.org IN: b,m.margetts@soton.ac.uk IN: info@sidint.org IN: dahlgrenmarita@hotmail.com *** To join the COMMUNITY-HEALTH-L list, send e-mail to LISTSERV@MAIL.MSH.ORG with a blank subject line and the words SUBSCRIBE COMMUNITY-HEALTH-L in the body of the message. To post to COMMUNITY-HEALTH-L, send e-mail to COMMUNITY-HEALTH-L@MAIL.MSH.ORG . To leave the COMMUNITY-HEALTH-L list, send e-mail to LISTSERV@MAIL.MSH.ORG with a blank subject line and the words SIGNOFF COMMUNITY-HEALTH-L in the body of the message. To switch your COMMUNITY-HEALTH-L subscription to the digest version, send e-mail to LISTSERV@MAIL.MSH.ORG with a blank subject line and the words SET COMMUNITY-HEALTH-L DIGEST in the body of the message. List archives are available in the "ERC Forums" section of the ERC Web site at HTTP://ERC.MSH.ORG . List archives are also available via e-mail through LISTSERV. For automated "help" files, send e-mail to LISTSERV@MAIL.MSH.ORG with the word HELP in the message body. For help from a person, send e-mail to COMMUNITY-HEALTH-L-REQUEST@MAIL.MSH.ORG . From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Sun Aug 29 17:27:35 1999 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id RAA04793; Sun, 29 Aug 1999 17:24:43 GMT Received: from post.super.net.pk (post.super.net.pk [203.130.2.9]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id RAA04778 for ; Sun, 29 Aug 1999 17:24:30 GMT Received: from excel586 (khi-line-057.super.net.pk [203.130.5.196]) by post.super.net.pk (8.9.1/8.9.1) with SMTP id WAA16335 for ; Sun, 29 Aug 1999 22:30:57 -0500 Message-Id: <199908300330.WAA16335@post.super.net.pk> From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Sun, 29 Aug 1999 22:25:37 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: [Pakistan] Internet users complain of multi-metering X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.01d) Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT ------- Forwarded Message Follows ------- Date sent: Mon, 23 Aug 1999 13:23:22 +0500 From: "Hasan A. Rizvi" To: Multiple recipients of list Subject: Internet users complain of multi-metering (fwd) The following report appeared in Dawn, the largest circulation English daily of Pakistan. It also refers to SDNP Pakistan and our Information Manager in Karachi, Sabahat Saeed Khan. However, there are two factual errors in this report. One, while private sector ISPs are concentrated in big urban centres of Pakistan, they are not merely confined to Karachi. In fact, there are many ISPs working out of other cities with no operations in Karachi. Also, with the addition of 50,000 telephone lines, PTCL would be able to service something like 1.5 million additional Internet users and not the ridiculously low figure (1560) given in this news report. Cheers, -Hasan Rizvi --------------------------------------------------------------- Sustainable Development Networking Programme, Phone: 051-270684,270691 PO Box 3099, House 12, Street 85, G-6/4, Fax: 051-270688 Islamabad 44000, Pakistan. email: rizvi@sdnpk.undp.org --------------------------------------------------------------- ---------- Forwarded message ---------- http://www.dawn.com/daily/19990821/local2.htm KARACHI: Internet users complain of multi-metering By Our Staff Reporter KARACHI, Aug 20: Internet users in Karachi are concerned that their access to cyberspace may be limited on account of the multi-metering of telephone lines, resulting in inflated monthly bills. A private internet provider has received complaints from its subscribers that despite the "131" code given by the Pakistan Telecommunication Company - exempting telephone charges from doubling every five minutes - their internet bills appear to be growing every month. An official of the company told Dawn that customers were "very upset" about the possibility of charges doubling every five minutes on the net. "The PTCL should make it clear whether it intends to subject internet users to multimetering," she said. The director public data network, International Gateway Exchange, Masood Bhatti, when contacted, claimed that as per government policy the telephone company was not multimetering the "131" group of numbers given to internet service providers (ISPs) in the city. However, he said the multimetering put into effect by the PTCL from July 1, 1998 was occurring wherever ISPs were using individual exchange numbers. The internet charges would double every five minutes if dialled outside the "131" group, he said. Already, internet subscribers are not happy that their access to cyberspace has become more expensive on account of the 0.35 paisa increase in local call charges (as well as the Rs55 line rent) which went into effect last month. The information manager, Sustainable Development Network Pakistan (SDNP), Sabahat Saeed Khan, described as "ominous" the increase in local call charges, describing its effect as "impacting directly on the free flow of information." On the other hand, subscribers point to the existence of ISP monopolies with heavy overhead expenses as usurping people's right to information. Pointing out that these companies charged as much as Rs50 per hour, they stressed that this "abnormal price" was aimed at earning profit rather than encouraging people's right to information. Inquiries show that all 28 ISPs are concentrated in Karachi, having as many as 70,000 subscribers. On the other hand, no internet company has shown interest in going to Balochistan and few are expanding their service to the interior Sindh. The PTCL, which has stopped giving new connections - freezing it at 3,026 individuals and companies in Sindh and Balochistan - claims that as of Sept 30, it will once again start awarding new internet connections in 22 major cities with a view to fulfilling its "social responsibility." Officials maintained that with the installation of 50,000 new telephone lines nearing completion, it would soon be in a position to give 1,560 new internet connections. These assurances are aimed at allaying concerns of the PTCL's internet users, who until now reported an unsatisfactory performance - slow dial up time, no response from the modem and inflated bills arriving on paper instead of through electronic mail. Moreover, the average rate of Rs20 per hour, going down to Rs10 for use of 500 hours or more, is now being beaten by the competitive rates offered by other internet companies. Internet providers say they have seen a difference in their customers, who are now logging on "more for information rather than just for fun." They recommend that the PTCL must increase its internet capacity with a view to "empowering" people through access to knowledge. From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Sun Aug 29 17:27:35 1999 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id RAA04804; Sun, 29 Aug 1999 17:24:51 GMT Received: from post.super.net.pk (post.super.net.pk [203.130.2.9]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id RAA04799 for ; Sun, 29 Aug 1999 17:24:46 GMT Received: from excel586 (khi-line-057.super.net.pk [203.130.5.196]) by post.super.net.pk (8.9.1/8.9.1) with SMTP id WAA16380 for ; Sun, 29 Aug 1999 22:31:48 -0500 Message-Id: <199908300331.WAA16380@post.super.net.pk> From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Sun, 29 Aug 1999 22:25:37 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: [asia-women] Women & the Media and ICT Workshops X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.01d) Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT ------- Forwarded Message Follows ------- Date sent: Sat, 28 Aug 1999 03:17:16 +0900 From: lalamaziwa To: asia-women@jca.apc.org Subject: [asia-women] Fw: Women & the Media and ICT Workshops at the Regional NGO Symposium this message is a posting to < asia-women@jca.apc.org > ---------------- Original message follows ---------------- From: "Cheekay Cinco" Date: Fri, 27 Aug 1999 19:17:37 +0800 Subject: Women & the Media and ICT Workshops -- Isis International-Manila and the Asian Women's Resource Exchange (AWORC) invite you all to attend the workshops on Women & the Media, and Women & ICT. The following are brief descriptions on the workshops. Venues for the workshops will be announced later. We hope you can join us and make the discussion groups more meaningful. Isis International-Manila will convene the workshop on Section J (Women & the Media) on September 3. A panel of women media practitioners from the Asia Pacific region will discuss globalisation and ownership, status of women in media organisations, portratyal of women in media, codes of conduct for media practitioners and the new information and communication technologies. The Asian Women's Resource Exchange (AWORC) and Isis International- Manila will hold a workshop entitled, "Information & Communication Technologies: A Women's Agenda", on September 2, 2pm to 5:30pm. Panel speakers from the region have been invited to review the rapid development of information and communication technologies (ICT) and its impact on women's advancement. The workshop will cover the issues of women's rights to equal and democratic access to ICT, including women's experiences in working for gender equality in the design, implementation, access and use of these technologies and in the policy decisions and frameworks that regulate them. From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Sun Aug 29 17:27:35 1999 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id RAA04794; Sun, 29 Aug 1999 17:24:43 GMT Received: from post.super.net.pk (post.super.net.pk [203.130.2.9]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id RAA04779 for ; Sun, 29 Aug 1999 17:24:30 GMT Received: from excel586 (khi-line-057.super.net.pk [203.130.5.196]) by post.super.net.pk (8.9.1/8.9.1) with SMTP id WAA16366; Sun, 29 Aug 1999 22:31:31 -0500 Message-Id: <199908300331.WAA16366@post.super.net.pk> From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Sun, 29 Aug 1999 22:25:38 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-transfer-encoding: Quoted-printable Subject: A Virtual Monsoon Hits Bangladesh with Launch of Dedicated Country Portal CC: partha@drik.net X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.01d) Content-Transfer-Encoding: Quoted-printable Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk Content-Transfer-Encoding: Quoted-printable [from the SAsiaNet mailing list] ------- Forwarded Message Follows ------- Date sent: Wed, 25 Aug 1999 18:38:55 +0600 From: partha Subject: A Virtual Monsoon Hits Bangladesh with Launch of Dedicated Country Portal Site P R E S S R E L E A S E Drik-Orientation Partnership Bridges Information, Community for Local and Global Audience NEW YORK, August 25, 1999 =96 Orientation.com, the world=92s first global network of local and regional Internet portals, in partnership with Drik, (http://www.drik.net) a renowned visual resource company that also boasts multimedia and ISP services in Bangladesh will launch Orientation Bangladesh (http://bd.orientation.com). The new Web site provides Bangladeshis one of the first-ever independent forums for timely news, information, and community discussions in their history. Orientation Bangladesh delivers news, historical and cultural information, economic and commerce data, an extensive database of Bangla Web sites, and free email that will help fuel the country=92s drive into the 21st century. True to Orientation.com=92s vision of a global network of bilingual portals, Orientation Bangladesh is available in both Bangla and English, giving local and global world citizens a dedicated window into the country=92s rich heritage and current events. According to officials of both companies, Orientation Bangladesh gives visitors a deeper understanding of the country, provides a global forum for the unrestricted flow of information, and creates new opportunities for Bangladeshis in the business and academic sectors. =93For Bangladeshis, a dedicated portal that will aid the country=92s continual development is an invaluable resource,=94 said Darren Thake, chairman and CEO of Orientation.com. =93For citizens both of Bangladesh and of the world, Orientation gives a unique opportunity to learn more about the country and history of Bangladesh =97 in the local language =97 and gives insight about where the country is headed through the emergence of high technology. Our alliance with Drik is a critical component to achieving this success.=94 Drik was one of the first companies responsible for introducing information technology into Bangladesh. A true industry pioneer, Drik also was among the first to offer email communication services to organizations such as the Bangladesh government, UNICEF, Grameen Bank, the World Bank, and local educational institutions, embassies, and corporations. =93We are delighted to be partnering with Orientation, a company that realizes the power and promise of the Internet for emerging and developing countries,=94 said Dr. Shahidul Alam, managing director, Drik. =93Our individual strengths will create an online synergy that will boost the efforts of Bangladesh and its citizens to be a preeminent presence in the next millennium.=94 Tomorrow=92s launch of Orientation Bangladesh will be held in conjunction with the United News of Bangladesh (UNB), the country=92s leading independent news agency. The UNB will continue to provide regular breaking news and information to Orientation Bangladesh. In addition, launch ceremonies will be presided over by the honorable Chief Justice Mustafa Kamal; Professor Harunur Rashid, president of the Asiatic Society; Enayetullah Khan, chief editor of the UNB; and Dr. Alam. The ceremonies will be witnessed by more than 350 invited guests, local and foreign dignitaries, and students at the Winter Garden of the Sheraton Hotel in Dhaka at 4:00 PM. You are cordially invited to join the event and to take part in this virtual show. The launch of Orientation Bangladesh coincides with a key turning point in the country=92s history and continual economic development. With a rapidly emerging global economy, new discoveries in the energy sector, and a burgeoning, highly skilled workforce, Bangladesh is poised to assume a new leadership role on the international stage. Even in light of political and governmental uncertainties, Bangladeshis are flocking to the Internet as a medium for community unification and timely information. Today, Drik estimates that nearly 50,000 people are online in Bangladesh as the market continues to grow daily. -- Partha Pratim Sarker Chief, Drik Multimedia House: 58, Road: 15A (new), Dhanmondi, Dhaka 1209 Voice: (880-2) 812954, 9120125, 823412 (off.) 9131836 (res.) Fax: (880-2) 9115044 Email: partha@drik.net WWW: http://www.drik.net http://www.bytesforall.org From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Mon Aug 30 10:07:06 1999 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id KAA01604; Mon, 30 Aug 1999 10:05:53 GMT Received: from post.super.net.pk (post.super.net.pk [203.130.2.9]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id KAA01589 for ; Mon, 30 Aug 1999 10:05:47 GMT Received: from excel586 ([203.130.7.156]) by post.super.net.pk (8.9.1/8.9.1) with SMTP id PAA07510 for ; Mon, 30 Aug 1999 15:12:52 -0500 Message-Id: <199908302012.PAA07510@post.super.net.pk> From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Mon, 30 Aug 1999 15:07:23 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: (Fwd) Bytes for All- August Issue now Online X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.01d) Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT ------- Forwarded Message Follows ------- Date sent: Mon, 30 Aug 1999 00:00:33 +0600 From: partha Subject: Bytes for All- August Issue now Online Dear Friends, 'Bytes for All' august'99 issue is now online. Please visit the site at http://www.bytesforall.org or http://bytesforall.org and leave your comments/suggestions at our guest book. 'Bytes for All' is an online newsletter which tries to update readers about new and interesting IT ventures/initiatives in South Asia. Attempts that focus on people before profits. This venture is being jointly undertaken by Frederick Noronha a freelance journalist based in Goa-India interested in developmental issues, and by Partha Pratim Sarker a web designer and an online activist based in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The issues what have been covered in this August version are: INDIAN DoT TO SET UP NATIONAL BACKBONE ROADBLOCKS BEFORE MUCH OF THE WORLD IN GETTING ACCESS TO I.T. SITE FOR POVERTY RESEARCH IN ASIA CIDA CAN I.T. SOLVE *ALL* OUR PROBLEMS ? PAKISTAN SUGGESTS LOWER DATA TRANSMISSION TARIFF LAHORE ASIAN INTERNET USERS MAY SOAR BY 40 PERCENT IN THE NEXT FIVE YEARS SEOUL DRIK: PICTURE LIBRARY IN DHAKA SHOWING ANOTHER REALITY A SOUTH-ASIAN WHO HAS WORKED ON 128-bit ENCRIPTION SOFTWARE.... UNDP REPORT SAYS U.S. HAS MORE COMPUTERS THAN REST OF THE WORLD OPERATING SYSTEM WITH A DIFFERENCE: LINUX GAINS IN INDIA PAKISTAN TO UNVEIL INFO TECHNOLOGY POLICY ON AUGUST 16 INTERNET INCREASES GLOBAL INEQUALITY, SAYS UN INDIA: SOUTHERN STATE PLANS FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT NETWORK INDIAN LANGUAGE, TAMIL, GETS UNIVERSALLY-ACCEPTED KEYBOARD FREE FONTS IN REGIONAL LANGUAGES, TOWARDS AN INDIAN O.S. COMMON GROUND ELUSIVE AS TECHNOLOGY HAVE-NOTS MEET HAVES GERMAN STUDIES FROM CENTRE FOR DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH 3 articles for the issue: Does Information Technology Really Promote Knowledge?....by Kunda Dixit (nepal) Internet can Help Make Radio-Broadcasting Accessible to Indians....by Arun Mehta (india) Indian Experiment Shows how Slum-Kids Speedily Take to Computers........by Frederick Noronha (india) Conference invitations for: INFORMATION EQUALITY IN THE NEXT MILLENIUM in Malaysia International Millennium Conference on "AFFORDABLE TELECOM AND IT SOLUTIONS FOR DEVELOPING COUNTRIES" AND MUCH MUCH MORE.......................Don't Miss the Issue....! You can freely circulate this message in your own news groups and discussion lists. Frederick Noronha (India) Partha Pratim Sarker (Bangladesh) founder editors bytes for all From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Tue Aug 31 04:40:47 1999 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id EAA07835; Tue, 31 Aug 1999 04:38:35 GMT Received: from post.super.net.pk (post.super.net.pk [203.130.2.9]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id EAA07819 for ; Tue, 31 Aug 1999 04:38:30 GMT Received: from excel586 (khi-line-046.super.net.pk [203.130.5.185]) by post.super.net.pk (8.9.1/8.9.1) with SMTP id JAA31117 for ; Tue, 31 Aug 1999 09:45:35 -0500 Message-Id: <199908311445.JAA31117@post.super.net.pk> From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Tue, 31 Aug 1999 09:40:02 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: C-DOT makes Indian satcom system X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.01d) Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT C-DOT makes Indian satcom system Manoj Gairola NEW DELHI 24 AUGUST Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT), a premier telecom research organisation, has developed India's first satellite communications system. The technology developed by C-DOT, called Insat-MSS, uses transponders in the Insat series of satellites and is ideally suited for providing telephone connections in those areas where it is not cost effective to lay the conventional cable-based network. C-DOT executive director KN Gupta told The Economic Times that the technology was developed in association with Comsat, a US-based satellite communications company. The system is currently working in two districts in Karnataka - Chorla and Shantidam. "We are satisfied with the performance of the system. The Insat-MSS has become very popular because it is the only telecom system in the region," said Mr Gupta. The Insat-MSS system is also being installed in Karwar district in Karnataka. The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is also said to be satisfied with the performance of the system. According to sources, DoT is planning to induct 1,000 satellite phones in its network. These phones will be installed in the rural areas as village public telephones (VPTs). According to an estimate, DoT will have to pay more than Rs 15 crore per annum in foreign exchange if the contract is awarded to a foreign company. This figure will further go up if charges paid for incoming traffic are also taken into account. On the other hand, if the Insat- MSS terminals, with a 2.4 metre antenna are used as VPTs, then this amount can be saved and there is no outflow of foreign exchange.Currently, the cost of Insat-MSS terminals is higher than that of other comparable systems like Inmarsat. However, this is because of the low volumes. "Once we decide to induct 1,000 Insat-MSS terminals for VPT applications, the cost will come down and will match any comparable system in the world," said Mr Gupta. C-DOT had initiated this project primarily to develop a mobile satellite system using Insat 2C transponder. The system was developed and installed on schedule in Bangalore, in November '97, said Mr Gupta. Subsequently, field tests were conducted by C-DOT, TEC, and other DoT agencies. However, at the time of on-site testing by the DoT, it was observed that the Insat 2C transponders were not working properly, and that there were a lot of level variations in the transponder. C-DOT had to thus rework on the system and it was later developed for the fixed telephony operations. http://www.economictimes.com/250899/25tech02.htm From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Tue Aug 31 04:40:47 1999 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id EAA07827; Tue, 31 Aug 1999 04:38:33 GMT Received: from post.super.net.pk (post.super.net.pk [203.130.2.9]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id EAA07811 for ; Tue, 31 Aug 1999 04:38:28 GMT Received: from excel586 (khi-line-046.super.net.pk [203.130.5.185]) by post.super.net.pk (8.9.1/8.9.1) with SMTP id JAA31112 for ; Tue, 31 Aug 1999 09:45:33 -0500 Message-Id: <199908311445.JAA31112@post.super.net.pk> From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Tue, 31 Aug 1999 09:40:02 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: [India] Law experts slam new telecom policy X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.01d) Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Law experts slam new telecom policy Law experts have described the new telecom policy as squandering of public funds. The policy replaced the licence-fee regime with a revenue sharing arrangement and allowed a six-month waiver on payment of fees. The experts were talking at a seminar on 'Telecom Policy 99: Who stands to gain?'. The event was organised by the Jan Hastakshep, a New Delhi based forum for citizens' intervention. Indira Jaising, a senior advocate said as much as Rs 500 billion would have accrued to the government if the licence fee contract agreed upon under the telecom policy of 1994 was allowed to continue for 10-15 years. She was critical of the manner in which the A B Vajpayee government went whole-hog to change the policy in "favour of private telecom operators" and unilaterally amended the terms and conditions of the agreement under what it is being called a "bail-out package" for operators. Narrating the chronology of the events leading to announcing of the new telecom policy, she said it was brought forth by a caretaker government on July 7 when it had already lost the vote of confidence in the Lok Sabha on April 17. Lambasting the institution of attorney-general, she said instead of maintaining impartiality while giving his legal opinion, the incumbent reversed his earlier stand of opposing the change in the telecom policy and defying the legal sanctity of his office, he "openly held a meeting with the private operators at his residence". Criticising the official suggestions that the new policy was meant to retain the faith of foreign investors in the telecom sector, Jaising said "Foreign interests have conspired to hijack the Indian economy and polity." Another senior lawyer Prashant Bhushan cited the case of signing a power project with Enron, a USA multinational by the BJP that earlier opposed it. Under the agreement by the BJP government, the country had agreed to purchase power at the rate of Rs 4.90 per unit while NTPC, an Indian public sector company, was ready to supply power at Rs 1.50 per unit. The legal experts were peeved at the government's restriction on MTNL, a public sector telecom company, from entering into any competition with the private operators for two years and said it was a clear indication that the caretaker government which was not supposed to take any policy decision, was out to help operators. Dr N Bhattacharya, an economist, decried as "double standard" the government suggestion that if private telecom operators are not provided with a bail-out package, they would go sick and would not be able to return loans amounting to Rs 100 billion raised from financial institutions. "While the public sector undertaking incurs losses, all the chambers of commerce demand its privatisation or dissolution. Why this yardstick should not apply to the private telecom operators," he argued. A retired high court judge, R B Mehrotra, the president of the Delhi People's Union for Civil Liberties, who presided over the seminar, while criticising the new telecom policy, said the Vajpayee government had no right to take policy decisions after it lost the confidence of the house. All this "smacks of fascist tendencies out to thwart the democratic set-up and the rule of law". He advised the press and the public at large not to refrain from criticising the court verdicts that struck at the root of Indian democracy and favoured some vested interests. PUCL General Secretary Dr Anoop Saraya demanded issuing of a white paper on the "telecom scam" and institution of an inquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation into the whole telecom episode. UNI http://www.rediff.com/computer/1999/aug/25teleco.htm From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Tue Aug 31 04:40:47 1999 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id EAA07840; Tue, 31 Aug 1999 04:38:37 GMT Received: from post.super.net.pk (post.super.net.pk [203.130.2.9]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id EAA07822 for ; Tue, 31 Aug 1999 04:38:32 GMT Received: from excel586 (khi-line-046.super.net.pk [203.130.5.185]) by post.super.net.pk (8.9.1/8.9.1) with SMTP id JAA31120 for ; Tue, 31 Aug 1999 09:45:37 -0500 Message-Id: <199908311445.JAA31120@post.super.net.pk> From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Tue, 31 Aug 1999 09:40:02 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: [Pakistan] Economic Survey 1998-99 on the net X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.01d) Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Check http://www.finance.gov.pk to read the latest Economic Survey, a report prepared by the the Pakistan government's Ministry of Finance. This is the first time that the survey has been published on the net along with the traditional paper-format. Irfan From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Tue Aug 31 04:40:47 1999 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id EAA07845; Tue, 31 Aug 1999 04:38:39 GMT Received: from post.super.net.pk (post.super.net.pk [203.130.2.9]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id EAA07828 for ; Tue, 31 Aug 1999 04:38:34 GMT Received: from excel586 (khi-line-046.super.net.pk [203.130.5.185]) by post.super.net.pk (8.9.1/8.9.1) with SMTP id JAA31123 for ; Tue, 31 Aug 1999 09:45:39 -0500 Message-Id: <199908311445.JAA31123@post.super.net.pk> From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Tue, 31 Aug 1999 09:40:01 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: Union Bank of India (UBI) to start 'anywhere banking' X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.01d) Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT UBI to start 'anywhere banking' The state owned Union Bank of India would network its 400 branches across the country to provide 'anywhere banking' services by the end of next month, claims A T Pannir Selvam, UBI Chairman and Managing Director. The network with 50 controlling centres will account for 65 per cent of the bank's business. It will enable a customer to access his account from anywhere of the networked branches, Selvam said. He was speaking to reporters during the National Conference on Financial Reforms: Banks and Financial Institutions. The seminar was organised today in New Delhi by the Confederation of Indian Industry. Selvam said the network would enable inter-banking transactions through ATMs and other means. "The anywhere banking service will be available to all our customers including corporations and retail customers," he said. The bank is awaiting the cyber laws to be enacted to enable the customers to bank through the Internet. "Problems of encryption and signature recognition needs to be resolved before setting up a complete payment system," Selvam added. In a bid to boost its Tier II capital above the mandatory 9 per cent, the UBI will tap the market with subordinated debt issue of Rs 3000 million with the option of retaining another Rs 2000 million, the bank CMD said. "The bank will come out of the issue now and the IPO will be issued next fiscal," he added. -- UNI http://www.rediff.com/computer/1999/aug/24ubi.htm From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Tue Aug 31 04:40:47 1999 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id EAA07813; Tue, 31 Aug 1999 04:38:29 GMT Received: from post.super.net.pk (post.super.net.pk [203.130.2.9]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id EAA07799 for ; Tue, 31 Aug 1999 04:38:24 GMT Received: from excel586 (khi-line-046.super.net.pk [203.130.5.185]) by post.super.net.pk (8.9.1/8.9.1) with SMTP id JAA31102 for ; Tue, 31 Aug 1999 09:45:25 -0500 Message-Id: <199908311445.JAA31102@post.super.net.pk> From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Tue, 31 Aug 1999 09:40:02 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: [Pakistan] Y2K compliance update X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.01d) Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT At a seminar organised by the Management Association of Pakistan (MAP) on 24 August 1999, representatives of the following public sector utilities informed that their organisations have become Y2K compliant: - Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) - Pakistan Telecommunication Company Ltd (PTCL) - Karachi Electric Supply Corporation (KESC) for details, see http://www.brecorder.com/story/S0010/S1004/S1004106.htm Irfan From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Tue Aug 31 04:40:49 1999 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id EAA07820; Tue, 31 Aug 1999 04:38:31 GMT Received: from post.super.net.pk (post.super.net.pk [203.130.2.9]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id EAA07802 for ; Tue, 31 Aug 1999 04:38:26 GMT Received: from excel586 (khi-line-046.super.net.pk [203.130.5.185]) by post.super.net.pk (8.9.1/8.9.1) with SMTP id JAA31106 for ; Tue, 31 Aug 1999 09:45:29 -0500 Message-Id: <199908311445.JAA31106@post.super.net.pk> From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Tue, 31 Aug 1999 09:40:02 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: These guys take you on India siteseeing X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.01d) Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT These guys take you on India siteseeing Nasima H Khan FROM maps, myths and history to trade, travel, business and economic information - India's there for the browsing on the super- highway. Maybe slick designs are yet to catch on, but the country is definitely caught in the web. Yet some feel that comprehensive information about India is lacking and that the world still sees us as a country of snake charmers. And there's a number of people at this moment launching new pages all the time to fill in that perceived lacuna. "There isn't enough information about India on the web," says Anurag Chandra Gupta. Which is why he is launching his ambitious site yatraindia.com. "This is a website where you can get everything you need on India - tourism, business and just about everything when we finish." Gupta, who is chairman of Hexadecimal Computers, has already put a whole range of tourist destinations on his site with a strong emphasis on the pictorial. "It has to be totally pictorial," he says. With an ad on every page and no scroll, the user-friendly site (to be launched in September) invites you to click for more details, link- ups, cross references and even 180 degree rotations of pictures. Gupta has already sunk Rs 2 crore in the first phase of getting the project on line and expects to spend Rs 4-5 crore by the end of it. "We're building up the core - the cultural heritage of the people of India," he says. The second phase will cover business. And aiming for the gap in the arts is Almona Bhatia. "Indian prints are so popular overseas, especially among Indians," says the marketing professional who's working for Associated Press in India. Bhatia has tied up with Bobby Kohli who runs an art gallery called Visions. And has put the current exhibition of Ravi Varma prints online at indiaartmart.com. "It's amazing how yesterday's calendar art is valued so highly today. Some of the prints are over 100 years old," she says pointing out the embroidery and other details in a Ravi Varma print. The online gallery specifies `signed Ravi Verma', and the order can be placed online through credit cards. The prints are sold in the original old frames or new frames and are shipped out as is. "But so far people have said keep it for us, we'll pick it up when we visit Delhi or some relative or the other will collect it and so on. Our buyers are mostly NRIs," she adds. Seeking to fill the lacuna on Delhi is 19-year-old Zubin Mathews who is home on summer vacation from studying in the University of Chicago. Says Mathews, "Almost all other websites on Delhi act as yellow pages." The one Mathews is launching mid-September will be a "comprehensive, user-friendly site" which "catches the pulse of Delhi" and can be accessed using a yahoo search engine. The site (yet to be launched) www.metrodelhi.com will have information not just on restaurants - "all sites list the ones in 5- star hotels" - but also night clubs, events, shopping bargains, sports and local news. And Mathews has done his homework. "There are 80,000 connections in Delhi. And if you take about three persons surfing the internet per connection, that's two lakh people. That's who we're targeting," he says. Yet another new portal, in.Orientation.Com, with India-specific information both in Hindi and English on the same page, has just been launched. It is the only portal with bilingual facility for India, says Varun Gupta, business development manager of DSF Internet Services which, together with orientation.com, a US-based firm dealing with internet related services, has developed the engine. The new spurt of India-specific websites could well be a fallout of the Kargil flare up, considering the number of personal home pages that are burgeoning and declaring their love and pride for the country in addition, of course, to many other websites that give rudimentary information on India. http://www.economictimes.com/today/29tech02.htm