From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Wed Dec 2 13:58:59 1998 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id NAA13428; Wed, 2 Dec 1998 13:53:55 GMT Received: from fh102.infi.net (fh102.infi.net [208.131.160.101]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id NAA13421 for ; Wed, 2 Dec 1998 13:53:49 GMT Received: from akron.infi.net (pm2-69.akr.infi.net [207.0.173.69]) by fh102.infi.net (8.8.8/8.8.8) with ESMTP id IAA01193; Wed, 2 Dec 1998 08:53:02 -0500 (EST) Message-ID: <3666987C.3AC4EC1A@akron.infi.net> Date: Thu, 03 Dec 1998 08:56:12 -0500 From: Bob Pyke Jr X-Mailer: Mozilla 4.5 [en] (Win95; U) X-Accept-Language: en MIME-Version: 1.0 To: Ellie Skeele Subject: [Fwd: [***] Nepal Forward Foundation] Content-Type: multipart/mixed; boundary="------------A565A306561D7D196972BB53" Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk This is a multi-part message in MIME format. --------------A565A306561D7D196972BB53 Content-Type: text/html; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit  

"T.Matthew Ciolek" wrote:

The Asian Studies WWW Monitor: early December 1998, Vol. 5, No. 70
--------------------------------------------------
01 Dec 1998

Nepal Forward Foundation

Nepal Forward, US

Supplied note: "Nepal Forward supports, designs and implements
development, environmental and human rights projects in Nepal. Our website
provides information about our projects and outlines volunteer opportunities."

Site contents: Gurkha Restitution, Bagmati Development, Mustang
Ecotourism, Organic Agriculture, Alternative Energy, Industrial Estates,
Bagmati Sanitation, Rural Electrification, City Transit.

URL http://www.nepalforward.org

Link suggested by: Mina Kumar (minak@concentric.net)

* Resource type [news - documents - study - corporate info. - online guide]:
        Corporate Info.
* Scholarly usefulness [essential - v.useful - useful - interesting - marginal]:
        Useful
--------------------------------------------------
Src: The Asian Studies WWW Monitor ISSN 1329-9778
URL http://coombs.anu.edu.au/asia-www-monitor.html
Announce your new/improved Asian Studies' Web sites
via http://coombs.anu.edu.au/regasia.html

- regards -

-
Dr T. Matthew CIOLEK           tmciolek@coombs.anu.edu.au
Head, Internet Publications Bureau
RSPAS,  The Australian National University
ph +61 (02) 6249 0110      fax: +61 (02) 6257 1893
http://www.ciolek.com/PEOPLE/ciolek-tm.html
-=============================================-

--
Asian Studies WWW Virtual Library invites additional editors
http://coombs.anu.edu.au/WWWVLAsian/VLEditors.html
--
to unsubscribe from the list send e-mail
to: majordomo@coombs.anu.edu.au
message:  unsubscribe Asia-WWW-Monitor <your e-mail address>

--------------A565A306561D7D196972BB53 Content-Type: message/rfc822 Content-Disposition: inline Return-Path: Received: from postbox.anu.edu.au (postbox.anu.edu.au [150.203.224.16]) by fh102.infi.net (8.8.8/8.8.8) with ESMTP id DAA14980 for ; Wed, 2 Dec 1998 03:12:46 -0500 (EST) Received: from localhost (root@localhost) by postbox.anu.edu.au (8.9.1/8.9.1) with SMTP id BAA13432; Wed, 2 Dec 1998 01:20:47 -0500 (EST) Received: by postbox.anu.edu.au (bulk_mailer v1.5); Wed, 2 Dec 1998 01:18:05 -0500 Received: (from root@localhost) by postbox.anu.edu.au (8.9.1/8.9.1) id BAA13144 for asia-www-monitor-outgoing; Wed, 2 Dec 1998 01:18:04 -0500 (EST) Received: from coombs.anu.edu.au (coombs.anu.edu.au [150.203.224.2]) by postbox.anu.edu.au (8.9.1/8.9.1) with ESMTP id BAA13138 for ; Wed, 2 Dec 1998 01:17:58 -0500 (EST) Received: from [150.203.224.181] (ciolek.anu.edu.au [150.203.224.181]) by coombs.anu.edu.au (8.9.1/8.9.1) with SMTP id RAA10608 for ; Wed, 2 Dec 1998 17:13:22 +1100 (EDT) Message-Id: <199812020613.RAA10608@coombs.anu.edu.au> X-Sender: tmc407@coombs.anu.edu.au Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Date: Wed, 2 Dec 1998 17:22:46 +1100 To: asia-www-monitor@coombs.anu.edu.au From: "T.Matthew Ciolek" Subject: [***] Nepal Forward Foundation Sender: owner-asia-www-monitor@coombs.anu.edu.au X-Mozilla-Status2: 00000000 The Asian Studies WWW Monitor: early December 1998, Vol. 5, No. 70 -------------------------------------------------- 01 Dec 1998 Nepal Forward Foundation Nepal Forward, US Supplied note: "Nepal Forward supports, designs and implements development, environmental and human rights projects in Nepal. Our website provides information about our projects and outlines volunteer opportunities." Site contents: Gurkha Restitution, Bagmati Development, Mustang Ecotourism, Organic Agriculture, Alternative Energy, Industrial Estates, Bagmati Sanitation, Rural Electrification, City Transit. URL http://www.nepalforward.org Link suggested by: Mina Kumar (minak@concentric.net) * Resource type [news - documents - study - corporate info. - online guide]: Corporate Info. * Scholarly usefulness [essential - v.useful - useful - interesting - marginal]: Useful -------------------------------------------------- Src: The Asian Studies WWW Monitor ISSN 1329-9778 URL http://coombs.anu.edu.au/asia-www-monitor.html Announce your new/improved Asian Studies' Web sites via http://coombs.anu.edu.au/regasia.html - regards - - Dr T. Matthew CIOLEK tmciolek@coombs.anu.edu.au Head, Internet Publications Bureau RSPAS, The Australian National University ph +61 (02) 6249 0110 fax: +61 (02) 6257 1893 http://www.ciolek.com/PEOPLE/ciolek-tm.html -=============================================- -- Asian Studies WWW Virtual Library invites additional editors http://coombs.anu.edu.au/WWWVLAsian/VLEditors.html -- to unsubscribe from the list send e-mail to: majordomo@coombs.anu.edu.au message: unsubscribe Asia-WWW-Monitor --------------A565A306561D7D196972BB53 Content-Type: text/x-vcard; charset=us-ascii; name="repyke.vcf" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Description: Card for Bob Pyke Jr Content-Disposition: attachment; filename="repyke.vcf" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit begin:vcard n:;Bob Pyke Jr x-mozilla-html:TRUE version:2.1 email;internet:repyke@akron.infi.net x-mozilla-cpt:;0 fn:Bob Pyke Jr end:vcard --------------A565A306561D7D196972BB53-- From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Wed Dec 2 18:59:00 1998 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id SAA20160; Wed, 2 Dec 1998 18:57:46 GMT Received: from jubilee.ns.sympatico.ca (jubilee.ns.sympatico.ca [142.177.1.6]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id SAA20156 for ; Wed, 2 Dec 1998 18:57:43 GMT Received: from LOCALNAME ([142.177.93.35]) by jubilee.ns.sympatico.ca (Post.Office MTA v3.1.2 release (PO203-101c) ID# 607-45892U60000L60000S0) with SMTP id AAA29545 for ; Wed, 2 Dec 1998 14:58:15 -0400 From: kerryo@ns.sympatico.ca (Kerry Miller) Organization: hundred flowers publications To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Wed, 2 Dec 1998 14:55:39 -0400 Subject: Re: Nepal Forward Foundation In-reply-to: <3666987C.3AC4EC1A@akron.infi.net> X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Windows (v3.01b) Message-ID: <19981202185814.AAA29545@LOCALNAME> Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk >Site contents: Gurkha Restitution, Bagmati Development, Mustang >Ecotourism, Organic Agriculture, Alternative Energy, Industrial Estates, >Bagmati Sanitation, Rural Electrification, City Transit. http://www.nepalforward.org/support.htm I note that they are looking to fill several volunteer positions for an upcoming (*3/99*) conference: program coordinator, project analyst, and and director of fundraising. From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Thu Dec 3 03:29:11 1998 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id DAA02019; Thu, 3 Dec 1998 03:27:46 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 DAA02011 for ; Thu, 3 Dec 1998 03:27:40 GMT Received: from ngorc ([203.130.5.216]) by isp.super.net.pk (8.9.1/8.9.1) with SMTP id IAA21919 for ; Thu, 3 Dec 1998 08:25:53 +0500 (GMT+0500) Message-Id: <199812030325.IAA21919@isp.super.net.pk> From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Thu, 3 Dec 1998 08:30:34 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: India's Net Use to Triple in 1999 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's Net Use to Triple in 1999 By Madanmohan Rao InternetNews.com India Correspondent [November 25, 1998--BANGALORE] The rush by private ISPs to capture chunks of the newly liberalised Indian Internet market continues, with analysts now expecting 1.5 million Internet users to be online by year 2000--up from the current estimated 500,000 users on the Net. In the western state of Gujarat, ICENET has become the first company to receive a private ISP license. Its proposed value-added offerings include Web site design and hosting. Targeted businesses and consumers for ICENET will be in the cities of Vadodara, Rajkot, Jamnagar, Bhavnagar, Surat and Gandhinagar. "By the end of the year, we can expect to see major positioning moves from 6-8 national ISPs--such as VSNL, MTNL, Satyam Infoway, Bharti-BT and Global Telesystems--plus 5-6 medium-size players in each major metro, and at least 10-20 smaller players," said Ajit Balakrishnan, managing director of the popular Indian Webzine and e-commerce site Rediff on the Net. Trying to become more competitive, monopoly long distance carrier and commercial sector ISP Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (VSNL) has reduced its Internet access rates over the past three years, from Rs. 25,000 for 250 hours down to Rs. 10,000 for a 500-hour account (1 USD = Rs. 43). VSNL will be spinning off a separate subsidiary company called VSNL Seamless Services Pvt. Ltd. (VSSL), focusing on value-added services like EDI. VSNL is planning to bundle Internet access with PC purchases, via "Internet-ready" computers. VSNL has also been a partner in major under-sea cable projects, such as the SEA-MEA-WEA which stretches from Japan to the U.S. via India, the Middle East, South Africa and Europe. Players eyeing partnerships for cable-TV Internet access include Pentafour Software and Exports, which is setting up a wide area network of IBM AS 400 mainframes which can be used for interactive TV and Internet access services, according to managing director V. Chandrasekaran. Major ISP player Satyam Infoway has launched a content and community- oriented Web site called SatyamOnline with news and discussion on a wide range of topics like politics, car finance, and music. India on the Internet, an Internet solutions company based in Calcutta, has launched a comprehensive news site called AllIndiaNews, geared at Internet users who would appreciate a round-the-clock news service on the Web. But ISPs may face challenges in getting enough telephone lines in the four big Indian cities--Bombay, Delhi, Bangalore and Madras--from where up to 70 per cent of new ISP connection demand is expected to come. Legal and regulatory challenges still arise in areas like setting of access tariffs for private ISPs, international gateways, Internet telephony, and opening up of the last-mile telecom market. "The most revolutionary aspect of India's Internet policy is letting ISPs do the last mile connect--and this could well be the source of litigation from basic service license holders who worry about voice over IP," predicted Balakrishnan. The Indian government has now set up a 12-member expert group on telecommunications, headed by deputy chairman of planning commission Jaswant Singh, to make recommendations on these issues. For the coming months, moves in ISP business and regulation are expected to dominate the Internet market, while prospective ISPs gear up with value-added offerings in content, community, e-commerce and intranetworking. Earlier this week, India's first privately run ISP, Satyam Infoway, launched its Internet access service. It hopes to sign up 100,000 subscribers in its first year of operation from almost 40 cities, according to managing director R. Ramaraj. Nearly 300 private firms have joined the race to launch ISPs. Last modified: Wednesday, 25-Nov-1998 12:01:21 EST http://www.internetnews.com/intl-news/1998/11/2503-india.html From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Mon Dec 14 02:07:52 1998 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id CAA01004; Mon, 14 Dec 1998 02:00:16 GMT Received: from garlic.negia.net (IDENT:root@garlic.negia.net [206.61.0.14]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id CAA01000 for ; Mon, 14 Dec 1998 02:00:11 GMT Received: from idn.org (p93.negia.net [207.43.201.103]) by garlic.negia.net (8.8.5/8.8.5) with ESMTP id UAA07952; Sun, 13 Dec 1998 20:34:55 -0500 Message-ID: <36747063.AD565D70@idn.org> Date: Sun, 13 Dec 1998 20:56:51 -0500 From: Christopher Byrne Organization: International Development Network X-Mailer: Mozilla 4.04 [en] (Win95; U) MIME-Version: 1.0 To: info@idn.org Subject: This Week at the International Development Network 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 Greetings and apologies for any cross-posting! Over 465 people have downloaded the vacancy announcements posted by the Research Triangle Institute's Center for International Development. To find out how your organization can place vacancy announcements on the IDN Web Site as a sponsoring member, please send an e-mail to membership@idn.org. Here is what is new at the IDN this week: __________________________________________________________________ This week's "Tools You Can Use" from the International Development Network (IDN) at http://www.idn.org/ is a link to the web site for Australian Agency for International Development Business Opportunities. Last week's tool was a link to the web site for "Working with Great Britain's Department for International Development (DFID)" as an employee, contractor and/or NGO grantee. _______________________________________________________________________ QUICK LINK OF THE WEEK This week's quick link is to the OECD DAC Development Cooperation Review of Luxembourg. Last week's quick link was to the FY 1998 Audit Reports of the USAID Inspector General. _______________________________________________________________________ NEW LINKS Association for the Development of Education in Africa - focuses on developing partnerships between Ministers of Education and funding agencies in order to promote effective education policies based on African leadership and ownership. Brazilian Development Bank - an institution linked to the Planning and Budget Ministry, is the chief federal agency for long-term funding which aims at promote the country's development. The International AIDS Economics Network (IAEN) - is a collaborative group of researchers, development workers, and policymakers interested in the economics of HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment. The International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN) - is a partnership of over 150 groups working to improving infant health through the protection of breastfeeding. International Telecomputing Consortium -   is a nonprofit organization that helps rural and overseas schools use new technologies. Nordic Consulting Group - offers advisory and consulting services in development assistance within a wide range of sectors. Save the Children - Canada South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation - is a manifestation of the determination of the peoples of South Asia to work together towards finding solutions to their common problems in a spirit of friendship, trust and understanding and to create an order based on mutual respect, equity and shared benefits. The Mountain Institute - a nonprofit scientific and educational organization committed to the preservation of mountain environments and advancement of mountain cultures around the world. Note: The IDN did not send an update mail last week. These links were added on December 6, 1998: Arkleton Centre for Rural Development Research (ACRDR) - set up in November 1995 to research the issues of rural change and development in Europe, including developments in rural policy and practice. CICAT - is the central liaison office of the Delft University of Technology (DUT) providing its faculties and departments with management support in the field of development cooperation activities. The European Environment Information and Observation NETwork (EIONET) - created as the main vehicle of the European Environment Agency to collect data, information and knowledge for the process of reporting on the state of environment. FUNREDES - is an International Non-Governmental Organisation, NGO, dedicated to disseminate the Newer Information and Communications Technologies (NICT) in developing countries. The Inter-American Dialogue - U.S. center for policy analysis, communication, and exchange on Western Hemisphere affairs. The International Bureau of Education (IBE) - is a UNESCO centre for information and research in the field of comparative education. Nepal Forward Foundation - provides volunteers and charitable assistance to support human rights, environmental health and sustainable development in Nepal. ORBICOM - The International Network of UNESCO Chairs and Associates in Communications. University of Saskatchewan International - participates in projects involving institutional development and human resources development in a number of countries within the developing world as well as in the process of democratic development in the former Soviet Union and other countries of central and eastern Europe. World University Service - is an international NGO focusing on education, development and human rights. _______________________________________________________________________ New Publications (Posted December 6, 1998) Health Dimensions of Sex and Reproduction "From the health risks of sexual activity to those of pregnancy, abortion, and childbirth, reproduction constitutes enormous risks to a woman's health. Ill-health conditions related to sex and reproduction account for 25 percent of the global disease burden in adult women. This volume offers comprehensive data and detailed discussions of the epidemiologies of three sexually transmitted diseases, HIV, and five specific maternal conditions, as well as those of congenital anomalies and perinatal conditions. Health Dimensions of Sex and Reproduction will serve as a comprehensive reference for epidemiologists, public health specialists, practitioners and advocates of STD and HIV prevention, and reproductive and neonatal health."        - from Amazon Books This book is available from the IDN Bookstore, in association with Amazon Books. You can also visit the IDN Bookstore for over 790 Titles covering a variety of development topics or you can search for titles of your own interest. _______________________________________________________________________ THE DEVELOPMENT FRONT - Selected Sample Headlines From Dec 7-12 The following is a small sample of the headline links and full text stories provided in "The Development Front" newsletter sent to sponsoring members of the IDN each day last week: US$ 70.40 Million Loan for Potable Water Supply in Algeria Approved Canada to Provide Humanitarian Aid to Russian Communities in the Far North Morocco: Loan of  ECU 9 million for Settat sewerage scheme IDB Pledges $3.0 Billion For Central America IDB And Spain Sign $1 Million For Central America Brazil Recognizes Jurisdiction of Inter-American Court of Human Rights Jamaican Attorney General Urges Human Rights Commission to Speed up Consideration of Death Penalty Appeals Broadcasters Set Aside a Day for Children Worldwide New Financial Support for Poorest Countries Neighboring Russia First World Asthma Day Launched Brazil Refuses Foreign Donations to the Environment Countries with poor human rights records defend themselves at U.N. Aid agencies say Senegal blocking supplies into Guinea-Bissau Flamethrower now an option on S. African cars India ends non-tariff barriers to Bangladesh goods China keeps close eye on growing Internet use Cuomo Announces $5 Million in HUD Aid to Rebuild Central American Housing; Honduras Receives Donated Tools 'High-Rhetoric' Fight Between World Bank, IMF Commonwealth 'no longer a relic of British Empire', S.Leone inflation shrinking with foreign aid inflow INTERVIEW-Uganda finmin says reaping fruits of openness Donors say commit $2.2 bln to Uganda over three yrs Sudan urges assistance for African refugees An Ill-Conceived Way to Fight Abortion Prince looks to UN for fresh aid France to send humanitarian aid to Comoros Russia works out programme to cut food imports US$ 276 Million Loan for the Economic and Social Reform Program in Morocco US$ 110.41 Million Loan for the Post, Telecommunications and Information Technologies in Morocco Development Partnership Forum on Aid Untying, Procurement and Capacity Building EBRD Assists the Reconstruction of Croatia's Rail Network Statistical Institutes Face Resource Crunch Gains by Women Reversed in Economic Downturn ESCAP Says Inland Waterways and Maritime Sector Need More Attention ESCAP Unveils 'Bold' Reform to Meet Millennium Needs South Pacific Forum Announces Appointment of Deputy Secretary General IDB Governors Reach Historic Cooperation Agreement Central America Draws Strong Support at Donors Meeting "New Directions in Asian Housing Finance" Released 1.9 Million Dead from Sudan's Civil War; More Than 70,000 Deaths in 1998, Report Estimates UNDP to Discuss Major Relief And Recovery Effort for Central America Board Approves First IDA Guarantee for Private Sector Initiative Mozambique Receives $150 Million Grant Emergency Recovery and Disaster Management Program for the Caribbean Receives Financing A New Partnership: Kampala Meeting Engages Government, Civil Society, and Donors Proposed New Experimental Lending Instrument to Help Address Problem of Primary Education Quality in Bangladesh _______________________________________________________________________ The State of the World's Children 1999 The "State of the World's Children 1999" report tells the stories of a world community unwilling to accept the consequences of illiteracy or to be denied the human right to a quality education. With the Convention on the Rights of the Child as a guiding framework, governments, policy makers, educators, community leaders, parents and children themselves are advancing an education revolution. Their goal—Education For All."     -from the UNICEF Summary The IDN provides a direct link to this report at http://www.idn.org/ _______________________________________________________________________ The IDN plans to continue our growth and to expand the depth and breadth of our information services. If you have not yet thought about a membership/sponsorship in the IDN, we encourage you to consider becoming a sponsor/member of the fastest growing, most comprehensive and current International Development Web Site on the Internet! Information is available at http://www.idn.org/membership/ From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Wed Dec 16 00:24:22 1998 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id AAA09582; Wed, 16 Dec 1998 00:22:03 GMT Received: from jubilee.ns.sympatico.ca (jubilee.ns.sympatico.ca [142.177.1.6]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id AAA09576 for ; Wed, 16 Dec 1998 00:21:56 GMT Received: from LOCALNAME ([142.177.9.98]) by jubilee.ns.sympatico.ca (Post.Office MTA v3.1.2 release (PO203-101c) ID# 607-45892U60000L60000S0) with SMTP id AAA21648; Tue, 15 Dec 1998 20:22:32 -0400 Received: from chumbly.math.missouri.edu ([128.206.72.12]) by jubilee.ns.sympatico.ca (Post.Office MTA v3.1.2 release (PO203-101c) ID# 607-45892U60000L60000S0) with ESMTP id AAA17760 for ; Tue, 15 Dec 1998 14:20:29 -0400 Received: from localhost (lists@localhost) by chumbly.math.missouri.edu (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with SMTP id MAA10359; Tue, 15 Dec 1998 12:16:44 -0600 (CST) Received: by chumbly.math.missouri.edu (bulk_mailer v1.9); Tue, 15 Dec 1998 12:16:44 -0600 Date: Mon, 14 Dec 1998 22:24:33 -0600 (CST) From: Jillaine Smith Subject: The Drum Beat - Int'l Communications newsletter Organization: ? Article: 50021 To: undisclosed-recipients:; Message-ID: Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk I want to alert folks to a new e-newsletter from The Communication Initiative that focuses on communications policy and practice more at an international level. Here's the recent issue. Subscription info can be found on their website (see below). -- Jillaine Smith, Benton Foundation From: Warren Feek Subject: The Drum Beat - 8 - The Commun Date: Fri, 4 Dec 1998 17:41:31 -0800 Drum Beat - 8 - Communication and Change News and Issues December 7th, 1998 The email and web network from THE COMMUNICATION INITIATIVE partnership - The Rockefeller Foundation, UNICEF, USAID, WHO, BBC World Service, CIDA, Johns Hopkins University Center for Communication Programs, Soul City, The Panos Institute, UNFPA. Information, ideas, linkages and dialogue on communication, development and change. Web Site: http://www.comminit.com Contact: wfeek@coastnet.com PROGRAMMES 1. Debt Cancellation Campaign - Zambia - Churches are continuing their communication campaign for writing-off Zambia's external debt. A coalition of churches is steering the campaign with an emphasis on a theological/moral case for debt cancellation. Zambia owes US$ 7.1 billion to donor countries and international financial institutions - US$ 750 for each individual in Zambia. More government money is spent on debt servicing than education and health combined. 70% of the population lives below the poverty line. The principle of co-responsibility is an essential element of the campaign. Contact Fackson Banda ccz@zamnet.zm 2. TV Maxambomba - Brazil - is a programme with CECIP [Centre for the Creation of Popular Image] based on the principle that a democratic society results from conscious and participant communities. Programme elements include: public screenings of videos on social issues followed by community debates; 'Reporteres de Barrio' - video production training for youth; 'Puxanda Conversa' - recording and presenting new samba composers and musicians; and 'Botando a Mao na Midia' [Hands on the Media] - working with students to encourage critical insight into communication possibilities. Web Site http://www.sunsite.unc.edu/cecip/cecip.htm Contact Claudius Ceccon cecip@ax.apc.org 3. Participatory Communication - UNICEF is continuing to train facilitators for the 'Workshop on Strengthening Participatory Attitudes in Communication and Development", most recently in Amman, Jordan. Workshop components include: Principles of Participation; Adult Learning; Problem Solving; Designing and Institutionalising Participatory Processes; and Applying Principles of Participation with the Mass Media. Contact Silvia Luciani sluciani@unicef.org 4. Radio Station in a Suit Case - A complete radio station is available from Wantok Enterprises Ltd in Canada. It includes: studio console; power distribution board; consol microphone; six channel audio mixer; CD and cassette players; edit cord and plug; transmitter; and other features. Contact wantok@mb.sympatico.ca 5. Unidad de Radio - Colombia - is a programme of the Ministerio de Cultura seeking to support the article in the country's constitution which provides a guarantee to "freely express and defuse thought and opinions...and to establish means of mass communication." The programme: promotes and participates in public debate on legislation relating to radio; assists the development of radio stations; and trains radio managers. Contact Jeanine El'Gazi jenciso@dnp.gov.co [write "For Jeanine El'Gazi" in subject area.] 6. Health Futures - The World Health Organization is planning Health Futures, a 100,000 square foot exhibition at the World Exposition EXPO 2000 (Hannover, Germany, 1 June to 31 Oct. 2000). The exhibition will show how trends relating to urbanization, youth health, ageing, and technology for health could be used as driving forces for the promotion of better health. Foundations, NGOs, research institutions, academia and businesses are invited to present their approach(es). Contact: Monika Gehner Gehnerm@who.ch. 7. Community Radio - Malawi - the Media Women's Association's radio station - Dzimwe Community Radio Station - is on air. The coordinator is Ms. Patricia Chipungu-Thodi fax 265 671257/353 e-mail address dgmbc@malawi.net 8. Third World Network Features offers news and features on issues of direct relevance to the South. Each week, dispatches are sent via email. Service is expanding to include issues from India. Contact Frederick Noronha oibs@bom2.vsnl.net.in FEATURED on THE COMMUNICATION INITIATIVE WEB SITE http://www.comminit.com 9. Interview - with Shivaji Bhattacharya and Kunal Sinha of Thompson Social Communication, a specialist unit of the top-billing advertising agency in India. The interview provides insight into the ad agency's approach to social communication. http://www.comminit.com/interview.html 10. For Review - The Strategy and Activities of EcoNews' Community Media Programme in East Africa. Lynne Muthoni Wanyeki outlines the strategic approach and main activities of EcoNews' Community Media programme. http://www.comminit.com/peerrev.html 11. Partnerships - Strategic ideas on ways to develop mutually beneficial partnerships that are not dependent on paying for services or air time. Communication organisations - overall perspective http://www.comminit.com/power_point/partnership_strategies/sld010.htm Community Media http://www.comminit.com/power_point/partnership_strategies/sld006.htm Entertainment Companies and Organisations http://www.comminit.com/power_point/partnership_strategies/sld007.htm Popular Goods and Services Companies and Organisations http://www.comminit.com/power_point/partnership_strategies/sld008.htm News Media Organisations http://www.comminit.com/power_point/partnership_strategies/sld009.htm 12. The Communication Initiative web site - we are redesigning the home page so it is quicker and easier to access. http://www.comminit.com WEB SITES 13. The Benton Foundation's "Best Practices Toolkit" is a collection of resources aiming to help nongovernmental organisations use information technology more effectively. Topics include: Planning, implementation & evaluation; Organizing & advocacy tools; Publicizing your efforts; and Technology funding for nonprofits. Web site http://www.benton.org/Practice/Toolkit Contact Jillaine Smith jillaine@benton.org 14. On the OneWorld site is an article by the Editor, Mark Lynas, on Internet use in the South. It includes links to other relevant articles and sites. http://www.oneworld.org/editors_letter/latest.html 15. The participant recommendations from the 26 & 27 Oct., 1998 conference on "Partnerships and Participation in Telecommunications for Rural Development", hosted by The Don Snowden Program for Development Communication are now available. http://www.snowden.org/conference/index.cfm 16. The Entertainment Industries Council, Inc. provides a social and health issues resource web site for writers, producers and directors of television shows and feature films. The site includes resource links to experts on issues such as HIV/AIDS, drug abuse and addiction, tobacco control, traffic safety and drunk driving. EIC activities also include the annual PRISM awards. Site address is http://www.eiconline.org Contact Brian Dyak BDy ak@aol.com 17. The National Network of The Libraries of Medicine includes research reviews by leading American communication academics [Bowes, Kerr, Witte, Marshall, Haselkorn, Rogers] on themes such as "Technical Communication: Perspectives on Planning and Evaluating Information Outreach", "Planning and Evaluating Information Outreach Among Minority Communities"; and "Communication and Community Development for Health Information: Constructs and Models for Evaluation" http://www.nnlm.nlm.nih.gov/pnr/eval/consul.html 18. Voices of Youth was highlighted in Drum Beat 7- The correct web site address is http://www.unicef.org/voy/ Apologies! GATHERINGS 19. The African Media Partners Network - a network of donors funding media projects in Africa met recently. The network is coordinated by GRET. Contact Florence Minery minery@gret.org 20. The 4th European IUHPE Conference on Effectiveness and Quality of Health Promotion will be held 16-19 May, 1999 in Helsinki and Tallinn. The conference is for all interested in the effectiveness and quality of health promotion. Contact Miia Eronen miia.eronen@health.fi 21. The strategic use of new information and communication technologies to create a consensus and mobilize resources for population and development programmes was the focus of an international seminar in Ankara, Turkey, from 1-4 Dec., sponsored by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Government of Turkey. Contact Silvie Cohen cohen@unfpa.org MATERIALS 22. A special issue of TIERRAMERICA on Climate Change was distributed both in English and Spanish during the 2-12 Nov. Conference of the Parties (COP4) on the Convention on Climate Change in Buenos Aires. The issue has articles by Michael Zammit Cutajar, Secretary General of the Convention; Maria Julia Alsogaray, Secretary of Environment of Argentina; former President of Costa Rica Jose Figueres; and Maurice Strong, President of the Earth Council, among others. TIERRAMERICA is a platform of communication for Human and Sustainable Development, published in leading Latin American newspapers. Contact: Alfonso Gumucio gumucio-dagron@bigfoot.com 23. Johns Hopkins University Center for Communication Programs produces a number of publications and products in support of communication, development and change work. For example 'Arab Women Speak Out: Profiles of Self Empowerment [1997]." There is an order form on http://www.jhuccp.org or email Hugh Rigby on hrigby@jhuccp.org PEOPLE 24. Health Unlimited is seeking consultants for three adolescent reproductive health related projects in Lao PDR. They will: assess information needs in order to produce IEC materials; improve access to radio, listening patterns and programme preferences; identify vulnerable groups of young people; and identify and involve appropriate partners. Consultancies commence Feb. 1999. Contact Madeleine Hammond ae161@dial.pipex.com or fax 0171 582 5900. *** Many thanks to everyone submitting information and to all who have taken time to send in comments and ideas. Please keep the electronic cards and letters flowing! Best wishes - Warren Feek wfeek@coastnet.com on behalf of the partner organisations. * To subscribe to the Benton Communications-Related Headlines, send email to: listserv@cdinet.com In the body of the message, type only: subscribe benton-compolicy YourFirstName YourLastName To unsubscribe, send email to: listserv@cdinet.com In the body of the message, type only: signoff benton-compolicy If you have any problems with the service, please direct them to benton@benton.org From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Thu Dec 17 06:04:46 1998 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id GAA09909; Thu, 17 Dec 1998 06:00:45 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 GAA09892 for ; Thu, 17 Dec 1998 06:00:22 GMT Received: from ngorc ([203.130.5.182]) by isp.super.net.pk (8.9.1/8.9.1) with SMTP id KAA32317 for ; Thu, 17 Dec 1998 10:58:24 +0500 (GMT+0500) Message-Id: <199812170558.KAA32317@isp.super.net.pk> From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Thu, 17 Dec 1998 11:03:24 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: call for chapters 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: Tue, 15 Dec 1998 17:59:28 -0500 From: "A.K.Aggarwal" Subject: call for chapters To: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net CALL FOR CHAPTERS Web-Based Learning & Teaching Technologies: Opportunities and Challenges Edited by: A. K. Aggarwal, University of Baltimore (USA) e-mail:aaggarwal@ubmail.ubalt.edu url:ubmail.ubalt.edu/~aaggarwal/book.html Background During the past two decades, telecommunication technologies combined with Web-Enabled technologies have created a new technology known as "Web-Based Learning & Teaching Technologies". This new technology has been changing the very concepts of education around the world. Colleges and universities of all sizes are now facing many challenges and opportunities offered by this new technology-based concept. Many are questioning the viability of this technology and their suitability in their educational delivery programs. Like any other emerging technologies, "Web-Based Learning & Teaching Technologies" are not free of problems, controversies, and challenges. Therefore, it is crucial for educators and trainers to constantly enhance their understanding of the issues, trends, opportunities, and challenges facing "Web-Based Learning & Teaching Technologies" and their impact on the educational systems, programs, and their profession. Mission The main objective of this proposed book is to address many issues, trends, opportunities, and problems facing colleges and universities in effective utilization and management of Web-based learning & teaching technologies. The book will be a compilation of contributed chapters based on experiences, knowledge, and research findings of many experts familiar with the field of Web-based learning & teaching technologies utilization and management. Possible topics include, but are not limited to: * Web-Based Teaching: A Myth or Reality * Issues/Trends in Web-Based Teaching * Opportunities in Web-Based Teaching * Web-Based Course Management: * Planning * Analysis * Design * Delivery * Control/Quality Issues in Web-Based Teaching * Faculty Training for Web-Based Courses * Advantages/Disadvantages of Web-Based Teaching * Comparative studies of face-to-face, Distance Learning and Web-Based Teaching * Web_Based Teaching-One style fits all? * Technological issues in Web-Based Teaching * Control/Quality issues in Web-Based Teaching * Student Assessment in Web-Based Teaching * Success/Failures with Web-Based Teaching * Pedagogical Issues in Web-Based Teaching * Future of Web-Based Teaching . If you are interested in contributing a chapter for this forthcoming ook, please forward a proposal of 2-4 pages on your topic before January 15, 1999. Authors of accepted proposals would be asked to submit four copies of their full manuscript by March 1, 1999. Final chapters should be between 25-30 double-spaced pages written in APA style. An abstract of 100-150 words should also be included. Idea G roup Publishing will be the publisher of this book. Deadline for finished chapters will be July 1, 1999 with publication date of fall of 1999. Important Dates: * Proposal Due: January 15, 1999 * Full Manuscript Due: March 1, 1999 * Revised Manuscript Due: July 1, 1999 Please send all inquiries and submissions (preferably through e-mail as Word files ) to: Dr. Anil Aggarwal University of Baltimore Merrick School of Business 1420 N. Charles Street Baltimore MD 21201-5779 Tel: 410 837-5275 Fax: 410 837-5722 E-mail: AAGGARWAL@ubmail.ubalt.edu From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Thu Dec 17 06:04:46 1998 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id GAA09989; Thu, 17 Dec 1998 06:02:30 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 GAA09945 for ; Thu, 17 Dec 1998 06:01:52 GMT Received: from ngorc ([203.130.5.182]) by isp.super.net.pk (8.9.1/8.9.1) with SMTP id KAA10713 for ; Thu, 17 Dec 1998 10:59:59 +0500 (GMT+0500) Message-Id: <199812170559.KAA10713@isp.super.net.pk> From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Thu, 17 Dec 1998 11:03:24 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: Interview -- Internet in Developing Nations (Fwd) 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 CPSR-GLOBAL digest 952; 14 Dec 1998] ------- Forwarded Message Follows ------- 1) Interview -- Internet in Developing Nations (@) by madanr@planetasia.com (Madanmohan Rao) (by way of Marsha Woodbury) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 10 Dec 1998 07:42:28 -0600 From: madanr@planetasia.com (Madanmohan Rao) Hello friends - A warm hello from Bangalore! An edited version of an interview I did during a recent trip to Washington appears today on the Economic Times website: http://www.economictimes.com/today/10feat05.htm The full version appears here. It's with the author of the World Bank's "Knowledge for Development" report, Tara Vishwanath, and focuses on the role of the Net in developing countries. Comments, feedback, suggestions most welcome. Happy reading!! - madan [Madanmohan Rao, Principal Consultant, Planetasia.com; Editor, Indialine; Columnist, The Economic Times; Bangalore, INDIA] "Virtual Networks Are Now As Important As Railway Networks" Madanmohan Rao, on tour in Washington, interviews World Bank consultant Tara Vishwanath Tara Vishwanath grew up in Bombay, received her Ph.D. in information economics from Northwestern University, and has been with the World Bank (www.worldbank.org) for the last three years. She is one of the principal authors of this year's 250-page World Development Report, titled "Knowledge for Development." The report was unveiled last month, and Tara has just returned from rolling out the report to a dozen countries in Asia and Europe, including India. Q: Your report argues for the importance for developing countries to reduce technical knowledge gaps and improve quality control information via appropriate national policies and new media technologies like the Internet. What is the overall context which has shaped the way your report addresses technologies like the Net? A: In a globalised economy, issues like lifelong learning, training and retention of skilled workers, transparency of government and financial institutions, and rural as well as distance education are key for success. We note that developing countries lag to some extent in communications infrastructure, technical know-how and information processes about the economy and the environment -- at the same time, we note that communications technologies like the Net are continuing to become more affordable and powerful. In this context, we see the Net as a key facilitator for commerce, globalisation, knowledge management, and any activity which requires rapid communication. It can help remove the exploitative nature of situations where only a few people and institutions are in control of vital information. So whether you are talking about information regarding the quality of milk, crop inspection standards, databases of importers, global economic indicators, or government spending by politicians, publishing on the Net can effectively augment traditional communication channels. In fact, information and communication deficiencies are partly responsible for the recent Asian economic crisis; comprehensive and transparent accounting via the Net could have helped ameliorate some of its effects by creating "multiple eyes" monitoring the situation. Q: How was the Report rolled out and received in India and other parts of the world? A: In Asia, I rolled out the report in India, Bangladesh, China, the Philippines, and Thailand -- followed by France, Germany, Britain, Austria and Switzerland in Europe. Everywhere the response to the report was positive and enthusiastic. Even from our Web site, we notice that there have been over 2,000 downloads of the report in the last month. One question we have been asked by almost everyone is: Now what? We have identified several follow-up areas in our report: assisting increation of knowledge-building capacity, initiating policy dialogues regarding knowledge (especially in areas like public health and food), and building consortia. We plan to more actively assess and assist information infrastructure projects; we are already involved in the African Virtual University project. In India, we chose to roll out the report not just in New Delhi but also in Hyderabad -- a first for the World Bank. It was important for us to recognise and commend the efforts of leaders like Andhra Pradesh chief minister Chandrababu Naidu, who clearly seems to have demonstrated the understanding and political will to increase the diffusion of information and communication technologies like the Internet. He has been pushing very strongly for broader access to these technologies by citizens, and more transparency in practices of government agencies -both of which are key to the development process. Q: What key challenges did you face in putting together the Report? If you could go back in time and do the Report again from scratch, what would you do differently the second time around? A: It was hard to bring closure to the report, since knowledge - even just in the context of development - is a diffuse concept, and encompasses culture, politics and technology. In hindsight, more consultation during the production process would have helped. We could have included more material such as case studies from the field, and broadened the scope to more countries. We should also have added more material on knowledge management to avert disasters, and during the disaster itself. In fact, as Nobel laureate Amartya Sen has rightly pointed out, the freedom of the media in India has helped early detection of disasters like famines, unlike the case of China. We could have added more material on the role of the media, but that may have taken the report in a rather different direction. And finally, it would have been nice to include more URLs in the report, for development-oriented resources. Q: What are your recommendations for the interaction between government and private sectors in the information economy? A: Government and civil society also play important roles in an information-enabled age -- everything is NOT market driven. But governments should unleash, and not stifle, the private sector. The creative energies of entrepreneurs and the resources of corporates need to be harnessed in the overall national design. The opening up of the ISP market in India is definitely a welcome, though long overdue, step in this regard. There needs to be not just agreement but commitment and ownership of information agendas from governments. Future regulatory moves must sustain the momentum of the ISP market, and not choke it. Such measures help open up the bottom- up and peer-to-peer communication that are so vital to the development process. Useful lessons can be learnt from countries like Chile and Ghana, whose progressive telecom policies have led to widespread cell phone and Internet access. South Africa's Universal Service Agency, set up in 1996, provides two years' worth of start-up costs for entrepreneurs who run community information centres, many of which provide Internet access. Better regulatory environments can help get more telecom access to people. Currently, an estimated 28 million people - almost all of them in developing countries - are on waiting lists for telephone installation! Q: What are some notable case studies of how the Net is being used in emerging economies for the development process? A: Open universities like the Virtual University of the Monterrey Institute of Technology in Mexico, which enrolls 9,000 degree and 35,000non-degree students from Latin America, use the Net for student- faculty communication. We are involved in the African Virtual University project, headquartered in Nairobi, to increase access for African researchers to educational resources like academic journals through the Net. Singapore Network Services' e-mail based services, which helped improve the efficiency of Singapore's ports, are now being adopted in India, Malaysia and Vietnam. The Net has helped create globally-dispersed communities of interest in development issues. For instance, the recent Global Knowledge conference, co-hosted by the World Bank and the government of Canada, has led to the creation of the Global Knowledge Partnership site (www.globalknowledge.org). Another useful online resource is OneWorld Online (www.oneworld.org), a Web-based clearinghouse of issues related to sustainable development. It receives inputs from organisations in countries like India, Italy and Britain, and has about 70,000 articles in six languages. It also has a search engine and directory solely dedicated to sustainable development. An NGO called Peoplink (www.peoplink.org) uses the Web to publicise the handicrafts work of women in countries like Panama. Computer networks have dramatically helped improve policy making processes in countries like Morocco. Challenges arise in areas like copyright protection on the Net; for researchers, an ongoing challenge is being able to authenticate online information and consistently refer to documents from a continually changing Web. Q: How is the World Bank using Intranets and Extranets for its own knowledge management activities? A: The World Bank currently uses technologies like videoconferencing for knowledge sharing. We need to re-assess how Intranets can help us in this regard. We also plan to use Extranets to communicate with our stakeholders and partners around the world, who are working on collaborative projects. Such platforms can be very useful in managing knowledge and meta-knowledge for things like assessing aid initiatives. Q: For decades, media analysts, development scholars, and more recently computer professionals have been stressing the importance of media and communication technologies as knowledge enablers in the development process. What took the World Bank so long to come out with this report? A: Perhaps our earlier models focused mostly on attaining rapid economic growth, and thus concentrated more on physical, tangible aspects of the economy. Now we have realised the importance of information economics also, and have begun to include knowledge policies and communications technologies like the Internet in our projects. Virtual networks, after all, are now as important as railway networks. Q: Any parting words of advice or comments to Indian Internet professionals and policymakers? A: At a time when some Asian economies are going through a temporary rough patch, it is important that India stay focused on the proper lessons: boost exports, increase governmental and corporate transparency, and increase the pace of opening up the telecommunications sector. The momentum in sectors like the Internet economy must not be allowed to slacken. A gap between the Internet haves and have-nots must not be allowed to grow. Nurture and retain local talent; focus on global markets as well as indigenous relevance in areas like software. Develop a national knowledge strategy, and migrate up the value chain from cheap software shops to high-grade information sectors in the Internet economy. Information failures will always persist, even in the most information-savvy economies. The key is to use processes and technologies to help ameliorate these failures. It is important for organisations - government, corporate and NGOs - to become more open. It is sad to note that most of the world's poor are in South Asia. Every process and technology possible, from the traditional to the modern, must be harnessed to eradicate this poverty. ------------------------------ From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Thu Dec 17 19:54:14 1998 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id TAA06266; Thu, 17 Dec 1998 19:51:21 GMT Received: from mail.aworld.net (IDENT:root@dns.aworld.net [205.162.201.20]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id TAA06260 for ; Thu, 17 Dec 1998 19:51:18 GMT Received: (from uucp@localhost) by mail.aworld.net (8.8.7/AWORLD-1.0) with UUCP id MAA03356 for s-asia-it@apnic.net; Thu, 17 Dec 1998 12:46:29 -0800 Received: by bombay.axcess.net.in (8.6.12/AWORLD-1.0) with SMTP id BAA00618 ; Fri, 18 Dec 1998 01:16:07 +0530 From: Vickram Crishna X-aXcess-Auth-Warning: Unauthorised Sender Address (vickram.big@aworld.net) Message-ID: <01cf01be29f5$9e92cde0$1503140a@mail.axcess.net.in> Reply-To: "Vickram Crishna" To: "Cybercom Cyber Community of India List" Cc: Subject: Re: [CCI] Discussion: The State of the Internet in South Asia Date: Fri, 18 Dec 1998 01:12:59 +0530 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 4.72.3110.1 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V4.72.3110.3 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit This is good as far as it goes, but without some kind of introduction, I don't think that this kind of posting should be accepted. There should be some info at least on who is funding this body and whether it has some legacy alignments. The last thing we need is to get involved wuith someone else's politics. --- About S-Asia-IT ----------------------------------------- S-Asia-IT, a listserv for IT developments in South Asia -- Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka -- is intended to provide a forum for those interested in the development and use of information technology in the South Asian context. Our From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Sun Dec 20 00:12:57 1998 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id AAA10960; Sun, 20 Dec 1998 00:08:04 GMT Received: from MIT.EDU (SOUTH-STATION-ANNEX.MIT.EDU [18.72.1.2]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with SMTP id AAA10956 for ; Sun, 20 Dec 1998 00:08:01 GMT Received: from MIT.MIT.EDU by MIT.EDU with SMTP id AA15084; Sat, 19 Dec 98 19:07:48 EST Received: from ERMURROW.MIT.EDU by MIT.MIT.EDU (5.61/4.7) id AA06623; Sat, 19 Dec 98 19:07:41 EST Date: Sat, 19 Dec 98 19:07:41 EST Message-Id: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net From: Venkatesh Hariharan Subject: Voice recognition will simplify life for Asian users Cc: sasianet@pan.idrc.org.sg Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk I think this is one of the best examples of what technology can do for Asia. Venky Hear This! Voice recognition will simplify life for Asian users By Charles Bickers in Hong Kong December 24, 1998 W hen you're developing technology that requires high-performance PCs and may be the next "must-have" item for computer users in China, you can count on at least one big supporter: the company that sells most of the world's microprocessors. "Intel loves us," says Louis Woo. "They know this is important." The 52-year-old American managing director of Singapore-based software company Lernout & Hauspie Asia is betting big on Chinese-language voice recognition. He believes it will radically change the way a whole new generation of Chinese, Koreans and Japanese work, play and above all, communicate. Sitting in front of his laptop computer, Woo speaks Cantonese with a slightly formal tone into a headset microphone, dictating a story from a newspaper into the PC using his company's new software product, SP2. After less than a minute, he finishes and corrects a few characters by drawing the ones he wants using a pen-like device. "It would take most Chinese speakers forever to type that," he says. Creating Chinese characters on a keyboard can be done in several ways, all of which are slow and unnatural compared with typing Western languages. In fact, a reasonably computer-literate Chinese speaker can type only 10-20 characters a minute. With voice recognition, however, the same user can input 100-150 characters into a word-processor document or e-mail message in the same time. The potential for speech technology is huge, say many in the computer industry. In November, an international forum in Beijing drew around 15 companies offering, or about to offer, speech-based software. A similar number of university research departments--particularly ones from mainland-Chinese universities--showed off their own work. As Patrick Gelsinger, Intel's general manager for desktop systems, explained at the forum: "The problem is that the keyboard that we know today was not designed for the world's population. There are 1.2 billion Chinese who were not trained in the Roman characters and who were never taught how to use a keyboard." This is why Woo stresses that although speech recognition is regarded as a novelty elsewhere, for character-based languages it is a must. "In the next 10 years you're going to see more solutions using speech coming from Asian countries than the West. The simple fact is that they have a far more compelling reason to use speech." Woo has been involved with developing voice-recognition software for about seven years. But his excitement about the technology is higher than ever: Only now is the power available in a normal PC proving capable of handling the tough job of comprehending spoken words. A computer can't understand the brisk pace of conversational speech unless it's equipped with complex software--plus, the task is very demanding of PC hardware. The ability to identify the spoken word requires that a computer's processor matches the sound against thousands of patterns stored in its memory. Consistent and clear speech helps the computer, as does superior audio hardware, but a fast processor is key. Intel's next generation of Pentium microprocessors, code-named Katmai, will feature improvements to make speech recognition easier. To be launched in the first half of 1999, Katmai will be faster, running at a speed of 500 megahertz, compared with today's 450-megahertz, top-line Pentium II processors. Intel is embracing speech recognition wholeheartedly because it hopes the technology will be a new "killer app"--one that consumers feel is a "must-have," which will then drive demand for Intel's highest-performance processors. Woo demonstrates SP2 on a relatively slow laptop computer. While the software performs well, there is a slight, but noticeable, delay--say, a couple of seconds--between speech and the on-screen display. "With a top-line computer, there is hardly any delay," says Woo. If he's embarrassed, he shows no sign of it. Fixing the few errors is easy--highlighting the mistakes with the pen brings up a menu of alternative sound-alike characters. If none of those is correct, writing the character takes little time. For now, the product is aimed at the business and government markets. Because of the limited vocabulary, "I don't recommend it if you're writing a book just yet," says Woo. Amassing a business vocabulary of 50,000 phrases, which along with individual characters are the building blocks of the language, was a big enough challenge, but Woo is sure that it won't be long before more characters are added. In addition to Cantonese software, the company also sells Mandarin versions. And although it doesn't plan to add Japanese or Korean in the near future, they are part of the company's long-term vision. Woo, born in Macau and raised in Hong Kong, first came across speech technology while working as a manager for Apple, maker of Macintosh computers. "When I first saw this technology, I said, 'This is it, I've got to have it.'" Looking back, though, he acknowledges that while the technology then was "cutting edge," it fell short because the computers "just weren't up to it." Accuracy was 70%-75%, which left users using pen and keyboard frequently. By contrast, L&H Asia says, SP2 is 90%-95% accurate. Apple's first version of Chinese-language voice-recognition software, released in 1996, required users to train their computers for four hours before using it in earnest. Now, a user need only read 25 sentences, which takes about five minutes, before the program is ready. Another problem that has been resolved was that the program couldn't easily understand Chinese spoken in a natural way. But software issues aside, the real speech-stopper was the limitations of the microprocessors then available. In the mid-1990s, Woo and 10 others were laid off from Apple's Asia headquarters in Singapore. Convinced of the utility of speech recognition for Chinese, Woo and colleagues formed a software company, Asiaworks, and licensed Apple's Chinese-language technology so they could develop and sell it for the more widely used Windows-based PCs. In late 1998, Lernout & Hauspie, a U.S.-listed, Belgium-based speech-software specialist, bought 49.5% of Asiaworks. Woo's road may already have been long, but he anticipates it stretching still further ahead. He hopes to see the day when voice recognition is employed in everyday devices such as telephones and organizers, where typing Chinese characters is hopelessly arduous. Some products, such as Philips' Genie mobile phones, already use the technology for commands such as dialling stored numbers. Woo says it's just the beginning. Anyone who uses programs that require typing a character had better listen up. ENDS Venkatesh Hariharan Knight Science Journalism Fellow @ Massachusetts Institute of Technology 156 Magazine Street, Apt # 33, Cambridge, MA 02139 Tel: (O) 617-253-6709 Fax: 617-258-8100 URL: http://www.venky.org From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Sun Dec 20 01:36:53 1998 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id BAA14681; Sun, 20 Dec 1998 01:34:40 GMT Received: from MIT.EDU (PACIFIC-CARRIER-ANNEX.MIT.EDU [18.69.0.28]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with SMTP id BAA14669 for ; Sun, 20 Dec 1998 01:34:37 GMT Received: from MIT.MIT.EDU by MIT.EDU with SMTP id AA07079; Sat, 19 Dec 98 20:34:35 EST Received: from ERMURROW.MIT.EDU by MIT.MIT.EDU (5.61/4.7) id AA08056; Sat, 19 Dec 98 20:34:26 EST Date: Sat, 19 Dec 98 20:34:26 EST Message-Id: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" To: sasianet@pan.idrc.org.sg From: Venkatesh Hariharan Subject: Another great piece Cc: s-asia-it@apnic.net Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk Here's a quote from a column by Michael Dertouzos who heads the Laboratory for Computer Sciences at MIT. I am impressed because he is one of the few westerners who really get the issue of information access in developing country. At MIT, I have been attending a lot of seminars and talks by some of the gurus of the digital age and am constantly astonished by their naivete when it comes to this issue. One famous speaker was asked for this views on the digital have-nots and his answer was that he was more worried about the 56 year olds in Congress (US congress, of course!) who did not understand the technology. This from a man who claims to have cumulatively spent around six months over the last ten years in Africa! The common assumption here in the US is that "The market will take care of it!" Yet we need to work on changing opinion in the US because the vast majority of information technology is developed here. Venky For the full article, see http://www.techreview.com/articles/jan99/dertouzos.htm or send me an e-mail. >Some experts, including Bill Gates, argue that the new technologies will >help the poor become literate, learn how to plant new crops, take care of >their health and sell their services >over an expanding information marketplace. His view is consistent with my >own, subject to one big "if": The poor could have a chance of reaping >these benefits, if they were somehow provided with the communications >systems, hardware, software and training needed to join the club. Absent >such help, they can't even get started. > >It's time we begin providing this help, not just to be compassionate but >also to avoid the bloodshed that, historically, follows a widening >rich-poor gap. Venkatesh Hariharan Knight Science Journalism Fellow @ Massachusetts Institute of Technology 156 Magazine Street, Apt # 33, Cambridge, MA 02139 Tel: (O) 617-253-6709 Fax: 617-258-8100 URL: http://www.venky.org From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Mon Dec 21 07:13:47 1998 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id HAA01012; Mon, 21 Dec 1998 07:09:20 GMT Received: from fh102.infi.net (fh102.infi.net [208.131.160.101]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id HAA01008 for ; Mon, 21 Dec 1998 07:09:17 GMT Received: from akron.infi.net (pm1-53.akr.infi.net [207.0.173.53]) by fh102.infi.net (8.8.8/8.8.8) with ESMTP id CAA09940; Mon, 21 Dec 1998 02:04:57 -0500 (EST) Message-ID: <367F4548.862BA905@akron.infi.net> Date: Tue, 22 Dec 1998 02:07:52 -0500 From: Bob Pyke Jr X-Mailer: Mozilla 4.5 [en] (Win95; U) X-Accept-Language: en MIME-Version: 1.0 To: Arun-Kumar Tripathi Subject: Fyi Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="------------954FC89CAA627CEEC334DF68" Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk --------------954FC89CAA627CEEC334DF68 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit One of those Fyi things from the Edupage Listserve Bob Pyke Jr > INTERNET IS SLOWING CHINA'S EFFORTS TO MAINTAIN CONTROL > To eliminate political opposition by the China Democratic Party, Chinese > authorities are putting prominent dissidents on trial for "inciting the > overthrow of state power," but the Internet is making it difficult for them > to accomplish their goal. The Washington, D.C.-based electronic magazine > VIP Reference is a widely-used news source and network for dissident > activities. Boston University professor Merle Goldman says, "It was > relatively easy for the authorities to get rid of Democracy Walls in Beijing > and in other cities in 1979, but it is virtually impossible to close down > the use of the Internet as a means of political communication." (Washington > Post 18 Dec 98) > --------------954FC89CAA627CEEC334DF68 Content-Type: text/html; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

One of those Fyi things from the Edupage Listserve
Bob Pyke Jr
INTERNET IS SLOWING CHINA'S EFFORTS TO MAINTAIN CONTROL
To eliminate political opposition by the China Democratic Party, Chinese
authorities are putting prominent dissidents on trial for "inciting the
overthrow of state power," but the Internet is making it difficult for them
to accomplish their goal.  The Washington, D.C.-based electronic magazine
VIP Reference is a widely-used news source and network for dissident
activities.  Boston University professor Merle Goldman says, "It was
relatively easy for the authorities to get rid of Democracy Walls in Beijing
and in other cities in 1979, but it is virtually impossible to close down
the use of the Internet as a means of political communication." (Washington
Post 18 Dec 98)
--------------954FC89CAA627CEEC334DF68-- From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Wed Dec 23 11:22:55 1998 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id LAA01192; Wed, 23 Dec 1998 11:18:24 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 LAA01181 for ; Wed, 23 Dec 1998 11:18:10 GMT Received: from ngorc ([203.130.5.74]) by isp.super.net.pk (8.9.1/8.9.1) with SMTP id QAA17332 for ; Wed, 23 Dec 1998 16:16:12 +0500 (GMT+0500) Message-Id: <199812231116.QAA17332@isp.super.net.pk> From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Wed, 23 Dec 1998 16:21:17 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: Internet content policy: Feedback solicited 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 ------- From: Madanmohan Rao Hello friends - I've been invited to make a presentation to the Working Group on Content Creation and the Content Industry (part of India's National InfoTech Task Force). I've enclosed a set of suggestions and recommendations on how I think the Indian government can assist in boosting local content on the Web. Some of the issues and concerns are probably similar in other countries (especially developing nations), so I eagerly solicit your feedback. Thanks - - madan [Dr. Madanmohan Rao, Principal Consultant, Planetasia.com; Editor, Indialine (www.indialine.com); Columnist, Economic Times; Bangalore, INDIA] Indian Content and The Net: Policy Recommendations -------------------------------------------------- //Draft, December 17; Not for Publication. Author: Madanmohan Rao (madanr@planetasia.com), Bangalore, India// Background ---------- Much of the success of the Internet as a medium and as an economy depends on universal or near-universal access for citizens to cyberspace. But unlike ordinary telecommunications service, issues relating to access to the Internet do not stop at the level of the line and the device - that is where Net access issues begin. Since the Net is a two-way communications and publishing medium, access issues (especially in emerging economies) should also take into account what publishing and communication resources are available at the user end. Internet users, after all, are not just consumers but producers and active participants in the information economy (or "prosumers"). The Six C's of a successful national Internet agenda, then, could be aptly summed up as: connectivity, content, community, commerce, capacity and culture. In other words, national and local connectivity to the Net must also be coupled with locally relevant content and community groupings. Gearing up to meet all these challenges requires local capacity in terms of technical expertise and organisational/national leadership. This document expands on the seven areas of development necessary for India to emerge as a prolific generator of online content, so as to effectively and proactively harness the Net. I. Content Sectors 1. Publications (newspapers, magazines, academic journals) which are not yet online must be encouraged to publish their information on the Web, target audiences in India and abroad, and provide value-added services like access to archived material. 2. Content must also be provided in the business sector, geared towards creating a business marketspace. Constantly updated telephone/e-mail directories and yellow pages for businesses in each city and town must be made available online. Big businesses and the SOHO/SME segment must be encouraged to set up Web sites and get access to e-mail. 3. Special attention must be paid to the export/import sector. Directories of exporters, product catalogues, customs information, shipping/transport agencies, insurance agencies, third party audit/verification information must all be compiled online for one- stop access by importers and exporters. Linkages must be provided to existing trade databases published by organisations like the United Nations. 4. Content from non-profit organisations, public health groups and social service agencies must also be published online; a special grant should be set up for this purpose. 5. Special measures must be taken for providing online content rapidly during times of disaster like earthquakes and floods (eg. lists of victims and survivors, contact numbers of relief agencies, live news updates). 6. Libraries must be given grants to publish online catalogues of their books and periodicals. 7. The travel industry must work collectively in publishing content about airfares, train schedules, hotel reservations, car rentals, visas, maps, police stations, post offices, medical services, tourism destinations, scenic points, cultural highlights and local customs. This information should also be accessible via Internet kiosks in airports, train stations, bus stations, hotels, post offices and shopping centres. Such measures must be rolled out beginning with key tourism destinations like Agra, Goa, Kerala, etc. 8. Government departments and agencies must publish extensive content online, geared towards citizen services like land registration, tax information, appointments with officials, transparent accounting practices, employment opportunities, etc. 9. Initiatives must be launched to publish education-related content and services at all levels. Online educational content and instructional delivery must be used to extend the scarce resources of educational institutes across the country. II. Software and Web Tools 1. Content generation must take place in Indian languages and English. The development and standardisation of Indian language software, fonts, and Web publishing tools must be promoted aggressively. 2. Where possible, use of freeware and shareware packages and tools should be encouraged instead of relying on costly proprietary software solutions, such as in the use of the Linux operating system and Apache Web server for digital publishing. III. Access, Devices and Infrastructure 1. Cybercafes and Internet community centres should be created, to give more people access to the Net. Such centres must also provide basic training and resources for Web publishing. 2. World-class hosting infrastructure must be created in India so that local Web content is hosted within the country and not outside, thereby saving lucrative foreign exchange revenues. Indian IDCs (Internet Data Centres) must occupy pre-eminent positions within the regional Asian market. IV. Capacity 1. Training centres and seminars should be set up for generation of internal and intra-organisational Internet content, via Intranet document management systems and Extranet-oriented flow of information. 2. Computer courses and curriculum in schools and colleges must be augmented to go beyond basic word processing and programming to include Web page design and online database management. V. Legal Issues 1. Legal developments concerning content classification, regulation and enforcement in countries around the world must be tracked. Indian representatives from the industry, academia and government should try to be present in forums of the UN, WTO, OECD, G-7, ASEAN, and APEC, dealing with cyberspace content issues like intellectual property rights, copyright protection, online privacy, online crimes, and digital watermarks. 2. Online forums and periodic seminars/briefings must be conducted at the national and state levels to invite participation in policy making regarding national online content laws. 3. Draconian content laws which require censoring of material published on Web sites in India and abroad should be avoided. Where necessary, parental filtering solutions should be used to protect children from seeing objectionable content on the Web. But laws interfering with basic freedoms of speech and expression should be avoided. VI. Political Will 1. A key focus on content should be to make a difference to the way service is delivered. In areas like making government procedures transparent, a lot of political muscle will be needed. For instance, in areas like land records and getting power connections, some unscrupulous middlemen tend to get involved; openness and transparency will threaten them, but the government must display the political to clean up these processes via open content publishing. VII. International Cooperation 1. Many of the concerns facing India are also encountered by other developing nations in the world. Online and offline forums must be created and sustained to encourage discussion on digital content- related activities between India and other emerging economies. ------------------------------ [from CPSR-GLOBAL digest 955 of 22 Dec 1998] From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Wed Dec 23 17:32:02 1998 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id RAA14657; Wed, 23 Dec 1998 17:30:37 GMT Received: from jubilee.ns.sympatico.ca (jubilee.ns.sympatico.ca [142.177.1.6]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id RAA14652 for ; Wed, 23 Dec 1998 17:30:33 GMT Received: from LOCALNAME ([142.177.18.101]) by jubilee.ns.sympatico.ca (Post.Office MTA v3.1.2 release (PO203-101c) ID# 607-45892U60000L60000S0) with SMTP id AAB16298 for ; Wed, 23 Dec 1998 13:30:59 -0400 From: kerryo@ns.sympatico.ca (Kerry Miller) Organization: hundred flowers publications To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Wed, 23 Dec 1998 13:29:22 -0400 Subject: Re: Another great piece In-reply-to: X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Windows (v3.01b) Message-ID: <19981223173057.AAB16298@LOCALNAME> Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk Venkatesh Hariharan wrote: { Here's a quote from a column by Michael Dertouzos who heads the Laboratory { for Computer Sciences at MIT. I am impressed because he is one of the few { westerners who really get the issue of information access in developing { country. { I finally found time to look through the Tech Review. Personally, I thought Chas Mann's article at least as insightful as Dertouzos'. http://www.techreview.com/articles/jan99/mann.htm January/February 1999 Technology Review Programs to the People By Charles C. Mann Miguel de Icaza spends his days as a computer-network administrator at the Institute of Nuclear Sciences at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, in Mexico City. Watching over the network, he says, “gives me a lot of spare time”—time he spends answering e-mail and working on “fun little projects.” His current spare-time computer activity, he thinks, is “really great.” De Icaza is coordinating the GNOME project ['guh-nome'; http://www.gnome.org ], a volunteer effort to develop a computer desktop—a mouse-and-windows interface [for Linux] — that will outdo the various incarnations of Windows that form the foundation of the Microsoft empire. [...] But never mind, Im a hardware ignoramus. Michael Dertouzos wrote (in the para prior to the one you quoted, from http://www.techreview.com/articles/jan99/dertouzos.htm ) ...Since the average Bangladeshi is 30 times poorer than the average American, the disparity, per person, between our annual expenditure on information technology and theirs is even more staggering—on average, $3,000 for each American, versus $1 for each Bangladeshi! I suspect that if I could locate an “embassy” representing poor Americans, I would find an equally screeching dissonance between information technology expenditures in the inner city and the suburbs. It stands to reason that people struggling to get their daily bites of food have nothing left for the more ethereal bytes of [*]information[*]. Take this disparity to its logical next step: The rich, who can afford to buy the new technologies, use them to become increasingly productive and therefore even richer while the poor stand still. The conclusion is as logical as it is inescapable: Left to its own devices the information revolution will increase the gap between rich and poor nations and between rich and poor people within nations. Definitely there is a gap, but whether the advantage is all to the rich is debatable. I think a MIT Prof of CS who so blithely equates info tech with 'ethereal' information can learn a thing or two from the B'deshi, who understand perfectly well that information has meaning only in the context where it applies. Does he really think that on a dollar a day *in BD* you cant afford to read, or to talk with the family and neighbors? Guess in which country one hears the most widespread and informed discussions of political affairs? Some experts, including Bill Gates, argue that the new technologies will help the poor become literate, learn how to plant new crops, take care of their health and sell their services over an expanding information marketplace. His view is consistent with my own, subject to one big “if”: The poor could have a chance of reaping these benefits, if they were somehow provided with the communications systems, hardware, software and training needed to join the club. Absent such help, they can’t even get started. It’s time we begin providing this help, not just to be compassionate but also to avoid the bloodshed that, historically, follows a widening rich-poor gap. Isnt this exactly the kind of help the poor have been getting for 50 years? Lo! yet another expert has discovered what the hoi polloi have known all along, that tools have to have human relevance. If "electronic noses that would sniff the air for explosive gases and report results remotely; mini-robots that will conduct less invasive surgery; and custom-tailored goods and services ranging from wardrobes to sex" (**) don't seem relevant to farmers planting *old crops, don't worry -- he'll tack on to his hightech vision the simplest 'user interface' in the book: Follow our prescription, and we'll both sleep easier; I because I have 'helped,' and you because *I know more than you do*. (About living in Bangladesh?!) [...] Stimulated by these exciting prospects, a few of us techies got together with a colleague from Nepal, fully expecting to boost his nation’s economy by 20 percent through clever use of the information marketplace. Unfortunately, we quickly found out that even if we got the communications, hardware, software and training for free, we would still fall short of our goal: Only 27 percent of the Nepalese are literate. And of these, only a small fraction speak English. When we asked what services that smaller group could offer, we hit a brick wall. Many are not skilled, and those who are are already busy running their nation’s businesses. Maybe we were too ambitious when we envisioned a future workforce in Nepal selling office services to New York and London via the Web. What if we focused instead on selling Nepal’s famous crafts, like custom-made rugs, on the Web? That got us into all sorts of other concerns about establishing trust among distant buyers and distributing the goods. The potential of the modern information age seemed overshadowed at every turn by the ancient forces that separate the rich from the poor. Are such difficulties reason to give up and leave the information revolution to its own devices? No! We should persist, because the information marketplace is huge and largely unexplored. If even a small number of Nepalese or a few inner-city people found a way to become productively interconnected, they would serve as role models to their peers. Readers are invited to suggest creative ways in which the poor could become productively engaged in the information marketplace. Perhaps they already are 'productively interconnected' *with the people with whom they need to be productively interconnected*? (No, that doesnt count by our (rich, Western) standards of 'productivity,' of which he gives some fine examples in his book***, where productivity equates to *saving time*. Note especially the bit where it was his own forgetfulness that caused the problem. OK, even my hypothetical rice farmer can forget how to farm, but I have never seen it. Why? Because he knows where the information is -- among his neighbors - - and has the tools to access it: Bengali, its called.) We have overcome great challenges to construct the modern computer. Yet this marvel interconnects only 1 percent of the world’s 6 billion people. It is, in effect, the rich people’s computer. For our own and our fellow human beings’ welfare, we should now go after the tougher challenge of turning our proud achievement into the people’s computer! It seems that the proof of the 'challenge' being met by Dr D's standards should be to find rice growing in the quad at MIT! Or doesnt information flow both ways? My point is not that E is E, and W is W, but to suggest there is an old, traditional, procedure that still pertains: its better to find the problem first and then to solve it, rather than the other way round. Excess enthusiasm for 'new' problems made to fit handy-dandy solutions runs the risk of swamping the few models that remain of *problems that have been solved*. Of course they're not the only problems -- it's too late for that -- but a people's computer should at least not trash its own database. Just my two qwerty cents, kerry ======== ** From the SF Chronicle:review of _What Will Be: How the New World of Information Will Change Our Lives_ (1997). "He adds that such changes could lead to revolts as devastating to the information haves as to the have-nots. "[...]'Information is not as valuable as food or any of the basic necessities of life,' Dertouzos reminds us. `In a mortal battle of bytes against bites, people will always select food over data.' " *** An adapted chapter is at http://www.techreview.com/articles/apr97/dertouzos.html (Both are linked from Dertouzos' home page.) From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Wed Dec 23 17:41:47 1998 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id RAA14979; Wed, 23 Dec 1998 17:41:39 GMT Received: from deathstar.comnet.ca (deathstar.comnet.ca [205.206.213.2]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id RAA14975 for ; Wed, 23 Dec 1998 17:41:35 GMT Received: from iaai.ca (tor-pm1-39.comnet.ca [206.75.143.103]) by deathstar.comnet.ca (8.8.7/8.8.7) with ESMTP id MAA02661; Wed, 23 Dec 1998 12:40:48 -0500 (EST) Message-ID: <36812A3B.9A53AB81@iaai.ca> Date: Wed, 23 Dec 1998 12:36:59 -0500 From: Bernie Monette Organization: InterActive Arts X-Mailer: Mozilla 4.5 [en] (Win95; I) X-Accept-Language: en MIME-Version: 1.0 To: Irfan Khan , South East Asia Discussion Group Subject: Re: Internet content policy: Feedback solicited References: <199812231116.QAA17332@isp.super.net.pk> 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 Greetings! If, in my response, I give offense, due no doubt to my ignorance of India, please forgive me as it is unintended. I enjoyed this statement and I have some questions and comments. What is the state of local telephone service in India? That is, is it easy to get a telephone in your house? Are there issues of rural versus urban service? Is it controlled by a government monopoly? This is a crucial factor in access and universality. If people cannot get telephones then they will have no access to the Internet. How would the government feel about relinquishing control over their monopoly to allow market forces to set the standards for telephone, and consequently, Internet use? Would it be possible, or even desirable, to enlist the help of ex-patriots to help convince people to allow and encourage the use of the Internet? I am thinking in particular of the founder of Hotmail who, in Wired magazine, expressed a wish to return and help India use and benefit from the Internet. Regarding language you might inquire about the Tibetan OCR project. Don Stilwell mailto:dstilwell@ghg.net has been hard a work on creating a means of using computers to recognize and understand Tibetan Script-would this be helpful with Indian writing? You may see some of their work at http://www.serve.com/dstilwell I think you are correct to specify that everything must be in both English and Indian. However, I do not think filtering software of any sort lives up to the promise of protecting children. In fact there are no automatic means of doing this. What does work however is to have parents sit by and supervise their children as they use the Internet. Moreover, parents have an obligation to find a means to prepare their children for whatever they might see. The least is pictures of naked people: the worst is hate literature, bigotry, violence, and the list, sadly, goes on and on. In Canada cybercafes and the like have been abysmal failures. Notably they are too expensive in their hourly rates. Moreover, they never seem to be able to decide whether they are a restaurant or a computer shop. In the case of India a government supported cybercafe, or the like, could work in areas where it is difficult for people to get or afford a telephone. The cost of such access is important. How willing is the government to support this? After all much of the Internet owes its existence to the huge financial commitment the American government gave it. Finally, you are right to mention political will. If the government cannot be convinced that it is part of their duty to support the use of the Internet then it will be an uphill struggle. Internet use will, is really, as vital to a nation as roads, clean water, proper health, and taxes. Thank you. I hope this has helped. If I can be of further service let me know. Have a joyous new year. Bernie Monette InterActive Arts Internet Presence Management http://www.iaai.ca mailto:monette@iaai.ca (416) 523-4972 Irfan Khan wrote: > > ------- Forwarded Message Follows ------- > > From: Madanmohan Rao > > Hello friends - > > I've been invited to make a presentation to the Working Group on > Content Creation and the Content Industry (part of India's National > InfoTech Task Force). I've enclosed a set of suggestions and > recommendations on how I think the Indian government can assist in > boosting local content on the Web. Some of the issues and concerns > are probably similar in other countries (especially developing > nations), so I eagerly solicit your feedback. Thanks - > > - madan > > [Dr. Madanmohan Rao, Principal Consultant, Planetasia.com; Editor, > Indialine (www.indialine.com); Columnist, Economic Times; Bangalore, > INDIA] > > VI. Political Will > > 1. A key focus on content should be to make a difference to the way > service is delivered. In areas like making government procedures > transparent, a lot of political muscle will be needed. For instance, > in areas like land records and getting power connections, some > unscrupulous middlemen tend to get involved; openness and > transparency will threaten them, but the government must display the > political to clean up these processes via open content publishing. > > VII. International Cooperation > > 1. Many of the concerns facing India are also encountered by other > developing nations in the world. Online and offline forums must be > created and sustained to encourage discussion on digital content- > related activities between India and other emerging economies. > > ------------------------------ > > [from CPSR-GLOBAL digest 955 of 22 Dec 1998] From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Wed Dec 23 21:03:48 1998 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id VAA22315; Wed, 23 Dec 1998 21:03:08 GMT Received: from MIT.EDU (PACIFIC-CARRIER-ANNEX.MIT.EDU [18.69.0.28]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with SMTP id VAA22309 for ; Wed, 23 Dec 1998 21:03:04 GMT Received: from MIT.MIT.EDU by MIT.EDU with SMTP id AA01748; Wed, 23 Dec 98 16:03:05 EST Received: from ERMURROW.MIT.EDU by MIT.MIT.EDU (5.61/4.7) id AA06083; Wed, 23 Dec 98 16:02:53 EST Date: Wed, 23 Dec 98 16:02:53 EST Message-Id: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net From: Venkatesh Hariharan Subject: Re: Internet content policy: Feedback solicited Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk Madanmohan Rao wrote: >1. Content generation must take place in Indian languages and >English. The development and standardisation of Indian language >software, fonts, and Web publishing tools must be promoted >aggressively. I think this is one of the most fundamental suggestions that you can make (I would like to know the reactions of members of our list to my suggestions). The biggest stumbling block is that using a computer in Indian languages is so difficult because there are no common standards (like ASCII for English) that are universally used. I think that this is the first and foremost obstacle because more than 95 percent of India does not speak English. In the absence of such standards, we have no operating systems in Indian languages, very few Indian language applications and zero Internet tools in Indian languages. So, theoretically, almost 900 million Indians have no access to computers because the user-interface is in English! It's quite pathetic that i can use a popular search engine like Altavista in Estonian, a language spoken by 1.4 million people while Hindi which is spoken by around 400 million people is not even listed on the site. And don't even dare to ask about the other 17 official Indian languages and any one of the innumerable dialects. Now that PC prices have fallen quite low, a lot of Indians can afford computers. But if they do not know English, what do they do with a PC in the absence of Indian language applications and Indian language web sites? It would be like buying a car and not having a road to drive on. The Chinese government was much, much smarter. They worked with Microsoft to develop Chinese versions of Windows. The result? Intel says that China is expected to be the third largest market for PCs in the next few years. In the next couple of years, the Chinese language will be the fastest growing language on the Internet. Those who want to know more about the developments in China should read the last two issues of Upside (http://www.upside.com). In two consequent issues, Upside carried articles on how the Chinese market for voice recognition software and internet development etc is booming. We can provide all the Internet kiosks/cybercafes that we want but unless we make it easy for the end users to create content in their languages, Indian languages will remain a marginal presence on the Web. Comments, anyone? Venky PS: Madan, you have made no mention of Indian language search engines??? With our umpteen font encoding standards, that could be a nightmare to develop. Today, if I want to read Hindi newspapers, every time I go to a Hindi site, I have to download a proprietary Hindi font. So ten Hindi web sites = ten different Hindi fonts. Imagine if I had to do the same to surf in English! Venkatesh Hariharan Knight Science Journalism Fellow @ Massachusetts Institute of Technology 156 Magazine Street, Apt # 33, Cambridge, MA 02139 Tel: (O) 617-253-6709 Fax: 617-258-8100 URL: http://www.venky.org From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Wed Dec 23 21:04:05 1998 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id VAA22360; Wed, 23 Dec 1998 21:04:04 GMT Received: from MIT.EDU (SOUTH-STATION-ANNEX.MIT.EDU [18.72.1.2]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with SMTP id VAA22355 for ; Wed, 23 Dec 1998 21:04:01 GMT Received: from MIT.MIT.EDU by MIT.EDU with SMTP id AA10976; Wed, 23 Dec 98 16:03:55 EST Received: from ERMURROW.MIT.EDU by MIT.MIT.EDU (5.61/4.7) id AA06191; Wed, 23 Dec 98 16:03:48 EST Date: Wed, 23 Dec 98 16:03:48 EST Message-Id: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net From: Venkatesh Hariharan Subject: Re: Another great piece Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk Kerry Miller wrote: > I finally found time to look through the Tech Review. Personally, I thought >Chas Mann's [on Linux and the GNOME user-interface to Linux] article http://www.techreview.com/articles/jan99/mann.htm at least as insightful as Dertouzos'. Dertouzos may have his faults but he is one of the very few westerners who have some idea of what the issues w.r.t information technology in developing countries is like. Most of the so called "visionary" speakers I have been listening to in the US are carried away with a fancy utopian vision of the Internet as the great harbinger of an electronic democracy, blah, blah... Some of the work Dertouzos's lab also have great potential to bring infomation access to the have-nots. Jupiter voice recognition system (http://www.sls.lcs.mit.edu/jupiter/index.html) is a case in point. Jupiter provides weather information in around 500 cities over the telephone and can be accessed in several languages. If applied to a country like India or Bangladesh, it could be a great boon to farmers. I agree with Kerry that the Linux article was interesting. Microsoft may ultimately lose out to Linux because there are around 6000 languages in the world and it may be difficult for a centrally governed company like MS to create user interfaces in most of these languages because they are not commercially viable. A distributed GNOME like effort to create multi lingual user interfaces could eventually help Linux gain market share against Microsoft's Windows. A case in point is Iceland where Microsoft refused to localise Windows to Icelandic. If my recollection is right, the Icelandic government then asked for access to the source code so that it could do the localisation itself, but was turned down. Talk about a catch 22 situation! Venky Venkatesh Hariharan Knight Science Journalism Fellow @ Massachusetts Institute of Technology 156 Magazine Street, Apt # 33, Cambridge, MA 02139 Tel: (O) 617-253-6709 Fax: 617-258-8100 URL: http://www.venky.org From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Fri Dec 25 04:29:10 1998 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id EAA00527; Fri, 25 Dec 1998 04:27:19 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 EAA00519 for ; Fri, 25 Dec 1998 04:27:13 GMT Received: from ngorc ([203.130.5.186]) by isp.super.net.pk (8.9.1/8.9.1) with SMTP id JAA04407 for ; Fri, 25 Dec 1998 09:25:10 +0500 (GMT+0500) Message-Id: <199812250425.JAA04407@isp.super.net.pk> From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Fri, 25 Dec 1998 09:29:51 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/enriched; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: 1998: Asian crisis hinders, not halts '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 [this one is about the internet in asia. like the previous post, the focus is not on south asia. irfan] ------- Forwarded Message Follows ------- 0100,0100,0100December 21, 1998 1998: Asian crisis hinders, not halts 'Net By Rob Guth and Terho Uimonen [IDG News Service, Tokyo Bureau] Asia's deepening financial crisis poses a huge challenge to many Internet service providers (ISPs) and end users in the region who saw their costs skyrocket over the past year-and-a-half, but most still have faith that the global network will become an even greater part of the region's economic fabric from next year and beyond. That's the conclusion of many Internet insiders, service providers and users who say that while the depressed economies and devalued currencies of 1998 were a loud wake-up call, they remain optimistic that Asia's Internet will continue growing, though perhaps more slowly than in recent years. "I think the Internet is our future," said Kuo Yun, vice chairman and president of the government-backed Institute for Information Industry in Taiwan. "The question is, 'How will we get there?'" At the center of the challenge are the ISPs around Asia who saw costs for international lines go through the roof over the past year. ISPs in the region pay for international links in U.S. dollars, and cover the full circuit cost of lines to the U.S. Consequently, costs skyrocketed for ISPs in countries where currencies dropped through the floor. The net effect? Costs to end users rose while international lines grew extremely congested, according to David Conrad, formerly head of the Asia-Pacific Network Information Center, the regional registry for Internet addresses. "In many cases, Internet customers in the region would have faced significantly increased costs for the same service levels and/or high levels of congestion as ISPs downgraded line speeds or canceled bandwidth upgrades," said Conrad, who now heads up the Internet Software Consortium. "Add to that, the costs of purchasing U.S.-built networking technology and it would be surprising to me if there was any growth, particularly in countries like Indonesia, Thailand and Korea." Such pressure opened the door for American provider PSINet Inc. to sweep in and buy out struggling providers in Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong to quickly expand in the region. Other U.S. providers are believed to be waiting in the wings. Still the Internet here plods along, fueled in part by the collective energy of some governments hoping to get in step with other countries, and U.S. vendors of high-tech gear pressed by earnings- hungry shareholders back home. Governments in the region, though focused now on more immediate concerns, still view the Internet and its related technologies as a platform for future economic growth. Many leaders, from Japan to Vietnam hope to foster their home countries' strength in software and electronic services -- industries that should continue to flourish. So future-thinking investment continues, though more judiciously than before. Thailand's government, for example, in October started a program to wire 5,000 schools up to the Internet at a cost of about 227 million baht (US$6.3 million). Equipment and software vendors, who have their own, and more immediate, economic interests in seeing a flourishing Internet here, spent all of 1998 trying to coax the region's public and private sectors to continue investing in technology. John Chambers, chairman of Cisco Systems Inc., the supplier of most of the routers underlying the Internet, zipped through the region several times, energizing business and political leaders with passionate speeches on the competitive need for countries and companies to have strong IT infrastructures. His salesmen on the ground, meanwhile, extended handsome financing plans to cash-strapped Asian customers. Such efforts will bring the Internet to a wider base of users, say analysts. By 2000, spending on the Web-related technologies will likely account for 20 percent of total corporate spending on IT in Asia, up from single digits in 1997, according to market researcher International Data Corp. (IDC). "The Internet (in Asia) is still growing -- not at nearly the pace it would have without the economic problems, but it's still one of the strongest areas of the IT market," said David Kellar, vice president of Tokyo-based consultancy Access Media International (AMI). Indeed, even amid the crisis some service providers are expanding their capacity. The Communications Authority of Thailand (CAT), for example, early next year plans to increase the bandwidth of the Thai Internet Exchange's international links from 8M bits per second (bps) today to 45M bps. Taiwan's largest ISP, meanwhile, expects to expand its international links from the current 60M bps to as much as 245M bps by 2000, said Chang Lang-Chee, vice president of the data communication business group at Chunghwa Telecom Co. Ltd. One small sign of the Internet's growing popularity in the region came as organizers of Asian Games this month in Bangkok scrambled to add another server to the Games' official Web site. The site was initially designed to field up to 2 million hits per day, but was overwhelmed with journalists and regional sports fans checking results and news. >From Tokyo to Karachi, the promise of cheaper communications and access to information continue to lure more users to the Internet. The number of new Internet users in the Asia-Pacific region outside Japan will grow from over 8 million in 1997 to nearly 11.7 million by the end of 1998 and over 34 million by 2002, according to the latest forecasts from IDC. By many estimates, Asia's corporate users have been slower to integrate the Internet into their businesses, which poses a potential threat to the long-term competitiveness of regional companies, according to regional observers such as Kuo from Taiwan's III. One contributing factor is tighter budgets: total IT spending in the Asia-Pacific region outside Japan this year will reach only US$41.2 billion, down by over 14 percent from 1997, according to IDC estimates. Another reason is the fact that even with growing numbers of Asian users getting online, commerce is still done offline. Consequently, profitability remains elusive for most of the region's business-to- consumer electronic-commerce pioneers, such as the around 20 Taiwanese online stock brokers fighting for the hearts and electronic wallets of investors -- the vast majority of whom are individuals rather than institutions. "If it was not for the perceived security problems, we would have many more online investors," said Tom Ko, president of Net Broker Securities Co. Ltd., an online trading unit of Jih Sun Group, one of Taiwan's largest stock brokers. Business-to-business e-commerce in Asia to date is mainly being spearheaded by multinational corporations, such as Cisco and Intel Corp., which are pushing their customers and suppliers in the region to embrace the Internet for order taking. Microprocessor giant Intel, for example, is already doing over 80 percent of its sales to Taiwan over the Web. To maximize the efficiencies from electronic trading, however, the next step should be for Intel's distributors in Taiwan to expand the online scheme to also include the island's dealers and PC cloners. "We would very much like to reach the next level and see all our customers place orders online, but it will take a while to realize that goal," said Evans Tu, president and chief executive officer of Synnex Technology International Corp., the largest Intel distributor in Taiwan. 0100,0100,0100Copyright 1998 IDG Communications (HK) Ltd. All rights reserved. Computerworld Hong Kong is an IDG publication. http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=42800 From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Fri Dec 25 04:29:10 1998 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id EAA00518; Fri, 25 Dec 1998 04:27:11 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 EAA00504 for ; Fri, 25 Dec 1998 04:27:02 GMT Received: from ngorc ([203.130.5.186]) by isp.super.net.pk (8.9.1/8.9.1) with SMTP id JAA28189 for ; Fri, 25 Dec 1998 09:24:55 +0500 (GMT+0500) Message-Id: <199812250424.JAA28189@isp.super.net.pk> From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Fri, 25 Dec 1998 09:29:51 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: 1998: The year 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 [this gives an overview of the asian IT industry in 1998. the focus is more on the south east asia and the pacific. irfan] ------- Forwarded Message Follows ------- December 21, 1998 1998: The year in Asia By Clare Haney [IDG News Service, Hong Kong Bureau] Any mention of "Asia" this year didn't really seem complete without the phrase "crisis" attached to it. While not all was doom and gloom this year in the region, certainly the ongoing recession permeated any and every IT news event at home and abroad like a bad smell. On a brighter note, some analysts are now predicting that in terms of IT spending, Asia will start to pull out of its economic doldrums in 1999. IT services remain one growth area amid decreased end-user expenditure on PCs, peripherals and software, Dataquest Inc. reported. If you were looking for a success story this year, look no further than China's dominant PC vendor Legend Group, which by the third quarter of this year, according to market research company International Data Corp. (IDC), had surpassed Hewlett-Packard Co. to become the third-largest PC vendor in Asia-Pacific. On the downside, 1998 saw financial losses, layoffs and office closures in the region by vendors as diverse as Hayes Corp., Hitachi Ltd., Netscape Communications Corp., Seagate Technology Inc. and Toshiba Corp. There was also a tightening up on Internet usage by governments in China and Malaysia, resulting in arrests. The year's squib was Malaysia's Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC), a high-tech development zone, which although it has 191 investors, it has yet to get off the ground. Kicked off in August 1996, the initiative was originally set to go live this year. Given the economic situation, it is also not surprising that many Asian countries remain well behind the curve with their plans to deal with the issues raised by the year 2000 date-change problem. Here's some highlights of 1998: January Thai users appealed to the Internet Society in the U.S. against a proposed new law -- the Internet Promotion Act -- to control Internet content and possibly restrict free expression on the Internet. Meanwhile, China unveiled extra Internet regulations aimed at dissuading users from participating in any online activities judged to be harmful. Such activities include the leaking of state secrets, pornography and political subversion. The Japanese Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) said it was investigating Microsoft Corp. regarding the integration of its Windows operating system with its Internet Explorer Web browser -- the main focus of the ongoing U.S. Department of Justice antitrust trial against Microsoft. However, the JFTC investigation was also interested in a Microsoft software bundle offered to local PC manufacturers. The investigation wound up finally in November, with the agency declining to pursue charges against Microsoft. Leading hard drive vendor Seagate laid off 1,800 workers at its Singapore disk drive plant as part of its global restructuring, involving an approximate 10 percent cut in its worldwide staff. The layoffs in Singapore represented about 10 percent of the company's workforce in the city-state, where Seagate is the second-largest private employer after Singapore Airlines. Asia proved slow to adopt the Internet. IDC estimated that developing economies such as China, India and Indonesia all had 'Net penetration rates of less than 1 percent. By contrast, Internet penetration was around 15 percent in the United States. Japanese vendors -- Hitachi, NEC Corp. and Fujitsu Ltd. -- cut back on DRAM (dynamic random access memory) chip production or diversified their product lines in the belief that DRAM prices will fall, despite a recent price hike. NEC blamed both the tumbling price of memory chips and the slumped Japanese economy for its net income for the year ending March 31, 1998, being down 51 percent on the previous year at 45 billion yen (US$360 million). Toshiba and Mitsubishi Electric Corp. also revised their earnings forecasts. February Taiwan experienced its first synchronous DRAM (SDRAM) memory chip robbery in broad daylight at gunpoint. Armed thieves disguised as policemen tried to make off with the chips valued at around NT$170 million (US$5 million). Police later recovered all of the chips and arrested nine people suspected of having a hand in the robbery. In a second stickup, thieves armed with knives got away with several million memory chips, including static RAM (SRAM), DRAM and SDRAM chips from a warehouse in Taoyuan County, outside Taipei. IBM Corp. and its technology performed well at the Nagano Olympic Winter Games in Japan, unlike the company's previous less-than- stellar performance at the Atlantic Summer Olympic Games in 1996. The key piece IBM revamped for the Nagano games was an intranet called "Info '98," which gave athletes, press and officials access to a warehouse of games data and information. Despite a 30-percent depreciation in Malaysia's currency, the country's MSC high-tech project was still on track, claimed Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. "The MSC is such an important project to our future that we cannot afford to starve it of funds," Mahathir said. "Because of the currency situation we have to find more money, and if necessary we will starve other projects, and channel funds to the MSC." IDC said Asia-Pacific (excluding Japan) IT spending will start to bounce back by the end of this year, experiencing a 16 percent compound annual growth rate from 1998 through 2002. The market research company estimated that IT spending will experience a 3- percent fall during the course of 1998, a forecast which proved much too optimistic and was later downgraded to a whopping 14.3 percent decrease instead. March Taiwanese PC giant Acer Inc. took over Texas Instruments Inc.'s share of the loss-making DRAM chip joint venture the two companies had. TI- Acer Inc. was renamed Acer Semiconductor Manufacturing Inc. (ASMI), and said it aimed to decrease its dependence on DRAM production, moving to make other chip products. Losses at the chip unit, however, became a major drag on Acer's profits during the year. In China's restructuring of its ministries, the Ministry of Electronics Industry (MEI) and the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications (MPT) were merged into a single organization called the Ministry of Information Industry (MII), headed by Wu Jichuan, former Minister of Posts and Telecommunications (MPT). April In Japan, Sun Microsystems Inc. and Fujitsu teamed up to collaborate on developing future versions of Sun's Solaris Unix operating system. The joint work will include continued development of the current 32- bit Solaris, as well as a future 64-bit version of Solaris that will run on Intel Corp.'s IA-64 microprocessor, code-named Merced, which it is developing with Hewlett-Packard. As deregulation of Japan's telecommunications market moved ahead, dominant local carrier Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corp. (NTT) stretched its wings and announced it will invest up to US$100 million in Englewood, Colorado-based Internet service provider (ISP) Verio Inc. NTT positioned the investment as its entree into the U.S. Internet market. Apple Computer Inc. apparently didn't think that differently after all, as the company removed an advertisement featuring a photo of Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama from its Asian promotions. Apple did so to avoid offending the Chinese government, which is opposed to the movement to gain Tibetan autonomy spearheaded by the Dalai Lama, the company admitted. Taiwan's government issued new guidelines for dealing with the year 2000 problem, highlighting the serious nature of the issue. According to official estimates, Taiwan's government sector needs to upgrade some 280,000 computer programs to make them year 2000-compliant, while the island's private enterprises have to deal with over 1 million such programs. Acer looked set to become the exclusive PC supplier for German company Siemens Nixdorf Informationssysteme (SNI) AG, in an agreement which was to see the Taiwanese company take over SNI's PC production unit in Augsburg, Germany, including the facility's 2,000 employees. However, relations between the two companies turned decidedly frosty by September and talks broke off due to a disagreement over the financial terms of the deal. May Intel officially opened its first manufacturing facility in China, a US$198 million flash memory test and assembly plant in Shanghai. The chip giant also announced plans for a $50 million research and development facility in Beijing, which will focus on exploring Internet-related issues and speech recognition. June PointCast Inc. pulled the plug on its Asia operation as the U.S. company fell out with its joint-venture partner China Internet Corp. (CIC) over the value of the push technology service in Asia. South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., the world's largest DRAM maker, announced that it would suspend all memory and most non-memory chip production for a full week from June 14 to June 20. A clear indication, analysts said, that there was a glut of chips. NEC announced plans to start delivery of a new series of supercomputers in December. The SX-5 series will be the world's fastest supercomputer with a maximum processing speed of 4 trillion floating-point operations per second (teraflops), according to the Japanese vendor. July Hong Kong's Chek Lap Kok airport opened, but not to applause. Due to computer problems, the HK$155 billion (US$20 billion) facility was unable to handle cargo, which led to scenes of rotting fruit, spoiled flowers and dead fish and crustaceans on the airport's tarmac. Local traders hoped to sue someone for the losses they suffered, but as of December, blame has yet to be assigned as investigations into the mess are still ongoing. British Telecommunications PLC announced plans to acquire a 33.3 percent equity stake in Malaysia's leading private telecommunications provider Binariang Bhd. for about 250 million pounds (US$410.45 million), in a move designed to strengthen the British company's presence in the Asia-Pacific region. Hangul & Computer Co. terminated an agreement with Microsoft that would have seen the South Korean word processing software vendor abandon its own product development efforts in exchange for a cash injection from the U.S. vendor. Instead, Hangul opted for a 10 billion won (US$8 million) bailout from a local venture capital club. The Malaysian government tried to protect its high-technology MSC project from the ravages of the current regional economic downturn by setting up a 5 billion ringgit (US$965 million) infrastructure fund and by acquiring a majority stake in one of the project's main developers, Cyberview Sdn. Bhd. August Acer cut its full-year 1998 profit forecast by 36 percent, citing lower-than-expected sales of Acer-branded PCs and memory chip losses as the main reasons for the dim prediction. The company's Founder and Chairman Stan Shih announced he would take a 30 percent paycut, with other senior managers taking cuts of between 5 percent and 30 percent. By December, Acer was set to announce further profit forecasts cuts for the full year. Most publicly traded companies in Japan were still in the midst of adjusting their systems to be able to deal with the year 2000 problem, according to the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE). Out of 1,549 companies listed on the exchange, 81.2 percent said they were currently reprogramming their systems to make them Y2K-compliant. Sun took a more prosaic attitude towards investing in Asia. Company Chief Operating Officer Ed Zander, during the course of a visit to Southeast Asia, said, "We are still investing, though more cautiously due to the economic uncertainties in the region." In Malaysia, three people were arrested on suspicion of spreading rumors over the Internet, prompting speculation that the government will tighten up, or at the very least, clarify laws relating to the control of the 'Net. The rumors alleged that there were civil disturbances in the country's capital city Kuala Lumpur, which led to panic buying of foodstuffs across the city. China's crackdown on smuggling of goods into the country resulted in a hike in local PC prices, as dealers found it more difficult to obtain stock. September Sun tried to interest Japanese manufacturers in its new Jini architecture, which according to company co-founder and chief Jini architect Bill Joy could be used in devices ranging from PCs to automobiles and refrigerators. Sun unveiled Jini in July. Potential Japanese Jini partners may include Sony Corp., Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd. and Toyota Motor Corp. A senior MII official admitted that China was nine to 12 months behind most of the developed world in preparing its computer systems for the year 2000 issue. However, the Chinese government does hope to be Y2K-ready by next year, setting a deadline for compliancy of March 1999, with final testing to be done and dusted by September 1999. Legend became the first company to take the wraps off a prototype of the first Chinese-language palm-sized PC device based on Microsoft's Windows CE at the China Computerworld show in Beijing. Hewlett- Packard, meanwhile, stole the limelight at the official launch in November in Shanghai, by unveiling a color palm-sized PC model. October October was a black month for Japanese IT companies, with the likes of Matushita and Sony announcing a fall in operating profits, and Hitachi and Toshiba reporting losses. The companies cited the weak yen and a fall in demand for products as reasons for their below-par financial results. NEC, perhaps, suffered most, with the company's Chairman Tadahiro Sekimoto resigning over a corruption scandal in which two NEC subsidiaries overbilled Japan's Defense Agency and in turn offered jobs and favors to former agency officials. NEC also announced its first fiscal loss in four years. In Malaysia, an event to talk up the country's MSC singularly failed to draw an international audience. Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, giving the keynote address at Multimedia Asia, barely mentioned the MSC and instead concentrated on his ongoing feud with the foreign media, exasperated by his jailing of Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. PSINet Inc. continued to hoover up as many Asian Internet service providers as it could, buying Tokyo Internet Corp. to make the U.S. vendor the second-largest ISP in Japan. The company also finalized its purchase of South Korean ISP Inet Inc. PSINet bought other Japanese ISPs Twics Co. Ltd. and Rimnet Corp. in September and Hong Kong's Linkage Online Ltd. in July. November Computer Associates International Inc. (CA) and Chinese PC vendor Legend signed a joint venture agreement to develop business software applications for the Mainland market. To be known as Legend CA, the joint venture's initial task is to develop a trio of business software applications. Intel Chairman Andy Grove warned that IT growth in Asia will be damaged in the long run if countries in the region respond to current economic problems by scaling back investments and turning inward. "Should the economies in these countries hit a bump, isolationist sentiment is not too far below the surface and could undo the progress that has been made in this area over the past several years," Grove said. Meanwhile, Larry Ellison, Oracle Corp.'s chairman and chief executive officer, predicted that the worldwide move from client-centric to network-centric computing offers a "tremendous opportunity for software companies in Asian countries to build those applications." He added that as far as Oracle is concerned, the company will develop more and more of its software outside of Silicon Valley. Netscape shut down its Hong Kong office due to changes in the company's indirect business model. Hayes, once the leader in the modem industry, closed its regional headquarters in Hong Kong, following the filing of Chapter 11 bankruptcy by its parent company in the U.S. Microsoft set up its first research laboratory in Asia in which the company plans to invest US$80 million. Microsoft Research, based in Beijing, will focus on making computers more compatible with humans, particularly in the area of speech recognition. December The 13th Asian Games in Thailand proved to be a major challenge for the Acer Group. The Taiwanese company was the major IT sponsor of the event to the tune of US$10 million. The games finished on Dec. 20. China got tougher on computer crime, executing two men for allegedly smuggling PCs and electronics into the Mainland. Shanghai software entrepreneur Lin Hai, also went on trial for allegedly providing e- mail addresses to a U.S.-based pro-democracy publication. As of today, Lin is still in prison awaiting the outcome of the trial. The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) decided to carry on with its investigation into alleged chip dumping into the U.S. market by Taiwanese DRAM chip vendors. The U.S. Department of Commerce is set to announce its determination on whether dumping is occurring around Mar. 31 next year. Network Computer Inc. (NCI) gained another big hitter for its technology in NEC, which intends to make use of the software in Internet services aimed at home users in Japan. However, the high bandwidth necessary to run NCI-based services hasn't spread through Japan that well, analysts said. Sun and Matsushita signed a joint development deal, which could well result in a lighter version of Java for embedded applications, one which has lower memory requirements than Embedded Java, company officials said. Copyright 1998 IDG Communications (HK) Ltd. All rights reserved. Computerworld Hong Kong is an IDG publication. http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=42798 From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Sun Dec 27 05:11:31 1998 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id FAA10322; Sun, 27 Dec 1998 05:05:15 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 FAA10313 for ; Sun, 27 Dec 1998 05:05:10 GMT Received: from ngorc ([203.130.5.128]) by isp.super.net.pk (8.9.1/8.9.1) with SMTP id KAA25550 for ; Sun, 27 Dec 1998 10:03:09 +0500 (GMT+0500) Message-Id: <199812270503.KAA25550@isp.super.net.pk> From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Sun, 27 Dec 1998 10:06:50 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: Re: Internet content policy: Feedback solicited 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 On 23 Dec 98, at 16:02, Venkatesh Hariharan wrote: <> One of the solutions is to use unicode [http://www.unicode.org], a standard that is _going_to_ replace ASCII, an 8-bit (i.e. only 256 characters) code. UNICODE is 16-bit, and hence can accomodate 65,536 characters. Irfan From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Sun Dec 27 20:03:21 1998 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id UAA04393; Sun, 27 Dec 1998 20:00:23 GMT Received: from MIT.EDU (PACIFIC-CARRIER-ANNEX.MIT.EDU [18.69.0.28]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with SMTP id UAA04383 for ; Sun, 27 Dec 1998 20:00:20 GMT Received: from MIT.MIT.EDU by MIT.EDU with SMTP id AA29621; Sun, 27 Dec 98 15:00:23 EST Received: from ERMURROW.MIT.EDU by MIT.MIT.EDU (5.61/4.7) id AA24807; Sun, 27 Dec 98 15:00:07 EST Date: Sun, 27 Dec 98 15:00:07 EST Message-Id: In-Reply-To: <199812270503.KAA25550@isp.super.net.pk> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net From: Venkatesh Hariharan Subject: Re: Internet content policy: Feedback solicited Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk Irfan Khan wrote: ><languages is so difficult because there are no common standards (like >ASCII for English) that are universally used. >> > > >One of the solutions is to use unicode [http://www.unicode.org], a >standard that is _going_to_ replace ASCII, an 8-bit (i.e. only 256 >characters) code. UNICODE is 16-bit, and hence can accomodate 65,536 >characters. > I am not sure what the status with Unicode is. I wonder if there are Indian organisations that are participating in the process of setting standards for font encoding. There are so many different fonts in the Indian market that it's a virtual Tower of Babel out there. As Prof Keniston pointed out, this means that e-mail sent from one person to another cannot be received correctly unless the corresponding font is installed in the recipient's PC. I think that the government should quickly put together a body to set the standards and invite suggestions from all over the country. Venky Venkatesh Hariharan Knight Science Journalism Fellow @ Massachusetts Institute of Technology 156 Magazine Street, Apt # 33, Cambridge, MA 02139 Tel: (O) 617-253-6709 Fax: 617-258-8100 URL: http://www.venky.org From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Tue Dec 29 22:24:37 1998 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id WAA11905; Tue, 29 Dec 1998 22:19:42 GMT Received: from MIT.EDU (SOUTH-STATION-ANNEX.MIT.EDU [18.72.1.2]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with SMTP id WAA11900 for ; Tue, 29 Dec 1998 22:19:39 GMT Received: from MIT.MIT.EDU by MIT.EDU with SMTP id AA07108; Tue, 29 Dec 98 17:19:36 EST Received: from ERMURROW.MIT.EDU by MIT.MIT.EDU (5.61/4.7) id AA08935; Tue, 29 Dec 98 17:19:33 EST Date: Tue, 29 Dec 98 17:19:33 EST Message-Id: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" To: sasianet@pan.idrc.org.sg From: Venkatesh Hariharan Subject: IT TAKES A (WIRED) VILLAGE Cc: s-asia-it@apnic.net Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk Here's an article from Jesse Berst's anchordesk web site. The article has links to a few other articles on the same subject. Venky ----- IT TAKES A (WIRED) VILLAGE -- WHY GLOBAL CONNECTIVITY IS A MYTH http://www.anchordesk.com/a/adt1229ba/2931 *World Wide* Web? Not really. Though AnchorDesk readers enjoy easy Internet access, billions of other Earthlings are either under-connected or just plain unwired. Come to the site for a look at who's hooked up, who isn't and what opportunities this disparity presents. Venkatesh Hariharan Knight Science Journalism Fellow @ Massachusetts Institute of Technology 156 Magazine Street, Apt # 33, Cambridge, MA 02139 Tel: (O) 617-253-6709 Fax: 617-258-8100 URL: http://www.venky.org From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Wed Dec 30 06:36:17 1998 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id GAA29558; Wed, 30 Dec 1998 06:33:40 GMT Received: from cello.cs.iitm.ernet.in (cello.cs.iitm.ernet.in [202.141.24.3]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id GAA29538 for ; Wed, 30 Dec 1998 06:33:17 GMT Received: from indy.iitm.ernet.in (indy.iitm.ernet.in [144.16.241.170]) by cello.cs.iitm.ernet.in (8.8.7/8.6.9) with SMTP id LAA00658; Wed, 30 Dec 1998 11:41:16 +0530 Received: by indy.iitm.ernet.in; (940816.SGI.8.6.9/1.1.8.2/07Feb96-0917AM) id QAA00863; Tue, 29 Dec 1998 16:37:09 +0530 From: "Prof. Arunachalam" Message-Id: <9812291637.ZM861@indy.iitm.ernet.in> Date: Tue, 29 Dec 1998 16:37:03 +0000 X-Mailer: Z-Mail (3.2.2 10apr95 MediaMail) To: darryl@shakti.ncst.ernet.in Cc: arun@indy.iitm.ernet.in, GLD2@lists.rsu.edu, india-ej@unv.ernet.in, s-asia-it@apnic.net, venky@MIT.EDU Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk News Release India's DAE establishes a chair at MSSRF Prof. P C Kesavan, former Director of the Biosciences Group at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai, has been appointed to the Department of Atomic Energy Homi Bhabha Chair for Nuclear Science and Rural Society at the M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation, Chennai. Dr R Chidambaram, Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission, announced the endowment of the Chair and the appointment of Prof. Kesavan at a simple function held at the MSSRF on 10 December 1998. The late Dr Homi Bhabha was a pioneer in harnessing nuclear science and technology for human welfare. To him we owe the very large number of programmes in the area of peaceful uses of atomic energy, and the application of nuclear tools in agriculture, medicine and industry. And Dr Bhabha pioneered the culture of nurturing science and technology by building institutions and programmes around scientists of proven merit. He believed in fostering scientist-centred rather than post-centred system of administration. It is fitting therefore that the Homi Bhabaha Chair should be established at the M. S. Swaminathan Resaerch Foundation, where efforts are on to blend modern technologies with traditional forms of knowledge for the betterment of the rural and coastal communities, and a distinguished scientist of the calibre of Dr Kesavan be appointed as the first incumbant. To Dr Kesavan it is sort of homecoming: He learnt his basics of radiation biology and genetics as a doctoral student of Prof. Swaminathan at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, some three decades ago. Prof. Kesavan, a Fellow of the Indian National Science Academy and the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences, is known for his contribution to radiation genetics, mutation breeding and radiation biology. All through his working life, Prof. Kesavan has worked with mainstream research institutions and in areas related to biology and nuclear science: Indian Agricultural Research Institute, Jawaharlal Nehru University and BARC. The Homi Bhabha Chair has brought him to work with the Non-Governmental sector and rural communities. Current Science wishes him well in his new assignment. For more information on the work of the M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation, please visit . India's Department of Atomic Energy came in for some criticism a few months ago when India tested some nuclear devices. Often DAE's work relevant to the basic needs of the India people go unnoticed. From owner-s-asia-it@ns.apnic.net Wed Dec 30 19:46:14 1998 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id TAA22967; Wed, 30 Dec 1998 19:43:27 GMT Received: from fh102.infi.net (fh102.infi.net [208.131.160.101]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id TAA22963 for ; Wed, 30 Dec 1998 19:43:23 GMT Received: from akron.infi.net (pm2-113.akr.infi.net [207.0.173.113]) by fh102.infi.net (8.8.8/8.8.8) with ESMTP id OAA29651; Wed, 30 Dec 1998 14:36:55 -0500 (EST) Message-ID: <368BD3B1.C9A3701F@akron.infi.net> Date: Thu, 31 Dec 1998 14:42:42 -0500 From: Bob Pyke Jr X-Mailer: Mozilla 4.5 [en] (Win95; U) X-Accept-Language: en MIME-Version: 1.0 To: Arun-Kumar Tripathi Subject: [Fwd: The MASIE Center: 12 Predictions for 1999 in Learning, Training & Technology] Content-Type: multipart/mixed; boundary="------------AB967851BD6FDB3C2C14DB1D" Sender: owner-s-asia-it@apnic.net Precedence: bulk This is a multi-part message in MIME format. --------------AB967851BD6FDB3C2C14DB1D Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit One of those Fyi things. Bob Pyke Jr James L Morrison wrote: > TechLearn Trends is another outstanding scanning publication that focuses on > technology trends. Subscription information is at the bottom of the post. > > Jim > > -- > James L. Morrison morrison@unc.edu > Professor of Educational Leadership CB 3500 Peabody Hall > Editor, On the Horizon The University of North > http://horizon.unc.edu/horizon Carolina at Chapel Hill > Editor, The Technology Source Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3500 > http://horizon.unc.edu/TS Phone: 919 962-2517 > Fax: 919 962-1693 > > -----Original Message----- > From: TechLearn Trends [mailto:techlearn-trends@lister.masie.com] > Sent: Wednesday, December 30, 1998 9:27 AM > To: James Morrison > Subject: 12 Predictions for 1999 in Learning, Training & Technology > > #96 - - - December 30, 1998 - - - 22,712 Readers > TechLearn TRENDS --- Technology & Learning Updates > The MASIE Center http://www.masie.com Elliott Masie, Editor > > (Special Report from Camp Uncas - Adirondack Mountains, N.Y.) > > 12 Learning, Training and Technology Predictions for 1999 - From The MASIE > Center > > With the New Year about 48 hours away and the snow falling at our remote > wilderness cabin in the Adriondacks, it is a perfect time and setting to put > on my Predictions Hat. 1998 was been quite a year for the learning field. > So, what is The MASIE Center predicting for the last year of this millenium? > > 1. ASSUMPTIVE CHOICE: During 1999, the learner community will evolve their > assumptions about the format of learning. ASSUMPTIVE CHOICE means that > learners will assume that there will be a choice in format for almost every > learning and training experience. "How can I learn the new networking > system - either via on-line learning or a class?" The learner's mantra will > be this choice. > > 2. INTENSITY, SIMULTATION & COLLABORATION: During 1999, the bar will be > raised on what a learner expects in an on-line learning experience. Look > for new products that will offer more INTENSITY (higher levels of > engagement), SIMULATION (immediate ability to practice with consequences) > and COLLABORATION (multi-learner and real-time access to expertise models). > > 3. CONTENT, CONTENT and CONTENT: While there is a lot of interest in new > tools for creating and delivering learning, the real interest is in CONTENT. > Almost every one of our contacts in major organizations has expressed the > immediate need for technology delivered CONTENT in a wide range of topics. > Remember, most organizations only home-grow a small percentage of their > training. They buy the bulk of it. This pattern is placing a high demand > on CONTENT COLLECTIONS. Look for the growth of CONTENT libraries in 1999, > form existing learning providers and also new players. > > 5. TEMPLATES: A further expansion of the demand of content will be > TEMPLATES. Organizations want to be able to access an "almost-ready" > version of a class and then have a rapid process for customizing and > finalizing the course. > > 6. AUDIOGRAPHICS: If we were to invest in one aspect of learning in 1999, > it would be AUDIOGRAPHICS. Simple definition: the ability to share a > common web page with a second person while having a telephone conversation. > AUDIOGRAPHICS will become a core component of both the selling process and > customer support. Automatic links between web pages and telephone systems > will allow for an easier deployment of AUDIOGRAPHICS. Look towards the > browser taking on increased capacity in this area in 1999 and training > organizations developing new uses of AUDIOGRAPHICS . > > 7. COACHING & MENTORING: When we talk with learners about their wish list > of 1999, the conversation seems to snake around to COACHING & MENTORING. > The learner wants to be able to combine self-study with easy access to an > expert as they apply the new material. COACHING & MENTORING will be > delivered in a wide range of formats and business models: telephone, > on-line, real-time or scheduled. > > 8. TRANSACTION ASSISTANCE: Watch for an amazing growth in web-based > transactions in business in 1999. As we become more comfortable with > on-line shopping and with the use of browsers, corporations will be very > rapidly migrating major chunks of transactions within the organization to > browser based forms. This will spur the growth of a new field of training, > called TRANSACTION ASSISTANCE. Imagine small modules of on-line learning > (with an escalation to mentoring), for key transactions ranging from changes > in your H.R. choices to how to order new materials in a warehouse. This > move will be enabled by the growth of enterprise computing systems and the > desire of business units to rapidly change a transaction in response to > changing requirements. > > 9. ASSESSMENT: The world wants some new models of assessment. > Organizations and learners want to be able to assess skills at a very > targeted level. Look for several new players in the technology delivered > assessment field. Watch for team based assessment as well as the growth of > independent skills portfolios. > > 10. PRICING MODELS: One of the difficulties in 1998 has been the lack of > pricing models for learning content. We all know the range of costs for a 2 > day instructor led class. Yet, how much should one pay for an on-line > learning experience. Look for a PRICING MODEL to emerge in 1999, to assist > buyers, suppliers and learners. We believe that the variables above > (intensity, simulation, assessment, mentoring and collaboration) will be key > factors in calculating the price, along with the impact of the learning on > the enterprise. > > 11. INVESTMENTS GALORE: 1999 will be a year of massive investments in the > Learning Marketplace. We are tracking more than 3 Billion new U.S. Dollars > targeted at the learning marketplace. Look for 3 new "roll-ups" in our > industry, where a dozen or more smaller companies are purchased and rolled > up into an consolidated player. Also, watch for big-time investments in > for-profit higher education alternatives. > > 12. CHANGE & REFLECTION: The easiest prediction to make for 1999 is that > there will be change. I should turn in my trends analyst cap for making > that one. Yet, in 1999, there are other forces at work to make CHANGE a > valid prediction. We believe that people and organizations will use the > coming change in calendar to drive greater than ever reflection and > introspection. As we face a benchmark as large as the turn of the > millenium, it is only natural that we will take a deep breath. I would > predict that you will see an unprecedented level of personal and > organizational REFLECTION in the next 12 months. Lots of folks will take > stock of their careers, consider alternatives and examine their learning > needs. Business units will want to go into the next thousand years with > greater clarity and focus. So, strap on your CHANGE seat belt...it will be > quite a year ahead. > > Best Wishes for 1999 - From Elliott Masie and The MASIE Center > (Permission Granted to Copy and Re-Post with Attribution to The MASIE > Center - http://www.masie.com > > -- > TechLearn Trends is Published by The MASIE Center, Inc. > - > To submit ideas, questions or topics, send to > trends@masie.com > - > To DELETE yourself from this occasional list send an email to: > leave-techlearn-trends-16366V@lister.masie.com > OR browse to: > http://www.masie.com/remove/ > - > To add additional people to this list go to: > http://www.masie.com/list/ > - > To speak to a human about list specific issues send email to > lyris-admin@lister.masie.com > -- --------------AB967851BD6FDB3C2C14DB1D Content-Type: message/rfc822 Content-Disposition: inline Return-Path: Received: from listserv.oit.unc.edu (listserv.oit.unc.edu [152.2.25.17]) by fh102.infi.net (8.8.8/8.8.8) with ESMTP id NAA22213 for ; Wed, 30 Dec 1998 13:48:32 -0500 (EST) Received: from SOCKFAULT1@localhost (port 48671 [127.0.0.1]) by listserv.oit.unc.edu with SMTP id <222285-13773>; Wed, 30 Dec 1998 13:46:39 -0500 Received: from NO-IDENT-SERVICE@camel7.mindspring.com (port 3642 [207.69.200.57]) by listserv.oit.unc.edu with ESMTP id <222172-13795>; Wed, 30 Dec 1998 13:46:08 -0500 Received: from morrison.soe.unc.edu (user-38ld8f2.dialup.mindspring.com [209.86.161.226]) by camel7.mindspring.com (8.8.5/8.8.5) with SMTP id NAA18158; Wed, 30 Dec 1998 13:46:15 -0500 (EST) Message-Id: <002a01be3424$95074060$b7a056d1@morrison.soe.unc.edu> Date: Wed, 30 Dec 1998 13:45:31 -0500 Reply-To: morrison@unc.edu Sender: owner-horizon@listserv.oit.unc.edu From: "James L Morrison" To: "horizonlist" Subject: The MASIE Center: 12 Predictions for 1999 in Learning, Training & Technology MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" X-Priority: 3 (Normal) X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook 8.5, Build 4.71.2232.26 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V4.72.3110.3 X-Listprocessor-Version: 8.1 -- ListProcessor(tm) by CREN X-Mozilla-Status2: 00000000 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit TechLearn Trends is another outstanding scanning publication that focuses on technology trends. Subscription information is at the bottom of the post. Jim -- James L. Morrison morrison@unc.edu Professor of Educational Leadership CB 3500 Peabody Hall Editor, On the Horizon The University of North http://horizon.unc.edu/horizon Carolina at Chapel Hill Editor, The Technology Source Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3500 http://horizon.unc.edu/TS Phone: 919 962-2517 Fax: 919 962-1693 -----Original Message----- From: TechLearn Trends [mailto:techlearn-trends@lister.masie.com] Sent: Wednesday, December 30, 1998 9:27 AM To: James Morrison Subject: 12 Predictions for 1999 in Learning, Training & Technology #96 - - - December 30, 1998 - - - 22,712 Readers TechLearn TRENDS --- Technology & Learning Updates The MASIE Center http://www.masie.com Elliott Masie, Editor (Special Report from Camp Uncas - Adirondack Mountains, N.Y.) 12 Learning, Training and Technology Predictions for 1999 - From The MASIE Center With the New Year about 48 hours away and the snow falling at our remote wilderness cabin in the Adriondacks, it is a perfect time and setting to put on my Predictions Hat. 1998 was been quite a year for the learning field. So, what is The MASIE Center predicting for the last year of this millenium? 1. ASSUMPTIVE CHOICE: During 1999, the learner community will evolve their assumptions about the format of learning. ASSUMPTIVE CHOICE means that learners will assume that there will be a choice in format for almost every learning and training experience. "How can I learn the new networking system - either via on-line learning or a class?" The learner's mantra will be this choice. 2. INTENSITY, SIMULTATION & COLLABORATION: During 1999, the bar will be raised on what a learner expects in an on-line learning experience. Look for new products that will offer more INTENSITY (higher levels of engagement), SIMULATION (immediate ability to practice with consequences) and COLLABORATION (multi-learner and real-time access to expertise models). 3. CONTENT, CONTENT and CONTENT: While there is a lot of interest in new tools for creating and delivering learning, the real interest is in CONTENT. Almost every one of our contacts in major organizations has expressed the immediate need for technology delivered CONTENT in a wide range of topics. Remember, most organizations only home-grow a small percentage of their training. They buy the bulk of it. This pattern is placing a high demand on CONTENT COLLECTIONS. Look for the growth of CONTENT libraries in 1999, form existing learning providers and also new players. 5. TEMPLATES: A further expansion of the demand of content will be TEMPLATES. Organizations want to be able to access an "almost-ready" version of a class and then have a rapid process for customizing and finalizing the course. 6. AUDIOGRAPHICS: If we were to invest in one aspect of learning in 1999, it would be AUDIOGRAPHICS. Simple definition: the ability to share a common web page with a second person while having a telephone conversation. AUDIOGRAPHICS will become a core component of both the selling process and customer support. Automatic links between web pages and telephone systems will allow for an easier deployment of AUDIOGRAPHICS. Look towards the browser taking on increased capacity in this area in 1999 and training organizations developing new uses of AUDIOGRAPHICS . 7. COACHING & MENTORING: When we talk with learners about their wish list of 1999, the conversation seems to snake around to COACHING & MENTORING. The learner wants to be able to combine self-study with easy access to an expert as they apply the new material. COACHING & MENTORING will be delivered in a wide range of formats and business models: telephone, on-line, real-time or scheduled. 8. TRANSACTION ASSISTANCE: Watch for an amazing growth in web-based transactions in business in 1999. As we become more comfortable with on-line shopping and with the use of browsers, corporations will be very rapidly migrating major chunks of transactions within the organization to browser based forms. This will spur the growth of a new field of training, called TRANSACTION ASSISTANCE. Imagine small modules of on-line learning (with an escalation to mentoring), for key transactions ranging from changes in your H.R. choices to how to order new materials in a warehouse. This move will be enabled by the growth of enterprise computing systems and the desire of business units to rapidly change a transaction in response to changing requirements. 9. ASSESSMENT: The world wants some new models of assessment. Organizations and learners want to be able to assess skills at a very targeted level. Look for several new players in the technology delivered assessment field. Watch for team based assessment as well as the growth of independent skills portfolios. 10. PRICING MODELS: One of the difficulties in 1998 has been the lack of pricing models for learning content. We all know the range of costs for a 2 day instructor led class. Yet, how much should one pay for an on-line learning experience. Look for a PRICING MODEL to emerge in 1999, to assist buyers, suppliers and learners. We believe that the variables above (intensity, simulation, assessment, mentoring and collaboration) will be key factors in calculating the price, along with the impact of the learning on the enterprise. 11. INVESTMENTS GALORE: 1999 will be a year of massive investments in the Learning Marketplace. We are tracking more than 3 Billion new U.S. Dollars targeted at the learning marketplace. Look for 3 new "roll-ups" in our industry, where a dozen or more smaller companies are purchased and rolled up into an consolidated player. Also, watch for big-time investments in for-profit higher education alternatives. 12. CHANGE & REFLECTION: The easiest prediction to make for 1999 is that there will be change. I should turn in my trends analyst cap for making that one. Yet, in 1999, there are other forces at work to make CHANGE a valid prediction. We believe that people and organizations will use the coming change in calendar to drive greater than ever reflection and introspection. As we face a benchmark as large as the turn of the millenium, it is only natural that we will take a deep breath. I would predict that you will see an unprecedented level of personal and organizational REFLECTION in the next 12 months. Lots of folks will take stock of their careers, consider alternatives and examine their learning needs. Business units will want to go into the next thousand years with greater clarity and focus. So, strap on your CHANGE seat belt...it will be quite a year ahead. Best Wishes for 1999 - From Elliott Masie and The MASIE Center (Permission Granted to Copy and Re-Post with Attribution to The MASIE Center - http://www.masie.com -- TechLearn Trends is Published by The MASIE Center, Inc. - To submit ideas, questions or topics, send to trends@masie.com - To DELETE yourself from this occasional list send an email to: leave-techlearn-trends-16366V@lister.masie.com OR browse to: http://www.masie.com/remove/ - To add additional people to this list go to: http://www.masie.com/list/ - To speak to a human about list specific issues send email to lyris-admin@lister.masie.com -- --------------AB967851BD6FDB3C2C14DB1D--