EliteX2002, exhibition for electronics, IT held

NEW DELHI: EliteX2002, an exhibition cum seminar, was held at the Delhi India

Habitat Center for electronics and IT exposition. Media Labs Asia sponsored the

event while showcasing their 12 new product lines. The two day long event has

over 20 participants including the Electronics Research and Development Center

from Noida, Trivandrum and Calcutta, the National Center for Software Technology

and the STPI. The topics of the seminars comprised from e learning to

e-infrastructure and e-commerce. The focus of the event was on taking IT to the

masses, the solutions that are currently available, products were showcased by

exhibitors and seminars were delivered along the same lines.

In taking the PC to the masses Prof. Alex Pentland, director, Media Lab Asia,

said that one must look at new generation devices that will cost as low as Rs

1000, thus making IT for the masses a reality. "We are going beyond the PC,

and the opportunities lay in entrepreneurs and people to invent new generation

devices that are cheap and take over the existing expensive generation of

devices. "Media Labs has developed a product called DakNet to deliver

Intranet and Internet connectivity to most villages. Every village has a center

where video and written messages would be entered and later via a mobile van or

scooter, where a small handheld device of about 2GB is kept. The repeater in the

mobile van or cycle would scan the data from a distance and take it to a common

hub for connectivity and thereby send and receive data. Each of these hubs would

cater to around 10 villages." They have already installed a DakNet pilot

project at a Haryana village, Tikawari. Other new solutions are the bio-sensor

devices for bacteria count in milk, water and food. " Our goal is to create

low cost computers which would cost as low as Rs. 250 by another 6 to 7 years.

" Pentland added.

At the inaugural speech, Pramod Mahajan, Union Minister for Information

Technology, said, "The theme of the event is very well selected,

e-readiness, and I feel that India should submit a report on this topic and the

participation should be both from private and public sector people. And

e-leadership should come from every section of the society."

At a seminar on e-infrastructure, enablers and drivers for convergence were

discussed, along with the need for security and broad band for mobility.