[Perkembangan dan kemajuan sektor IT di Singapura telah menggegarkan dunia walaupun rancangan pembangunannya hampir tidak didengari oleh kita - tidak seperti MSC yang sudah bersidang entah berapa kali tetapi asyik berbincang entah apa-apa. Yang kedengaran pula ialah mengapa ia tidak bergerak-gerak bagai si mati pula. Yang bergerak cuma berita tetapi bendanya hampir tiada. MSC tidak menyumbangkan langsung kepada ekonomi negara di saat kita amat memerlukannya walaupun berbilion sudah ditabur untuknya.

Kita baru sahaja dikejutkan dengan Singtel membeli Optus di Australia. Kali ini Singtel mempamirkan teknologi TV interaktif di dalam ekspo CommunicAsia yang dikunjungi oleh pelawat dari seluruh dunia. Tidak disebut pun satu ciptaan dari MSC Malaysia kerana tiada apa yang mengancam sesiapa. Lihat sahaja kepada MESDAQ anda akan tertawa. Sekarang kilang-kilang elektronik sudah semakin tiada. Microsoft pernah berjanji untuk membina HQ nya di Malaysia, tetapi sampai sekarang bilangan pekerjanya boleh dibilang dengan jari sahaja. Bill Gates sudah tidak muncul melainkan selepas mesyuarat selesai kerana ia tidak berguna. Sun Microsystem meletak kira-kira 30 pekerja sahaja di sini, tetapi kira-kira 200 orang di Singapura.

''The best showcase in the region is Singapore,' kata pengarah Sun.

Cuba fikirkan Singtel membeli harta dan pelaburan di luar tetapi syarikat seperti time dotCom terpaksa dibeli di dalam oleh dana awam kerana Malaysia hanya pandai membuat hutang.... Siapa yang sebenarnya lebih berwawasan dan siapa yang banyak angan-angan? - Editor]

http://www.iwon.com/home/technology/tech_article/ 0,2109,136964|technology|06-19-2001::06:48|reuters,00.html

Glitzy Tech Fair in Singapore Belies Sector Slump

June 19, 2001 6:23 am EST

By John O'Callaghan

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - It's hard to believe the high-tech industry is in a slump with all the glitz, gadgets and glad-handing at this year's CommunicAsia trade jamboree.

Touting connectivity, accessibility, power and speed, 2,400 exhibitors from 54 countries have packed the cavernous Singapore Expo this week to show off mobile phones, fibre optics, satellite technology, computer paraphernalia and all things digital.

Big noises were being made about a Samsung flip-up mobile that rings in at an ultra-thin 9.8 mm, or less than four-tenths of an inch. Another by Siemens grabbed attention for its music, e-mail and pocket organizer features.

"I don't know if it makes you coffee or not," one observer quipped.

But alongside industry heavyweights such as IBM, Ericsson, Philips and NTT DoCoMo are smaller players with big ideas.

Deep Video Imaging, a New Zealand company with 25 employees and operations in Texas and Singapore, has developed a computer monitor with two screen layers to allow users to see and work on separate items in the foreground and the background.

"Instead of having two monitors side by side, you have one on top of the other," said business development manager Andrew Hodgkinson. "The optics are tricky -- there's some physics in there -- but the idea is simple."

The gaming market, the military and financial traders were among the target clients, he said.

Singapore company EON Infotech has created an application for real estate agents with Palm personal organizers, which includes property listings, a mortgage calculator and floorplans.

TECHNO-SPEAK AND POPCORN

Although the show from June 19-22 boasts nearly 300 more companies than last year, one participant said the mood was not the same as the previous event at the smaller World Trade Centre.

"It has toned down," said Chris Perrine, regional sales manager for information technology analysts IDC. "But everything in technology has toned down."

Eager company representatives compete for attention with each other, thumping music and banks of video monitors at row upon row of booths. Techno-speak is rife and acronymns abound.

Hostesses in space-age costumes dispense popcorn, lucky draw tickets and toothy smiles.

While some of the terminology and technology is a bit baffling for the average mortal still grappling with SMS messages and VCR programming, some of the gizmos could prove very handy.

Singapore Telecommunications displayed its Interactive TV service that will soon offer viewers shopping, video on demand, Internet access and e-mail in their livingrooms.

Zi Corp boasted the latest version of eZiText allows Korean characters to be typed 200 percent faster than traditional ways, while St. Technologies said the new ePen captured written text which could then be downloaded or sent via mobile phone.

At Ericsson's massive booth, the Swedish telecoms equipment maker showed off its own Chatpen -- developed by Anoto AB -- which will be released in the first quarter of 2002.

"It's a pen that carries a camera and a Bluetooth transceiver -- the pen talks to your mobile phone," Anoto key account manager Ulf Berglund said of the cigar-sized device and the pattern of dots printed on ordinary paper which orient it.

"Whatever you write on this paper can be sent on this phone as e-mail, fax or SMS."