Sakaru Pasaule - Žurnāls par
modernām komunikācijām

  
  


Atpakaļ Jaunais numurs Arhīvs Par mums Meklēšana

Annotation

   

Annotation

 

All the huge spring exhibitions are over at last. This is a time for summer vacations. Can a businessman of a small or medium company afford a vacation? Business philosophers suggest that life of small and medium companies looks very much like the fight of gladiators. It also means that if one wants to survive one has to gladiatorise  the business rules and business environment. Are you ready to do it or would you rather enjoy the hot and inviting summertime?

 

In this issue:

·       Microsoft in Baltics -  closer to the customer (pages 30-31)

 

Microsoft office in Riga was opened three years ago and it  increased the volume of sales dramatically - for 100 percent. Quite recently a new Baltic regional manager was appointed. Torben Andersen has moved to Riga together with his family, and so he is closer to the customers and can understand their needs and problems much better. He believes that Microsoft strategy - to be closer to a customer - is very efficient. One of the first products Torben Andersen launched in Latvia was the localised version of Windows XP. He supposes that localised software has very good future prospects not only because it makes computer speak in the same language as the user does but also because even for members of EU localised versions could be cheaper than the English ones. In Denmark localised software is successfully used by 90 % of the users for about 10 years.  

The new open subscription licence is a good opportunity to use all the Microsoft software (and receive the upgraded versions)  for lower prices,  paying only one USD per day for a computer. It is especially convenient for the companies having at least ten computers.

 

 

·       Internet development trends in Latvia

(pages 32-33)

According to the data of Harvard University Latvia was the fastest growing (out of the 64 investigated states) Internet  user during last year. In 2001 the number of Internet users has grown for 63 %, and there are 210 000 regular Internet users in Latvia, i.e. 16 % of economically active inhabitants.

The revenue from Internet service providing during the last year was more than 6.54 million lats. The biggest part (79%) of the income is generated by on-line Internet services, 13 % - by dial-up and 8 % - by value-added services. Also the position of e-commerce in Latvia becomes more and more stable and its market share is slowly but steadily growing.

The fast Internet development in Latvia is one of the reasons why the international Internet Days are organised in Riga for the second year. During  the conference the winners of the homepage competition Golden Spider were awarded. It was initiated last year by the Latvian Internet Association and has turned out to be extremely popular - the winners were awarded in 12 nominations.

 

 

·       Computer - my virtual eyesight (pages 44-45)

A special software and hardware for blind people and for those with a weak eyesight is well known in the world. However there was no bases and possibility for its usage in Latvia until  the Rehabilitation Centre of Latvian Blind and Disabled Persons was founded thanks to the donation of the Foundation of the Queen Juliana (the Netherlands). A special computer training project for blind and disabled people was started. As it was told by the teachers of Rehabilitation Centre there are about 60 trained people in Latvia now. The disabled persons can now freely use Windows, prepare Word an Excel documents, insert pictures, use floppy discs and print texts as well as use e-mail programmes and Internet.

Training for people with a weak eyesight differs from that of blind persons but there are special programs for both of these groups. People with a weak eyesight may use  traditional PC with a bigger display as well as special programmes ZOOMtext Extra and Magic that allow to enlarge any screen element for 16 times. By means of a special telemagnifying glass it is even possible to enlarge a text fifty times. Using WinTalker Voice software  all the commands and activated screen elements are named by a synthetic voice. For training of blind people a screen reading software JAWS is used. There are special printers for braille.

The aim of the training is to integrate blind people in Latvian society. The only problem - all the special software and specially designed hardware are extremely expensive. The Rehabilitation Centre would be grateful for any help.

 

·       A new  Internet content

(page 58-59)

During the exhibition Baltic IT&T a new service for on-line Internet home users was offered by Lattelekom - the so-called Service Selection Window. It gives the users of Mājas DSL an opportunity to choose not only a traditional Internet content but also a specially tailored one. It means that all the possible content providers like portals, vortals, mass media, audio, video, computer game companies and others are welcome to prepare special content packets for home users  so that they could choose the most suitable information or game. At the present moment there is just one special content provider - Apollo that has prepared a special content packet Home Portal including games, video clips, movies.

Together with the new content Service selection Window offers also a new billing system which may be used even for  very small content units. So it is possible to access, for example, the information agency LETA portal, read an article and pay for it in the Internet even not being a LETA subscriber. Service Selection Window may be used also for accessing the office network of the home user.

 

 
Design and programming by Anton Alexandrov - 2001