Website usability critical to the success of portals: says e-governance expert- NEC Introduces new Intel Desktop PC
Middle East Toy Fair 2003 to capitalize on region's high
spend on toys and video games
Leading trade event to take place at Dubai World Trade Centre
from May 17 to 19Dubai -December 25, 2002 Registration is in full swing for the Middle East Toy Fair 2003 to be held at the Dubai World Trade Centre from May 17 to 19, 2002. Showcasing products from the world's leading players in the toy market, the fair will target visitors from more than 30 countries.
"The Middle East toy market, has been displaying a robust growth in the past few years and is currently estimated to be worth around US 1 billion per year," said Geoff Dickinson, Managing Partner, Epoc Messe Frankfurt, organizers of the annual show. "The average annual spend of a Middle East child on toys and video games is said to be US$ 263, a figure that is double that of Europe and the second largest spend after North America. The Middle East Toy Fair with its impressive track record is equipped to capitalize on this demand for toys for the benefit of participants as well as visitors."
The Middle East has the most retail outlets for toys per capita than any other part of the world, making it a prime target for retailers, manufacturers and marketers. The absence of local toy industries and a presence of a large expatriate community make it a favorable atmosphere for international products.
The Middle East Toy Fair assembles exhibitors from over 20 countries, bringing with them new and innovative concepts in toys. Last year's participating countries included Germany, United Kingdom, France, Italy, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, India, Greece, Iran, Egypt, Russia, Sri Lanka, UAE, Belgium, Thailand and Sweden.
"In view of the expanding potential of the Middle East toy market, a larger number of exhibitors have expressed their desire to participate in the Middle East Toy Fair 2003," said Dickinson. "The vibrant Gulf economies with a high disposal income have fuelled demand for amusement products, especially toys. We are confident that the Middle East Toy Fair 2003 is set to be the biggest staged so far in Dubai."
Visitor numbers have shown consistent growth each year. In 2002, more than 3,000 visitors from over 30 countries patronized the show. Over 85 per cent of them came from the GCC states. The rest of the visitors came from Egypt, Iran, Morocco, Tunisia, Libya, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, South Africa, Indian Subcontinent, Russia, Turkey and the Caspian and Black Sea states.
The trade fair will be further enhanced by sideline programmes such as a Buyers' Party, encounters with toy inventors, screening of movies using toys and presentation on techniques of children-targeted marketing. Among the diverse products on display at the Middle East Toy Fair 2003 will be baby toys, bicycles, tricycles and scooters, board games, car tracks, children's furniture, school equipment, costumes, dolls and doll houses, battery operated toys, electronics for children, garden play equipment, hobby products, learning/educational toys, outdoor games, playground equipment, playhouses, puppets, puzzles, skate boards and roller skates, soft toys, sports toys, train sets and video/computer games.
Organized by Epoc Messe Frankfurt, the Midde East Toy Fair, from May 17-19, 2003 will be coinciding with Autotec - Automechanika Gulf-the Middle East's Leading Automotive Aftermarket Event, Hardware & Tools, and Housewares & Hometech all be held from May 17-20, 2003. -keralamonitor.com
Delhi Metrol Rail Service Inaugurated
DELHI METRO RAIL PROJECT IS AN EXAMPLE OF BOTH INTERNATIONAL AND CENTRE - STATE COOPERATION - PM
Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee today flagged off the inaugural run of Delhi Metro Rail between Tis Hazari and Shahdara in the capital. Speaking on the occasion Vajpayee said that with this inaugural run Delhiites’ long cherished dream has come true. "With Japan and Korea extending financial and technical support, Delhi Metro Rail Project has emerged as a model of international cooperation thus putting at rest all doubts about cooperation between the Central and State Governments in such developmental endeavors", he added. The Prime Minister expressed hope that Metro Rail transport would help in improving traffic and reducing pollution in the capital.
In his address, Deputy Prime Minister .L.K. Advani said that the kind of synergy displayed by the central and state governments has been responsible for the successful completion of this project and expressed hope that the same kind of cooperation will be shown by the Government and the people (Rajah and Prajah) in future.
Minister for Urban Development and Poverty Alleviation Ananth Kumar while thanking Japan and Korean Governments for their cooperation in the entire project, said that this 8.3 km stretch between Tis Hazari and Shahdara will help in commuting 2 lakh passengers per day and when completed by 2005, 28 lakh people can utilise services on this 63 km MRTS Project per day. He also said that cities like Hyderabad and Bangalore have come forward with proposals for starting similar projects.
Among others present on the occasion were Minister of State for Urban Development O. Rajagopal, Lt. Governor of Delhi, Vijay Kapoor, Chief Minister of Delhi, Smt. Sheila Dikshit, Chairman, DMRC, Madan Lal Khurana and Managing Director of DMRC Sreedharan. Earlier in the day, Prime Minister inaugurated the Metro Rail Station at Kashmiri Gate and boarded the train to reach Seelampur Railway Station where he addressed a public meeting. He was accompanied by L.K. Advani, Ananth Kumar and O. Rajagopal.
It may be noted that the phase-I of Delhi MRTS Project (63 kms.) is estimated to cost Rs. 10571 crore excluding custom duty and works contract tax. It is implemented by Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. with equity participation to the tune of 50:50 each by Government of India and Delhi Government. -keralamonitor.com
Website usability critical to the success of portals: says e-governance expert
Study estimates that 90 per cent of websites worldwide possess poor usability
December 24, 2002
Considerable emphasis needs to be laid on the usability factor of government websites in order to ensure that they are user friendly and will achieve the primary objective of easing the lives of citizens interacting with the government, stated Salem Al Shair, Director e-Services, Dubai e-Government, while delivering the keynote address at the Web Usability seminar held at the Dusit Dubai Hotel in Dubai yesterday (December 23, 2002). Dubai e-Government highlighted the significance of the usability factor of government websites at the seminar organized by Afflatus Inc., a website usability analysis company, in partnership with Dubai e-Government. The usability factor plays a key role in ascertaining the success of websites, as it determines the quality of the user's experience while navigating and interacting with a website.
The seminar, attended by over 100 representatives from various government departments, focused on usability fundamentals and the dominant challenges experienced by most government websites offering e-Services. In addition, it also covered a number of important topics such as e-Government & Services Website Usability, Usability Fundamentals and Information Architecture Analysis and Website Design Guidelines.
"The success of a website depends extensively on the ease and efficiency with which a user can access information and interact with it. This is particularly true of government websites where the focus should be on providing users with the most efficient interface to meet their specific information needs," said Al Shair. "Clear, consistent and easily navigable websites that are flexible without creating confusing results are the ideal answers and in order to devise this, web developers and usability analysts need to work together to leverage their joint expertise."
"Dubai e-Government is always on the lookout for opportunities to improve and enhance the quality of the government websites and hence the need for such a seminar. We are trying to take extensive precautions to ensure that the Dubai e-Government portal www.dubai.ae avoids the pitfalls of poor usability and presents to its customers a well-designed website," he added.
Recounting Dubai e-Government's experiences and goals, Al Shair said: "e-governance has become an essential component of today's web-ruled world. No country can afford to ignore e-Governance and citizens would certainly prefer to use high tech modes of public transaction when the whole world is moving towards automation. Dubai was among the first governments in the region to recognize the crucial importance of e-Government and therefore laid down a proper framework to build an e-Government interface complete with usability analysis carried out from time to time. Guided by the primary goal of easing the lives of community and businesses by creating a one-stop portal, Dubai e-Government is now in the advanced stages of providing an integrated, interactive and online transaction-ready services across the board."
"Most websites that can be seen today are weak on usability because they have often been designed by web developers who work as artists, often failing to look at the website from the users' point of view," said Adnan Al Obathani, Managing Director, Afflatus Inc. "Good usability means giving users a better experience with your website. In today's highly dynamic web environment, organizations especially government ones need to focus on having an online presence that is meticulously crafted, keeping users' requirements in mind. It is only then that a web presence can bring higher revenue, customer loyalty and trust, satisfied visitors and higher credibility in the market place."
"Website usability analysis is a necessity and not a luxury in today's congested web-world," added Obathani. "What a usability analyst does is research the audience types, study the type of information they would look for and design the architecture which gives the best way to link and access it. The analyst also develops a set of rules for each particular site, deciding issues such as allocation of space, the size of various elements on the page, the positioning of these elements and critical information on the page, the colour schemes and style sheets to be used. Afflatus is proud to encourage website owners in launching a new generation of unique Internet sites based on quality user experience," he added.
Saif Al Shaali, Chief Information Officer, Afflatus Inc., who presented a detailed analysis of various government websites said: "Globally, there are serious deficiencies in website usability. Findings by accredited research companies such as Forrester Research and NNGroup show that 90 per cent of websites rank poor in usability. Another study concludes that websites show just 51 per cent compliance with simple web development rules. Against such a scenario, website usability is critical because it relates to user experiences and focuses on how the site functions. Quite often, website designers do an excellent job technically but are unable to look at the usability from a user's point of view. As result, the site is unable to serve the purpose for which it was originally designed. Increasing the usability of a website however can make a significant difference. A Stanford University research indicates increasing usability by one per cent increases traffic on the website by 1.66 per cent. When IBM redesigned their site to be more user centric, sales from the site increased correspondingly by 400 per cent."
"Our research has shown that website usability analysis helps to revitalize a website and make it people-friendly which in turn increases the possibly of a website's success. Using this analysis, we can recommend changes which ensure that it is easy to access desired information or navigate through a website," he added.
The seminar showed how website usability analysts make a real difference to a weak site, by examining all aspects from the homepage down to the whole site. Afflatus Inc. is one of the pioneers in the field, with expertise in website and interface analysis and design, information architecture analysis, and extensive research with the help of professors and graduates from one of the highest-ranked universities in the USA in the field of Information Systems.--keralamonitor.com
NEC INTRODUCES NEW SLIMLINE INTEL P4-BASED DESKTOP PC
Faster, smaller and more cost effective business computing comes to the Middle East
Dubai - December 24, 2002 NEC Computers International (NEC CI), which supplies the consumer market with the Packard Bell brand and the professional market with the NEC brand, has unveiled its new NEC POWERMATE ML5 desktop computer, a slimline machine perfect for small to medium enterprises operating in the Middle East.
The POWERMATE ML5 features Intel's market-leading Pentium 4 processor running at 3.06GHz and the Intel 845G chipset, offering businesses an unrivalled combination of cutting-edge technology. The Intel Pentium 4 powered NEC POWERMATE ML5 comes in a new tool-less slimline chassis, offering maximum ergonomy and expandability, with instantly accessible components.
"The ML5 offers a compact footprint, but utilises the latest in technology and has great expandability options - so computing power can grow in line with business growth," said Vakis Chimondes, Director, Product Marketing, interFRONTIERS, the Cyprus based Regional Business Development Unit for NEC Computers International in the Middle East, Mediterranean, Balkans, and Africa region.
Thanks to the NEC 'Configure to Order' programme, customers benefit from virtually unlimited configurability. Customers can choose their own processors, memory, graphics cards, hard disk drives, optical drives and networking to tailor the POWERMATE ML5 to their exact needs. "The Powermate ML5 exceeds the needs of the average user, offering excellent value, innovative feature integration and exceptional scalability," said Chimondes.
It incorporates the latest desktop technologies, including a 533MHz Front Side Bus, which gives platform longevity and greater system speed. Flexible DDR or SDRAM memory systems mean higher system performance, while revolutionary third generation graphics architecture, Intel Extreme Graphics technology, gives faster, smoother graphics than ever before.
The NEC POWERMATE ML5 also features high-speed future proof connectivity with Intel's 1GB LAN solution, delivering network speeds several times faster than Fast Ethernet. For system administrators, it speeds up the deployment of large applications or graphics/image files. For users, network response times are almost as fast as accessing a hard drive.
The POWERMATE ML5 is available in the Middle East today, from any of the regional NEC CI Authorised Resellers: Al Yousuf Computers in the UAE; Computer Castle and Saudi Soft in Saudi Arabia and @ Computers in Bahrain or you can contact interFRONTIERS on: info@inter-frontiers.com.
