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Net Gains (Jan 08, 99) |
Satyam has already set up shop and MTNL has great plans to make
VSNL run for their money. Last week, speaking at an International
Marketing Conference in New Delhi, I shared the dais with Mr.
Rajugopalan, CMD, MTNL. Going by his talk, MTNL is considering
the feasibility of using another gateway instead of VSNL, will
make hosting in India cheap, make Net access available at low
rates through public booths, and offer certain amount of free
calls depending on the package the Internet user subscribes to.
Rajugopalan's entire emphasis was on lowering costs… well,
how come we're still paying exorbitant rates to MTNL for our telephone
calls?
After the conference, I stayed overnight to catch up with some
sight-seeing in Delhi. After the fog cleared and temperature rose
a bit, I spend the entire morning visiting the Qutb Minar, browsed
and ate at Delhi Haat (a collection of specialities of different
states of India), and admired the beauty of the Lotus Temple.
With an evening flight to catch, I didn't have time to make it
to the Taj Mahal which I had visited at the age of three. Not
wanting to miss this work of art, I spent half an hour before
check-in time touring the Taj - you guessed it - virtually, on
the Internet!
A fortnight ago, Intel launched "Intel Virtual Taj Mahal",
a 3D tour on the Internet of India's architectural pride and one
of the seven wonders of the world. Internet users can now take
the tour at http://www.intel.com/in. You can walk through the
Taj from any angle and examine the interiors and exteriors of
the building closely. The 3D model includes rich textures, realistic
shading, special lighting and other effects. The web site also
has information on the Taj Mahal, including pictures and background
information about the building. The site includes a "visitor
centre", where visitors can send a postcard, and download
a Windows95 wallpaper. The 3D model runs best on a Pentium II
processor based PC, with an accelerated graphics port (AGP) graphics
card. This entire exercise is another attempt by Intel to showcase
what the P II has to offer. You can view this virtual Taj on a
lower configured PC, but be warned - your experience will be so
much the poorer - somewhat like travelling through the fog that
Delhi has been engulfed in these past few weeks…
If you're a seminar junkie, you've got a treat in store. Firstly,
the School of Management, IIT Bombay is conducting a day long
(9-5) seminar on "Electronic Commerce : Potential and Strategy",
tomorrow, Saturday, Jan 9, at the Lecture Theatre, IIT Powai.
Speakers from the industry will be sharing their views on different
topics related to Ecommerce. The fees are Rs 200 per head (inclusive
of lunch), and registration is on a first come first serve basis,
so you had better hurry! For further details visit their website
http://www.iitb.ernet.in or email [email protected]
Then there's the Indian Merchants' Chamber - they are organising
the Third Annual Internet Summit from 11-15 January, 1999 at Mumbai.
It will be a five-day event comprising of three workshops of full
day, six tutorials of half day and two days of conference at Hotel
Taj Mahal. You can register online at their website: http://www.IMCnet.org.
The fees are: tutorials (Rs. 1400 each), workshops (2,800 each),
and conference (Rs. 6,000), with discounts for members.
Don't forget to log in next week for some free downloads, as this
column turns three.