TECHNOLOGY

City jobs for the village

Sri Lanka's first rural BPO, in the village of Mahavilachchiya functions as a service provider to InfoMate(Pvt) Ltd - a subsidiary of John Keells Holdings PLC. Its able staff, notably all youth from the village carry out transaction processing as an extension of InfoMate's role of captive finance and accounting service provider for the John Keells Group.

Initiated in 2007, the result of this innovative project was a collaboration between John Keells Social Responsibility Foundation (Foundation) and the Foundation for Advancing Rural Opportunity (FARO) which resulted in the setting up of OnTime Technologies (Pvt) Ltd (OnTime), managed by youth of the village.

The immediate objective of the project was to create sustainable employment for talented rural youth, enabling them to work from their own village, while the long-term vision of the initiative was to create BPO capacity for Sri Lanka's future, outsourcing growth. For the Foundation, the project comes under its focus area of Community/Livelihood Development and is aligned with the Millennium Development Goal of Poverty Alleviation.

A state-of-the-art office in the middle of the sleepy village, with 17 young men and women at work at their individual work stations.

"I am 100% accurate", reads an inspiring note stuck on every computer monitor, outlining the professional work ethic followed by the young staff.

Seven boys and ten girls make up the staff, providing a close gender balance.

"We currently process documents for John Keells Group through a virtual private network and we are involved in six to seven types of functions in this area" says the 33-year-old CEO of OnTime, Nirosh Ranathunge.

A resident of Anuradhapura, Ranathunge runs his own software development company in the town, and shuttles to and fro, efficiently managing the BPO centre.

"If this organisation was not here today, all of these talented young men and women would have had to leave the village and go to either Anuradhapura or Colombo to find work of this nature.

But today, the brain drain in the village has minimised, and these young men and women in turn have an office located mostly a walking distance from their homes, in a safe and secure environment," he said.

The COO of OnTime Technologies (Pvt) Ltd, Shalika Dissanayake said that if not for this organisation, she would still be unemployed and at home."When I joined OnTime,I didn't even know the meaning of the word 'BPO'. We received a sound training of one and half months in Colombo with all facilities provided by John Keells. By working at our company, we not only get to earn and save, but also learn the professionalism and work ethics of organisations such as InfoMate and John Keells which we would have otherwise not been able to experience. As a result, there has been a vast improvement in English knowledge, personality development, team spirit and the ability to handle professional challenges, in each and every one of us," she said.

The staff of OnTime owned mobile phones and used it with great familiarity to connect with the InfoMate offices in Colombo. Some of them rode to work on their own motor cycles or bicycles.

SLT launches Broadband Twenty20 promotion

Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT), has launched an islandwide campaign - SLT Broadband Twenty20 which will be on till October 20.

Upon the acquisition of a broadband connection during the promotion period, the customer will stand a chance to win exciting prizes which includes the chance to win a desktop computer daily, and laptops at the final draw.

SLT broadband high-speed, internet solutions offer both volume based and unlimited internet usage for a fixed monthly subscription. Modems are on offer at SLT outlets while routers are also available at special discounted prices.

SLT's broadband internet products will be offered through SLT's copper based Megaline connectivity, which also provides access to Broadband internet services and the newest entertainment option, SLT PEO TV service through state-of-the-art IPTV technology. SLT has introduced its free-of-charge broadband offer to popularise the use of broadband internet amongst a cross-section of the people in Sri Lanka.

The company is looking forward to expanding the broadband market while increasing the country's broadband penetration levels. SLT's Broadband (ADSL), which is an 'always-on' connection to the Internet, is offered through seven different packages, designed to suit the varying needs of customers: Entre, Home, Office, Office 1IP, Xcite, Xcel and Xcel.

Panasonic, Softlogic launch FULL HD 3D Viera Plasma TV

Panasonic together with Softlogic launched the Panasonic FULL HD 3D Viera Plasma TV. Sri Lankan viewers can now join billions of viewers around the globe to enjoy the Panasonic 3D Viera Plasma TV technology.

From left: Chairman, Softlogic Holdings (Pvt) Ltd, Ashok Pathirage, Associate Director, Panasonic Corporation Japan, Masaru Maruo and General Manager, Asia & Oceania Sales Group, Panasonic Corporation Japan, Kazuhiro Yamanishi.

For many, the general understanding of 3D images is that they "leap out of the screen." Seeing, say a dinosaur's head right out in front of you and unconsciously backing away from it are part of the fun of 3D images. However with the Panasonic FULL HD 3D Viera Plasma TV, a Blu-ray Disc Player and 3D Eyewear, one soon realises that the leaping image effect is only part of the appeal of 3D. Added to this are the amazingly realistic luster and texture of the FULL HD 3D images displayed on the Panasonic FULL HD 3D Viera Plasma TV.

Associate Director, Panasonic Corporation Japan, Masaru Maruo said that he was happy to share the magic of Panasonic's revolutionary technology with thousands of discerning Sri Lankans. "Panasonic is proud to be an inventor at the cutting edge of technological innovation, and we will be unveiling its exciting range of industry-leading FULL HD 3D Viera Plasma TV for the ultimate entertainment experience together with our very important partner, Softlogic.

Chairman, Softlogic Holdings, authorised distributor for Panasonic Consumer Electronics and Home appliances in Sri Lanka, Ashok Pathirage said, "We are delighted to join hands with Panasonic, in introducing to the market the Panasonic FULL HD 3D Viera Plasma TV technology." Panasonic products are available at all Softlogic Max stores and Softlogic showrooms islandwide and with appointed authorised dealers.

Slimmest computer launched

Computers are no longer a luxury but consumers look for the best technology with the latest designs.

EZY launched its Slimtop, the slimmest and cost effective computer at a ceremony held in Colombo on Wednesday.

Less consumption of electricity, saving of space and lightness are some of the features that makes the product unique in the evolving computer world. Group Chief Executive, EZY Holdings, Shafraz Hamzadeen said Slimtop is smart in size and is less than 2 percent of the size of a traditional computer.

Hamzadeen said EZY Holdings has invested heavily in its state-of-the-art plant which is the only ISO certified computer manufacturing plant in the country.

EZY plans to have the Slimtop Smart in over 300 locations of the country by March next year. Currently the product is available in 150 locations across the country.

Hamzadeen said over 15,000 units of lifestyle computers were sold within the first year which is over 20 percent of the branded computer market in Sri Lanka. LF

Controlling children's access to internet

Children use internet to find information for their homework, chat with friends, instant messaging, email, play games and many other activities. Teenagers use internet to perform the tasks that you as a parent did at the library using phone, paper and pencil when you were their age.

Children are the most vulnerable members of society, if their activities aren't properly controlled.

There are millions of web sites managed by individuals or groups to sexually exploit children with their on-line services through internet who gradually approach children through the use of attention, kindness and even by offering gifts.

They gather information on the children by chatting, e-mail, social networking on facebook and pretending to be very helpful in solving their problems.

Sexual context is gradually introduced . Some of the offenders collect and trade pornographic images while others may try to engage in sexual conversations with children. Parents should be aware of their child's activities with the computer. The following signs may alert you to observe his or her behaviour further.

* Your child spent lot of time on-line (connected to internet) specially at night * You find pornography in your child's computer * Your child has used your credit card without informing you * Your child is speaking with a foreign person over the phone * Your child switches off or changes the screen of the monitor when you come to the room * Your child is using another's internet account to connect to the internet * Your child always tries to be alone with the computer.

Rohana Palliyaguru Senior Information Security Engineer.