The Internet in Asia

Digital divide narrowing

The digital divide has narrowed as more people from developing countries are going on-line with more widely available computers and mobile phones according to the results of an annual study published by U.S. computer company International Business Machines Corp. and the intelligence unit of British magazine The Economist. The survey looked beyond basic connections and also studied how the Internet is being used to improve productivity and reduce costs, including on-line access to public services.

Demographics of Internet users in Thailand

The results of the survey conducted by  the Thai National Electronics and Computer Technology Center (Nectec)  between September to November last year  of Thai Internet users show that 54.4% of Thai net users are female. The majority of net users were between 20 and 30 years old. 66% of Internet users  access the Internet from home, while 40 % use the Net in the workplace, 29 % at an educational facility and 25 % at an Internet cafe. It is the first time in the survey's seven-year history that home Internet use has dominated.

The most common activity on-line is email (24 percent), followed by information searching at 22 percent, while games and chat were used by 13 percent of respondents. 69% of Internet users have made some sort of e-commerce transaction over the past year, with males making more purchases on-line.  The most common were service reservations (20 percent) and buying movies (19 percent) and software (16 percent). 

The top five Internet problems cited were virus attacks, communication speed, junk mail, pornography, and impolite/inappropriate content.

The number of broadband users is expected to increase to 60% of all Internet subscribers in Thailand by the end of this year, last year,  ADSL-based broadband Internet was used by 43 percent of the Net population. Respondents not using broadband cited cost as the main deterrent stopping them from making the switch.

Singapore firm charged for using illegal software

A Singapore based web design firm PDM International is the first company to be  charged for using illegal software : Microsoft, Adobe and Autodesk software valued at SGD 50,000 under stricter enforcement of copyright laws in the island nation. Acting on a tip from Business Software Alliance (BSA), police raided the premises of the company. Trial is currently underway, and the company is appealing for reduction in the charges filed against the company.

The BSA offers rewards of up to SGD 20,000 for tips, and receives up to 40 tips a month from the public.

A laptop for only USD 100?

A prototype for a laptop that costs no more than  USD 100 laptop was revealed at the World Summit for Information Society in Tunisia recently. Developed by the MIT Media , the laptop is aimed at school children, especially those from the developing world who may not otherwise be able to afford a laptop of their own. The machine can be folded in different ways to serve as a computer, electronic book, or media player. It features a low power display that can be viewed in colour, or black and white, based on the turn of a switch. The laptops are available in two colours - lime green and crank yellow to convey the message of playfulness and fun. The laptop will also be made available to the general public, but at a slightly higher price of USD 200.

Online campaigning in Japan

An article in the on-line edition of leading Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun , on-line campaigning for the upcoming Lower House elections has been prohibited by the Public Offices Election Law. This ban applies to both websites, and e-magazines.

Another article suggests that those interested are finding other ways of getting their message across- mainly through blogging, although the power of blogs in this area is still considered to be rather minimal. 93 of the candidates standing for elections have their own blogs, but this number is small, compared to the total number of candidates standing for election according to Leslie Tkach-Kawasaki.

Korean white paper on IT

The 2004 White Paper on IT has just been released and will be ony be available here for the next week, after which it will be taken down due to space limitations. The paper was produced by KISDI, and sponsored by MIC (Ministry of Information and Communication, Republic of Korea).