IT NEWS,

[Son Tran <stran@shrike.depaul.edu>]

>Saigon Times Daily
>Monday, June 23, 1997
>
>
>
>IT NEWS

>
>q FPT's Vietnam Wisdom has introduced its own Web version in Vietnamese.
>This is an intranet disguised as a real Internet connection thanks to
>its comprehensive databases. If you are interested in all newspaper
>stories about last week football match, you can type in your key words
>and in some seconds all the stories would be retrieved. The Web's Tech
>Center helps users with information on Compaq's and IBM's products.
>There is also a shareware and freeware library where you can download
>software. The Web reserves a lot of space for clippings of local
>newspapers. 
>
>To connect to  Vietnam Wisdom's Web site, you need a 14,400 bps modem, a
>265 color monitor, a Web browser (Internet Explorer 3.0 or Netscape
>Navigator Gold 3.0), and Vietnamese font ABC.
>
>Tel: 821 4174, DNS Server: 200.201.202.70, Address: www.ttvn.fpt.com.
>
>
>
>q Vietnam Post and Telecommunications said they would introduce Datapost
>service to local users soon. This is a combined service of three related
>industries: telecommunications, information technology and post.
>Datapost enables users to send master document to many different
>addresses. But they only have to send it once to a PO center where the
>document will be processed, printed, inserted into envelopes, stamped
>and sent to preset destinations. During the whole process, the
>customers' documents are kept confidential.
>
>Vietnam is the fourth country in Asia to have Datapost service.
>

>VNMail
>
>Run by Vietnam Data Communication Company (VDC), VNMail offers E-mail
>services which allow subscribers to send and receive messages directly,
>while messages sent through other networks like NetNam, VietNet must
>first be sent to a relaying center before being passed on to their
>intended destination. Users can send their messages to a fax machine, or
>even to a telex. VNMail also offers File Transfer Protocol services.
>
>VDC1 (Hanoi)
>Address: 75 Dinh Tien Hoang; Tel: 824 7360; Fax: 826 4861
>
>VDC2 (HCMC)
>Address: 64 Ly Chinh Thang; Tel: 846 6999; Fax: 846 5678
>
>VDC3 (Danang)
>Address: 12 Le Thanh Tong; Tel: 832 303; Fax: 832 304
>
>VNMail charges
>
>w Installation charge, including document and training: VND200,000
>
>w Subscriber's monthly charge: VND70,000
>
>w Mail charge: - Domestic: VND200/1Kb
>	-International: VND1,500/1Kb.
>
>
>Fourth-generation servers set new levels of security
>
>IBM recently announced a new generation of microprocessor-based S/390
>mainframe-class servers that deliver performance comparable to previous
>systems built with older, more costly technology.  The S/390 Parallel
>Enterprise Server - Generation 4 (S/390 G4 Server) marks the end of the
>road for IBM servers using bipolar processor technology.
>
>In addition to new levels of performance, the CMOS (complementary metal
>oxide semiconductor) -based S/390 G4 Server helps meet customers'
>network computing needs by providing one of the most secure systems for
>conducting electronic commerce, thanks to its advanced hardware and
>software encryption capabilities and firewall technology designed to
>foil unauthorized access.
>
>"With today's announcement, we're providing customers with some of the
>most powerful, versatile and secure enterprise servers ever," said Linda
>Sanford, general manager, IBM S/390 Division. "We're responding to their
>top two concerns - How will they handle the millions of secure
>transactions coming as they move into the world of electronic commerce?
>And how will they integrate the dozens to hundreds of disparate
>departmental systems spread throughout their  businesses?"
>
>Also announced was a new version of the OS/390 operating system, which
>includes 20 new components. OS/390 Version 2 provides the punch
>customers need to conduct secure business over the Internet and prepare
>them for a tidal wave of transactions coming with the move to
>e-business. Enhancements to OS/390 are designed to meet a broad range of
>customer needs in server integration, business intelligence, application
>deployment and systems management. Components that will roll out over
>multiple releases include firewall technology, a CORBA-compliant
>application development and deployment framework, open-standard Java
>technology to help integrate mission-critical applications across the
>enterprise, systems management functions based on IBM and Tivoli TME 10
>Framework, and Workload Manager for batch management.
>
>
>
>
>Paving the way for IT industry in Vietnam
>
>By Phan Ngoc
>HANOI
>
>Current difficulties of Vietnamese IT industry
>
>Vietnam has been considered one of the fast-growing markets of IT
>(information technology) industry. Even the most cautious forecast shows
>that this is certainly one of the most prospective markets in the region
>from now to the year 2000. However, Vietnamese IT industry has yet to be
>developed.
>
>Regarding hardware industry, some local companies have imported
>components and assembled personal computers (PCs) under semi-knockdown
>(SKD) form, especially in HCMC. There are nearly 100 entities assembling
>PCs but the output is still low and no company among these is big and
>competitive enough.
>
>The most significant company specializing in this field is Gen Pacific
>Co. which has imported a PC assembly line with a capacity of 20,000
>units/year. Nevertheless, due to illogical tax policy, it operates only
>part of its capacity. Recently, some 100% foreign-invested companies
>have invested in hardware equipment production such as Fujitsu Vietnam
>Co. Ltd. and Insytek Co. Ltd., manufacturing mainboards and some kinds
>of micro-electronic boards.
>
>Software and computer service companies have been developing more
>steadily with more stable market because they do not need big
>investment. There are currently about 40 businesses operating in this
>field, of which 16 are State-owned and the remainder is private. Some
>100% foreign-invested companies have also been established and developed
>rapidly, including IBM Vietnam Co. and Hewlett Packard Vietnam Co.
>
>According to data of the Ministry of Trade, the total value of the local
>market of PCs reached some US$150 million last year, but 78% of these
>was from imported complete PCs (the remainder was assembled
>domestically). This is not an encouraging figure for the current
>Vietnamese IT industry.
>
>
>Which way for local IT industry?
>
>The majority of  IT managers and experts are unanimous in the fact that
>IT industry in Vietnam has yet to develop because of inappropriate State
>policies and mechanisms. The illogic tax and salary policies are
>hindering local production.
>
>Deputy Minister of Industry Nguyen Xuan Chuan had to admit: "There has
>been no considerable change in developing IT industry in Vietnam so far.
>The matter is how to overcome these difficulties for IT industry
>development." He added that the Ministry of Industry and relevant bodies
>will petition the Government five major points:
>
>1. Reconsidering import tax rates imposed on components, complete
>computer equipment, peripherals and office equipment so as to encourage
>domestic assembly and production, raising gradually the localization
>proportion.
>
>2. Reviewing turnover tax levied on hardware products and other computer
>equipment in production and trade in order to promote production.
>
>3. Reducing income tax to a low rate to encourage developing hardware
>and software production. Abolishing supplement income tax levied on this
>sector.
>
>4. Setting up a preferential financial treatment for all local and
>foreign firms investing in IT industry in Vietnam.
>
>5. Mapping out a staff training plan for IT industry, particularly in
>software industry and networking.
>
>
>
>
>Oracle8 ready for action
>
>After three years of development, mounting to several hundred
>worker-years, Oracle8 is finally ready. Oracle will roll out tomorrow
>(June 24) the much-anticipated upgrade to its database-management
>system. It is considered by many to be Oracle's most important product
>ever, and by some, the industry's most important software release of
>1997.
>
>Oracle has significantly reworked its market-leading database, which
>commanded 30% of a US$5.7 billion market in 1996, according to Dataquest
>Inc., a market research firm in San Jose, California. Oracle8 supports
>more than 10,000 concurrent users and hundreds of terabytes of data. In
>addition to a bevy of other new features, Oracle for the first time has
>added basic object-oriented capabilities to Oracle8.
>
>But because there are so many changes to the database, "there's going to
>be a steep learning curve for Oracle database administrator," says Barry
>Johnson, president of Dynamic Information Systems.
>
>Oracle says Oracle8's base price will be similar to Oracle7. The company
>charges US$1,500 per user for the enterprise version and US$295 per user
>for the workgroup version.
>
>