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To: carranza2 who wrote (16642)	3/8/2002 1:12:14 PM
From: elmatador	Respond to of 74559

Claro. CEBIT The show where Microsoft founder Bill Gates in 1981 claimed no one would ever need more than 640 kilobytes of computer memory, tiny by modern standards, now boasts a keynote speech from the company's Chief Executive Steve Ballmer who will discuss mobile entertainment and communications. It coincides with a race, in which Finland's Nokia and Microsoft are battling for dominance in mobile software. CeBIT-Tech Companies Look to Ignite IT Recovery slb.com FRANKFURT, March 8 (Reuters) - The world's largest technology and communications fair opens in the German city of Hanover next week amid industry hopes that it could spark a recovery in a sector hard hit by an economic slump. Hundreds of thousands of visitors will descend on the seven-day CeBIT 2002 trade show to view and test innovations in software, online commerce, IT engineering and other voice, vision and data systems. The industry is still struggling to climb out of a pit following a boom year in 2000. Economic downturn, intensified by attacks on the United States last September, have curbed investment and vendors are now focusing on cost saving and production enhancing technologies. CeBIT has in the past hosted the launch of the 8-bit computer, Microsoft's MS-DOS operating system, the Commodore C64 and Apple's and handheld computer Newton. But this year there will be less high-tech toys and greater attention paid to technology that is secure and can cut costs. Investors too have become more sober after the big falls in the equity values of IT companies. "A year or more ago, everytime a vendor came out with a new product, the stock would jump," said a telecoms analyst at a major bank in London. "Now the fundamentals - the financials play a much larger role and people are waiting to see a recovery in the industry first," the analyst added. The show where Microsoft founder Bill Gates in 1981 claimed no one would ever need more than 640 kilobytes of computer memory, tiny by modern standards, now boasts a keynote speech from the company's Chief Executive Steve Ballmer who will discuss mobile entertainment and communications. It coincides with a race, in which Finland's Nokia and Microsoft are battling for dominance in mobile software. German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, facing an election later this year, will on Tuesday evening officially open CeBIT (centre for office and information technology), hoping no doubt that it will support signs that business confidence in Germany is edging up and that a recession is finally bottoming out. NEW PHONES New products eagerly awaited are the latest colour-screen handsets from Nokia, possibly including its first third generation cellphone for superfast wireless networks. Nokia is also planning a trading update on Tuesday. However, analysts will also look for clues if wireless telecom operators will further postpone investments in new mobile networks, as many are struggling with huge debts after investing 100 billion euros in spectrum licences. Certain to create real interest in the current political environment are Internet security and identification cards, as governments arm themselves against future acts of terrorism. Secure email and public infrastructure IT are part of the issue. Integrating corporate computer networks with Internet services is also key for businesses seeking to get the most out of their technology investments. The advent of new standards discussed at CeBIT will make integration, which takes up 30 percent of corporate IT budgets, simpler and cheaper. Telecom equipment makers like Alcatel could provide marketing pushes for much cheaper high-speed Internet access technologies over DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) - which has caught on in Germany with two million subscribers, but not really elsewhere in Europe, analysts said. Over 60 percent of the 7,962 exhibitors this year - slightly down from over 8,000 last year - will be from Germany, followed by Taiwan with 594, the United States with 345, Britain with 281 and South Korea with 162. Last year about 850,000 visitors turned up - a fifth of those coming from abroad, while 60,000 viewers tuned in live over the Internet to watch the show. (C) Reuters Limited 2002.