A tech fair that stands out

A gamer engrossed in competition at CityIT 2004. PHOTO: Syed Zakir Hossain

The City IT fair 2004 is hosting two unique events, Celebrity Appearance and Talk Show. As the name suggests, during the Celebrity Appearances a renowned individual makes a public appearance at the fair. The celebrity is asked various questions and is finally presented a Celebrity crest as a token of gratitude from Computer City. Talk Show is presented as a TV-show forum of IT experts speaking on IT-related topics.

"We skipped the idea of organizing seminars and workshops two years back, since visitors are bored by such events," said Azimuddin Ahmed, President, BCS Computer City.

Singer Fatema Tuj-Zohra, made an appearance at the fair on 2nd January. Fair authorities have guaranteed daily celebrity appearances each evening .

In addition to these events, a number of games are held daily. ViewSonic presents Graphic Design contest, where both winners and participants receive attractive prizes. Intel and E-sophers hosts gaming competitions every day at noon, where interested visitors are given a chance to try out E-sophers latest game, Nouka Baich for free. The game is an exclusive demo, which is yet to be introduced on the market.

Alongside these contests, Daffodil International University has organized Quiz and Debate contests on the central stage of the fair.

The discounts, gifts, and new products available at the stalls is adding to the fair's popularity.

Informatics Limited is selling motor skills and language development software like My Drawing and Live Dictionary for children between the ages of 3 and 8 years.

"Through animation and gameplay in both these software program, kids will love to learn," said Selim Reza, Chief Executive, Informatics Limited.

Also available at the fair are software like Digital Exam 2005 for SSC examinees and RabindraBhuban: Encyclopedia on Rabindranath Tagore.

Trigem is selling The Complete Dictionary and Trigem Bangla Spell Checker. The software firm released the former last year while the latter is its latest venture.

Computer City has 150 shops and an additional 15 stalls have been added for the fair, most of which are offering tempting discount and gift packages on products from different brands.

Visitors are frantically buying products of Lexmark, Asus, Canon, Gigabyte and getting free T-shirts and jackets in return.

"At this rate, the number of visitors will surely double during the last three days of the fair," says Ahmed.