\n<\/font><\/font><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n <\/span><\/div>\n The \n <\/font><\/font><\/div>\n At the Prize Giving Ceremony held today at Level 20, Wisma Bapa Malaysia, the <\/font><\/font><\/span>Chairman of SAINS, Y.B. Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Dr George Chan Hong Nam, who is <\/font><\/font><\/span>also the Chairman of State Information Technology Resources Council (SITRC), <\/font><\/font><\/span>congratulated and presented the prizes to the winners. In The <\/span><\/p>\n <\/font><\/font><\/span><\/div>\n The <\/font><\/font><\/span><\/p>\n Other
\nfrom Engineering and IT undergraduates of the State's major
\nuniversities such as Curtin University of Technology in Miri,
\nUniversity Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) and Swinburne University of
\nTechnology in Kuching. This is the second time the competition is being
\nheld.<\/font>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n<\/font><\/p>\n
\ncompetition is an initiative of the Sarawak Government to promote and
\nencourage the community in the adoption or development of solutions
\nusing Open Source software as the cheaper alternative. The aim of this
\nyear's competition is to promote the development of homegrown Open
\nSource software among our youth. Young local talents are given the
\nencouragement to prove their ability and knowledge by building
\nintelligent systems using cheaper and viable alternative open software
\nsources.<\/p>\n
\nfact that Open Source software codes are readily available on the
\nInternet and allow for free use and customisation offers legitimate
\nalternative to software piracy, and also give way for better software
\nto evolve over time.
\n<\/font><\/font><\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n
\norganisers, Sarawak Information Systems Sdn. Bhd. (SAINS) in
\ncollaboration with Information Communication Technology Unit (ICTU) of
\nthe Chief Minister's Department, were very pleased with the results. A
\ntotal of RM10,000 in prize money donated by SAINS was up for grabs.<\/p>\n
\n<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n
\nthe period of the competition, participants were required to follow
\nthrough 5 stages: submitting of proposals describing the analysis,
\ndesign, development and deployment of the proposed application or
\nsystem; short listing of proposals by panel of judges from both ICTU
\nand SAINS; project implementation to build up the proposed system;
\nproject presentation and demonstration by the participants; and judging
\nand selection of winners based on the 6 criteria of creativity,
\nfunctionality, user friendliness, flexibility of use, quality of
\nsoftware and development effort.<\/p>\n
\n<\/font><\/font><\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/font><\/font><\/span><\/p>\n
\nLai Chiong Ching, an undergraduate of Curtin University of Technology
\nSarawak Campus, Miri, bags the First Prize with his winning software,
\nFile Injection and Retrieval Application version 2 (FIRA2). Lai Chiong
\nChing wins RM6, 000 in cash prize.
\n<\/font><\/font><\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/font><\/font><\/span><\/p>\n
\nessence, FIRA2 is a file steganography – an encryption application
\nwritten in Java script that compresses or hides text messages inside
\nbitmap image files. For those not familiar with the term, steganography
\nis the art and science of writing hidden messages in such a way that no
\none apart from the intended recipient knows of the existence of the
\nmessage; this is in contrast to cryptography, where the existence of
\nthe message itself is not disguised, but the content is obscured. The
\nsystem is also built with password locking for better-secured
\nprotection against tampering attempts. <\/span><\/font><\/font><\/span><\/p>\n
\nSecond Prize goes to a team of three undergraduates from Curtin
\nUniversity of Technology Sarawak Campus, Miri. The team, consisting of
\nDavid Wong Liang Tai, Chan Chen Shyang and John Lau Kah Soon, win
\nRM3,000 prize money with their <\/font><\/font><\/span>software entitled Reprogrammable Intelligent Battery Charger or RIBAC 1.0.<\/font><\/font><\/span><\/p>\n
\n1.0 is a smart battery charger that takes advantage of embedded
\nprogramming using a microcontroller to monitor a NiCd or NiMH battery
\ncharging condition without overcharging the battery, thus increasing
\nthe life span of a rechargeable battery.<\/p>\n
\nThird Prize winner, Mr. Aravinth K-Manogarn, is an undergraduate from
\nUniversity of Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS). He won a cash prize of RM1,000
\nfor his innovative software entitled Interactive Kuching City Map. It
\nprovides suggestion of travel plan for the tourist according to their
\ninterest and demand and is ideal software for tourism related companies
\nto promote their products.<\/p>\n
\nwinning softwares are Bats Biodiversity Database with Google Maps
\n(Consolation Prize I), Food Stop Open Source Blog (Consolation Prize
\nII), and Linux Printing System or LPS (Consolation Prize III).<\/p>\n
\n<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n
!["Mr.]("..\/..\/lensa\/opensource.jpg")
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