expo, which was gigabytes of fun.

The organisers' recognition of the interrelationships between computer and communications technology was a boon to the expo's attractions, on display on April 1 and 2 at Number 1 Shed. The location was better than the Princess Hotel, where it was last held two years ago, as it was more accessible to the public on Front Street, especially for the curious who were drawn in by the sign outside.

Keynote speaker Dana Gardner, a reporter on the industry, started the show off with a talk relating the current state of the technology with events in history. I missed his speech. He wasn't well promoted, nor was the time of his talk anywhere on the published schedule, an oversight of an organisation trying to get bodies to the event.

Mr. Gardner is editor-at-large for California-based InfoWorld, an Internet-based publication for managers of computer systems.

I left three messages on his room phone at the Grotto Bay Beach Hotel, where he was staying. Unfortunately Mr. Gardner didn't receive the messages until much too late as the hotel phones weren't working, according to a CSB member.

Mr. Gardner figured this out after he realised he wasn't getting any phone calls late Friday. That experience should have given him an first-hand good impression of the frustration Bermuda's businesses have to put up with all too often. I'll try interviewing him by telephone for a future column for those who missed the man.

An estimated 1,000 people attended the show over the two days. One observer remarked on that the 21 exhibitors seemed more "hungry'' than they were two years ago. The industry has become more competitive, with more companies vying for a buck. You can see that in the communications sector with the vicious competition between Cable & Wireless and TeleBermuda International.

"Two years ago you could walk past the booths and they wouldn't notice you,'' said the observer. "Now they were actually coming out to shake your hand and show you what they had. They were certainly more aggressive.'' There were a few standouts and a couple of duds. I couldn't figure what Arhur Andersen Business Consulting was up to. I walked past the display and slowed down at the booth, because I'm interested in what the company was about.

However the two exhibitors at the booth glanced briefly at me, decided I wasn't worth it I have to assume, and continued their conversation. I could have been money in their pockets for all they knew.

As an experiment I picked up the brochures to see if they would in any way attempt to help me, but no luck. Not a good interface for a company that's currently advising local and international businesses about how to improve their service and performance. To be fair, another observer says she walked past the Andersen booth Thursday and someone came up to her and asked if he could help.

I thought Gateway Systems had the best and most upbeat display. Their employees, clad in white overalls, were enthusiastic. Gateway also had their Destination Digital Media Computer on show, which drew the few children who showed up. The combination computer and digital television, with its 36 inch monitor and racecar driving wheel to simulate the real thing, was an eyecatcher. It also does serious stuff, like being a good alternative to overhead and film projectors when making business presentations.

I also sat in a talk by Gateway desktop software trainer Brooke Kammeyer, who gave a rousing presentation in the back room with a philosophy I like: "Technology is only as good as the people using it.'' She was making the point, by giving real life examples, of how not spending to train people could end up costing a company more in money, time and loss of business.

"Err on the side of training,'' Ms Kammeyer said, giving an example of a new employee at a business who was given an assignment and ended up inserting a floppy disk into a CD-ROM drive. The company not only had to replace the CD-ROM drive, but also lost the information in the diskette, which was a presentation to new investors. The cost of overtime spent recreating the documents, missing the deadline, and the loss of investors was estimated at $1 million.

"Training is only part of the solution,'' she said. "You need to look at the whole process...follow the flight plan.'' That flight plan includes identifying all the technological components employees need for the job (adequate disk space, speed, memory, and software), and their current proficiency at the job. Then address the gaps in their knowledge with the appropriate training. The training must not only be relevant to their jobs, but must also be timely. After training the employer should follow up to ensure the training was relevant and did in fact fill in the gaps. If not, more training.

It's something we should all be doing constantly -- upgrading our skills in this age where technology is on the move. Jamie Thain, president of computer consultants SBI and one of the expo's organisers, says he got mixed reviews about the show from the other vendors on the first day. However he said most had turned positive on the second day as public interest increased.

"We had a lot more walk-through people due to the change in venue,` he said.

The computer organisation signed up 150 new members over the two days, bringing the total up to 400 members. Increasing public awareness and understanding about the importance of computers and communications in their lives and business, to me, is what such an expo is all about in the wider scheme of things. Let's not forget that goal as technological knowledge, sophistication, and the power it brings spreads outside the ambit of the geeks and into a more democratic forum.

For vendors, it's the cash that counts, and that's important too.

Tech Tattle is a column which focuses on technology and other related issues.

Contact Ahmed at 295-5881 ext. 248 or 238-3854 if you have any comments or ideas for topics.