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VTF kicks off "Digital Brilliance" concept with wireless-enabled forum in Taipei

Proper wireless access to the Internet has been a rarity here in Taipei during the Computex show. Star of the parallel VTF conference was a simple robot: but behind the scenes was a simple WLAN provided by UK innovator, LocustWorld

One of the highlights of the PC engineer's year has always been IDF - the Intel Developer Forum. Bidding for equal visibility in the industry, Via CEO Wenchi Chen opened a "bigger and better" Via Technology Forum 2004 in Taipei with a message that "Personal Electronics will enable you to shine."

Via chipsets have supported Intel processors in the past; but increasingly, the development of low-power X86 processors have enabled the platform to move into domesticated applications.

"What we are doing is not just technology any more; it's more fun, more exciting, and the whole world is getting more like show business," said Wenchi Chen. "We'll be able to create more easily. In the past, movies came only from studios; in the future, making movies will be as simple as writing poems or stories. Pixar is doing a lot of 3D animation movies; in the future, everyone will be their own Pixar."

Behind the scenes, however, the whole forum hall was provided with 802.11b wireless by a four-node Mesh installed by LocustWorld founder, Richard Lander. The LocustWorld MeshAP is, of course, based on a Via mini-ITX platform. "This is normally used to provide huge meshes in towns and villages," Lander said, during his spot on stage, "so it's easily able to cope with the job of feeding Internet broadband to this audience."

"The only worry we had, setting up the Mesh, was whether we could find an Internet backhaul," said Lander, later. In the event, the Hyatt hotel provided a standard LAN cable which the Mesh distributed successfully to delegates.