XN000022-1983-08-15 — Page 2

MONDAY, AUGUST 15, 1983

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GROWING NEED FOR MICROCOMPUTERS

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THE GOVERNMENT WILL BE SETTING UP A MICROCOMPUTER CENTRE SHORTLY TO SUPPORT THE USE OF MICROCOMPUTERS IN GOVERNMENT OFFICES.

AT PRESENT. MICROCOMPUTERS ARE BEING USED IN A NUMBER OF GOVERNMENT DÉPARTMENTS AND THEIR APPLICATIONS ARE EXPECTED TO INCREASE RAPIDLY OVER THE YEARS.

+BESIDES LARGE ADMINISTRATIVE DATA PROCESSING SYSTEMS, THERE IS ALSO A GROWING NEED FOR MICROCOMPUTERS AND OFFICE SYSTEMS, AND SPECIAL ATTENTION IS BEING DEVOTED TO THESE FAIRLY NEW BUT IMPORTANT AREAS,+ MR STEPHEN LAU, MANAGER OF THE GOVERNMENT DATA PROCESSING AGENCY (GDPA), SAID.

THE CENTRE, TO BE ESTABLISHED IN GDPA, WILL ADVISE ON CONTRACTS AND EVALUATION, DEVELOP PROGRAMMĒS, SET UP GUIDELINES AND PROVIDE FOLLOW-UP SERVICES, WITH THE AIM OF DEVELOPING RELEVANT MICROCOMPUTER SYSTEMS FOR GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS.

+WELL ORGANISED PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT FROM THE START COULD AVOID SERIOUS OPERATIONAL PROBLEMS WHICH MIGHT OTHERWISE DEVELOP IN THE FUTURE,+ MR LAU STRESSED.

IT IS ENVISAGED THAT IN FUTURE, OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY AT GOVERNMENT OFFICES WILL BE FURTHER IMPROVED WITH SUCH DEVICES AS WORD PROCESSORS, ELECTRONIC FILES,

ELECTRONIC FILES, ELECTRONIC MA IL AND FACSIMILE SERVICES WHEREBY INFORMATION CAN BE OBTAINED, COMPILED, ASSESSED AND TRANSMITTED WITH BETTER EFFICIENCY AND GREATER SPEED.

+IN ADDITION, MICROCOMPUTERS ARE LESS EXPENSIVE, FLEXIBLE AND EASY TO OPERATE. THEY ARE THUS USEFUL IN AREAS WHERE LARGE COMPUTERS ARE NOT JUSTIFIED, MR LAU EXPLAINED.

AT PRESENT, EXAMPLES OF MICROCOMPUTER USAGE INCLUDE THE RECORDING AND PROCESSING OF PERSONNEL FILES IN THE CIVIL SERVICE BRANCH, ANALYSIS OF STATISTICS IN THE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT AND THE TEACHING OF COMPUTER COURSES IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS.

APART FROM EXPLOITING THE MICROCOMPUTER REVOLUTION, EDPA WILL CONTINUE TO DEVOTE MAJOR EFFORTS IN THE DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF LARGE-SCALE ADMINISTRATIVE COMPUTER SYSTEMS.

CURRENTLY, MORE THAN 70 SYSTEMS FOR OVER 30 GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS ARE IN OPERATION.

AMONG MAJOR SYSTEMS IMPLEMENTED RECENTLY ARE:

* THE IDENTITY CARD INFORMATION SYSTEM WHICH ENABLES

THE ISSUE OF NEW ID CARDS FOR MORE THAN FIVE MILLION RESIDENTS OF HONG KONG WITHIN FOUR YEARS.

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THE POLICE NOMINAL INDEX COMPUTER SYSTEM WHICH RECORDS CRIMINAL DATA FOR OPERATIONAL REFERENCE.

THE PRIMARY