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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
And so it is my turn to speak.
I had wished to let loose slings and arrows at the outrageousness of the people who patronise, when they are not complaining about, illegal hawkers and law-breaking restaurant extensions. I had also wanted to press the case that the law ought to be changed so that taxi drivers who themselves litter are no longer shielded from prosecution by the fact that they drive a vehicle of public transport.
Yet, possessing neither dry humour nor melodramatic flair, Mr. Chairman, confronted with the task, I despair. Nay, better for me, with words suitably short, with arguments barely wrought, just to declare that the motion I do support.
MS. CARLYE TSUI WAI-LING (in Cantonese):—Mr. Chairman, 1993 was another eventful year for the Urban Council. Some of the events bear significance in setting directions and pace for the Council's work in the near to mid term. As Chairman of the Information Technology (IT) Sub-Committee, I am particularly pleased to see the take-off and materialization of projects which enable the Council to enhance services to the public. I would like to firstly highlight the major IT-related development of last year.
Major IT-related achievements in 1993
Major milestones of IT-related developments reached in 1993 included the following:
(1) Computerization of the Urban Council Public Libraries (UCPL) advanced with significant progress after the completion of evaluation of proposals from vendors in early 1993. The entire project will take 2.5 years to complete and when that occurs, the system will be the largest computerized bi-lingual public library system in the world. The main computer, a 6-processor fault-tolerant HP 9000 Model 1245 together with terminals in the Technical Processing Unit of the UCPL and the Council's EDP Centre have been installed.
(2) A CD-ROM Information Retrieval Network for the UCPL was launched in July 1993. This is an on-line information retrieval system using standard CD-ROM, i.e. Compact Disk Read-only Memory-optical disk, and local area network technologies to provide simultaneous access to 28 CD-ROM databases, each containing up to 600 megabytes of information, from some 19 library locations. The public can use the network to retrieve information from encyclopedia, company profiles, US phone books and other CD-ROM titles. It is noted that the Council became the first organization in Hong Kong to use the above-mentioned technologies on this scale and the whole system (excluding the CD-ROM's) costs less than $1 million, making it a truly cost-effective application of IT.
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(3) Upgrades to the URBTIX computer system firstly took the form of the installation of the URBTIX disaster recovery network, which links various URBTIX outlets to the disaster recovery centre at the Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club. A comprehensive study of the URBTIX computer system was also conducted, leading to the recommendation of hardware and software upgrades, which were subsequently approved by the Council.
(4) The SPORTIX Phase 2 system proposals were submitted by various vendors in response to the Council's request. The system will cover on-line booking, for the public, of sports facilities, recreation activities and holiday camps, as well as the provision of management information.
(5) The Council's Administration Computer, which is used for personnel management, hawker licensing, prosecution records, rent collection, income and expenditure records and other administrative functions, was upgraded from an IBM 4381 to an IBM ES/9000 Model 170 with an expansion to 3.6 times of computer capacity. In addition, the system software and network were also brought up-to-date. The new system software allows more powerful enquiries to be made into the databases. The new TCP/IP network will eventually connect all of the major computer systems used by the Council.
(6) Local Area Networks (LANs) were developed. In a pilot scheme, five PC (personal computer) LANs, four of them Novell Netware and one IBM OS/2 LAN Server, were installed at various sections of the Department. LANS allow more flexible use of PCs and network resources and will become a critical component of the council's future network strategy. Meanwhile, it should be noted that the number of PCs in the Council grew to 427 in 1993.
Anticipated IT-related developments in 1994
Based on these developments of IT-related projects, I would like to turn to the plans and anticipated project completion in 1994, outlined as follows:
(1) A number of strategic IT studies are expected to be concluded in 1994. These studies will result in the updating of the Council's personal computing policy, development of a local area network strategy and a broader data-communication network strategy, and re-writing of the long-range IT plan.
(2) The Urban Council Public Libraries will make a quantum leap into the IT era, with computerization of the first branch library in March. 14 libraries (with 70% of the library materials) will be computerised in 1994, with the remaining scheduled for 1995. Provision of information services will be given a boost with the installation of a link to the worldwide INTERNET computer network in early 1994. This will allow the UCPL to access numerous databases worldwide and offer a greater range of information retrieval services to its users. Links to the Library systems at the Regional Council and tertiary education institutes are also planned. These links will allow sharing of information among the respective libraries.
Page 88 of 132
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178
Page 88 of 132
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
And so it is my turn to speak.
I had wished to let loose slings and arrows at the outrageousness of the people who patronise, when they are not complaining about, illegal hawkers and law-breaking restaurant extensions. I had also wanted to press the case that the law ought to be changed so that taxi drivers who themselves litter are no longer shielded from prosecution by the fact that they drive a vehicle of public transport.
Yet, possessing neither dry humour nor melodramatic flair, Mr. Chairman, confronted with the task, I despair. Nay, better for me, with words suitably short, with arguments barely wrought, just to declare that the motion I do support.
MS. CARLYE TSUI WAI-LING (in Cantonese):—Mr. Chairman, 1993 was another eventful year for the Urban Council. Some of the events bear significance in setting directions and pace for the Council's work in the near to mid term. As Chairman of the Information Technology (IT) Sub-Committee, I am particularly pleased to see the take-off and materialization of projects which enable the Council to enhance services to the public. I would like to firstly highlight the major IT-related development of last year.
Major IT-related achievements in 1993
Major milestones of IT-related developments reached in 1993 included the following:
(1) Computerization of the Urban Council Public Libraries (UCPL) advanced with significant progress after the completion of evaluation of proposals from vendors in early 1993. The entire project will take 2.5 years to complete and when that occurs, the system will be the largest computerized bi-lingual public library system in the world. The main computer, a 6-processor fault-tolerant HP 9000 Model 1245 together with terminals in the Technical Processing Unit of the UCPL and the Council's EDP Centre have been installed.
(2) A CD-ROM Information Retrieval Network for the UCPL was launched in July 1993. This is an on-line information retrieval system using standard CD-ROM, i.e. Compact Disk Read-only Memory-optical disk, and local area network technologies to provide simultaneous access to 28 CD-ROM databases, each containing up to 600 megabytes of information, from some 19 library locations. The public can use the network to retrieve information from encyclopedia, company profiles, US phone books and other CD-ROM titles. It is noted that the Council became the first organization in Hong Kong to use the above-mentioned technologies on this scale and the whole system (excluding the CD-ROM's) costs less than $1 million, making it a truly cost-effective application of IT.
Page 88 of 132
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
179
(3) Upgrades to the URBTIX computer system firstly took the form of the installation of the URBTIX disaster recovery network, which links various URBTIX outlets to the disaster recovery centre at the Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club. A comprehensive study of the URBTIX computer system was also conducted, leading to the recommendation of hardware and software upgrades, which were subsequently approved by the Council. (4) The SPORTIX Phase 2 system proposals were submitted by various vendors in response to the Council's request. The system will cover on-line booking, for the public, of sports facilities, recreation activities and holiday camps, as well as the provision of management information.
(5) The Council's Administration Computer, which is used for personnel management, hawker licensing, prosecution records, rent collection, income and expenditure records and other administrative functions, was upgraded from an IBM 4381 to an IBM ES/9000 Model 170 with an expansion to 3.6 times of computer capacity. In addition, the system software and network were also brought up-to-date. The new system software allows more powerful enquiries to be made into the databases. The new TCP/IP network will eventually connect all of the major computer systems used by the Council.
(6) Local Area Networks (LANs) were developed. In a pilot scheme, five PC (personal computer) LANs, four of them Novell Netware and one IBM OS/2 LAN Server, were installed at various sections of the Department. LANS allow more flexible use of PCs and network resources and will become a critical component of the council's future network strategy. Meanwhile, it should be noted that the number of PCs in the Council grew to 427 in 1993.
Anticipated IT-related developments in 1994
Based on these developments of IT-related projects, I would like to turn to the plans and anticipated project completion in 1994, outlined as follows:
(1) A number of strategic IT studies are expected to be concluded in 1994. These studies will result in the updating of the Council's personal computing policy, development of a local area network strategy and a broader data-communication network strategy, and re-writing of the long-range IT plan.
(2) The Urban Council Public Libraries will make a quantum leap into the IT era, with computerization of the first branch library in March. 14 libraries (with 70% of the library materials) will be computerised in 1994, with the remaining scheduled for 1995. Provision of information services will be given a boost with the installation of a link to the worldwide INTERNET computer network in early 1994. This will allow the UCPL to access numerous databases worldwide and offer a greater range of information retrieval services to its users. Links to the Library systems at the Regional Council and tertiary education institutes are also planned. These links will allow sharing of information among the respective libraries.
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