Netheads to get their own show on ANteve

JAKARTA (JP): Private TV station Anteve in cooperation with Onklik.com and computer distributor PT Acer Indonesia has announced a new Sunday evening show dedicated to all things Internet.

The program, Acer Onklik TV, is 30 minutes long and will be aired for the first time this Sunday at 5:30 p.m. It is designed to introduce the Internet to people from all walks of life and help them understand more about cyberspace technology and its benefits.

"We want to inform people, from youngsters to adults, about the creature named the Internet. We will start with simple explanations of chatting, e-mailing and browsing," Ilya Alexander from Onklik.com told a media briefing on Wednesday.

Ono W. Purbo, an information technology expert from Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) and present at the briefing, said the program would help people fully understand the Internet.

"Most people think that the Internet is expensive. Imagine, from the 210 million people in the country, only some 1.5 million have become (Internet) users.

"They are hundreds of Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and dot.com companies. If there isn't a sufficient increase in the number of users, many such companies will probably die," Ono said.

Recent reports say that by 2010 the country will need 350,000 information technology professionals, he said.

"So, if we don't introduce people to the latest technology, the Internet will only be an illusory world for most people here," Ono said.

The series, which is scheduled to run for 13 episodes, will have different regular features, namely OnTopic, OnTalk and OnHit, OnTips and OnQuiz.

Several guests, including MCs Tika Panggabean and Farhan, will appear on the show, which is hosted by Venna Anissa.

Tika and Farhan shared their Internet experiences:

"I was working on my thesis and nobody was there to help type it for me. I only knew how to operate Wordstar 5, and because of the pressure I learnt how to run Windows and the Word programs," he said, adding that after that he began to learn about the Internet.

Tika needed a helping hand to get her into the technology:

"My friend at Hard Rock Cafe taught me on how to use the Internet and made me an e-mail address. I just played along because I thought it was cool, but I actually had no idea how to open it. So I asked my friends to answer my e-mail ...

Romanus Sumaryo of Onklik.com said he hoped the show could be extended after the 13 episodes. (edt)