Get cyberspace knowledge sans a bumpy ride

India Sci-Tech
Get cyberspace knowledge sans a bumpy ride
By Frederick Noronha, IANS, Feb 3, 2007 - 8:36:47 AM

Mumbai, Feb 3 - Surf the Internet without being connected to cyberspace? Unbelievable but true! An Indian-linked technology company is making this happen.

It is not just a distant promise. It is available already. Webaroo.com promises 'easy, free and always mobile' access to cyberspace. Or at least, to that part of it which could make a difference to your life.

The 'trick' behind this is astoundingly simple.

This is achieved simply by taking the most crucial segments of the gigantic internet, packing it in the form of specific 'web packs' and encouraging users to download the same free of cost to their laptops or mobile phones.

'We've got 500 odd web-packs on topics ranging from Harley Davidson - to - Shah Rukh Khan,' says Harish Shankaran, wearing a trendy beard and talking to young engineering students here. 'Best of all, it's free!'

Founded in 2004 by entrepreneurs Rakesh Mathur and Beerud Sheth - both alumni of IIT Bombay - and Brad Husick, the company has offices in Santa Clara and Bellevue - and in Mumbai and New Delhi. It says it has a team of over 100 researchers, engineers and business managers.

Together with tonnes of global content - including the sharable, volunteer-crafted Wikipedia - there are many Indian 'web packs' too.

These focus on model-turned-cinestar Aishwarya Rai - to Bollywood's Amitabh Bachchan, Asian news headlines, news from Indian computer magazines, classical Indian dances, Indian business news, Indian cuisine, Bollywood movies and much more.

'PC Advisor' magazine recently explained the concept saying: 'You simply download the free application and add 'web packs' to your hard drive. These packs consist of collections of internet pages on a particular topic. Pages are checked for relevance and depth of coverage to ensure that they take up as little room on your hard drive as possible.'

Webaroo.com points to how it can make it easier for young people to gain faster access to the social networking site Orkut - which is increasingly popular among the young.

This tool fits on some middle-to-high-range mobile phones too.

For now, it is a useful tool though. The application needed to run Webaroo - occupies some 80kb of space, and works on Windows-based PCs.

'This is a useful tool for you to simulate the internet. Soon you will be able to create and share your own packs,' explains Webaroo's Shankaran, as youngsters look on, wide-eyed.

Tools such as these, with their 'Made by an Indian' brand, are also seen as having much potential use in places suffering bandwidth constraints, making it difficult to log on to the internet.