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The ‘PC for €0.99c a Day Scheme’ launched last February is being extended beyond its original expiry period to the 6th of July 2008 to include purchases during the annual Trade Fair period, the IT Ministry said today.

The scheme gives the opportunity to all Maltese households to purchase a new PC and receive a 16% refund on the purchase price up to €1,165. Loans with a daily repayment cost of €0.99 are offerred by local banks HSBC, BOV and Lombard Bank for those households in need of a loan to purchase a PC.

The 16% subsidy is provided for bundles of computing equipment that include a laptop by itself, laptop with mouse and/or printer, PC desktop and monitor, or PC desktop and monitor with mouse, keyboard and/or printer. A mouse, printer, keyboard or other equipment purchased separately or altogether do not qualify for the subsidy.

"Since its launch in February 2008, 5,749 families benefited from the scheme. Originally, the eligibility for the 16% refund applied for new PCs purchased between 18th February and 30th May. On a general request, and given the success of this scheme, Government is extending the deadline from 30th May to 6th July, which is the last day of the Trade Fair," the ministry said.

Sirap Computers Ltd will furnish you with the documents and other information to secure the loan

Il-Ministru ghall-Investiment, Industrija u Teknologija ta’ l-Informazzjoni llum habbar skema li biha l-Gvern qed jissussidja direttament ix-xiri ta’ kompjuters godda. L-iskema tfisser li l-Gvern jaghti lura lill-familja 16% tal-prezz ta’ kompjuter gdid, inkluzi t-tastiera, printer u maws.

L-iskema tinkludi wkoll programmi ta’ self li bihom il-finanzjament ta’ kompjuter gdid jigi jiswa anqas minn €1 kuljum. Is-self qed jinghata bi shubija mal-Bank of Valletta, l-HSBC u l-Lombard Bank.

L-inizjattiva gdida (‘PC at €0.99 a Day’) hi miftuha ghall-familji kollha Maltin u ssahhah l-isforz tal-Gvern li jassigura li kulhadd ikun inkluz fis-socjetà Maltija ta’ l-Informazzjoni.

L-inizzjattiva taghti sussidju ta’ 16% fuq kompjuters godda. L-iskema tkopri kull familja Maltija (sa kompjuter wiehed ghal kull familja) bejn it-18 ta’ Frar u t-30 ta’ Mejju. Is-sussidju jasal sa massimu ta’ xirja ta’ €1,165 (inkluza l-VAT). Jigifieri, jekk persuna tonfoq iktar minn €1,165, is-sussidju ser ikun ekwivalenti ta’ 16% ta’ €1,165 li huwa €186.40.

Is-sussidju ma jinghatax biss fuq ix-xiri ta’ kompjuter, izda jkopri wkoll printer, tastiera u maws jekk dawn jinxtraw ma’ kompjuter (m’hux wahidhom). Il-kompjuters jistghu jinxtraw minn kwalunkwe venditur rikonoxxut. Is-sussidju jinghata f’refund direttament lix-xerrej. L-incentiv tas-sussidju ta’ 16% fuq ix-xiri tal-kompjuters ser jfisser investiment ta’ madwar €1.9 miljun fil-familji taghna.

Il-Ministeru ftihem ukoll mal-BOV, l-HSBC, u l-Lombard Bank biex il-finanzjament ta’ kompjuter gdid ikun tassew jintlahaq mill-but ta’ kulhadd. It-tlett banek zviluppaw skemi ta’ self li naqqsu l-prezz ta’ finanzjament ta’ kompjuter gdid ghal €0.99 kuljum. Kull bank zviluppa l-prodott tieghu individwalment, pero’ bil-karatteristika unika li s-self mhux ser jiswa lill-klient aktar minn €0.99 kuljum.

Il-Ministru Austin Gatt spjega li dan hu parti mill-isforz tal-Gvern li jassigura li kulhadd ikun inkluz f’’The Smart Island’ li qed nibnu. Din l-inizjattiva torbot ma’ l-inizzjattiva Blue Skies li ppermettiet iktar familji fil-bzonn ikollhom access ghall-broadband bi €3 fix-xahar ghal sena u l-inizzjattiva SmartStart li biha familji f’diffikultajiet ekonomici u persuni b’dizabilità jistghu jixtru kompjuters rikondizzjonati b’€130.

B’dawn it-tliet inizzjattivi – broadband irhis bil-BlueSkies, kompjuters rinnovati ghal familji fil-bzonni bl-iSmartStart, u kompjuters sussidjati ghall-familji kollha bil-‘PC at €0.99 a day’ indirizzajna b’mod aggressiv u serju l-bzonn li nghinu iktar familji Maltin jaffordjaw ikollhom il-broadband u kompjuter id-dar.

Further information on these loans can be found:
BOV:http://www.bov.com/page.asp?p=13128&l=1

Sirap Computers Ltd will furnish you with the documents and other information to secure the loan

The Ministry for Investment, Industry and Information Technology confirms that registrations from families without broadband Internet at home will be received at the registration fairs which will be held at Merchants Street, Valletta on Saturday, 26th January and at the Ministry for Gozo on Sunday, 27th January.

The number of applicants in the Blueskies initiative may very well exceed the initial target of 5,000. It should be clarified that contrary to mistaken reporting in a section of the press, applications have not started being accepted by the Ministry yet; and will only start being received at 9.00 a.m. on Saturday, 26th January.

A section of the press appears to have misunderstood yesterday’s statement made by Minister Austin Gatt, and implied in its reporting that no applications will indeed be received for the Blueskies scheme due to excess demand. This is not the case. Indeed the Hon. Austin Gatt remarked that the Government will, if necessary, adjust its budgetary provision to ensure that all families without broadband at home, who register for a new subsidised account, benefit from the scheme.

The Ministry also reminds that Non Profit Organisations without a broadband account in their registered offices, are equally eligible to the scheme and are invited to participate in Saturday’s and Sunday’s registration event.

As with households without a broadband account, Non Profit Organisations will have their new broadband account subsidised to pay €3 a month for their first year of subscription. Households that include a person with disability will have the entire cost of their first year of broadband covered by the subsidy.

The Ministry also wishes to express its gratitude to HSBC and BOV for their support for the scheme and for participating at the registration fairs with more special offers for new participants in the broadband universe.

Second only to Cisco, D-Link continues to be a dominant networking and connectivity provider to businesses worldwide D-Link, the end-to-end computer networking solutions provider for consumers and business, today announced worldwide shipments of its Managed and Unmanaged network switches surpassed 320 million ports for the previous five years, second only to Cisco Systems according to In-Stat research*.

D-Link has been a pioneer in business networking for more than two decades. With the underpinning network infrastructure an essential part of all businesses, today D-Link® switches play a crucial role in ensuring the connectivity and network security of millions of offices. Available with up to 48 ports in a variety of convenient configurations, Layer 2 or 3, Managed or Unmanaged, Web Smart, Gigabit Ethernet, PoE, and Unified Wireless switches, D-Link switches have been developed to meet the needs of a wide range of business applications.

D-Link's xStack™ Switch solutions for medium to large enterprise environments enable businesses to deploy and easily manage an LAN architecture that delivers robust network connectivity, scalability, security, and standards-based interoperability. Chris Davies, General Manager, D-Link UK, commented: “These results confirm D-Link’s status as a major global force in business networking solutions – delivering a product range offering the strongest price/performance proposition to the market”

D-Link is represented in Malta through its Partner Sirap Limited of San Gwann – They may be contacted on 21385653 or email info@sirap.com.mt or web site www.sirap.com.mt

Diversified industrial manufacturer Eaton Corporation today announces the availability of the Powerware BladeUPS in EMEA region. The industry’s most scalable, rack-based, high power density uninterruptible power system (UPS) is designed and optimised especially for today’s high-powered blade servers and high density computing environments.

The Powerware BladeUPS is a new three-phase system that delivers industry-leading energy efficiency, scalability and flexibility, and reflects Eaton’s commitment to provide outstanding products that address the challenges of designing and managing high density data centers. The Powerware BladeUPS is the latest product in Eaton’s series of Powerware branded, rack-based solutions that also include accessories and remote monitoring equipment.

“Data centers increasingly deploy high density and small form factor computing platforms, such as blade server technology. As a result, power density, energy efficiency and cooling are becoming highly critical requirements,” said Brian Brickhouse, EMEA Sales and Marketing Director, Power Quality and Control Operations Division, Eaton. “The Powerware BladeUPS addresses the evolving requirements within the data center by delivering twice the backup power of competitive, modular solutions while dissipating only one-third of the heat. This innovative UPS also represents the first truly scalable three-phase system that fits into a standard 19-inch rack enclosure.”

The Powerware BladeUPS helps IT and facility managers to lower energy costs while delivering the most scalable and flexible power protection architecture for data centers and IT environments. With 12kW in only a 6U form factor, the Powerware BladeUPS has twice the power density of any comparable product in the marketplace. The UPS features a scalable design for simple reconfiguration of power systems to meet changing demands in the data center.

The Powerware BladeUPS is ideal for accommodating new technologies like 1U, 2U and blade server deployments. Users can expand the Powerware BladeUPS implementation from 12kW to 60kW in a single 19-inch enclosure by plugging in additional parallel Powerware BladeUPS modules to create an N+1 redundant system. When configured as a system, the UPS modules behave as one with management and monitoring functionality delivered via a standard SNMP/Web connection.

“As utility rates continue to climb, it is critically important to produce the best efficiency possible. For example, by using the Powerware BladeUPS over a five-year period, more than 20,000 EURO may be realized in utility bill savings for a typical 60 kW data center that pays 8 cents per kWh,” added Brickhouse. Powerware rack-based solutions include accessories like power distribution units (Powerware ePDU) made specifically for the enclosures and Powerware Rack Power Modules (RPM) to deliver power in an organised manner to loads of various voltages, power cords and layouts. Remote monitoring device Powerware ERM is also available for continuously monitoring environmental conditions within the rack, providing an added level of security for critical assets.

Eaton’s electrical business is a global leader in electrical control, power distribution, and industrial automation products and services. Through advanced product development, world-class manufacturing methods, and global engineering services and support, Eaton’s electrical business provides customer-driven solutions under brand names such as Cutler-Hammer®, Powerware®, Durant®, Heinemann®, Holec® and MEM®, which globally serve the changing needs of the industrial, utility, light commercial, residential, and OEM markets.

Eaton Corporation is a diversified industrial manufacturer with 2006 sales of $12.4 billion. Eaton is a global leader in electrical systems and components for power quality, distribution and control; fluid power systems and services for industrial, mobile and aircraft equipment; intelligent truck drivetrain systems for safety and fuel economy; and automotive engine air management systems, powertrain solutions and specialty controls for performance, fuel economy and safety. Eaton has 63,000 employees and sells products to customers in more than 140 countries. For more information, visit www.eaton.com

For additional information on the Powerware BladeUPS or Eaton’s complete line of Powerware products and service portfolio, visit www.powerware.com

You may also contact our Partner for Malta: Sirap Limited of Sirap House, Sliema Road, San Gwann Tel: 21385653 email: info@sirap.com.mt web: www.sirap.com.mt