This year's Computer & Communications Expo should be the biggest yet, say the organisers of the Bermuda Computer Society's (BCS) annual exhibition to be held tomorrow and Thursday at the Number One Shed in Hamilton.

Among a wide range of areas being covered at the Expo are hardware, software, the Internet and telecommunications.

"We believe the Expo should have something of interest to anyone who uses or is interested in computers -- and in today's world, that means just about everyone,'' said BCS president Jospeh Feller-O'Neill.

Admission to the Expo will be free for the Society's members, who number well in excess of 200, and $5 for non-members, who may find it more financially prudent to join the Society when they attend the Expo.

Premier Pamela Gordon will formally open the event at 10 a.m. tomorrow. Also on hand as the keynote speaker will be Dana Gardner, editor-at-large of the online magazine InfoWorld.

The Expo will feature, alongside a number of booths mounted by exhibitors, a series of seminars on such topics as the Year 2000 problem and accounting issues.

"Since the arrival of the Internet, it's fair to say that Bermuda is fully up to speed in the area of computers and technology,'' said Mr. Feller-O'Neill.

"The Bermuda support market has developed considerably in the past few years.

We have experts here in a number of areas, and an informal network has grown up which is locals supporting other locals.'' Mr. Feller-O'Neill pointed out how rapidly the computer market changes, and the need to stay in touch through events such as the Expo.

"If you bought a computer three years ago, you needed a 200-megabyte hard drive; today, capacity is ten times that great and up. You need to stay in touch with developments, and we hope that the Expo will enable people to do that,'' said Mr. Feller-O'Neill. On the issue of the Year 200 problem, which may cause some older computers to crash when they are asked to recognise the year 2000, (which in computer language shows up as `00' and may not be recognised as a proper year), Mr. Feller-O'Neill said: "Bermuda is ahead of the curve.'' He put on his first presentation on the subject in 1996, and spoke to the Hamilton Rotary Club a year later on the same subject.

"The story is general news now, rather than computer-specific, so the business community is much better informed,'' said Mr. Feller-O'Neill. The Computer & Communications Expo at the Number One Shed on Front Street, Hamilton, opens its doors tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. and runs through Thursday evening.

See Pages 20-26 for an in-depth look at computers and technology in a Royal Gazette advertising feature.

BUSINESS BUC