Bangkok--3 Feb--Hill & Knowlton
Project marks the first official Proof of Concept to arise from Thailand’s Microsoft Innovation Center using the latest Microsoft Silverlight 2.0 technology
Microsoft (Thailand) Limited is honored to work with the Office of His Majesty’s Principle Private Secretary (OHMPPS) to develop a Royal e-Book project, giving Thai people a unique opportunity to read and appreciate royal books by visiting the OHMPPS website, that has been built by developers at the Microsoft Innovation Center in Bangkok. The royal e-Book has been developed using Silverlight 2.0 technology, Microsoft’s latest innovation that offers stunning interfaces for web applications. The royal e-Book project, which can be regarded as the first proof of concept to come out of Thailand’s Microsoft Innovation Center since its opening in May 2008, is designed to commemorate the grace of the royal family as well as share their biographies.
After His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej granted permission for the Office of His Majesty’s Principal Private Secretary to publish books about the monarchy such as a memorial book for the cremation ceremony of Her Royal Highness Princess Galyani Vadhana Krom Luang Naradhiwas Rajanagarindra, the OHMPPS set about making them as accessible to as many members of the public as possible. Recognizing that traditional print publishing would be very costly and insufficient for wide distribution, OHMPPS originally decided to make the books available for download as .PDF files from www.ohmpps.go.th. However, due to the large file sizes, lengthy download times and uninspiring design, it was clear that an alternative was required. As such, OHMPPS teamed up with Microsoft (Thailand) Ltd. and IConcepts Co., Ltd. at the Microsoft Innovation Center to develop a Royal e-Book using cutting-edge Silverlight 2.0.
Ms. Patama Chantaruck, Managing Director, Microsoft (Thailand) Limited said, “The Royal e-Book is one of many ‘proof of concepts’ being tested and brought to life at the Microsoft Innovation Center (MIC) using Silverlight 2.0 technology to power a richer web experience. In this case it brings a realistic experience for reading books, with great quality photos and the ability to flip the pages like you would a real book. We hope that this project will inspire more developers and ISVs to visit the MIC to study and test Microsoft technologies as well as to bring more proof of concepts such as this royal e-Book project to realization.”
Mr. Preecha Songkittisunthorn, Director of Information Department, Office of His Majesty’s Principle Private Secretary added, “OHMPPS has previously published many royal books and distributed them to Thai people during special occasions such as the cremation ceremony of Her Royal Highness Princess Galyani Vadhana Krom Luang Naradhiwas Rajanagarindra. However, the publishing of such books was always inadequate due budget limitations and we were unable to share the books with as many people as we’d like. Similarly, there were other limitations when we offered books as .PDF files on our website since the large 10 MB files needed to be fully downloaded before they could be read which took users a long time — especially for those who do not have access to a high-speed internet connection. As such, we called upon the Microsoft Innovation Center to introduce their new Silverlight 2.0 technology which has enabled us to transform the royal books into e-Books that can easily be read by everyone online.”
During the development of the Royal e-Book project, Microsoft also received support from Microsoft Student Partners from the Computer Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, at Chulalongkorn University, as well as from IConcepts Co., Ltd. — a local ISV that has gained expertise in developing new innovations and taking them to the international stage, such as the ‘Livescan4ALL’ program, which uses sophisticated of fingerprint reading technology and has since been adopted by the FBI and Ministry of Justice in the US.
Mr. Michael Chen, Technical Director, IConcepts Co., Ltd. said, “Microsoft Silverlight 2.0 is a great new Microsoft innovation that is allowing developers to create a new generation of multimedia features, characterized by rich internet applications and compelling user experiences with like-life photos and convenient usability. After being contacted by Microsoft to help implement the Royal e-Book project, IConcepts teamed up with Chulalongkorn University students from the Microsoft Student Partner Program to figure out what would be the best way of developing an e-Book application. We then also received support in terms of tools and technology infrastructures from the Microsoft Innovation Center which really saved us a lot of time and costs for developing the proof of concept. We hope that the end result will be beneficial to Thai society and give more people the chance to learn more about the Royal family through these unique Royal e-Books.”
The Microsoft Innovation Center has also given local computer engineering students from Chulalongkorn University an unparalleled opportunity to gain first-hand experience by helping to develop the Royal e-Book project. Through the Microsoft Student Partner Program, students have the chance to learn skills directly from Microsoft partners that will in turn help improve their knowledge and enable them to become capable software developers in the future.
“As a technology leader, Microsoft is keen to play a part in fostering local innovation and support local software companies and ISVs. The Microsoft Innovation Center is equipped with all the vital ingredients for truly benefiting software developers transform their creative ideas into business realities. As such, we are confident that the center will spur on growth within the local software industry as more and more people find out about it and take advantage of the facilities on offer, concluded Ms. Patama.
The fifteen Royal e-Books now available online are as follows:
- Biography of HRH Princess Galyani Vadhana Krom Luang Naradhiwas Rajanagarindra
- Opinion of HRH Princess Galyani Vadhana Krom Luang Naradhiwas Rajanagarindra
- Condolence letters from foreign monarchs and royal families after the passing of HRH Princess Galyani Vadhana Krom Luang Naradhiwas Rajanagarindra
- Abhidhamma in Pali language with Thai translations (distributed for Royal Cremation ceremony of HRH Princess Galyani Vadhana, Royal Crematorium, Sanam Luang)
- The Royal Urn Enshrinement at the Chakri Maha Prasat Throne Hall
- Buddhist Sermon (April 10, 2008) for the 100 day royal commemoration merit ceremony
- Buddhist Sermon (Feb 20, 2008) for the 50 day royal commemoration merit ceremony
- Prince Mahidol and his art pieces
- Ratchadapisek
- Ratchadapisek Volume 2
- Ratchadapisek Volume 3
- Ratchadapisek Volume 4
- Ratchadapisek Volume 5
- Ratchadapisek Volume 6
- Royal Address on Unity (literary work by King Rama V), for the 50 day royal merit ceremony
OHMPPS and Microsoft are currently planning to make further royal documents available to the public by transforming them into more e-Books in the future. Interested people can download all 15 e-Books directly from www.ohmpps.go.th or read them online at www.micthailand.net. More information about IConcepts Co., Ltd., a partner of the Royal e-Book project is available at www.iconcepts.co.th/.
About Microsoft
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Established in 1993, Microsoft (Thailand) Limited provides world-class software that is easy to use and localized to suit the local market’s needs. It also has a compelling and consistent platform to build powerful business solutions that can scale from a notebook computer to a mainframe — class multiprocessor systems using Microsoft technology. For further information, information, please visit the Microsoft (Thailand) website at: http://www.microsoft.com/thailand.
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Suphada Chaiwong
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