The sixth annual UH Tech Fair will be featuring coming products for 3-D data, audio and video today in the University Center’s Houston room.
"We will be having new technology available, everything from phones to computers and printers," said Project Manager, Linda Grant. "Apple will have a big display set up and Microsoft is expected to show both Vista and Microsoft 2007 programs."
The Tech Fair, which is from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., was originally created to introduce faculty, staff and students to the latest industry trends as well as technological services at UH, according to the Tech Fair’s Web site.
"This is the sixth fair we’ve held and my first year planning it," Grant said. "We sent out invitations to vendors we already have on campus, over 400 invites were sent out and we sold-out on all the booths."
Representatives from over 40 companies, such as Apple, Dell, AT’T and Hewlett-Packard, will have individual booths to demonstrate their latest programs and introduce new products students.
Vendors have the opportunity to present current technology to faculty, staff, students and prospective buyers at the fair, according to the Tech Fair Web site.
University-based consumer enterprises, such as campus computer store Cougar Byte and Web-Pavement Digital Signs, will also have be at the fair.
Web-Pavement Digital Signs, a company that produces digital signage software and services, which are billboards that include video such as the ones at the Welcome Center, User-Service Specialist Dylan Johnson said.
Program demonstrations such as streaming multimedia from QuickTime and Windows Media Player will also be highlighted.
"We produce IT offerings, manage streaming and will show our production services," said Streaming Media and Video Production Services Manager, Phil Booth.
The technology fair can also be used as a teaching tool for professors who want to use technology in the classroom. For students, it is the opportunity to see technology not only in the academic sense but also for personal use, according to the Tech Fair’s Web site.
The fair is expected to draw non-technology students through giveaways of popular items such as the Apple iPod and Microsoft’s Xbox 360, donated by their respective companies. In addition to the big prizes, 70 smaller door prizes will also be given out.
Students, such as construction management senior Aaron Gutierrez, said that the Tech Fair is something they definitely would want to check out.
"I have work, but I would definitely be interested," he said. "I just want to see what is out there."
Consumer science senior Melissa Pulido said she is going for job opportunities rather than information.
"I’m still not exactly sure what I want to do so I want to see what’s out there and start network ing," she said. "I want to get more details about today’s technology and a little bit on the management side."
Division of Information Technology is sponsoring the Tech Fair. For more information, visit www.uh.edu/techfair/index.html.
Additional reporting by Kim Thai
