Wednesday, April 10, 2013

  Largest digital inclusion event: Telmex breaks Guinness world record (VIDEO)

MEXICO CITY, Mexico -- Mexico City's most iconic central plaza, the Zocalo, was transformed into an Internet and computer technologies fair where nearly 154,000 people were able to use computers and smart phones for free during 'Aldea Digital' (Digital Village), an event organized by Telmex, setting the world record for the Largest digital inclusion event, according to the World Record Academy: www.worldrecordacademy.com/ .

  Photo: Mexican fixed-line operator Telmex, an America Movil subsidiary, has entered the World Records book with its Aldea Digital project. The largest digital inclusion event was achieved by Telmex at Aldea Digital in Mexico City. ( enlarge photo )

 The Guinness world record for the Largest networked chess computer was set by ChessBrain, which consisted of 2,070 computers located in 56 countries, which simultaneously combined their processing power.

  Guinness World Records also recognized the world record for the oldest original working digital computer , set by The Harwell Dekatron computer nicknamed WITCH , which is now on display in the UK's National Museum of Computing, and dates from the early 1950's.

  Telmex, the Mexican telecom carrier controlled by the world's richest person, Carlos Slim Helu,, entered the World Records book with its Aldea Digital (Digital Village) as the largest "digital inclusion event" in the world.

  More than 5,000 computers were set up to operate at high speed connections of 20 gigabytes per second (average Mexican household connection speed is between 3 and 30 MB).

  The event brought together 154,000 computer users in the central plaza in Ciudad de Mexico.
  Mexico City's Zocalo was turned into an internet and computer technologies fair where people were able to use computers and smartphones free of charge.

  Mexican television showed long lines of people lined up before the doors opened, waiting to gain access to gigantic tents where the digital fair was set up with the support of Mexico City's government. Many were first time computer users.

  Telmex CEO and Carlos Slim's nephew, Hector Slim Seade, stressed the importance of continuing to bring digital education and digital culture to the entire Mexican population.

  Fifty four percent of the Aldea Digital's attendance were men, 46% women, 12 % children and 7 % senior citizens, Telmex reported.