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More than just computers Mail Tribune / Drew Fleming Veemon, a Digimon cartoon character filled out by 22-year-old Ben Gaar, watches kids playing video games in the technology pavilion at the Jackson County Fair on Thursday. Veemon's appearance was made possible by Charter Communications and IMD Modeling. By GREG STILES CENTRAL POINT - From the latest computer networking schemes to the electric bikes, visitors to the Jackson County Fair have been treated to cutting-edge toys at the fair's technology pavilion. Cell phone retailers and game makers have their wares at work, while college Rogue Community College and Southern Oregon University wooed potential students with an eye on a future in technology. In stark contrast to all the screaming fast tech machinery, the pavilion also features a display of defunct but now-collectible computers ranging from an old Commodore PET computer to "Lisa," the precursor to the Macintosh. Project A, a Web and design firm in Ashland, took advantage of the tech pavilion's setting to alter its image this week with a new logo. Project A was behind the fair's first technology pavilion six years ago and has been part of the scene ever since. Project A and its 50 employees are at the forefront of Ashland's wired and wireless movement. Although the company is far from alone in what it does, it has carved out a promising niche. For one, the company's Government-In-A-Box, first developed for Jackson County 10 months ago and currently being prepared for Mercer Island, Wash., and Colorado Springs, Colo., has pushed Project A's influence well beyond the Rogue Valley. Government-In-A-Box allows cities and other entities the ability to have a dynamic Web site up and going in far less time, and presumably with less expense, than starting from scratch. Webmasters can make changes without using HTML or programming knowledge. "The reason we call it this, is that the same programming is used in all the sites," says Ned Marr, who is taking the same technology and modifying it for a community portal model - a sort of cyber town square. The empowering thing about Government-In-A-Box is that you could do all your business with city hall on-line." You needn't be a computer nerd to pilot Don McCrimmon's e-bikes. The electric bikes are produced by Lee Iacocca's EV Global Motors Company. McCrimmon sells e-bikes at Southern Oregon Yamaha. The bikes have a 1930s Art Deco style. They also have plenty of get-up-and-go. The simple thumb-throttle allows quick starts without pushing off. Depending on the model, the speed ranges up to 18 mph on flat ground without assistance, and the battery is good for 20 miles before recharging. "There is no license needed, nor registration," McCrimmon says. "They're bicycles and classified as non-motorized vehicles." There are three modes: Power only, relying exclusively on the electric drive train; rider power, riding the bike in traditional powerless fashion; and a combination where one parlays electric and personal power on hills or to maintain cruising speed. The bikes start at $1,000 and can quickly become much more expensive, with add-on options ranging from fenders to extra batteries to increased range. They weigh 44 pounds without the 23-pound battery. A 24-volt mini E-bike can be folded to fit in a car trunk. Reach reporter Greg Stiles at 776-4463 or e-mail [email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.