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Wireless technology draws big By David Preszler Don�t let all the power cords and connection cables workers spent Monday stringing around the tent fool you. Wireless technology will take center stage today when the US West Technology Pavilion opens at 11 a.m. at the Jackson County Fair � even though the latest Internet technology hasn�t figured out how to shed all its wires just yet. "The moment we get wireless electricity, we�ll be off," jokes Jim Teece of Ashland�s Project A, one of the pavilion�s organizers. From cell phones on which you can surf the Web and get e-mail to full commercial high-speed wireless connections, wireless products of all kinds � as well as the latest cable modem and digital subscriber line services � will be on display. "It has become the biggest technology event in Southern Oregon and possibly in Oregon," says Amy Sanpei of Southern Oregon University, another of the event�s organizers. An estimated 30,000 people came through the pavilion last year, and Sanpei expects that number to continue growing this year. The exhibit, located next to Padgham Pavilion, is open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. today through Saturday and from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday. Twenty-six companies and organizations are scheduled to staff booths, including well-known local technology players such as US West, InternetCDS, AT&T Wireless and Charter Communications. Other exhibitors include the Software Association of Oregon, Southern Oregon Telecommunications and Technology Council, Southern Oregon University, Rogue Community College and Bear Creek Corp., to name a few. "It�s getting bigger every year," says Teece. The event brings together competitors and allies alike for a week to promote the field in general. For some, the air-conditioned tent becomes a virtual office. Teece, for instance, has transferred his office to the tent and vows to get some non-fair work done while he�s here. He�s even got a corner curtained off for meetings. But the chief purpose of the pavilion is to reach fairgoers. The most eye-catching exhibit is likely to be Project A�s I-land Cafe, which covers roughly a quarter of the exhibit tent. The cafe features a half-dozen iMac computers connected to the Internet without wires and intended to show people the digital video capabilities that the standard iMac includes. "A lot of it is to show off the technology in an affordable state," says Project A�s Josh Bradley, who�s overseeing the cafe. Teece says the fair version is actually a preview of a permanent location his company hopes to open in Ashland later this year. He says the idea is to create "a true place for people to go and hang out and have more of a community feel." US West, now officially known as Qwest following a recent merger, is the pavilion�s title sponsor and will staff a learning lab called "Widening Our World" to teach basic and advanced Internet skills to fairgoers. The educational center gives first-time Internet users a chance to get their feet wet and offers some advanced searching advice for more experienced users. For children, the pavilion offers "kids� space," an area where youngsters can not only surf the Net but send "cyber postcards" from the fair via e-mail to friends and relatives. The supervised area will also allow young fairgoers � and their parents � to try out children�s Web sites such as www.artabunga.com and www.roguekids.com Other booths will offer cellular phones and Internet service for sales. The pavilion will also serve as a job fair as several of the companies represented are searching for high-tech workers. Noon Technology Update It only took Medford's Brian Welch a few minutes inside the US West Technology Pavilion at the Jackson County Fair to grasp its importance. "This is the future," Welch said clutching the Nextel cell phone he'd just purchased from ePeople. The technology pavilion opened without a hitch Tuesday morning after a few last-minute details - a banner here, some chairs there - were taken care of. Early on, the cellular phone booths and Charter Communications' spot were among the most popular. Welch and his wife, Sandy, stopped in at Charter to find out when the upgraded fiberoptic network the company's installing would reach their home near Rogue Valley Medical Center. It'll be awhile, they were told. Still, the couple was impressed with the pavilion, commenting that it may well overshadow the fair in a few years given the importance of technology. "It's nice to have the hands on," Brian Welch said. "There isn't any place you can get that." Just minutes after the pavilion opened, young fairgoers found their way to I-land Caf�, which features a half dozen iMac computers connected wirelessly to the Internet. Several teens quickly discovered the video games available, including Bugdom - which is based on the movie "A Bug's Life." Early traffic was modest in the first hour, but organizers expected things to pick up as the day went on. 4:30 Technology Update I t's easy to send an instant fair souvenir, thanks to the wonders of digital photography and the Internet. The Kids Place booth at the Jackson County Fair's Technology Pavilion offers fairgoers a chance to have a digital picture taken, superimposed onto a background and e-mailed to whoever the fairgoers want. "I sent it to my folks and myself and my buddy Bob," said Dave Thomason of Mount Shasta, Calif. Thomason had his picture taken with his dog Alexander. Lea Davis, 13, of Talent, and Tasha Croucher, 12, of Medford, had their picture taken together and then e-mailed to friend Tylor Arnold, who happened to be running the booth. They also sent it to their homes. The "epostcard" was just one of the interactive activities offered at Kids Place, which is geared at younger fairgoers. The booth features nine computers set up especially for kids - complete with filters that limit where they can go online. Two children's sites being specifically promoted at the booth are www.artabunga.com a Web site that allows children to draw and paint online, and www.roguekids.com which offers a listing of local activities for kids. Several of the children who visited Tuesday afternoon also checked out their favorite sites such as www.foxkids.com which features the Digimon video game - an offshoot of the Pokemon craze. Other booths, such as the I-land Caf�, also offered children the chance to explore the Internet. Traffic through the pavilion was light in the early afternoon but was showing signs of picking up by around 4 p.m. as more people made their way to the fairgrounds. 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