Although the King has been provided with a modern Internet connection,
he prefers to surf using his well-worn Mac SE
computer, added Nicholas Negroponte, founder and director of the Media
Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Negroponte, who is also a well-known magazine columnist and author of
a
popular book called Being Digital, was
recently in Thailand to give a series of talks to business executives.
Immediately upon his arrival in Thailand, he said, he was whisked to
the
palace for an audience with the King that lasted just over three hours.
Asked to comment on the King's expertise regarding the Internet,
Negroponte said, ''He pretended to have less knowledge than he actually
does."
The Internet is not the first type of communication technology to grab
His Majesty's fancy. He is also known to be a ham radio enthusiast.
According to an official at Internet Thailand, a local access provider,
the King's interest in using the Internet was made
evident in 1995, celebrated as ''IT Year" to promote the use of
information technology in Thailand.
''The King went on TV and held up a Japanese satellite picture of a
cloud formation that had been downloaded from a
Web site to demonstrate the advantages of using IT," explained the
official.
Negroponte confirmed that the King seems particularly interested in
using the Internet to obtain meteorological information.
Pairash Thajchayapong, director of the National Electronic and Computer
Technology Centre, has also testified to His Majesty's interest in
the Internet.
In an interview with The Nation last year, Pairash said that one of
the
agency's technicians had gone to the palace to set
up an Internet connection for the King.
But Negroponte said that His Majesty seems to prefer using his trusty
Macintosh SE, a personal computer produced by Apple Corp in 1987.
''I can see why he likes to use it," said Negroponte. ''It's a good
computer."