Low Cost Computers

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Low Cost Computers

• By-
• Pratyush Chandra (03d05003)
• Akhil Lodha (03d05007)

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Introduction

• Only about 700 million, or about 11 percent of
  the 6.5 billion people living today, use the
  Internet.
• More than 2.5 billion people live in rural and
  remote areas of developing countries where access
  to communications is severely limited due to
  availability or affordability.
• For these rural communities, access to
  Information and Communications Technologies
  (ICTs) can transform their lives in simple, yet
  profound ways.
• We need to design machines that are resilient,
  powerful and cheap enough to reach those not yet
  online.
• Development of ultra-low cost computers for
  personal or community use will help in bridging
  third world digital divides.

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Some Initiatives

• 100 Laptop
• A laptop from Nicholas Negroponte and MIT Media
  Lab that is aimed for children and runs Linux
• 100 per laptop
• Thin Client
• Inexpensive, lightweight terminals that rely on
  servers to provide desktop environment and
  internet.
• 100 for a thin client.
• SUV PC
• PCs that are meant for harsh environments. They
  run on car batteries or Solar power
• Eduwise
• Low end laptops with latest technology meant for
  students and teachers.
• 400
• Personal Internet Communicator
• AMDs portable devices running Windows CE with an
  energy efficient processor
• 180 without monitor

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Some Initiatives

• NovaNet PC
• Network computer designed on a completely new
  hardware platform without using the typical PC or
  thin client components.
• 200
• HP 441
• Handles 4 users at once, in different languages
  and is Linux based.
• Cuts hardware costs by up to 50 and maintenance
  operation costs by 65
• Amida Simputer
• PDA with the functionality of a computer
• 240-480
• Xentis
• Low end PCs meant for the Indian middle class.
• 250

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One Laptop Per Child (OLPC)

• The Children's Machine, or 2B1, is an inexpensive
  laptop computer intended to provide every child
  in the world access to knowledge and modern forms
  of education.
• OLPC is a non-profit organization created by
  faculty members of the MIT Media Lab to design,
  manufacture, and distribute the laptops.
• The laptops will be sold to governments and
  issued to children by schools on a basis of one
  laptop per child.
• The founding corporate members are Google, News
  Corp, AMD, Red Hat, Bright star and Nortel, each
  of whom donated two million dollars to the
  project.
• The pricing goal is currently expected to start
  at around US135-140 and finally reach 100 USD
  in few years.

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Technical Details
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Issues and Challenges

• Low-cost PC projects started several years ago,
  beginning with Korea's
• Internet PC program but are yet to achieve their
  goals. Below are some of
• main challenges they are facing
• Should governments of the poor countries be
  spending money on laptops instead of other more
  basic needs like food, clothing, shelter and
  health care?
• Execution Issues
• Corruption In African countries, the
  governments are very powerful and the most
  corrupt people are at the top.
• Distribution What scheme should one use ?
• 100 Laptop How would you ensure it goes in to
  the right hands ?
• Thailand's ICT for children program required
  trade-in of old computer. People might not want
  to trade-in their old computers or might not have
  any computers to trade-in.

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Issues and Challenges

• Pricing Profitability
• Many companies reluctant to enter into low cost
  pc market because of lack of profitability.
• Technical design challenges
• How to provide power management, memory
  consumption, OS, Software applications, Internet
  connectivity maintenance at low cost.
• Adapting the technology to local usage and
  environment.
• Meeting consumer demands at low prices
• As these products become popular, customers
  demand better configured rather than bare bone
  systems.
• E-waste Is educational development and
  widespread distribution of the 100 laptop worth
  the environmental cost of the waste products that
  will have to be dealt with when they are
  discarded.
• Security and Privacy Issues.
• Protecting privacy of children
• Preventing hacking and spread of malware.

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OLPCs current status

• Negroponte's (founder) says current plan is to
  begin distributing 5 million to 10 million of the
  laptops in China, India, Egypt, Brazil, Thailand,
  Nigeria and Argentina by early 2007.
• Under present plans, the first production version
  of the laptop will be powered by an AMD
  microprocessor and use an open-source Linux-based
  operating system supplied by Red Hat.
• Kofi Annan (Nov. 2005) introduced the 100 laptop
  last month at the World Summit on the information
  Society (WSIS) in Tunis.
• THE NIGERIAN Government has officially ordered
  and paid for one million of the hundred dollar
  laptops which cost about 140 dollars, according
  to reports.
• Prototype demo

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Indian Context

• Intels Initiative (Community PC)
• Intel has recently announced its Jaagruti
  (Awakening) initiative designed to provide
  rural communities in India with greater economic
  and social opportunities. By collaborating
  Intels Jaagruti program will support the spread
  of rural Internet kiosks.
• Encore Software
• Machine called Mobilis powered by XScale PXA255
  200/400 MHz processor and has 128 MB SDRAm with a
  7.4-inch VGA LCD screen and other peripherals and
  support for Indian languages.
• Price will vary between 230 - 350 based on
  different models.
• AMDs Initiative
• It has started to sell its Personal Internet
  Communicator for 235, including monitor, through
  a broadband partner here.
• Novatinums Initiative
• Novatium plans to offer a stripped-down home
  computer for about 70 or 75. That is about half
  the price of the standard "thin clients" of this
  kind now sold in India, made possible in part by
  some novel engineering choices. Adding a monitor
  doubles the price to 150, but the company will
  offer used displays to keep the cost downs

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References

• 100 Laptop OLPC
• List of Initiatives
• Computers in Education in Developing Countries
  Why and How ? Luis Osin
• Low-Cost Computers for the People
• Intel eyes PCs for developing nations
• India's Tech Renaissance
• 100 Laptop Demo Video