How Bhargavi built computers, chip by chip NT Balanarayan / DNA Bangalore: It all started with a simple question, "What's the difference between a laptop and a PC, why does the PC have so many cables?" Ten months later, T Bhargavi, a housewife had made a single piece computer - Cabtop - which had only one cable. Tired of cleaning up all the messy cables around a computer, she started by trying to convince her husband Ranga Reddy that they could make a computer that needed only one cable like a laptop. Reddy tried to wave it off away by saying that "it's complicated," but Bhargavi wouldn't budge. "Ultimately I opened the system and a laptop and pointed out the differences and she was of the opinion that since there's so much free space in a CPU box, one could accommodate a thin screen in it," Reddy says.
The very next week, he bought two spare parts for each part of a computer, taught her the basics and gave her a free hand with it. In a while, she came up with a few possible designs for the product. They started off by building a case - which incidentally looks like a suitcase - for the Cabtop and started seeing how they can fit in all components within it. In 10 months, the couple went through 14 versions before settling on the final one. "One of the initial models we made was like a laptop but with a fat base. A lot of people we showed it to thought looked cheap. The final one has got a lot of praise from everyone though. All the components are behind the monitor and the SMPS and DVD drives are at the base," says Bhargavi. It was in the middle of developing the product that Bhargavi decided to make it work separately as a TV and not just as a computer. Incidentally, not all the components are dependent on each other; for example, you can turn on the TV and watch DVD without turning on the CPU despite having only one power input. Bhargavi managed to do this by having separate boards and SMPS for the CPU and monitor. "The DVD player gets power from the same SMPS as the monitor. Also there's an integrated TV tuner card if you want to watch TV on it," says Reddy, who has been providing technical help to Bhargavi throughout. Now, 10 months and 14 experimental models later, the Cabtop has a configuration of Core 2 duo, 2 GB RAM and 320 GB hard disk and weighs around 10kg. Bhargavi now wants to set up a factory near Chittoor in Andhra Pradesh and is hoping to find someone who can finance her dream. She has applied for a patent on the Cabtop and expects it to be approved soon. (For more info check seelamce.com) Source: DNA.com Information transmitted by this e-mail is proprietary to MphasiS, its associated companies and/ or its customers and is intended for use only by the individual or entity to which it is addressed, and may contain information that is privileged, confidential or exempt from disclosure under applicable law. If you are not the intended recipient or it appears that this mail has been forwarded to you without proper authority, you are notified that any use or dissemination of this information in any manner is strictly prohibited. In such cases, please notify us immediately at mailmas...@mphasis.com and delete this mail from your records. To unsubscribe send a message to accessindia-requ...@accessindia.org.in with the subject unsubscribe. To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in
