Satish Jha wrote: >Dear Mr Rampersad, > > Let's dispense with formality, Satish. My name is Taran.
>Thank you for your posting an open letter. I thought it was an open >forum and I appreciate your reminder. > > It is; I am just not used to you participating in discussion. You'll excuse my late response, but reality has to be dealt with between emails. I'm sure you understand. You'll also excuse if I stick to the meat of the post. >Simputer Never became a product. Its a great prototype that needs to >be perfected as a "product". A product is not an idea. It is something >that gets accepted as a product that adds value at the level it gets >perceived at. Simputer has not even sold 10,000 units in 5 years and >that is less than the beta testing numbers of any product I have seen >in the past decade and a half. > > Excuse me, Satish, but if it's not a product then you are saying that the Simputer that I own is not real? I think you may want to recheck your data. Perhaps this will help: http://www.knowprose.com/node/3040 Further, I'm told that the Simputers are being used in many practical applications in India. I realize it's a big country and you may be unaware of them; despite your experience in the field of global information technology, I am fairly certain it is hard to keep up with all of the details. Often I am tempted to form an opinion and solidify it beyond debate, but I continue to force myself to look at the world with fresh eyes every day. It's literally amazing what happens in plain sight that is overlooked. >Frankly I am amazed at the passion Simputer has generated without >contributing anything in terms of technology. Its not an iPod or has >not broken a new ground. But I see nothing else that got so hyped in >the past few years for what it has to offer. > > Perhaps your interest lagged. >Now we know that Simputer is being sold to another company that may >have more capabilities to productise it. > > Excuse me, but if you're familiar with the Simputer, you will realize that it's Open Hardware and that *anyone* can build one. May I recommend visiting http://www.simputer.org - where you can download the plans yourself? >Its great to have an opportunity to discuss with those who are serious >about finding a solution and I will be glad to find time for that. > > I am sincerely glad that you are willing to do so. With Chavez starting a computer manufacturing plant in Venezuala, me having a Simputer in Trinidad and Tobago, and the plans for the Simputer on the internet, there has been some interest in the product in more way than one. Perhaps the Simputer will not be taken seriously by experienced people in India, but who knows what the future holds. The world is constantly changing, right beneath our eyes. The devil, of course, is in the details - which I think once you realize the potential of the Open Hardware initiative, you will have to reassess. On the Negroponte laptop - well, it boggles the mind why something so mediocre would be considered worthwhile. It certainly isn't in production like the Simputer has been, and it certain hasn't been used... Please check into the facts regarding the Simputer. I can put you onto some people if you need the facts. -- Taran Rampersad Presently in: San Fernando, Trinidad [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.knowprose.com http://www.easylum.net http://www.digitaldivide.net/profile/Taran Coming on January 1st, 2006: http://www.OpenDepth.com "Criticize by creating." — Michelangelo _______________________________________________ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@mailman.edc.org http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
