---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Fouad Riaz Bajwa <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: Wed, 31 Oct 2007 15:49:55 +0500 Subject: [iosn-general] Notebooks for all To: IOSN ASEAN+3 Node <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, IOSN Asia Pacific <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, IOSN FOSS-PDI <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, IOSN General <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, IOSN South Asia Node <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Source: The Bangkok Post http://www.bangkokpost.com/Database/31Oct2007_data01.php Notebooks for all A Canadian company has yet another solution for bridging the world's digital divide Story by DON SAMBANDARAKSA A Canadian alternative to the much talked about "one hundred dollar laptop" is making the rounds of the region in the hope of winning support from governments by offering a different solution to bridge the digital divide. Rather than one inexpensive laptop per child, the answer being presented is a somewhat more powerful computer, with zero maintenance or moving parts, which can be shared by a number of children running free and open source software. Gerry Morgan, founder of Ink-Media and the man behind the Ink-Media Mobile Personal Computer, explained how the original idea came out of his work in architecting Schoolnet India. The key problem there was that a normal PC had a typical life span of just six months due to power fluctuations, brownouts, dust and software or operating system corruption. The answer to that question was a rugged PC with no moving parts, and one which had no rewritetable storage for the OS, which could be corrupted. The idea was to cut maintenance costs, typically around 30 percent, down to zero. Furthermore, by basing the system on free and open source software, another significant running cost. [-- Image: http://www.bangkokpost.com/Database/311007_data01.jpg Caption: Gerry Morgan shows off his Ink Media budget notebook that he hopes will help bridge the digital divide. Rather than one laptop per child, it is designed so that one laptop can serve many children. — DON SAMBANDARAKSA --] Years later, Morgan came up with the idea that became the Ink-Media Personal Mobile Computer. Perhaps the oddest technical feature of the tablet-style PC is the fact that it runs an ARM-based RISC CPU, the Freescale i.mx31. The key reason for choosing this RISC CPU over a conventional x86 Intel or AMD processor was battery life. Morgan explained that this CPU's power envelope of just 3.5 watts made an 8-hour use possible. The other key reason was that this particular chip had strong video and graphics capabilities, which would be needed to show videos and animations in a classroom environment. The downside is that it does not run the vast amount of x86 software out there. The operating system is a cut down version of Debian Linux, recompiled for the ARM architecture, complete with most of the office and communications software expected in a GNU/Linux system. The OS and applications are locked away in semi-permanent flash memory that under normal circumstances cannot be written to by the system. "It can't get a virus, it can't slow down. The system has no hard drive, no fan. Nothing can break and it is completely maintenance free," he explained. Morgan said that he does not believe in the one-laptop-per-child (OLPC) philosophy. Rather, he believes that computing should be as ubiquitous as pencils and that one laptop could be made to serve many children. The architecture is different in that rather than storing data in the machine, all user data, preferences and language settings are stored in the user's SD card or USB drive. Plugging in your drive in any of these machines would then bring up a Thai language desktop with your files the way the user left it. This separation of machine and data is important to help one machine serve many people. Morgan said that the idea of a pencil lab today would be utter absurdity, so why then do we persist with the concept of a computer lab? In his worldview, the PC should be a tool that humans use to express our thoughfulness, resourcefulness and insightfulness rather than an end in itself. Already, Morgan is talking about extending the concept beyond education and to healthcare, homes and even small businesses in the developing world that have yet to use a computer. "Four fifths of the world's population has yet to touch a computer. I was trying to build something to fit their needs," he said. The open source movement features a lot in his talks. Morgan said he was touched by these people who created all this great software and gave it away for free, offering an alternative economic model to the one that has become entrenched in our collective psyche. The PC design has many similarities with the OLPC and many differences. For instance, the screen is a conventional screen rather than the special OLPC design that works in bright light. Morgan said that two years ago, he conducted a survey right here in Thailand and everyone preferred a conventional screen with good colour rendition to one that had poor colour but was more readable in bright daylight. The Debian-based Linux OS also looks and feels more conventional and can easily be used by anyone accustomed to Windows - unlike the OLPC's altogether different human computer interface. The wireless LAN component is a standard 802.11G unit from Marvel. "Meshing was a very interesting idea, but when you put it in a classroom, it's the equivalent of passing paper notes to all your friends. As a former teacher, would I want that? I don't think so," he said. As for the question of providing connectivity across areas that the OLPC's mesh WiFi promises, Morgan thinks that soon enough we will have WiMax that will address that need with more standard equipment. Profits from the endeavour are channelled back into the Gerry Morgan foundation, which invests in poor regions sometimes for computers, sometimes for other basic infrastructure. The first project is a school in Uganda for around 200 AIDS orphans. The entire project is designed to be self sustaining, which means that each system is sold at a small profit in order to make the ecosystem viable and scalable. Ink Media is ready to scale up production with its partners in China as early as January but before that can happen, Morgan is travelling the world meeting governments trying to convince them of his vision and gain their commitment. "The idea of low cost computers is a very important economic strategy and it has to become a national priority in every country. Up until now, the entire computing revolution has touched less than 20 percent of the world's population. We are about to have the second revolution, and yes, I believe the end goal can be achieved within my lifetime," he said. Today, the Ink-Media Personal Mobile Notebook can be ordered in bulk for US$250 per unit and a desktop version - which has the same processor and internals but is to expected to be hooked up to a second hand monitor, keyboard and mouse - can be had for as little as $160. _______________________________________________ iosn-general mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://lists.iosn.net/mailman/listinfo/iosn-general -- प्रबिण गौतम ( ओपन ठिटो) --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ FOSS Nepal mailing list: [email protected] http://groups.google.com/group/foss-nepal To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Community website: http://www.fossnepal.org/ -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
