On Sun, Jul 24, 2011 at 19:32, Satish Jha <[email protected]> wrote: > > > Dear Ed, > Does OLPC 1.75 cost $150. For 100,000 pieces it currently costs $209. And > more for smaller orders as the manufacturer responds to scale and taking > smaller orders adds up costs.
Hard to say. I have seen several prices. Here is one source from January. What is your source? http://www.pcworld.com/article/215955/olpc_cuts_price_power_use_of_xo_175_laptop.html OLPC Cuts Price, Power Use of XO 1.75 Laptop Low-cost laptop for children in emerging nations drops in price to $165 and power consumption is slashed by half. > But Novatium costs $844 over a five year period and that is way more than > $209 and does not offer any computing capability on hand and without being > connected. > That's too constraining as well. > The India of Novatium seems to be the 5% privileged people who are > not-too-privileged.. As no one who can afford to buy a computer will find it > easy to use Novatium approach and will see little value in it. > Its the BSNL model, not a business model. > BSNL offered it to OLPC as well but we declined it as its a money making > model that does not touch education. > If BSNL agreed to do it for the village schools offering broadband at $10 per > month per class, which should not be a problem, that may help schools adopt > OLPC and broadband with barriers lowered enough to take computing power to > every household as children take their OLPC tablet home. > That will be affordable and a complete solution. > > On Fri, Jul 22, 2011 at 10:12 PM, Edward Cherlin <[email protected]> wrote: >> >> >> >> There are some interesting innovations in the Novatium proposal, such as the >> use of the mobile phone network to access a cloud computing service, but >> there are also several important pieces of the story missing. >> >> 1. The notion that this service can reach every home in India under present >> conditions is laughable. What fraction of villagers can pay $108 up front >> and $9 monthly? What fraction of villages has mobile phone service? Of >> course, if the first Novatium installation in a village were available for >> general use at a modest hourly rental in the manner of the ITC e-choupal >> project, that would enable many villagers to make enough extra money to buy >> the service themselves, exactly in the manner that phone ladies in >> Grameen-style microfinance programs rapidly enable many in their villages to >> buy mobile phones. >> >> 2. What will the phone charges be? >> >> 3. What about computing in schools? >> >> Let us compare prices with a One Laptop Per Child XO-1.75, which costs >> school systems $150 to buy, and thereafter incurs only costs for electricity >> and in some cases repair or replacement. This Novatium service will cost >> more than that within six months, and cannot be taken to school or to a >> friend's house. Certainly one can go to a friend's house and use the >> friend's family's service, but in the case I am considering that only works >> for one user at a time. >> >> The problem is not that there is something wrong with the Novatium service, >> which appears to be a technical triumph, and may show some market strength >> as well. The problem is that its capabilities are being oversold. >> >> On the other hand, consider what would happen if Novatium's mobile phone >> partners did build out their network to every village, and if OLPC XOs and >> school servers could use that network. Now we have the best of both worlds, >> where computing for children can be provided by governments, and computing >> for adults is available to anyone who can afford it, by the month or by the >> hour. Nobody loses out, even though some have more convenience than others. >> >> 2011/7/22 Frederick FN Noronha फ्रेडरिक नोरोन्या *فريدريك نورونيا >> <[email protected]> >>> >>> >>> >>> Computing power to every home >>> STR Team / Mumbai July 11, 2011, 0:01 IST >>> >>> A serial entrepreneur’s vision to drive PC adoption in India promises to >>> bring computing power to every household through the innovative use of >>> cloud computing. Novatium, a computing services company founded by Rajesh >>> Jain in 2004, offers a thin client-based computing solution, which is >>> delivered as a utility service to households and requires very low energy >>> to function. The company has filed 10 patents in the areas of utility-based >>> computing services. Read how the company is making computing affordable for >>> everyone in the concluding part of India Brand Equity Foundation’s series >>> Innovations from India: Harbingers of Change. >>> >>> Empirical studies have revealed that the internet and other information and >>> communication technology (ICT) based tools can help create a deeper impact >>> since they can touch social, economic and environmental aspects of human >>> society in many ways. The internet can help social priority sectors such as >>> education, healthcare and rural development by mitigating the demand-supply >>> gap (in case of education), enhancing access for life-saving service (in >>> case of healthcare) and generating opportunity of new income (in case of >>> rural development). It can help the government realise additional tax >>> revenues of two to five per cent over and above the existing tax revenues. >>> The internet and other ICT-based interventions can help deliver a low >>> carbon foot-print based economic growth, leading to savings of 7.8 giga >>> tonnes of CO2. >>> >>> Click here to visit SME Buzz >>> >>> >>> Also Read >>> >>> Related Stories >>> News Now >>> -Banking on solar power >>> -Low-cost banking on mobile >>> -Using robotics to solve real problems >>> -Market Voice: Rajesh Jain, Religare Securities >>> -Exit options when your property is occupied >>> -Indian M&E grew 11%, to accelerate: KPMG >>> In contrast to the potential benefits, ICT has not achieved the level of >>> impact that it could have across the developing/emerging world. In addition >>> to conventional concerns (such as cost of PCs, lack of connectivity, and so >>> on) there have been concerns among household users regarding the management >>> of upgrades to existing software, piracy in software, handling of virus >>> attacks and the breakdown of systems (often termed as a ‘hard drive crash’). >>> >>> Rajesh Jain found a solution to these concerns — a computer interface with >>> no responsibility behind it. Jain founded Novatium in October 2004 (it >>> began formal operations in January 2005). He is also known for his web >>> portal Indiaworld.com which he set up in 1995 (and went on to add >>> bawarchi.com, khoj and khel.com to his repertoire), and sold to Satyam >>> Infoway in 1999 for $115 million — one of Asia’s largest internet deals at >>> the time. Today, Jain is the managing director of Netcore Solutions. >>> >>> Novatium was set up with the efforts of Ray Stata (chairman of Analog >>> Devices, which designs, produces and markets analogue, mixed-signal and >>> digital signal processing equipment) and Rajesh Jain. Both Stata and Jain >>> made an investment, which together was worth $20 million, to set up >>> Novatium. >>> >>> The key drivers that led Novatium to develop the innovative service were to >>> provide consumers with simple computing, coupled with an obsolescence-proof >>> service. Novatium eventually set out to solve three problems concerning PC >>> adoption in emerging markets and those are: (a) Affordability: Use the >>> business model of the mobile industry, and also reduce the power >>> consumption; (b) Desirability: Develop on the concept of computing as a >>> utility and provide a desktop-like experience; (c) Manageability: Eliminate >>> the issues pertaining to desktop management, eliminate viruses and spyware >>> and enable instant turn on/off of the service based on individual needs. >>> >>> An easy, practical service >>> Novatium incorporated the following key features into its computing utility >>> service: >>> >>> Computing as utility. The organisation developed a model whereby the >>> computing capability of personal computers can be provided as a utility >>> service, similar to water and power supplies. The model is based on the >>> concept of thin client application. Generally, the software on which a PC >>> depends (such as the operating system) resides in the machine. In a thin >>> client solution, the software actually resides in a remote location (such >>> as the server of the service provider). The user sees only an interface (a >>> window similar to a website’s). The user’s commands and requirements are >>> executed by the remote server. Connectivity is required for a thin client >>> solution to work, and this can be achieved through the internet or other >>> private networks. >>> >>> Simple and innovative service interface. The user gets only a screen, a >>> keyboard and a mouse. All the computing is done at the server level. The >>> software, hardware and connectivity are all on the server, which are >>> managed by Novatium. The product has no storage, no hardware, no software, >>> and hence no maintenance and no upgradation issues. The most interesting >>> innovation here is that the heart and brain of the machine run on mobile >>> phone chip technology. >>> >>> Versatile technology. Compared to other thin clients, Novatium has certain >>> advantages. Its thin client solution can run on multiple operating systems >>> such as Linux, Windows, Solaris and Mac. >>> >>> Value-driven innovation >>> Based on the results that the service has been able to achieve, the impact >>> of this service is very encouraging, for instance: >>> >>> Computing at a reasonable price. Novatium’s offering include Nova Navigator >>> (earlier known as Nova Net PC) and Navigator Plus. The prices start at $108 >>> without a monitor (includes keyboard and mouse) and $184 with a monitor. >>> The device works like any conventional computer except it has no hard disk >>> (a hard disk option can be availed of at an additional cost). The device is >>> connected to a central server from where users can access regular Windows >>> and Office software packages. The basic price for a Windows package starts >>> from $11 a month, while for the Linux suite, the price starts at $9 a >>> month. The other offerings include Nova Neon (a laptop like device with the >>> same service model) and Nova cNergy (a pendrive like device which lets any >>> regular desktop or laptop gain access to Nova Computing Services). The >>> broadband charges have to be paid separately. >>> >>> Scalable model. The service has been able to reach a customer base of >>> 40,000 users in the first half of 2010, from a user base of 150 in 2007. >>> The service has delivered 1.2 million domestic usage days. >>> >>> Easy and convenient solution There are USB ports for peripherals and there >>> is no need for a UPS system. In case of a power failure, there will be no >>> data loss, since everything will be safe on the server. The device provided >>> by Nova uses 5 watts of power. It doesn’t have any moving parts, and is >>> very rugged. >>> >>> Driving innovation in utility-based cloud computing solutions. Novatium has >>> a total of 10 global patents. Two of the patents are titled ‘Providing >>> Utility Computing in a Cloud Computing Environment’ and ‘DUDM’ (Desktop >>> Utility Delivery Model). >>> >>> Currently ,the service is present in over 100 cities in India and it also >>> has a presence in Mauritius and Thailand. On the anvil are plans to expand >>> the service to other global markets as well. >>> >>> ________________________________ >>> >>> Reprinted with permission from IBEF (www.ibef.org) >>> >>> http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/computing-power-to-every-home/442197/ >>> FN +91-832-2409490 or +91-9822122436 (after 2pm) >>> #784 Nr Lourdes Convent, Saligao 403511 Goa India >>> http://fn.goa-india.org http://goa1556.goa-india.org >>> >>> >> >> >> >> -- >> Edward Mokurai (默雷/धर्ममेघशब्दगर्ज/دھرممیگھشبدگر ج) Cherlin >> Silent Thunder is my name, and Children are my nation. >> The Cosmos is my dwelling place, the Truth my destination. >> http://wiki.sugarlabs.org/go/Replacing_Textbooks > > > > -- > Satish Jha > T: 301 841 7422 > F: 301 560 4909 > ________________ > > > > > __._,_.___ > > Your email settings: Individual Email|Traditional > Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required) > Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch to Fully > Featured > Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe > > __,_._,___ -- Edward Mokurai (默雷/धर्ममेघशब्दगर्ज/دھرممیگھشبدگر ج) Cherlin Silent Thunder is my name, and Children are my nation. The Cosmos is my dwelling place, the Truth my destination. http://wiki.sugarlabs.org/go/Replacing_Textbooks _______________________________________________ Grassroots mailing list [email protected] http://lists.laptop.org/listinfo/grassroots
