THE SIMPUTER, A SIMPLE SOLUTION TO TAKE COMPUTING TO THE MASSES FROM INDIA
by Frederick Noronha,
BANGALORE, March 8: If this works as planned, the Simputer could go a long
way in taking computing within the reach of the reach of the commonman...
not just in India but across the Third World. Slated to cost below $200,
this device is now weeks away from its prototypes being made.
"Response has been phenomenal so far. We've got some 30 to 40 mega-bytes of
e-mail just discussing this project," says Professor Vijay Chandru, an
MIT-educated computer scientist who is one of those slaving away at this
project in the Bangalore-based Indian Institute of Science.
From the Philippines to Cuba and beyond, this device has drawn attention,
from surprised specialists, who watch India's efforts at gingerly putting
together a computing device that could create a revolution for the commonman.
It's not only its below-US$200 (approx Rs 9000) price that's interesting,
but what the Simputer will be able to do.
This Internet device will have the potential to help even non-literate users
to check the Web, and get access to useful information that can make a
difference to their lives. It was put together by several academics and
engineers, in their spare time.
Once commercialised and put into the market -- its designs will be freely
released to companies that go into producing it -- the Simputer could be
used not just as a device for individuals to access the Net, but also by
communities through kiosks. A smart-card interface is being worked on to
facilitate micro-banking.
Its text-to-speech capabilities mean that it could also be used by the
hundreds of millions of illiterates in the country and beyond.
Proving skeptics wrong so far, the Simputer team put together a working
model of the device, which was showcased this week at the Banglinux
conference, held in this software capital of India in early-March.
This could change the way how IT proliferates in a country like India.
The Simputer -- or Simple Inexpensive Multilingual People's Computer -- is
built around Intel's StrongARM CPU, and is based on the Linux operating
system, with 16MB of flash memory, a monochrome liquid crystal display
(LCD), and a touch-panel for pen-based computing.
You needn't know English to access the Simputer, and it will give you both
Internet access and e-mail.
What's more interesting is the manner in which the product is being
released, through what is called Open Hardware Licensing.
To promote hardware innovation in India -- a country which doesn't have a
reputation in this field, unlike in software -- its design will be provided
at a nominal license fee to manufacturers.
Manufacturers can modify and extend the Simputer specifications.
"Companies can go ahead and create an improved Simputer. But, after a
one-year 'window of opportunity', the hardware they create will then come
back into the public domain. This will avoid the creation of monopolies, but
will also give people an incentive to innovate," said Prof Swami Manohar,
another key person involved with this project based at the IISc.
"Our model tries to complete the circle of innovation. What we are saying
is, 'Take this product, innovate on it, and then pass it on back'. We don't
want to create monopolies for anyone," said Manohar, who is part of the
newly-set up Simputer Trust.
For what would this keyboardless computing device be used? "We don't expect
someone to browse the Net with this for two hours. But a villager could
quickly log onto the Net, get the information he wants -- like the latest
prices being offered for commodities in nearby markets -- and switch off,"
says Prof Manohar.
He also clarified that it would be simple to operate so that people wouldn't
need "two hundred rupees per week training" to use it. Since Open Source
software based on Linux was being used, a whole host of people would be able
to create suitable software for it, he said.
One problem still remaining was that nobody was prepared to give them the
technology to create Smart Card readers, which would be openly available to
future developers.
"We cater to four languages as of now. If this device could speak to you in
your own language, it would be really nice," says Manohar, who says that
further information is available on the site www.simputer.org
Prof Chandru told IANS in an exclusive interview that in some "four weeks"
time about 400 to 500 prototypes would be developed and then employed for
field trials. There would be a need for developing large number of
applications that work on the Simputer's specifications, he said.
Partly, the cost of it was kept low simply because the "development team was
just not claiming any recompense", he said. Devices with somewhat similar
potential were being sold at prices of US$400+. "Then, you have to keep in
mind that there's nothing really comparable," he said.
He disagreed with the suggestion that the Simputer would be difficult to
maintain in rural India.
"Transistor radios are a great analogue. Inspite of having fairly complex
electronics, they've worked," he told this correspondent. He added that the
durability too would be high, since there are no large moving parts in the
Simputer, and it did not have to cope with power-surges from the mains.
"It's bound to work now," he smiled nervously, after obviously putting the
most trying periods behind him. Some 10 to 12 people, on average, have been
working on this project since December 1999.
He said this computing device could also have implications in fighting
illiteracy in a country like India. "One of the best ways to teach people a
script is to have it recited," he pointed out. The Simputer reads out simple
text in four languages -- including Hindi, Kannada, and English -- currently.
Chandru gives credit to a former Karnataka IT secretary, who called a
meeting to discuss concerns about taking computing to commonman, way back in
1998 "even before the term digital-divide became fashionable, as it has
now". (ENDS)
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frederick noronha, freelance journalist, [EMAIL PROTECTED]
near convent, saligao 403511 goa india 0091.832.409490/ 409783
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