-- Attached file included as plaintext by Ecartis -- Return-Path: <fsf-friends-admin@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Received: from cc4.tifr.res.in ([158.144.1.20]) by nsc.nsc.ernet.in (Netscape Messaging Server 3.6) with ESMTP id AAA5467; Thu, 15 Aug 2002 09:45:17 -0500 Received: from localhost ([127.0.0.1] helo=cc4.tifr.res.in) by cc4.tifr.res.in with esmtp (Exim 3.35 #1 (Debian)) id 17fYUc-0001XY-00; Fri, 16 Aug 2002 09:43:46 +0530 Received: from [61.1.72.28] (helo=prodserver1.goatelecom.com) by cc4.tifr.res.in with esmtp (Exim 3.35 #1 (Debian)) id 17fYTZ-0001XC-00 for <fsf-friends@xxxxxxxxxx>; Fri, 16 Aug 2002 09:42:41 +0530 Received: from bytesforall.org by prodserver1.goatelecom.com (8.9.3/1.1.20.3/07Jul00-0916AM) id JAA0000027346; Fri, 16 Aug 2002 09:49:04 +0530 (IST) Received: from localhost (fred@localhost) by bytesforall.org (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id IAA01098 for <fsf-friends@xxxxxxxxxx>; Fri, 16 Aug 2002 08:11:54 +0530 From: Frederick Noronha <fred@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> X-Sender: fred@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx To: fsf-friends@xxxxxxxxxx Message-ID: <Pine.LNX.4.21.0208160811450.1052-100000@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=X-UNKNOWN Content-Transfer-Encoding: QUOTED-PRINTABLE Subject: [Fsf-friends] Simputer... changes a viewpoint Sender: fsf-friends-admin@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Errors-To: fsf-friends-admin@xxxxxxxxxxxxx X-BeenThere: fsf-friends@xxxxxxxxxxxxx X-Mailman-Version: 2.0.11 Precedence: bulk List-Help: <mailto:fsf-friends-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=help> List-Post: <mailto:fsf-friends@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> List-Subscribe: <http://mm.gnu.org.in/mailman/listinfo/fsf-friends>, <mailto:fsf-friends-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=subscribe> List-Id: Principal Support List of FSF-India <fsf-friends.mm.gnu.org.in> List-Unsubscribe: <http://mm.gnu.org.in/mailman/listinfo/fsf-friends>, <mailto:fsf-friends-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=unsubscribe> List-Archive: <http://mm.gnu.org.in/pipermail/fsf-friends/> Date: Fri, 16 Aug 2002 08:11:54 +0530 (IST) X-Mozilla-Status2: 00000000 Permit me to forward a posting from the Solaris mailing-list in Delhi. Perhaps GNU/Linux enthusiasts could also look at ways in which we could enhance our involvement in this GNU/Linux-based project. FN ---------- Forwarded message ---------- http://www.bayarea.com/mld/siliconvalley/business/columnists/mike_langberg/ 3866243.htm?template=3DcontentModules/printstory.jsp From=20the San Jose Mercury News. At LinuxWorld in San Francisco a number= =20 of interesting projects were presented yesterday including Open=20 Knowledge Network, the Brazilian volkscomputers, and the following=20 one--the Simputer. Langberg is a critical enthusiast when it comes to consumer items. He's=20 not a development expert. A good opening line to keep local high tech=20 folks reading this piece! Steve Posted on Wed, Aug. 14, 2002 Simple computer helps close digital divide By Mike Langberg Mercury News I've always been a digital-divide cynic, suspecting all the talk about=20 transforming the lives of poor people through Internet access to be=20 self-serving narcissism from Silicon Valley technologists seeking a=20 justification for making themselves rich. Vinay L. Deshpande has changed my mind. Deshpande, a Stanford-educated software entrepreneur in Bangalore,=20 India, is the driving force behind the Simputer, a handheld device that=20 resembles a Palm personal digital assistant. The Simputer (www.simputer.org), which costs from $175 to $375 depending=20 on features, is designed for impoverished rural villages in India and=20 other under-developed parts of the world. This isn't a cure for hunger=20 or disease, but Deshpande makes a convincing argument for how the=20 Simputer could make life better for people living far from the=20 technology fast lane. If you're struggling to feed your family on an income equal to a few=20 dollars a day, you don't need access to Amazon.com or eBay. What you do=20 need are the latest commodity prices for your crops if you're a farmer,=20 or accurate weather reports if you fish from a small boat, or a reliable=20 way to gather medical data if you're a rural health worker. These are things the sturdy Simputer can do at a far lower cost than=20 temperamental and fragile laptop computers. Deshpande, who spoke Wednesday at the LinuxWorld trade show in San=20 Francisco, got the idea for the Simputer at a family wedding near Mumbai=20 in November 1998, where he met the owner of a small community bank. The banker had a problem: He operates what is called a ``pygmy deposit=20 scheme,'' where independent agents travel to isolated villages to=20 collect deposits and make payments as small as one rupee, or about two=20 cents. The agents give paper receipts, and sometimes cheat the bank by=20 turning in altered copies of the deposit slips listing smaller amounts.=20 Catching such cheaters often takes days or weeks. The banker wanted a handheld device costing no more than $200 with an=20 attached receipt printer that agents could use to collect deposit data,=20 downloading the information by phone to the bank's computers at the end=20 of the day. This device wouldn't eliminate theft by the agents, but=20 they'd have a hard time disappearing with more than one day's worth of=20 funds. Deshpande, 55, assembled a team of academics from the Indian Institute=20 of Science and engineers from his company, Encore Software=20 (www.ncoretech.com), both based in Bangalore. The group quickly realized=20 any device created for the banker could solve many other problems in=20 many countries. The Simputer is designed to be easy to operate, reliable, rugged and to=20 run on easily obtained AA batteries. There's a slot for sliding in smart=20 cards, which cost less than $1 and can be given to every person in a=20 village for storing their personal information. A built-in modem makes=20 it possible to collect information and send out messages through the=20 Internet. Villages beyond the reach of phone lines can send and receive=20 data through the smart cards. To hold down costs, the Simputer runs a slimmed-down version of the free=20 Linux operating system -- eliminating royalty payments that would be=20 required for the Palm or Microsoft PocketPC operating systems used in=20 today's PDAs. Deshpande and his colleagues also developed visual icons and=20 text-to-speech feedback so that even illiterate users could benefit from=20 the Simputer. Encore Software began producing the first run of Simputers this month at=20 a contract manufacturing plant in Bangalore; another production line is=20 due to start up next month in Singapore. The Simputer isn't available=20 yet in the United States, but Deshpande is talking with several=20 potential distributors and expects to have a deal in place by year-end. Meanwhile, the Simputer Trust is willing to license its hardware and=20 software designs to any interested manufacturer for a one-time fee of=20 $25,000 to companies in the developing world and $250,000 to companies=20 in the developed world. As word of the Simputer has spread, Deshpande is hearing more ideas for=20 how his creation could be used. The post office in India, for example, is considering giving the=20 Simputer to mail carriers who handle money orders. A villager could send=20 money through a smart card, plugged into the mail carrier's Simputer,=20 for delivery to a relative on the other side of the country, downloaded=20 to the recipient's smart card. This would eliminate sending money orders=20 through the mail, where they are often lost or stolen. Health care agencies in South Africa want to develop a small ultrasound=20 monitor that could be plugged into the Simputer for tracking fetal=20 development among pregnant women in rural settlements. The Indian government is also interested in the Simputer for collecting=20 reliable and timely information on agricultural production, a process=20 now bogged down by inaccurate and slowly gathered paper documents. Asked to summarize his hopes for the Simputer, Deshpande spins around=20 and points to a logo printed on the back of his official Simputer Trust=20 T-shirt: ``Radical simplicity for universal access.'' There's no guarantee, of course, the Simputer will succeed. Even if it=20 does, technology alone can't fix all the problems causing poverty. But I found Deshpande to be uplifting. The technology revolution, in the=20 end, really could help everyone on Earth make better lives for=20 themselves. Contact Mike Langberg at mike@xxxxxxxxxxxx or (408) 920-5084. =A9 2001 siliconvalley and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved. http://www.siliconvalley.com Steve Cisler 4415 Tilbury Drive San Jose, Callifornia 95130 http: home.inreach.com/cisler 1-408-379-9076 cisler@xxxxxxxxx solaris--independant forum for IT & development issues un/sub info: solaris-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word "help" in the sub= ject line or in the body of the message. URL: http://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/solaris/ archive: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/solaris/ _______________________________________________ Fsf-friends mailing list Fsf-friends@xxxxxxxxxxxxx http://mm.gnu.org.in/mailman/listinfo/fsf-friends --------------------------------------------- FSUG-Calicut Home Page : //www.freelists.org/webpage/fsug-calicut ---------------------------------------------