Re: Good & Evil of Localization

["Ruchir Tewari" <ruchir_tewari@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

> > >part of the reason. But the primary reason is that,
> > >they could afford the machines, they have extremely
> > >good infrastructure to support the usage of
> > computer,
> > >which sadly india lags.
> > ^^^^^^
> > the cost of a linux box is as low as $250 or less
> > than
> > Rs12,000, which is easily within reach of the indian
> > public,
> > if they buy in large enough numbers.
>
> is there any company activly promoting a PC bundled
> with Linux for this price??.. could you give me
> website...

Fred had mailed this just last week. Also companies like emachines
were selling PCs for around $350-$450, running windows. with
linux it ought to be cheaper, if done in large enough volumes.
also payments in installments would make it viable for most people.
the #1 killer-app for the spread of PCs is email/ip telephony which will
be greatly benefited from
1. greater, cheaper bandwidth and
2. localisation.

To: LINUX-INDIA <linux-india-general@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: LINK: BRAZIL DESIGNS A CHEAP Linux-based PC FOR THE MASSES
From: FREDERICK NORONHA <fred@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>

----------  Forwarded Message  ----------
Subject: BRAZIL DESIGNS A CHEAP Linux-based PC FOR THE MASSES
Date: Tue, 6 Mar 2001 23:25:28 -0500
From: "George(s) Lessard" <media@xxxxxxx>
To: mediamentor@xxxxxxxxxxx,
devmedia@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


BRAZIL DESIGNS A CHEAP PC FOR THE MASSES
Researchers in Brazil have developed a no-frills PC that should
retail for $300. Government officials hope that the low-cost
computer, which consumers will be able to purchase in $15 monthly
installments, will help narrow Brazil's digital divide. Although
Brazil has 170 million people, including 3.9 million regular
Internet users, and a gross domestic product of $580 billion,
many of its people lack phone lines, not to mention computers,
and the average minimum wage is only $75 per month. Sergio Vale
Campos of the Federal University of Minas Gerais, who led the
team that designed the computer, said it is "cheap, but is not
trash." The PC features the basic components: a monitor, a
mouse, speakers, and a browser for the Internet. A printer or
disk drive can be added as modular units. It has 64 MB of RAM,
a 500 MHz processor, and a 56K modem. The researchers further
reduced costs by relying on free Linux-based software. However,
the government may have difficulty finding a company that will
manufacture the new PC. Several firms have said the projected
market price is too low, and critics have suggested the
country's lack of IT infrastructure may make using such a
device problematic.
(Associated Press, 5 March 2001)
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