by Shailaja Neelakantan
found @ http://chronicle.com/wiredcampus/article/3588/india-announces-prototype-of-10-laptop-for-education
Summary:
This article shortly described how India’s ministry in charge of higher education is creating a low powered internet capable laptop with expandable memory for only ten dollars. This laptop is scheduled to hit the Indian market within six months. The purpose of the laptop is to according to India’s secretary of higher education is to provide a better quality of education to the remote areas of India. The ministry is working out ways to beam lectures from the Indian Institute of Technology across the country. Apparently the internet is the best way for the remote areas of the country to receive the same education as students attending such institutions as Indian Institute of Technology. A prototype of the $10 laptop is expected to be ready next week to be unveiled to the public which was developed with the help of students from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bangalore's Indian Institute of Science, and the Vellore Institute of Technology, as well as various others. In addition to providing internet and education across the world there's a heavy focus on low power so that is capable of working off of two watts for villages where electricity supply is a problem. There are even thoughts in the works of a solar or dynamo-powered laptop to save on electricity. India opted out of buying the "$100" dollar laptop developed by Massachusetts Institute of Technology. They believed that the laptop had too many hidden costs and would ultimately bring the total price to $200. There was no mentioning on whether they were planning to import these laptops to the United States.
My Reaction:
I think its great India is so focused on being able to provide quality education even to those who aren't as accesible. I also think that with this in the works in addition to the already in the works $100 laptop is just a matter of time before even laptops and computers become as easy to buy toilet paper. In the past years computers have become a necesity, and laptops a luxury. In the future laptops will be the necesity and computers will become another part of the house like televisions.
Neelakantan, Shailaja. "India Announces Prototype of $10 Laptop for Education." The Chronicle of Higher Education 30 Jan. 2009: 5 pars. Wired Campus: India Announce Prototype or $10 Laptop for Education - Chronicle.com. 31 Jan. 2009
This is a comment based on News Report #3....This article is crazy, cant believe they have actually created a system that can tell you how your date is going. I can understand your reaction completely. I have seen both of the movies you referred to and if computers do began to achieve emotions, it can be fatal. Very good article, it was interesting and worth reading.
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