[Assam] WoW--the $ 10 Desi Laptop is Here!!!

[Chan Mahanta]

Hi A:



At 6:05 PM -0600 2/4/09, Alpana B. Sarangapani wrote:
>Good you found out about that, C'da.
>
>Have you already spent the money buying Zantac 
>to reduce the heartburn? If you have the reciept 
>and haven't opened the package yet, you can 
>return it, you know! 
>
>Oh wait, may be you can save them to use for 
>many more other things that India might come up 
>with.
>
>:) :) :)
>



*** Actually I OD'd on antacids when mm wrote 
about the imminent arrival of the @ 10.00 
desi-laptop.
That gave me a lot of heartburn. But after the 
heavy dose of antacids settled my stomach, I 
thought about it a bit more. For a fleeting 
moment I thought that hey--this is good! Maybe, 
just maybe, desi-ingenuity has finally arrived on 
the scene, bearing $ 10.00 laptops for the 
deprived of the world.  A mini tech-revolution 
flashed across my mind-screen.

But I should have known better.

*** Tell us though, do you think ToI was catering 
to the  despicable wishes  that lurk the shadowy 
crevices of anti-Indians'  black hearts, by 
characterizing it "---turned out to be a joke--", 
belittling genuine efforts of IT geniuses from 
the hallowed halls of institutions like " Vellore 
Institute of Technology, scientists in Indian 
Institute of Science, Bangalore, IIT-Madras, UGC 
and MHRD -" ? ( I don't know anything about these 
named institutions, except for IISc. and IIT-M. 
But I am sure they are all a cut above ).

I mean,has ToI  descended to the depths of 
negativism by splitting semantic hair over a ' 
firangi' ( foreign) language here?  If the 
currently-$ 20.00-but-soon-to-be-$ 10.00 
invention is a COMPUTING device, it IS a 
COMPUTER, isn't it?

Why do they have to say things like  "---MHRD 
should first  think about the feasibility of such 
projects before they are  launched. The entire 
world was watching. This act of MHRD has shamed 
the nation,'' .


*** BTW, what does MHRD stand for? Tell me it is 
not Most Humiliating Research and Development, is 
it ?


c-da :-)











>
>
>  > Date: Wed, 4 Feb 2009 15:22:38 -0600> To: 
>assam at assamnet.org> From: cmahanta at charter.net> 
>Subject: [Assam] WoW--the $ 10 Desi Laptop is 
>Here!!!> > 
>http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Govts_much-awaited_10_laptop_turns_out_be_a_joke/articleshow/4078115.cms> > > > 
>Govt's much-awaited $10 laptop turns out be a 
>joke> 5 Feb 2009, 0054 hrs IST, Neelima Rao, 
>TNN> > > TIRUPATI: The hype surrounding the $10 
>laptop ``prototype'' with two > GB RAM turned 
>out to be a joke when the department of Human 
>Resources > Development announced - during its 
>inauguration in the temple town of > Tirupati - 
>that it wasn't a laptop at all but a computing 
>device.> > While the world eagerly waited for 
>the launch of the $10 laptop - > designed by 
>students of Vellore Institute of Technology, 
>scientists > in Indian Institute of Science, 
>Bangalore, IIT-Madras, UGC and MHRD - > it 
>wasn't a patch on the $100 laptop made by 
>MIT.> > The MHRD officials said the price was 
>working out to be $20 but with > mass production 
>it was bound to come down to $10 (Rs 500) and 
>thus > become affordable for every student in 
>India.> > But netizens were disappointed when 
>the ``laptop'' turned out to be > nothing more 
>than a computing device along with a hard disk 
>with > e-books, e-journals and relevant 
>educative material through the > 
>state-art-of-the-art ``Sakshat'' portal.> > As 
>the device appeared smaller than the normal 
>laptop with 10-inch > length and five-inch 
>width, buzz got around that it was a > 
>``Nano-top'' and not a laptop. But MHRD official 
>brought the curtains > down on all the hungama, 
>saying it was just a computing device with > 2GB 
>memory.> > Joint Secretary, MHRD, N K Sinha said 
>that the device still needs to > be fine tuned. 
>But he had no answer to the million dollar 
>question: > where was the $10 laptop?> > The 
>talk of the ``invention'' had raised 
>expectations of bridging the > technological 
>divide between rural and urban India. Talking to 
>TOI, a > Professor from Sri Venkateswara 
>University said (on the condition of > 
>anonymity), ``How can just a computing device 
>bridge the digital > divide and make access to 
>computer literacy affordable to the masses? > 
>Where will poor students get computers to jack 
>this gizmo with? Will > MHRD provide computers 
>and internet connectivity in rural and remote > 
>areas? There is no clarity among the officials 
>themselves,'' he said.> > A research scholar 
>from Mahila University said, ``How many 
>students > in Tirupati have access to computers? 
>Then, MHRD hasn't given details > of the size of 
>the screen, storage, processor, etc. MHRD should 
>first > think about the feasibility of such 
>projects before they are > launched. The entire 
>world was watching. This act of MHRD has 
>shamed > the nation,'' she said.> > > > > 
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