[OLPC India] $20 laptop - A damp squib

[Satish Jha]

Ron,

XO's cost is its price. It cannot change unless its redesigned and
technology changes.
That may take a while..

Moreover, you may want to see what the news from Andhra Pradesh is.. that is
the state where Tirupati is..

*TIRUPATI:* The much-touted laptop for the masses said to have been built by
students of Vellore Institute of Technology that would cost a mere Rs 500
actually turned out to be only a computing device. Making this clear at the
inauguration of the national Mission on Education Programme organized by the
Union HRD Ministry here on Tuesday, joint secretary N K Sinha said the
computing device is 10 inches long and 5 inches wide and has been priced at
around $30 at the event. However, he refused to comment as to why was it
being projected as a laptop when it was not. The so-called laptop actually
turned out to be a storage device containing megabytes of data info which
can be accessed by a user by connecting this device to a laptop. It meant
that unlike the internet, this device can display that information that has
already been stored. Some delegates at the exhibition claimed that with the
help of this device a laptop caosting about $60 can eventually be
manufactured. *But for now at least the $10-laptop turned out to be damp
squib.* TNN

Let people know its not as easy to create new technologies and products as
it sounds.. There are very few Jobs and Negropontes in the world..

On Wed, Feb 4, 2009 at 6:11 AM, Ron Penny <ronpenny at kastanet.org> wrote:

> For those skeptics among us here's what FORBES has reported today:
>
>
> http://www.forbes.com/2009/02/04/laptop-cheapest-india-markets-faces-0202_technology.html?partner=alerts
>
>
> All the major UK newspapers also reported VERY POSITIVELY one the same
> "challenging as well as exciting" news.
>
> I still wonder what the impact will be on people like me who want to
> provide the poorest with the education they need, providing the
> technology now available in this fast moving 21st century.
>
> The XO's pricing has to change, DOWNWARDS, rapidly, or be left behind
> ...  surely. Or am I wrong?
>
> Ron Penny
> _______________________________________________
> India mailing list
> India at lists.laptop.org
> http://lists.laptop.org/listinfo/india
>
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