ICTworks by Inveneo

Much has been written about India’s unveiling of the $35 tablet Aakash. There is debate about Aakash’s potential to change the educational paradigm, about its quality and specifications being up to commercial standards, about its "Made in India" tag and about its claim as the world’s cheapest tablet.

To continue this debate in a slightly different direction, I am Mustafa Naseem and I argue that Aakash has the potential to change the current scenario of limited access to computing for the majority of the world’s population outside of these discussions.

The need for context appropriate computing technologies:

When Martin Cooper placed the world’s first call from a portable cellular phone in 1973, he likely never imagined cell phones to become universally pervasive in less than 40 years. Why did the cell phone become so popular in the developing world? Take a look at Nokia 1100, the world’s best selling phone handset: it was low cost, easy to use, had a long battery life and only required a SIM card to connect its owner to the rest of the world.

To its credit, it also had a number of other features including a dust-proof rubber keypad, a flashlight accessible by a single touch and a near child-proof robust design. If we consider the primary four features listed above, the Nokia 1100 sets the standard for technology for the developing world −cost, connectivity, usability and a decent battery.

Aakash as appropriate technology:

The Aakash more or less meets these criteria. With its $60 retail price tag ($50 for the Government of India), it has come remarkably close to the $30 price point that led to widespread adoption of cell phones like the Nokia 1100. It use of a touch screen and the Android Operating System make it relatively easy to use after the initial learning curve that we all go through with new technologies.

The Akaash is equipped with a 2100 mAh battery, 2 watts of power consumption and has a solar charging option for users who are simply off the grid. The tablets are equipped with a GPRS module that supplements WiFi compatibility, which will help users connect through the maze of cellular networks. Apart from these features, the Aakash comes with 2 USB ports, a 3.5 mm audio input/output jack, and support for all popular text, audio and video formats.

Aakash has its shortfalls: a resistive touch screen, no access to the Android Market for apps, and a poor battery life to name a few. But at the given price point, I believe it is a decent piece of appropriate technology.

Market forces need to meet this demand:

In his speech at the 2011 Social Good Summit, Nicholas Negroponte said that he’d stop making low cost laptops if marketforces filled this gap. In the case of cell phones, manufacturers and providers supported the wide-scale adoption of cheap but useful phones to fill this gap.

Aakash gets us one step closer to the truly affordable and useful laptop than “specialty” educational machines (like the Simputer and XO) or full-powered Netbooks whose price hovers around $199 in most retail stores. India’s gigantic companies like Reliance are following this trend, and are manufacturing tablets like the Reliance 3G tablet in the $250-300 range. However, with Aakash’s release, things are bound to change – it’s a potentially powerful pricing function.

Government is seeding the change

By encouraging Data Wind to manufacture the Aakash for the educational market, the Government of India has encouraged competition at the lower end of the market, thereby unknowingly regulating the market for low cost computing devices. In an interview with NDTV, the CEO of Data Wind talked about an Aakash 2.0, which could have a capacitive touch screen, a 3G modem, a faster processor and an increased battery life at a similar price point.

We will now have to see if big giants like Reliance respond and how the quest continues for the truly commercially competitive, low cost computing device.

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For the last several years, Microsoft has threatened to end the ability of Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) to install Windows XP on their hardware. Yet the bloat of Windows Vista, the rise of 4P Computing, and the draw of emerging markets has kept XP alive. Now 9 years (!) after it was first introduced, Microsoft has finally ended XP's life.

After October 22, 2010, you'll no longer be able to buy new PCs with Windows XP installed.

Microsoft has 10 reasons you should welcome Windows 7, but not everyone is cheering the change. Millions of users in the developing world have only known a Windows XP experience and the national curriculum of several countries (Ghana for one) feature XP screenshots and menu paths. So what has Microsoft done to keep those users happy?

1. Downgrade to Windows XP
   The OEM versions of Windows 7 Professional and Windows 7 Ultimate will continue to include downgrade rights to the similar versions of Windows Vista or Windows XP Professional. Going forward, you can continue to purchase new computers and utilize end user downgrade rights to Windows XP.
2. Continue XP Support
   Microsoft will still provide support for Windows XP until April 2014, using their Microsoft Support Lifecycle process.
3. Ensure Win7 Compatibility with XP Programs
   Windows 7 is designed to be compatible with popular hardware and software products. The Windows 7 Compatibility Center lists the particular programs or hardware that will work with Windows 7.

Opportunity in Change

Yet in change there is always opportunity. With the global move to Windows 7, there is a compelling reason to upgrade existing XP users to a new platform, earning software, training, and support revenue in the process. Also, there are bound to be custom software programs that need updating for Windows 7 compatibility and functionality. Last but not least, its a great excuse to revisit existing customers and show them new technology options.

So what are you waiting for? Embrace change, its the only constant.

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In a recent Economist Article, I heard for the first time about gOS, an operating system claiming to be "the most beautiful and easiest to use Linux operating system on the market."

The author experienced gOS during volunteer work he did refurbishing computers for kids.  He praised gOS for its child-friendliness, its clean interface, and it's blazing fast 9 second startup time.  He even says he "has kept a copy of this clever Linux distribution (gOS 3.1 Gadgets is the latest version) on one of his office machines to remind him of what, with luck, the future could look like."

Strong praise, and the screenshots look pretty...has anyone spent much time with gOS?  I'm curious to hear whether others agree or disagree with this assessment.

For years, low-power computer buyers have had only two choices in operating systems: Linux or Windows. And the comparison and competition between the two systems is sometimes tiring, with near religious overtones.

So its with great relief and much excitement that I see Google is developing its own OS Google Chrome Operating System

It's our attempt to re-think what operating systems should be. Google Chrome OS is an open source, lightweight operating system that will initially be targeted at netbooks. Later this year we will open-source its code, and netbooks running Google Chrome OS will be available for consumers in the second half of 2010.

And here's the real promise. Even though Google Chrome is focused on netbooks and cloud computing, the needs of connected netbook users are very similar to low-power computer users in low-bandwidth environments.

• The need to be very processor efficient
• No need for high-end graphics
• Very effective use of bandwidth

My only concern is how well Google Chrome will work on low-to-no bandwidth. I know Google Gears is their current offline offering, but even it is a little buggy and needs regular Internet connectivity. I think Chrome will really shine in the developing world if they can get it to work of an Intranet as well as the Internet.