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| 5/24 |
| 2006/1/4-6 [Computer/HW/Laptop, Computer/Companies/Google] UID:41228 Activity:nil |
1/4 There is speculation Google will offer a $200 non MSFT computer
(at Walmart). What OS do you think they'll use?
\_ Their own Linux distribution.
\_ I was going to build http://www.mini-itx.com/projects/knex over
Christmas, but I had to deal with backyard flooding instead. I
wonder what form facter the allegedly GooglePC will have.
\_ How about the $100 hand-cranked laptop?
http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/ptech/11/30/laptop/index.html
\_ Remember, you must crank for 8 hours before using for the first
time.
\_ If they do (and if it's more than just putting their logo on
a machine built by someone else), it might finally be time to
short GOOG. -tom
\_ Uh, it's already been refuted.
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20060104-5882.html |
| 5/24 |
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| www.mini-itx.com/projects/knex -> www.mini-itx.com/projects/knex/ Click to launch image viewer I needed an interesting case for an embedded Linux/Wireless control computer that will be installed in a Science Museum running some mechanical Art. EPIA 5000 MINI-ITX sized motherboard and a Belkin Wireless Access Point. K'nex are very easy to use since you can assemble them in many ways. You can choose to make a very densely connected case using white circles and green rods, or a loosely connected case using longer rods. I chose to use blue rods which made the building go a little bit faster, but still make a very stiff case with little flex. If you wanted to include an AC power supply in one corner, you can build a small "room" attached to one end of the case for the power supply. As I started building, I found that I could use the many K'nex shapes to build mounting points for the Compact Flash adapter, the indicator LEDs, the power switch and the DC power jack. Click to launch image viewer Then I used small screws and washers to mount the plywood to the K'nex, Be careful you don't use screws that are too long or you will short out the APs PCB. Click to launch image viewer I used a Sherline lathe to bore a hole through a white K'nex rod so that the APs coaxial antenna wire could pass through. I need to unsolder the wires from the PCB and then solder them back after running them through the white rod. |
| www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/ptech/11/30/laptop/index.html jpg The computer is described as a "stripped down" laptop. start quote If you live in a mud hut, what use is that computer for your children who don't have a doctor within walking distance? The World Summit on the Information Society held in Tunisia was the latest forum where a green "laptop"-- weighing one kilogram and not reliant on electricity -- was the center of attention with its inventor claiming that the $100 machine will help eradicate poverty. At the launch of the computer in a packed conference room at the Kram Center in Tunisia, the UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan called for the information technology gap between the developed world and African nations to be bridged. But as he attempted to turn the machine's crank handle, to demonstrate its durability and easy functioning, it came off in his hand. The signal, perhaps, for the more cynical to question whether the green machine is merely a wind up. Flagged up as a low-cost computer for the masses, this cheap computer is the brain child of Nicholas Negroponte, co-founder of the Media Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The immediate beneficiaries are to be children and Negroponte's non-profit group called One Laptop Per Child, will sell the machines directly to governments in the developing world. They will distribute the computers to children in remote rural communities. With a minimum order of one million, countries have been chosen on the basis of large populations without access to digital technology. Negroponte, who sits on the board of Motorola, calls the $100 computer a "stripped down" laptop and says that profit is not the motive for this scheme. He quotes the success of a similar pilot project in schools in Massachusetts as the basis for believing that this machine can bridge the digital divide. Negroponte says that a basic computer can be produced cheaply if complicated technology is stripped away. Negroponte's plan envisages children using the green laptop in areas where there is sporadic or no electricity -- hence the crank which if turned for 10 minutes would create enough power to run the laptop for half an hour. But while some critics have suggested that a machine based on the mobile phone model would be more useful, Africans themselves question the entire project. Marthe Dansokho from Cameroon says that this cheap computer is the result of an insular American-user mind set. "African women who do most of the work in the countryside don't have time to sit with their children and research what crops they should be planting," she pointed out. Mohammed Diop from Mali, dressed in flowing traditional robes, said that the West, obsessed with cyber crime, junk mail, and viruses, is also sold on the idea of bringing the computers to the really poor. "Under the guise of non-profitability hundreds of millions of these laptops will be flogged off to our governments. "That's the only way of achieving the necessary economies of scale to get the price low. They've finally found a way of selling to a huge number of poor people." He also pointed out that some kind of connectivity will be necessary, and that this in turn will require buying satellite dishes or some other means to allow these machines to connect the Internet. What possible use do poor children have for computer games? Those doubts were voiced by other Africans at the Tunisia Summit. They complained that as the West becomes obsessed with gadgets, they can only think of new marketing ploys to get Africa to take out loans in order to buy what they don't need. "If you live in a mud hut," one participant asked, "what use is that computer for your children who don't have a doctor within walking distance?" Whiff of optimism But the green prototype did bring a whiff of optimism to the summit in Tunis. Such is the advance publicity for The One Laptop Per Child that the stand was mobbed by people from the developing world asking if they could buy one for their children. Some had saved up for over a year to come up with the $100 price -- less than a tenth of the cost of a commercial computer. Already disadvantaged in many ways, no-one wanted to be left out. Some of the crowd were from regions in west Africa where barely three of every 100 people are on the net. They believed it could have a dramatic effect on education, medicine and farming. The last word goes to GiseleYitamben from Cameroon who pointed out the problem of recycling the hundreds of millions of computers MIT's Media Lab intends to distribute to Africa. Just as the EU is introducing stringent new rules to encourage the recycling of computers, foisting these green machines on the unsuspecting African continent could simply compound already existing environmental problems. "Do they think these machines will last forever, "she questioned. |
| arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20060104-5882.html According to a Google spokesman, the company won't be releasing a PC, Internet appliance, or web-enabled toaster anytime soon: "We have many PC partners who serve their markets exceedingly well and we see no need to enter that market," a Google spokesman told Times Online. That should be the definitive word on the topic, at least until the next set of rumors comes along. Original story Although not quite the target for rampant rumor-mongering that Apple is, Google still draws its fair share of speculation. The latest new Google product allegedly in the pipeline is the Google PC/Internet Appliance/thingy. reporting that Google will unveil just such a device at this week's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. According to the paper, Google's new PC will not run Windows. Pricing is reputed to be in the "very cheap" range, which I'm guessing would put it in the sub-US$300 category. Google has reportedly been in negotiations with Wal-Mart about carrying the device, whatever it may be. Google CEO Larry Page is giving a keynote address at CES, and is expected by some to announce the device. However, the rumors have been growing louder and more persistent over the past few months. In December, one analyst predicted the arrival of "Google Cubes," which would be Google-branded hardware that would function primarily as a media server. Looking solely at the possibility of a Google PC, we can make some educated guesses about the nature of such a beast. It would definitely run some flavor of Linux, probably heavily customized. Arguments about whether Linux is "ready for the desktop" aside, it's a natural as a low-cost (free) OS that can perform all the basic functions that the typical PC user needs. Google could include Firefox with the Google Toolbar preinstalled and could easily tweak one of the IM clients to work with GTalk out of the box. The bigger question is why Google would want to enter an entirely new market with its own peculiar set of headaches. Although manufacturing, distribution, and even call center/support desk tasks could easily be done by third parties, Google would still need to devote a significant proportion of its resources to a new PC division. search appliances for the corporate market, but the company's core competencies are search, Internet advertising, and software development. Another concern would have to be consumer acceptance of Linux as an operating system. How many Linspire-branded PCs were returned to Wal-Mart once users booted them up to discover that Windows--with all its familiarity--was nowhere to be found? Google definitely has the resources to bankroll the launch of a new PC or Internet Appliance along with the name recognition to sell them. However, the desktop operating system market are owned by Microsoft. The chances of a low-cost Google PC making any significant inroads against the >90 percent market share enjoyed by the various flavors of Windows are slim. Google has been able to successfully challenge Microsoft on a number of fronts, but here's betting that desktop operating systems won't be one of them. |