[Reader-list] more on the simputer

[Monica Narula]

Cyberspace for all (poor and illiterate communities particularly welcome)

A prototype of Simputer, the "PC of the poor," was presented last week in
Bangalore, India's Silicon Valley. Half-way between a PC and a hand-held
device such as a Palm Pilot, Simputer ('Simple, Inexpensive, Multi-lingual
comPUTER') offers all the functionalities of an ordinary PC, including
internet facilities.

But it also exhibits some very noteworthy differences: it is based entirely
on a Linux operating system, does not consume energy (it works on the basis
of three AAA batteries), speaks four languages and will be put on the market
at a price which will not exceed $200 (E225).

The Simputer project, which aims to "harness the potential of Information
Technology for the benefit of the weaker sections of society," was conceived
during the organisation of the Global Village, an International Seminar on
Information Technology for Developing Countries, conducted during the
Bangalore IT.com event in October 1998.

Intellectual property for the device was subsequently transferred to a
non-profit trust, the Simputer Trust, which was established by members of
the Indian Institute of Science and the Encore Software company. Both the
software and the hardware for the appliance have been provided as an open
source technology.

Simputer offers a number of technical novelties, and of course a very high
degree of social relevance. For one thing, it will enable India's illiterate
population (some 48 per cent of the country's one billion) to surf the web
through a speech recognition device enabling basic navigation through the
use of the software's menus. The speech dictionary currently supports four
languages (English, Hindi, Tamil and Kannada) and can be customised to offer
additional languages. Later versions will also offer wireless technology.

The main raison d'être of the project is to equip rural communities,
particularly schools and 'village councils,' with collective Simputer
devices which can be accessed individually through the use of a smart-card.
Possible applications are almost unlimited, including self-learning and
tele-medical possibilities.

The Simputer Trust is currently in the process of releasing production
licences in both the developing and developed countries (at a price of
$25,000 - E27,500- and $250,000 - E275,000- respectively) and it anticipates
the product to hit the market within the next six months.

While the exact implications of such a revolutionary device will need to be
properly measured, Simputer may offer an appealing illustration of the
possible nuances in the "spirit of freedom and alternative thinking" that
was to characterise the internet: while Napster-like applications had shown
the way in which the net could be used for mostly self-interested types of
libertarian objectives, Simputer is probably the first concrete example of
the way in which the internet can also support more public-spirited and
socially inclusive objectives. The novelty is probably too exemplary not to
be duly emphasised.

Solon Ardittis a French/Greek national, is Co-Founder and CEO of
Tradeyoursite.com, a European internet company offering an online trading
market for the selling/buying of dot-coms and related assets. He previously
worked for United Nations agencies and research institutes and is the author
of over 30 publications on international migration, asylum and related
issues.
-- 
Monica Narula
Sarai:The New Media Initiative
29 Rajpur Road, Delhi 110 054
www.sarai.net