SIBAL UNVEILS LOW COST COMPUTER.
Union Human
Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal unveiled the low cost
computing-cum-access device in
Since this
effort of continuous reduction in price and enhancement in capabilities would
require a constant endeavour for research and development, Indian Institutes of
Technology and other technical institutions are setting up research teams to
cover a wide range of issues in achieving the ultimate goal in terms of price
and quality, the Minister said.
The new
device is an improvement over the one launched at Tirupathi in Andhra Pradesh
last year that had come under criticism for various reasons, including the
cost.
The
government will also try and patent some technology used in the devices though
most of the parts were available over the shelf, N.K. Sinha, Joint Secretary in
charge of the project said. The device has a touch-screen, video-conferencing
facility, multimedia content, searchable Pdf reader, unzip tool, and storage.
Work is now on to provide these with solar panels.
Under the
National Mission on Education through Information and Technology (NMEICT),
connectivity is proposed to be provided to universities and colleges. In nearly
8,500 colleges already connected, high quality e-content in various subjects is
being created. Under the National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning,
nearly 500 web-based and video courses are available and uploaded on ‘ sakshat`
and other portals. Another 1,100 courses in various disciplines of engineering
and sciences are also being generated.
