Monday, September 10, 2007
One in every 28 emails contains virus: Study-THE TIMES OF INDIA
NEW DELHI: As Internet becomes the order of life for more and more Indians who depend on emails to stay in touch, their computers face an increasing virus threat with one in every 28 emails being infected, a recent study says. A study by messaging security and management services provider, MessageLabs, reveals that the number of malicious websites are on rise and a new virus StormWorm, which uses virtual postcards and YouTube video for its attack, are affecting computers. According to the study, an estimated 1.8 million computers have been affected by StormWorm worldwide. In August, India remained the most vulnerable region in terms of virus attacks with one in every 27.8 emails being infected. However, spam attacks (or unsolicited bulk emails), during this period, accounted for only 29.5% of the total emails received in the country, the study said. It also found that there was a rise in emails containing links to virtual postcards and YouTube video invites. On August 15, there was a significant outburst of new malicious websites comprising 6,00,000 emails, which were distributed in just 24 hours. As a result of this latest StormWorm activity, the number of emails which contained links to malicious code increased significantly in August to 19.5%, a rise of 19% from the July figure of 0.5%. The analysis on web trends also reveals the steep rise in the number of new malicious websites appearing every day. In August, a daily average of 1,772 new malicious sites were identified and blocked, an average increase of 783 per day since July. In August, the global ratio of spam in email traffic from new and unknown sources, for which the recipients' addresses were deemed valid, was 74%, an increase of three per cent on the previous month. During this time, Israel received the highest number of spam attack at the rate of 70.7%, while France saw the most significant increase in spam levels at a 9.5%, followed by Spain at 9.2%. Across sectors, agriculture ranks as the most spammed with 66.9%, while finance is the least spammed one with 30.5%. The highest increase in spam activity across all sectors during August was observed in the telecom sector where it rose by 22.3% since July and repositioned this vertical as the second most spammed segment. The largest drop was in the business support services sector, which fell by 6.2%. The global ratio of viruses in email traffic from new and previously unknown bad sources destined for valid recipients was 1 in 80.4 or 1.24% in August, a decrease of 0.14% since the previous month. The education sector moved to the top of the virus chart in August despite a fall in virus activity of 0.18%, the study revealed.
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Google Gphone coming to India in Two weeks?-Techgadgets
Rumors about the Gphone are not new to tech savvy now. But this time it is said that Gphone will be launched in India. That’s interesting!
There are lot many rumors spread on the internet that the highly awaited Gphone is coming to India. That too in as short time as two weeks!
Rediff.com says that there are official talks taking place between Google with Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Essar. Both are the popular mobile providers in India. Also it is said that Google is also talking with government owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL).
Rediff also adds that Google may launch the Gphone simultaneously in US and Europe.
Besides, the rumors say that in India, Google is in talks with service providers to offer data and content and platforms including Instant messaging (IM) and Search functions.
However, Google has declined the news by saying it does not answer any rumors.
There are lot many rumors spread on the internet that the highly awaited Gphone is coming to India. That too in as short time as two weeks!
Rediff.com says that there are official talks taking place between Google with Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Essar. Both are the popular mobile providers in India. Also it is said that Google is also talking with government owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL).
Rediff also adds that Google may launch the Gphone simultaneously in US and Europe.
Besides, the rumors say that in India, Google is in talks with service providers to offer data and content and platforms including Instant messaging (IM) and Search functions.
However, Google has declined the news by saying it does not answer any rumors.
With Software and Soldering, a Non-AT&T iPhone-NY Times
George Hotz, 17, says he has unlocked two Apple iPhones and is using one with T-Mobile service.By BRAD STONE
AT&T is paying millions to be the exclusive United States provider of Apple’s much-hyped and glowingly reviewed gadget, the iPhone.
It took 17-year-old George Hotz two months of work to undermine AT&T’s investment.
Mr. Hotz, a resident of Glen Rock, N.J., published detailed instructions online this week that he says will let iPhone owners abandon AT&T’s service and use their phones on some competing cellular networks.
Mr. Hotz’s method, which requires a soldering gun, a steady hand and a set of obscure software tools, is one of several techniques that have emerged over the last week to break the technological locks confining the iPhone to AT&T’s network.
“This was about opening up the device for everyone,” Mr. Hotz said in an interview over his iPhone, which he was using on the network of T-Mobile, a rival to AT&T.
Carriers like Verizon, AT&T and Sprint seek to keep their customers in two ways. They force them to sign multiyear contracts, which are expensive to break. And the carriers put complex technological locks on phones to ensure that they run only on a given carrier’s wireless network. Without the locks, the phones could be used on rival networks that use the same underlying technology.
People who work on unlocking cellphones say those technical locks unfairly restrict customer choice. They want to give cellphone users the flexibility to take their phones with them overseas without incurring heavy roaming fees, or to transfer the devices to other networks once a user’s service contract has expired.
Mr. Hotz says it took him about 500 hours to unlock two iPhone units. He put one of them up for sale on eBay, and by late yesterday, bids on the phone had reached many thousands of dollars. An unmodified iPhone sells for $499 at an Apple store.
His technique is probably not accessible to most people. But Mr. Hotz described it in detail on his Web site in the hopes that others could simplify the procedure.
Neither Apple nor AT&T would comment on Mr. Hotz’s handiwork or on another unlocking technique revealed yesterday by an anonymous group calling itself iPhoneSimFree.
Members of that group demonstrated their technique to a writer for the Web site Engadget. They said they had developed a way to unlock iPhones with a software update, without any hardware changes to the device.
IPhone owners presumably would be able to run that software and then insert another carrier’s SIM card, the small card inside phones that run on G.S.M. networks. A SIM card stores information about the subscriber.
The writer for Engadget verified that the iPhoneSimFree technique worked. Apparently only one feature, AT&T’s visual voice mail system, which lets users retrieve voice mail in whatever order they choose, stopped working when an iPhone was removed from the AT&T system.
The six-man iPhoneSimFree group says that it has been working on unlocking the iPhone since June and that it plans to start selling its software to parties that want to unlock large numbers of iPhones.
The members have not disclosed what they intend to charge, and they declined to reveal their identities.
“We’re a bit paranoid about privacy because we don’t know how things are going to evolve,” said one group member, who identified himself only as Jim in a brief phone interview.
His caution stems from the murky legal status of unlocking cellphones.
Last fall, the Librarian of Congress issued an exemption to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, ruling that people can legally unlock their cellphones. But the ruling does not specifically apply to people like Mr. Hotz and the iPhoneSimFree group who distribute the unlocking tools.
Apple and AT&T could conceivably sue such distributors under the copyright act. The companies could also argue that people sharing modifications to iPhones are interfering with a business relationship, between Apple and AT&T and the customers.
Apple might also seek to block the unlocking tools with its regular software updates to the iPhone. Mr. Hotz says he thinks his unlocking process is immune to such changes, because he is making a change to the device’s read-only memory, which cannot be changed with a software patch.
One other approach to unlocking the iPhone has made some waves recently.
Two weeks ago, a company called Bladox, based in the Czech Republic, began selling an $80 device called a Turbo SIM. The thumbnail-size card, attached to another carrier’s SIM card and inserted into an iPhone, tricks the iPhone into thinking it is running on the AT&T network even when it is not.
The company has reportedly been overwhelmed by orders and is not selling the product on its site. But Jesús Díaz, a technology writer in Madrid, said he bought the Turbo SIM last week and was now using his iPhone on Spain’s Vodafone network.
“Everyone here asks me: ‘What is that? Can I see it, can I touch it?’ ” said Mr. Díaz, whose iPhone draws a lot of attention because Apple has not yet announced a deal to sell the device in Europe.
The iPhone unlocking craze may have reverberations beyond Apple and AT&T.
Cellphone carriers in the United States generally subsidize the initial purchase of a phone and then work to keep customers paying the lucrative monthly fees. That is why operators offer incentives for loyalty and require long contracts.
But people now want the same freedom with their cellphones that they have with other devices, like televisions and computers.
Mike McGuire, an analyst at the research firm Gartner, says that even though few consumers will try these sophisticated alterations, the iPhone modifications point to “the rather rapid erosion of the carrier control of handset distribution.”
“This has been going on for a while,” he said, “and this is the latest salvo.”
It took 17-year-old George Hotz two months of work to undermine AT&T’s investment.
Mr. Hotz, a resident of Glen Rock, N.J., published detailed instructions online this week that he says will let iPhone owners abandon AT&T’s service and use their phones on some competing cellular networks.
Mr. Hotz’s method, which requires a soldering gun, a steady hand and a set of obscure software tools, is one of several techniques that have emerged over the last week to break the technological locks confining the iPhone to AT&T’s network.
“This was about opening up the device for everyone,” Mr. Hotz said in an interview over his iPhone, which he was using on the network of T-Mobile, a rival to AT&T.
Carriers like Verizon, AT&T and Sprint seek to keep their customers in two ways. They force them to sign multiyear contracts, which are expensive to break. And the carriers put complex technological locks on phones to ensure that they run only on a given carrier’s wireless network. Without the locks, the phones could be used on rival networks that use the same underlying technology.
People who work on unlocking cellphones say those technical locks unfairly restrict customer choice. They want to give cellphone users the flexibility to take their phones with them overseas without incurring heavy roaming fees, or to transfer the devices to other networks once a user’s service contract has expired.
Mr. Hotz says it took him about 500 hours to unlock two iPhone units. He put one of them up for sale on eBay, and by late yesterday, bids on the phone had reached many thousands of dollars. An unmodified iPhone sells for $499 at an Apple store.
His technique is probably not accessible to most people. But Mr. Hotz described it in detail on his Web site in the hopes that others could simplify the procedure.
Neither Apple nor AT&T would comment on Mr. Hotz’s handiwork or on another unlocking technique revealed yesterday by an anonymous group calling itself iPhoneSimFree.
Members of that group demonstrated their technique to a writer for the Web site Engadget. They said they had developed a way to unlock iPhones with a software update, without any hardware changes to the device.
IPhone owners presumably would be able to run that software and then insert another carrier’s SIM card, the small card inside phones that run on G.S.M. networks. A SIM card stores information about the subscriber.
The writer for Engadget verified that the iPhoneSimFree technique worked. Apparently only one feature, AT&T’s visual voice mail system, which lets users retrieve voice mail in whatever order they choose, stopped working when an iPhone was removed from the AT&T system.
The six-man iPhoneSimFree group says that it has been working on unlocking the iPhone since June and that it plans to start selling its software to parties that want to unlock large numbers of iPhones.
The members have not disclosed what they intend to charge, and they declined to reveal their identities.
“We’re a bit paranoid about privacy because we don’t know how things are going to evolve,” said one group member, who identified himself only as Jim in a brief phone interview.
His caution stems from the murky legal status of unlocking cellphones.
Last fall, the Librarian of Congress issued an exemption to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, ruling that people can legally unlock their cellphones. But the ruling does not specifically apply to people like Mr. Hotz and the iPhoneSimFree group who distribute the unlocking tools.
Apple and AT&T could conceivably sue such distributors under the copyright act. The companies could also argue that people sharing modifications to iPhones are interfering with a business relationship, between Apple and AT&T and the customers.
Apple might also seek to block the unlocking tools with its regular software updates to the iPhone. Mr. Hotz says he thinks his unlocking process is immune to such changes, because he is making a change to the device’s read-only memory, which cannot be changed with a software patch.
One other approach to unlocking the iPhone has made some waves recently.
Two weeks ago, a company called Bladox, based in the Czech Republic, began selling an $80 device called a Turbo SIM. The thumbnail-size card, attached to another carrier’s SIM card and inserted into an iPhone, tricks the iPhone into thinking it is running on the AT&T network even when it is not.
The company has reportedly been overwhelmed by orders and is not selling the product on its site. But Jesús Díaz, a technology writer in Madrid, said he bought the Turbo SIM last week and was now using his iPhone on Spain’s Vodafone network.
“Everyone here asks me: ‘What is that? Can I see it, can I touch it?’ ” said Mr. Díaz, whose iPhone draws a lot of attention because Apple has not yet announced a deal to sell the device in Europe.
The iPhone unlocking craze may have reverberations beyond Apple and AT&T.
Cellphone carriers in the United States generally subsidize the initial purchase of a phone and then work to keep customers paying the lucrative monthly fees. That is why operators offer incentives for loyalty and require long contracts.
But people now want the same freedom with their cellphones that they have with other devices, like televisions and computers.
Mike McGuire, an analyst at the research firm Gartner, says that even though few consumers will try these sophisticated alterations, the iPhone modifications point to “the rather rapid erosion of the carrier control of handset distribution.”
“This has been going on for a while,” he said, “and this is the latest salvo.”
Teen 'Unlocks' iPhone From AT&T Network -NY Times
NEW YORK (AP) -- Armed with a soldering iron and a large supply of energy drinks, a slight, curly haired teenager has developed a way to make the iPhone, arguably the gadget of the year, available to a much wider audience.
George Hotz of Glen Rock, N.J., spent his last summer before college figuring out how to ''unlock'' the iPhone, freeing it from being restricted to a single carrier, AT&T Inc.
The procedure, which the 17-year-old posted on his blog Thursday, raises the possibility of a cottage industry springing up to buy iPhones, unlocking them and then selling them to people who don't want AT&T service or can't get it, particularly overseas.
The phone, which combines an innovative touch-screen interface with the media-playing abilities of the iPod, is currently sold only in the U.S.
An AP reporter was able to verify that an iPhone Hotz brought to the AP's headquarters on Friday was unlocked. Hotz placed the reporter's T-Mobile SIM card, a small chip that identifies a phone to the network, in the iPhone. It then connected to T-Mobile's network and placed calls using the reporter's account.
T-Mobile is the only major U.S. carrier apart from AT&T that is compatible with the iPhone's cellular technology, but smaller carriers also use the technology, known as GSM. In Europe and Asia, GSM is the dominant network technology.
The hack is complicated and requires skill with both soldering and software, and missteps may result in the iPhone becoming useless, so few people will be able to follow the instructions.
''But that's the simplest I could make them,'' Hotz said.
Technology blog Engadget on Friday reported successfully unlocking an iPhone using a different method that required no tinkering with the hardware. The software was supplied by an anonymous group of hackers that apparently plans to charge for it.
AT&T spokesman Mark Siegel and Apple spokeswoman Jennifer Bowcock said their companies had no comment on Hotz' exploit. Hotz said the companies had not been in touch with him.
Apple shares rose $4.23, or 3.2 percent, to close at $135.30 on Friday. AT&T shares gained 26 cents, or 0.7 percent, to close at $40.36.
The iPhone has already been made to work on overseas networks using another method, which involves copying information from the SIM chip, or Subscriber Identity Module.
The SIM-chip method does not involve any soldering, but does require special equipment, and it doesn't unlock the phone -- each new SIM chip has to be reprogrammed for use on a particular iPhone.
Both hacks leave intact the iPhone's many functions, including a built-in camera and the ability to access Wi-Fi networks. The only thing that won't work is the ''visual voicemail'' feature, which lists voice messages as if they were incoming e-mail.
Since the details of both hacks are public, Apple may be able to modify the iPhone production line to make new phones invulnerable.
Analysts said it's unlikely Apple would overhaul the iPhone's wiring to thwart the new hack because the difficulty of the procedure is likely to keep it confined to hardcore hobbyists.
''I'm having a hard time figuring out where the real pain is going to come from in this,'' said David Chamberlain, principal analyst with market researcher In-Stat who follows mobile devices and services. ''Just selling the piece of hardware, they've made a nice profit off that.''
Apple has said it plans to introduce the phone in Europe this year, but it hasn't set a date or identified carriers.
There is apparently no U.S. law against unlocking cell phones. Last year, the Library of Congress specifically excluded cell-phone unlocking from coverage under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Among other things, the law has been used to prosecute people who modify game consoles to play a wider variety of games.
Hotz collaborated online with a large number of people to develop the unlocking process. Of smaller core group, two were in Russia.
''Then there are two guys who I think are somewhere U.S.-side,'' Hotz said. He knows them only by their online handles.
Hotz himself spent about 500 hours on the project since the iPhone went on sale. On Thursday, he put the unlocked iPhone up for sale on eBay, where the high bid was at $12,600 late Friday. The model, with 4 gigabytes of memory, sells for $499 new.
''Some of my friends think I wasted my summer but I think it was worth it,'' he told The Record of Bergen County, which reported Hotz's hack Friday.
Hotz heads for college on Saturday. He plans to major in neuroscience -- or ''hacking the brain'' as he puts it -- at the Rochester Institute of Technology.
------
Associated Press Writer Jordan Robertson in San Francisco contributed to this story.
------
On the Net:
Hotz' blog: http://iphonejtag.blogspot.com//
Apple iPhone: http://www.apple.com/iphone
George Hotz of Glen Rock, N.J., spent his last summer before college figuring out how to ''unlock'' the iPhone, freeing it from being restricted to a single carrier, AT&T Inc.
The procedure, which the 17-year-old posted on his blog Thursday, raises the possibility of a cottage industry springing up to buy iPhones, unlocking them and then selling them to people who don't want AT&T service or can't get it, particularly overseas.
The phone, which combines an innovative touch-screen interface with the media-playing abilities of the iPod, is currently sold only in the U.S.
An AP reporter was able to verify that an iPhone Hotz brought to the AP's headquarters on Friday was unlocked. Hotz placed the reporter's T-Mobile SIM card, a small chip that identifies a phone to the network, in the iPhone. It then connected to T-Mobile's network and placed calls using the reporter's account.
T-Mobile is the only major U.S. carrier apart from AT&T that is compatible with the iPhone's cellular technology, but smaller carriers also use the technology, known as GSM. In Europe and Asia, GSM is the dominant network technology.
The hack is complicated and requires skill with both soldering and software, and missteps may result in the iPhone becoming useless, so few people will be able to follow the instructions.
''But that's the simplest I could make them,'' Hotz said.
Technology blog Engadget on Friday reported successfully unlocking an iPhone using a different method that required no tinkering with the hardware. The software was supplied by an anonymous group of hackers that apparently plans to charge for it.
AT&T spokesman Mark Siegel and Apple spokeswoman Jennifer Bowcock said their companies had no comment on Hotz' exploit. Hotz said the companies had not been in touch with him.
Apple shares rose $4.23, or 3.2 percent, to close at $135.30 on Friday. AT&T shares gained 26 cents, or 0.7 percent, to close at $40.36.
The iPhone has already been made to work on overseas networks using another method, which involves copying information from the SIM chip, or Subscriber Identity Module.
The SIM-chip method does not involve any soldering, but does require special equipment, and it doesn't unlock the phone -- each new SIM chip has to be reprogrammed for use on a particular iPhone.
Both hacks leave intact the iPhone's many functions, including a built-in camera and the ability to access Wi-Fi networks. The only thing that won't work is the ''visual voicemail'' feature, which lists voice messages as if they were incoming e-mail.
Since the details of both hacks are public, Apple may be able to modify the iPhone production line to make new phones invulnerable.
Analysts said it's unlikely Apple would overhaul the iPhone's wiring to thwart the new hack because the difficulty of the procedure is likely to keep it confined to hardcore hobbyists.
''I'm having a hard time figuring out where the real pain is going to come from in this,'' said David Chamberlain, principal analyst with market researcher In-Stat who follows mobile devices and services. ''Just selling the piece of hardware, they've made a nice profit off that.''
Apple has said it plans to introduce the phone in Europe this year, but it hasn't set a date or identified carriers.
There is apparently no U.S. law against unlocking cell phones. Last year, the Library of Congress specifically excluded cell-phone unlocking from coverage under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Among other things, the law has been used to prosecute people who modify game consoles to play a wider variety of games.
Hotz collaborated online with a large number of people to develop the unlocking process. Of smaller core group, two were in Russia.
''Then there are two guys who I think are somewhere U.S.-side,'' Hotz said. He knows them only by their online handles.
Hotz himself spent about 500 hours on the project since the iPhone went on sale. On Thursday, he put the unlocked iPhone up for sale on eBay, where the high bid was at $12,600 late Friday. The model, with 4 gigabytes of memory, sells for $499 new.
''Some of my friends think I wasted my summer but I think it was worth it,'' he told The Record of Bergen County, which reported Hotz's hack Friday.
Hotz heads for college on Saturday. He plans to major in neuroscience -- or ''hacking the brain'' as he puts it -- at the Rochester Institute of Technology.
------
Associated Press Writer Jordan Robertson in San Francisco contributed to this story.
------
On the Net:
Hotz' blog: http://iphonejtag.blogspot.com//
Apple iPhone: http://www.apple.com/iphone
Under the hood of the $100 laptop -BBC News
By Andrew Webb
A team of US-based researchers, backed by a billionaire, have re-invented the computer in an attempt to revolutionise education in the developing world.
The engineers who designed the energy efficient laptop have thrown out a whole host of conventional ideas in order to produce a computer that will be useful in nations where electricity is in short supply.
Dubbed the $100 laptop, though the first models are more likely to cost $170, the light and robust machine outwardly resembles a toy but look inside and it reveals itself to be a very serious device.
At its heart is a processor running at 433 Mhz - fast enough to write an essay, surf the internet, or make a video call.
Power saving
This is throttled back so it stays cool on its own without the need for a power guzzling fan. It is the first of many tricks that ensure the battery can power the laptop for 13 hours.
More energy is saved by removing the need for a backlight on the display. It uses natural light so it can be read in brilliant sunshine.
The coup de grace is that when the computer goes to sleep and the CPU is hibernating the screen is still readable.
Data design
The engineers have also re-thought storage.
"One of the things in laptops that take up a lot of power is actually the hard drive. It is actually spinning around as a motor. It just uses up a lot of power," said OLPC designer Chris Blizzard.
"...there are no moving parts that require motors. It also has to do with reliability but it is mostly to do with power at this point.
"And there is a storage chip that is on the motherboard where you put your files instead of a hard drive."
Field testing of the laptops was done in Nigeria and BrazilThe XO operating system for the OLPC is custom built and adapted from Linux to slash the amount of power the chip requires. It uses applications which make far fewer demands on the processor than in a conventional computer.
The laptop is expected to be used in schools so educational programs feature heavily in its software roster.
It also has onboard programs familiar to even the most sophisticated users in the developed world, like a web browser, adapted from Firefox.
Connectivity
Getting connected is done via the miniature antennae which, like FM radio aerials, can be moved to receive the best wi-fi signal. That cuts power usage compared to concealed wi-fi cards, which drain batteries quickly when struggling to receive weak signals.
The plan is to use the laptops to form a mesh wi-fi network to spread net access around remote villages. Each machine relays data to its neighbours until the information reaches a satellite base unit that connects directly to the world wide web.
What we are hoping is you will be able to get a 10 to one ratio - that is for each minute you pull and crank on the laptop you can get 10 minutes use out of it
Chris Blizzard, designerIn stand-by mode the laptop should be able to act as a wi-fi router for around 24 hours without being charged.
When the laptop does need charging, but electricity supplies are scant, good old-fashioned elbow grease can generate power.
"One of the things that has been developed in concert with the laptop is a device that can be used to power it," said Mr Blizzard.
The OLPC is fitted with a ripcord that owners can crank to power up the device.
"What we are hoping is you will be able to get a 10 to one ratio - that is for each minute you pull and crank on the laptop you can get 10 minutes use out of it."
The naysayers
Despite the success of the design, established aid agencies have criticised the concept of giving computers to some of the most impoverished nations.
"The big priorities for all these countries need to be to get all children into schools in a manageable class size," said David Archer of Action Air International.
"That means employing more teachers and having some fundamentally basic materials in schools. I am afraid that putting laptops into the schools is not the first priority for these countries."
But with backing from the likes of Google, Wikipedia, and AMD, the One Laptop Per Child Project's founder is brushing aside comments from non-believers.
Professor Negroponte first proposed the laptop in 2002"Keep in mind I don't have shareholders. It makes no difference to us whether so many go out one quarter [or not]," said Nicholas Negroponte.
"What we want to maximise is how fast children get these around the world or get alternates to this."
The competition
Nevertheless, the One Laptop Per Child Project is facing serious competition from at least two directions.
"The first front is from Intel, which has a classmate PC project. It is significantly more expensive, estimated at $400," says Ken Fisher from Ars Technica, a PC enthusiasts website.
"Also Microsoft has announced that it is selling a reduced rate Windows and Office package for $3 in certain countries."
"So, in terms of the project not being able to worry about money I think that is a very naive point of view."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/click_online/6962035.stm
A team of US-based researchers, backed by a billionaire, have re-invented the computer in an attempt to revolutionise education in the developing world.
The engineers who designed the energy efficient laptop have thrown out a whole host of conventional ideas in order to produce a computer that will be useful in nations where electricity is in short supply.
Dubbed the $100 laptop, though the first models are more likely to cost $170, the light and robust machine outwardly resembles a toy but look inside and it reveals itself to be a very serious device.
At its heart is a processor running at 433 Mhz - fast enough to write an essay, surf the internet, or make a video call.
Power saving
This is throttled back so it stays cool on its own without the need for a power guzzling fan. It is the first of many tricks that ensure the battery can power the laptop for 13 hours.
More energy is saved by removing the need for a backlight on the display. It uses natural light so it can be read in brilliant sunshine.
The coup de grace is that when the computer goes to sleep and the CPU is hibernating the screen is still readable.
Data design
The engineers have also re-thought storage.
"One of the things in laptops that take up a lot of power is actually the hard drive. It is actually spinning around as a motor. It just uses up a lot of power," said OLPC designer Chris Blizzard.
"...there are no moving parts that require motors. It also has to do with reliability but it is mostly to do with power at this point.
"And there is a storage chip that is on the motherboard where you put your files instead of a hard drive."
Field testing of the laptops was done in Nigeria and BrazilThe XO operating system for the OLPC is custom built and adapted from Linux to slash the amount of power the chip requires. It uses applications which make far fewer demands on the processor than in a conventional computer.
The laptop is expected to be used in schools so educational programs feature heavily in its software roster.
It also has onboard programs familiar to even the most sophisticated users in the developed world, like a web browser, adapted from Firefox.
Connectivity
Getting connected is done via the miniature antennae which, like FM radio aerials, can be moved to receive the best wi-fi signal. That cuts power usage compared to concealed wi-fi cards, which drain batteries quickly when struggling to receive weak signals.
The plan is to use the laptops to form a mesh wi-fi network to spread net access around remote villages. Each machine relays data to its neighbours until the information reaches a satellite base unit that connects directly to the world wide web.
What we are hoping is you will be able to get a 10 to one ratio - that is for each minute you pull and crank on the laptop you can get 10 minutes use out of it
Chris Blizzard, designerIn stand-by mode the laptop should be able to act as a wi-fi router for around 24 hours without being charged.
When the laptop does need charging, but electricity supplies are scant, good old-fashioned elbow grease can generate power.
"One of the things that has been developed in concert with the laptop is a device that can be used to power it," said Mr Blizzard.
The OLPC is fitted with a ripcord that owners can crank to power up the device.
"What we are hoping is you will be able to get a 10 to one ratio - that is for each minute you pull and crank on the laptop you can get 10 minutes use out of it."
The naysayers
Despite the success of the design, established aid agencies have criticised the concept of giving computers to some of the most impoverished nations.
"The big priorities for all these countries need to be to get all children into schools in a manageable class size," said David Archer of Action Air International.
"That means employing more teachers and having some fundamentally basic materials in schools. I am afraid that putting laptops into the schools is not the first priority for these countries."
But with backing from the likes of Google, Wikipedia, and AMD, the One Laptop Per Child Project's founder is brushing aside comments from non-believers.
Professor Negroponte first proposed the laptop in 2002"Keep in mind I don't have shareholders. It makes no difference to us whether so many go out one quarter [or not]," said Nicholas Negroponte.
"What we want to maximise is how fast children get these around the world or get alternates to this."
The competition
Nevertheless, the One Laptop Per Child Project is facing serious competition from at least two directions.
"The first front is from Intel, which has a classmate PC project. It is significantly more expensive, estimated at $400," says Ken Fisher from Ars Technica, a PC enthusiasts website.
"Also Microsoft has announced that it is selling a reduced rate Windows and Office package for $3 in certain countries."
"So, in terms of the project not being able to worry about money I think that is a very naive point of view."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/click_online/6962035.stm
Saturday, August 25, 2007
Share invites on inviteshare.
well there is a good news for tech-savy individuals who are looking for beta sites which aren't open for public,so the only way to join this sites are through invites, which is isn't so easy to get.But you guys no longer need to worry about putting your hands on new startups as a site which goes by name inviteshare has been specifically made for this which can be accessed at http://www.inviteshare.com/
The thing you all have gotta do is get yourself registered with this site and after logging in into your account start searching for invites.According to site,there are invites 46 different new sites and one trade for invites.The sites that are listed here include TV on pc like joost,google's recently acquired 'grandcentral',professional networking site like 8apps etc.
Also you can get listed in particular site's waiting list and you could get invites according to the place in the list.
i too have joined this site some three days back and so far i have got invites of pownce,grandcentral,moola.com,app8.com,demonoid.com and i have given few invites too!! The person gives more invites to other gets priority in receiving more invites of other sites.And there is also community forums where you can request and trade for particular invites of your choice.There is also option of private messaging the user.
Also you can get listed in particular site's waiting list and you could get invites according to the place in the list.
i too have joined this site some three days back and so far i have got invites of pownce,grandcentral,moola.com,app8.com,demonoid.com and i have given few invites too!! The person gives more invites to other gets priority in receiving more invites of other sites.And there is also community forums where you can request and trade for particular invites of your choice.There is also option of private messaging the user.
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