Linux-based handheld debuts in India

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Pooh-poohing what you don't understand?

Where to begin....

First, it's important to understand the difference between this "home-grown" comuter and Ghandi/Nehru satyagraha. From the earliest conceptual descriptions, Simputer was imagined as a platform that could be useful throughout the third world and emerging world. And the entire platform is heavily dependent on international communication: It's heavily reliant on open-source software, which is inherently global in scope. In sum, the Simputer reaches out, not in; it's a market-embracing strategy, not a market-controlling one.

Second, it's important to understand that the tendency in India and China to produce their own software isn't really a matter of economics, as much as it is a matter of making software that makes sense locally. Most people in India are very, very poor, so it doesn't make a heck of a lot of sense to require high-end hardware. Also, most are not well-educated, so it makes sense to create a device that has real usability for people accustomed only to pen and paper.

Third, it's easy to look at the R19K ($450) price and say "that's no good for poor people." You're right -- it's too high. But a) that's not the poor person's model (they'd use the $250 model), and b) the idea behind the Simputer platform was that it would be used by several people -- possibly shared among a whole village. That's both why it's so large (gotta have space for all those ports and the smart card) and why the price point is high.

Fourth, making a computer that works for the local market isn't as simple as slapping a new interface onto Windows. We all know how poorly Windows fits the OSI model; but Simputer, like many Open Source platforms, is fundamentally n-tiered, and so can much more readily be customized for local presentation. They could be selling these things into China next (and as I understand the licensing, the Chinese could take and run with this idea without much cost).

Finally, your last comment is quite odd: "Open source is no way to build a hugely profitable software industry."

Really. Well, I tell you what: Why don't you go tell that to IBM? I'm sure they'll welcome the correction to their strategy, and will be happy to go back to banging their head against the stony gates of Castle Redmond. Truth of the matter is that if your industry is built around commodity software development (as India's is), then Open Source platforms are the best foundation to start from. You seem to make the common error of assuming that basing your software on an OS platform means you can't sell it. You can, of course, and if you play your license right you don't even have to open-source it.

The bottom line on Simputer is really that this is an interesting and powerful platform -- with all those ports and a clean n-tier, open-source application framework, it's a hacker's dream-machine. Something like this, if not this itself, is liable to be one of the catalysts for development of a new and powerful computer industry in East and South Asia.

Posted by: escoles@...   Posted on: 03/30/04 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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