[Goanet] Query on Simputers...
Please see below... FN -- Date: Fri, 21 Jun 2002 23:23:32 -0700 (PDT) From: Joaquim [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [Goanet] INVITE: Talk on Simputers, Saturday morning Are the Simputers already on sale in Goa? Has anyone tried this product? can somebody give me the feedback on it if they have used it. Thanks Joaquim Joaquim, D-Link, the (Verna) Goa-based company is talking about beginning to manufacture Simputers in about a month's time. More details below. FN IT'S SIMPLE, THE SIMPUTER GETS ITS FINAL TOUCHES AT THE FACTORY By Frederick Noronha QUITE SOME TIME after it first attracted global attention for the boldness of its goals, the Simputer is slowly marching past finishing line. Some look at it with skeptism; others with hope. It's reputation has spread far and wide, and many are looking out for it to actually hit the markets. The Simputer promises low-cost and sharable computing through a small hand-held device that is capable of undertaking an amazing range of tasks. It could cost as little as US$200 in its low-end versions, while a Simputer Junior is being thought of which could cost even less than that price. This device is aimed at making computing affordable in the Third World's rural areas, which have been largely overlooked by multinationals who complain of a glut in global computing markets even as they make over-powered and over-costly computers that increasingly thousands of millions can't afford. Could this simple computing device -- at least in some small way -- challenge the logic of the market, and underline the need of IT reaching out to the poor? If US-returned Indian scientists can dare to dream to boldly -- despite the many difficulties en route -- could IT really reach out to meet the needs of the commonman, instead of simply mimicking Western trends and rushing where profit margins are maximum? The poor are a largely neglected market, but they too have a huge commercial potential, argues Vinay L Deshpande, the chairman and CEO of the Bangalore-based Encore Software. Deshpande, till a few weeks back, was also the the president of the New Delhi-based MAIT, the association of IT manufacturers. Besides being involved in the design of the Simputer, Deshpande has now gone on to found one of the firms producing this piece of hardware that technology-watchers in India have been playing close attention to. But for IT to be meaningful to the hundreds of millions of poor across India, it needs certain attributes. It should be low-cost, simple to use, and technology should also be 'de-mystified', argues Deshpande. Besides, he argues, hardware in an Indian context need to run independent of the often-unreliable mains-power. It should be rugged and dust-resistant to cope with the heat and dust of this tropical country. Above all, it should be sharable -- just like other costlier gadgets (ranging from refrigerators to a jeep doing a distant trek) are shared in rural areas. In India, technological devices are not owned but shared. If your neighbour does not have a fridge, it automatically means he has the right to keep the milk in your fridge. Same is the case with TVs, says Deshpande. Using a smart-card, the Simputer hopes to be sharable. Even if a Simputer costing Rs 10,000 is too costly for a rural dweller, ten villagers could come together to own that, says he, optimistically. To make the Simputer easier to use, it incorporates icons, graphics and multi-lingual abilities. It also seeks to offer image/sound output and a touch-based input with voice feedback. We hope to use it as a means to address all the population of India, not just literates, argues Deshpande. Proponents of the Simputer like Deshpande believe that this tiny piece of equipment could also help rural Indians find ways of earning a better living. We hope that, in time, a villager could connect a Simputer at a pay-phone booth (which are common across India), dial up to a website, fetch the information about the best price payable for his potatoes using a very simple interface. This would be converted into speech and played back, says he. It could make life simpler too. Even a village postman could take across this small device, and make payments of 'money orders' -- the instrument which have been a popular way of transmitting money across rural India for decades. Using the smart cards, this delivery could be made simpler and far quicker too, argues Deshpande. Likewise, he says, the Simputer would have applications for education and literacy. Given its fairly high resolution 240 x 360 pixels screen, for its small size, it could be used for local language applications. One new application currently being worked on is using Simputers to check the health of mothers and foetus. It is hoped that portable ultrasound sensors could be suitably adapted to connect with Simputers, says Deshpande. Other applications for the Simputer are
[Goanet] Football quiz
I thought I just say Hi, and keep in touch and see how things are going. And to let you know about my Soccer Quizzes. There are 7 pages of Soccer Quizzes that you can take on line and see How did I do. Test your knowledge! take the quizzes. Soccer Quizzes - Page 1 of 7 Test your knowledge about Soccer http://users.erols.com/soccertip/quizzes/quizzes1.htm and look at this: Free Soccer Clip Art, Images and Animations - Page 1 of 135 Free Player Images, Clip Art and Animations (Soccer) http://users.erols.com/soccertip/cool/soccimag.htm or Dictionary Soccer By Coach Cameron Find out what all those soccer/football terms mean! http://users.erols.com/soccertip/dictionary/dictiona.htm I like to help people out that help me. I have this software that I can add site to 500 search engines/directories. Submit Your Site http://users.erols.com/soccertip/submit/yoursubmit.htm If you have already added my link to your site, thank you. Coach Glenn Cameron =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-W-E-B---S-I-T-E-=-=-= To Subscribe/Unsubscribe from GoaNet | http://www.goacom.com/goanet === For (un)subscribing or for help, Contact: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Dont want so many e=mails? Join GoaNet-Digest instead ! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Help support non-commercial projects in Goa by advertizing!! * * * * Your ad here !!
[Goanet] NEWS: Thanks to the Internet, call rates to US drop drastically
Thanks to the Internet, calls rates to US drop drastically From Frederick Noronha / fred at bytesforall dot org PANJIM, June 29: Three-rupee-a-minute calls that connect you to the US have already landed in Goa. But, it seems, not enough people in this expat-oriented and tourism-influenced state have woken up to the possibilities that these offer. These ultra-low-cost calls became possible for this country of a thousand million only in April this year, when the Central government belatedly legalised the use of VoIP or telephony using the Internet. Of course, there are hints that the line might sometimes be noisy or scratchy. But, given the price, who cares? Buyers are very much satisfied with the quality. Specially when they compare the price, says Sanjay Bhaiya, the Alto Porvorim-based entrepreneur wholesaling the 'pre-paid cards' that allow you to make these low-cost calls via the Internet. To use this facility, you need a computer and Internet connection. Or, you could go to a cyber-cafe that allows you to use one. The good thing about this service is that the person you're calling, at the other end, doesn't also require a computer-and-Internet link to receive your call. Just a normal telephone. It works like this: you buy a 'pre-paid' card for Rs 100, 500 or 1000. You get a password on the card. Then, using the Internet, you dial to caltigern2p.com and download the 'dialer'. Using this, you dial your foreign number, but not before keying in your secret password. Once your call gets through, you're billed at a rate of Rs 3 per minute, a special introductory offer which will soon go up to Rs 5 per minute ... still rather realistic compared to the ultra-heavy national and international phone rates Indians have had to pay all these years. To use this service, you need a computer, Internet connection, and headphone-cum-mike. If you don't have a computer, you can easily go to any cyber-cafe, suggests Bhaiya of Railton Electronics [EMAIL PROTECTED]. The pre-paid cards are valid for three months from the first call made (six months in the case of the Rs 1000 cards). This is a service put out by the Kolkata-headquartered Caltiger -- a firm run by Cris and Joe Silva, that made it to the news a few years ago due to its 'free Internet' service which is not however offered in Goa. US-based Net telephony company Net2Phone is the international technology collaborator. The beauty is that the receiving party does not need to have an Internet connection. Otherwise, you can make PC-to-PC (computer-to-computer) calls without charges (apart from the Internet time costs) via the MSN or Yahoo networks, says Bhaiya. OTHER COUNTRIES: Unfortunately, not all calls to foreign countries are as cheap as those made to the US. Calls to Europe cost Rs 5 per minute. Those to the Middle East -- a region Goa would have a lot of interest in, due to emigration there -- make you poorer by Rs 17 per minute. Bhaiya claims the service has been doing very well in Goa, though clearly not all those who could benefit from such services have logged in. Many cyber-cafes in the state are also yet to take advantage. In April we sold a lot to foreigners. In the Baga-Calangute belt (the Mecca of charter tourists in the state) there were people coming for new thousand-rupee cards every week, says Bhaiya. As he displays a telephone instrument that connects to your computer, he says this could be particularly useful to companies which have regular dealings abroad. Anyway, he points out, it is hardly three months since long-distance Internet telephony got legalised; the impact is yet to be fully felt. Using this, you can call into any land-line phone. Calls to mobile phones cost extra. This card can be used from any place in India, and 're-chargeable' cards are expected to be on offer soon. Incidentally, the cost of international calls was brought down recently, even as far-cheaper Internet telephony was allowed from April 1, 2002. But even then, it would normally cost you between Rs 35 to 50 per minute, says Bhaiya. Bhaiya, contactable on phone 414724 and 416066, says other companies too are likely to offer such low cost Internet telephony services. He names e-phone and Satyam, but, being commercial rivals, is naturally not keen to talk about their strong points. (ENDS) -- Frederick Noronha * Freelance Journalist * Goa * India 832.409490 / 409783 GOAPIX in.photos.yahoo.com/fredericknoronha * GOANEWS www.goacom.com/news/ Please visit http://www.livejournal.com/users/goalinks Writing with a difference... on what makes *the* difference =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-W-E-B---S-I-T-E-=-=-= To Subscribe/Unsubscribe from GoaNet | http://www.goacom.com/goanet === For (un)subscribing or for help, Contact: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Dont want so many e=mails? Join GoaNet-Digest instead ! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Help
[Goanet] ECAP 2002 - Computer Exhibition by CSI-Goa Chapter
ECAP-2002 the Exhibition of Computers and Allied Produts by Computer Society of India, Goa Chapter is now announced for two venues this year at Hotel Mandovi in Panaji and at Nanutel in Margao on different dates. This is the 10th consecutive year since 1993 that CSI-Goa Chapter will be organising this exhibition. Please plan your participation early and do your booking to avoid disappointment later. Please note that specific stall numbers will be done only against payment received by us as per terms announced. Thanking you and awaiting your response, P. R. Mahambre P. R. Mahambre, Chairman - Exhibition Committee, Computer Society of India Goa Chapter. C/o V. S. Dempo Co. Pvt. Ltd., Dempo House, Campal, Panaji, GOA. 403 001 INDIA. -- Telephone: 91-832-226281 Ext: 360 Fax: 91-832-225098 E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] / [EMAIL PROTECTED] URL:http://www.csi-goa.org === =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-W-E-B---S-I-T-E-=-=-= To Subscribe/Unsubscribe from GoaNet | http://www.goacom.com/goanet === For (un)subscribing or for help, Contact: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Dont want so many e=mails? Join GoaNet-Digest instead ! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Help support non-commercial projects in Goa by advertizing!! * * * * Your ad here !!
[Goanet] NEWS-LONDON: Musician John Pandit rejects British honour
Musician John Pandit rejects British honour By Sanjay Suri, Indo-Asian News Service London, June 29 (IANS) And at last now an Indian in Britain who has said no to being honoured as what the British still like to call Member of the British Empire (MBE). For years Indians have forgotten their colonial past to vie for these titles the British government doles out annually. The badges that declare Indians members of the long gone Empire have become a status symbol. Not for John Pandit, better known as Pandit G, from the angry band, the Asian Dub Foundation. He was given an MBE in this year's honours list for services to the music industry. Pandit G has refused to accept the honour because he says he does not believe in the honours system. Pandit G is an angry musician anyway. The music is mixed with political messages about racism in Britain and about contemporary difficulties in India. Not something that could go with the title of Member of the British Empire. In rejecting the title he said: I personally don't think it's appropriate. I've never supported the honours system. There's no point in giving an individual (an honour). To bring people into the establishment won't actually help the organisations. --Indo-Asian News Service =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-W-E-B---S-I-T-E-=-=-= To Subscribe/Unsubscribe from GoaNet | http://www.goacom.com/goanet === For (un)subscribing or for help, Contact: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Dont want so many e=mails? Join GoaNet-Digest instead ! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Help support non-commercial projects in Goa by advertizing!! * * * * Your ad here !!
[Goanet] The Express (London). Surgeon hit wife with coathanger
1. BURTON, Richard F. Goa and the Blue Mountains. London, Bentley, 1851. Richard Burton, the Orientalist (Kama Sutra, Arabian Knights, etc.) went to Goa to recuperate after he e was unwell, and stayed there for six months. He wrote a book on his experiences there. He did not like Goa at all. He lived in Panjim and asked his Goan manservant, Salvador, one day,: Salvador, what is that terrible noise are they slaughtering a pig? Nothing, replied Salvador, nothing whatever some Christian beating his wife. 2. The Express (London). 29 June 2002. Headline: Surgeon hit wife with coathanger. By Sally Guyoncourt. A Surgeon hit his wife with a coathanger after he caught her dancing with a younger man at a party. Ear, nose and throat specialist Dennis Mendonca, 62, was warned by magistrates that the assault on his wife, Judith, was so serious that he could face a stretch behind bars. Mendonca, who is originally from Bombay, admitted punching his wife, slapping her across the buttocks and then hitting her so hard with a plastic coathanger it snapped. But he asked the court, at Cirencester, Gloucestershire, to show leniency. I'm looking forward to a new life, which, hopefully, will be peaceful, without alcohol and without aggro, he said. I look to this court for some mercy. The attack happened earlier this month while the couple were spending a weekend at their country home at Coln Rogers, Gloucestershire. They went to a neighbour's party and a row broke out when Mendonca saw his wife dancing with a young man. She then returned home alone. The doctor returned later to find her asleep in their spare room and he then flew into a violent rage. After the beating, Mrs Mendonca managed to struggle to her feet but then lost her balance and fell down the stairs. She awoke some time later at the bottom of the stairs with bruising to her face, a black eye, a deep wound on her hand and some bruising to her right buttock. The police were called early the following morning but Mrs Mendonca refused hospital treatment. Harley Street surgeon Mendonca admitted assault causing actual bodily harm when he was questioned at Stroud Police Station. He said: I started to make amends the next day and I will continue to do so. He added that he was now reconciled with his wife and was trying to get his life back on track, attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and an anger management group. Prosecutor Geoff Nash told the court: Mrs Mendonca apparently danced with a younger man at the party, which caused the defendant some concern. Mendonca, who also practises at Kingston Hospital in Surrey and at Queen Mary's University Hospital in London, said that he was very sorry for committing the offence. However, he also claimed some of his wife's injuries could have been sustained when she fell down the stairs. He was remanded on bail and will be sentenced on July 23. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-W-E-B---S-I-T-E-=-=-= To Subscribe/Unsubscribe from GoaNet | http://www.goacom.com/goanet === For (un)subscribing or for help, Contact: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Dont want so many e=mails? Join GoaNet-Digest instead ! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Help support non-commercial projects in Goa by advertizing!! * * * * Your ad here !!
[Goanet] WRANGLERS AND STRANGLERS
WRANGLERS AND STRANGLERS Years ago there was a group of brilliant young men at the University of Wisconsin, who seemed to have amazing creative literary talent. They were would-be poets, novelists, and essayists. They were extraordinary in their ability to put the English language to its best use. These promising young men met regularly to read and critique each other's work. And critique it they did! These men were merciless with one another. They dissected the most minute literary expression into a hundred pieces. They were heartless, tough, even mean in their criticism. The sessions became such arenas of literary criticism that the members of this exclusive club called themselves the Stranglers. Not to be outdone, the women of literary talent in the university were determined to start a club of their own, one comparable to the Stranglers. They called themselves the Wranglers. They, too, read their works to one another. But there was one great difference. The criticism was much softer, more positive, more encouraging. Sometimes, there was almost no criticism at all. Every effort, even the most feeble one, was encouraged. Twenty years later an alumnus of the university was doing an exhaustive study of his classmates' careers when he noticed a vast difference in the literary accomplishments of the Stranglers as opposed to the Wranglers. Of all the bright young men in the Stranglers, not one had made a significant literary accomplishment of any kind. From the Wranglers had come six or more successful writers, some of national renown such as Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, who wrote The Yearling. Talent between the two? Probably the same. Level of education? Not much difference. But the Stranglers strangled, while the Wranglers were determined to give each other a lift. The Stranglers promoted an atmosphere of contention and self doubt. The Wranglers highlighted the best, not the worst. (Author Unknown). _ MSN Photos is the easiest way to share and print your photos: http://photos.msn.com/support/worldwide.aspx =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-W-E-B---S-I-T-E-=-=-= To Subscribe/Unsubscribe from GoaNet | http://www.goacom.com/goanet === For (un)subscribing or for help, Contact: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Dont want so many e=mails? Join GoaNet-Digest instead ! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Help support non-commercial projects in Goa by advertizing!! * * * * Your ad here !!
Re: [Goanet] The Express (London). Surgeon hit wife with coathanger
In a message dated 06/29/2002 2:15:22 PM EST, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: 1. BURTON, Richard F. Goa and the Blue Mountains. London, Bentley, 1851. Richard Burton, the Orientalist (Kama Sutra, Arabian Knights, etc.) went to Goa to recuperate after he was unwell, and stayed there for six months. He wrote a book on his experiences there. He did not like Goa at all. He lived in Panjim and asked his Goan manservant, Salvador, one day,: Salvador, what is that terrible noise are they slaughtering a pig? Nothing, replied Salvador, nothing whatever some Christian beating his wife. 2. The Express (London). 29 June 2002. Headline: Surgeon hit wife with coathanger. By Sally Guyoncourt. A Surgeon hit his wife with a coathanger after he caught her dancing with a younger man at a party. Mendonca, who is originally from Bombay, admitted punching his wife, slapping her across the buttocks and then hitting her so hard with a plastic coathanger it snapped. I'm looking forward to a new life, which, hopefully, will be peaceful, without alcohol and without aggro, he said. Eddie -- I liked the way you juxtaposed the 1951 wife beating incident with that of the coathanger :-) BTW, what is aggro, an abbreviation for aggravation? Reminded me of the good old days when ladies in England had to wait for dinner until after the men had eaten. That custom is still in vogue in some other places :( Times certainly are changing -- now many men find themselves in the other seat! Pat de Sousa =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-W-E-B---S-I-T-E-=-=- To Subscribe/Unsubscribe from GoaNet | http://www.goacom.com/goanet == For (un)subscribing or for help, Contact: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Dont want so many e=mails? Join GoaNet-Digest instead ! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Help support non-commercial projects in Goa by advertizing!! * * * * Your ad here !!
