Rajesh Jain

Linux threat to Microsoft

From FT in an article which asks if Linux can dethrone Microsoft, the reigining software king:

With hardware and operating systems becoming more standardised, computer makers will have to turn to other areas – the software applications that run on computers and the services and support needed to build complex systems – to generate a profit. While HP leads in the Linux business, claiming the free software drove sales of computer systems worth $2bn last year, IBM is probably the best-placed to benefit from this trend – hence its enthusiastic embrace of Linux. With the world’s biggest IT services arm and a software business based on middleware – programs that sit between an operating system and the different software applications – Big Blue has ample incentive to reshape the corporate computing business in its own image.

That model of software development is diametrically opposed to the Microsoft approach and points to the battle to come. By building more features into its operating system directly, Microsoft claims its customers will need to spend less on middleware and integration services to build their corporate networks.

China and India Mobile Growth

From the Economist on the differences between how the wireless revolution has shaped up in the two countries:

In India, seven years after the launch of mobile-phone services, there are only 10m users. In China half that number 5msign up as new subscribers every month.

The difference, according to the article, is because of the way the two markets have been regulated.

India chose a licensing policy that divided the country into 22 regions, each with two licences to operate mobile networks. Bidding in multiple regions was restricted. This aimed to promote competition, but led to a fragmented market with a baffling array of operators, none of which achieved economies of scale. Limited spectrum also hurt service quality.

China fostered competition by creating a second state-owned operator, China Unicom, to fight the incumbent, China Mobile. Regulations favoured the upstart. China Unicom was, for example, allowed to undercut China Mobile by 10% in 1999. Prices fell, helping the market to grow. And there was plenty of spectrum.

Internet Society

An Economist Survey:

Far from being over, the computer and telecoms revolution that created the internet has barely begun. These technologies will change almost every aspect of our livesprivate, social, cultural, economic and political. In some areas, the changes may be marginal, but in most they will be profound, and unprecedented.

For good or ill

This is because new electronic technologies deal with the very essence of human society: communication between people. Earlier technologies, from printing to the telegraph, have done likewise, and have wrought big changes over time. But the social changes over the coming decades are likely to be much more extensive, and to happen much faster, than any in the past, because the technologies driving them are continuing to develop at a breakneck pace. More importantly, they look as if together they will be as pervasive and ubiquitous as electricity.

For the sake of argument, this survey will assume that we are heading towards a networked society of ubiquitous, mobile communications capable of constant monitoring. Whether this arrives in 20, 30 or 40 years does not really matter. The point is that the destination seems not merely possible, but probable, so it is not too soon to ask: what do we want this technology to do?

TECH TALK: The Rs 5,000 PC Ecosystem: The Concept (Part 4)

The thick server that we refer to here can be of two types: it can be a single, new desktop computer with enhanced memory and two hard disks with real-time mirroring of data (software RAID), or a collection of clustered desktop machines. Think of these as inexpensive blade servers with a network-attached storage. This second solution circumvents the single point of failure problem inherent in the first option, thus offering greater scalability and reliability.

The thick server would contribute about USD 30-50 (Rs 1,500-2,500) to the solution cost that is, the additional loading on what it would cost to support the 5KPC. In that sense, the solution we have outlined is not a perfect 5KPC the real cost per client is about Rs 6,500-7,500 (USD 130-150).

The final topic that needs to be addressed in the context of the Rs 5,000 PC (5KPC) on the technology side is the software. The 5KPC uses Linux and other open-source software. That is going to be the only way to keep price-points at a rock-bottom level.

Applications run on the server and are displayed on the 5KPC using either a terminal-server application like LTSP (Linux Terminal Server Project, which runs an X server on the client) or vnc (virtual network computer). vnc, created by AT7T Labs, is a remote display system which allows you to view a computing ‘desktop’ environment not only on the machine where it is running, but from anywhere on the Internet and from a wide variety of machine architectures.

The idea of doing processing on the server and sending the keystrokes and mouse clicks from the user and getting the updated screen from the server is not a new idea: running applications on the server over low-speed connections is already being done Citrix has a solution which works in the Windows world.

The basic set of applications that need to be supported include an email client (Ximians Evolution), a desktop productivity suite (OpenOffice), a web browser (Mozilla or its lightweight variants like Phoenix), an instant messaging client (GAIM) which provides interoperability with existing IM clients (AOL, ICQ, MSN and Yahoo), and a PDF reader (Adobes Acrobat). All these applications are available for free on Linux.

Summary

So, thats how the 5KPC can be constructed: either old and recycled computers or new, low-configuration ones, running open-source applications on a Linux base, along with a network connection to a thick server.

The 5KPC is a bottom-of-the-pyramid strategy to bridge the digital divide. It targets nonconsumption making computing available to those who have not able to afford it so far because of the costs of the solution.

Next week, we will consider how the 5KPC can be the centre of the computing ecosystem for the next set of users. There are various market segments which we will discuss education (schools and colleges), government, small and medium enterprises, bank branches, homes and telecentres. The underlying vision we want to achieve is that a connected computer accessible to every employee and family.

Continue reading TECH TALK: The Rs 5,000 PC Ecosystem: The Concept (Part 4)

Emergic Turning Points

I was thinking recently about the key turning points for us in our promotion and thinking of Emergic. I could think of three key events in the past few months.

The first was my decision to write this blog (starting May 9, 2002) and discuss publicly our ideas about Emergic, with periodic progress reports. This has done two things: it has helped establish a credible track record for what we are doing (someone wanting to know more about us can now look at the archives to see the level of commitment and seriousness we have towards the project), and it has helped us connect with people we wouldn’t otherwise have reached. Personally, the blog has helped me clarify my own thinking through the posts and the Tech Talk series.

The second event was the ad we put in the EcoTimes (Oct 10, 2002) and the consequent surprise launch of Emergic Freedom. This was quite unplanned – we made the decision within a few hours of seeing an open-source story in the newspaper. Its been just over a 100 days since the ad appeared. But its been a busy time. It galvanised us into action, and made us work on multiple parallel fronts. Even though direct business still remains negligible, our understanding of the marketplace has improved dramatically. We’ve also made connections with people which has been very helpful and will benefit us down the line.

The third event was the front page story in the Economic Times (Dec 31, 2002) and carried in many other newspapers across India. It heightened awareness dramatically and has helped push us in the direction of building out on the Rs 5,000 PC concept. The story (written by Frederick Noronha for the Indo-Asian News Service) emanated out of a paper and presentation I did at the ICT Seminar in Bangalore earlier in December.

While there have been events – some planned, others happenstance, it is these three singularities which have helped spur Emergic onto higher levels. We couldn’t have planned for any of these in advance. Nor can I say that I can predict what will be helpful for us in the future. We have to keep on following multiple leads, walking along multiple paths. Some of these ideas and events work, others don’t. But we have to do them all.

In a way, its like an “emergence” effort – the whole is much greater than the sum of the parts. Each meeting, each activity, each phone call may not yield much by itself, but taken as a whole they have helped shape our thinking. Today, I can definitely say that we are slowly but surely carving out a niche for us in the “affordable computing” space. There’s still a long road ahead, but we are moving in the right direction – and with a heightened sense of awareness about us in the world around.

Continue reading Emergic Turning Points

Why We Blog

Anil Dash’s explanation resonates with me:

the reason I have a weblog, and the reason I advocate to others that they ought to maintain weblogs themselves, is because I think it’s important for people to have a place to express their opinions and thoughts, and to get feedback on those ideas. The interchange I’ve had over the past three and a half years with my readers, and with the authors of other sites I enjoy, has had profound effects on my personal and professional life. The biggest single moment that has occurred to everyone I know who actively maintains a weblog is the first time a stranger contacts you or leaves a comment where they indicate that something you wrote about touched them, or discussed a topic that they didn’t think anyone else had an interest in, or informed them about a subject that they didn’t even know they were interested in.

In short, it’s making connections between people in the same way that we make links between pages on the web.

TECH TALK: The Rs 5,000 PC Ecosystem: The Concept (Part 3)

The second option for creating the Rs 5,000 PC (5KPC) is to build new computers. Can a computer be created for Rs 2,000 (USD 40)? Yes. But it is not going to be Intel or AMD who is going to do it. There is a third player in the world which sells Intel-compatible microprocessors and chipsets. That is Via Technologies of Taiwan, which had bought out Cyrix a few years ago.

For Via, the first world is not going to choose it as the CPU option Intel and AMD have done a great branding job, and besides, the users need the cutting edge hardware to run Microsofts cutting edge OS. What Via needs to be (and perhaps is doing so) is to make low-cost motherboards all they need are a processor, some memory, the appropriate connectors and the drivers. If Via does not do it, Im sure someone else will we are not talking rocket science here.

The second option still leaves us with the issue of where to get the monitors from. New monitors cost about Rs 4,000 (USD 80), which is double our budget. The solutions: use older monitors they have a lifetime of many years, or to consider a hook-up to a TV. The TV idea has a problem with resolution one cannot get the same quality of display that one can get on the computer monitor.

The gaming consoles (PlayStation, Xbox) have solved this problem they use the TV as a monitor. One may not get the same quality as a monitor for text, numbers and web pages, but in some situations, having some display is better than none. I feel that it is definitely possible to get the older monitors they are now outdated technology for the developed world which now wants flat screens. Hardware that is a generation old can be a wonderful thing for the technology requirements of the worlds emerging markets.

Next, let us now talk about the network connection this is after all the lifeline for the 5KPC. There are multiple options here from high-speed (100 Mbps or more) Ethernet connection to WiFi (802.11b cards which support upto 11 Mbps should be available cheap as the developed world upgrades to 802.11g or 802.11a) to cable connections (from 64 Kbps to 512 Kbps) to a dial-up connection (at 56 Kbps). The 5KPC will work under all situations in fact, it should be designed to work with the lowest connection (dial-up).

The operating system at boot-up time could either come off the network (if the bandwidth is high) or from a local EPROM (if the speed is slow). Applications run on the server. There is a big advantage in this all updates need to be only done on the server, and not pushed to the client. This is like the ASP model the difference being that there is not a single centralized server, but a set of thick servers for every organisation or service provider.

Tomorrow: The Concept (continued)

Continue reading TECH TALK: The Rs 5,000 PC Ecosystem: The Concept (Part 3)

Task-Specific Browser UIs

Writes Anil Dash:

When Jason asked “Why are Safari and Sherlock two different applications?” it made me realize that what I want is a desktop application, similar to Andre’s Konstructor, that understands SOAP as well as XML-RPC and can query a WSDL file to find out what kinds of input the web service requires.

Then, based on the type of input requested, it would display the appropriate widgets (checkboxes for true/false, drop-downs for selection lists) and arrange them on a form according to an editable set of rules. The end results wouldn’t be pretty, but you might end up with a bunch of applications that assemble themselves around web services.

If you could write the whole thing in XUL/javascript, it could run within any Mozilla-based browser.

Continue reading Task-Specific Browser UIs

Open Spectrum FAQ

Here.

From the introduction:

Imagine that every American had the same access to the public airways as broadcasters do today.

Imagine everyone living within reach of a radio signal had the ability to communicate with everyone else.

Imagine rather than having to worry about how much “bandwidth” is enough, everyone had unlimited access to bits so that the size of what you communicate simply didn’t matter.

You know the effect the Internet has had on how we live and work together? Multiply it by hundred.

Opening the spectrum would turn a federally-managed permissions system into an open market for ideas and creativity. The effects on our democracy and economy should not be underestimated.

Even though it may say “American”, the same logic applies to every country.

Programming Languages will become OSes

From OSNews:

Matthew Flat made a premise in his talk at the Lightweight Languages Workshop 2002: Operating system (OS) and programming language (PL) are the same thing (at least “mathematically speaking”). I find this interesting and has a lot of truth in it. Both OS and PL are platforms on which other programs run. Both are virtualizing machines. Both make it easier for people to write applications (by providing API, abtractions, frameworks, etc.)

The difference between the two, Matthew continued, is that OS focuses more on non-interference–or isolation between OS processes. The main task of a multiuser OS is to let several users use the computer simultaneously. Thus, it is important that no user can take over the machine or use up its resources permanently. Also, no processes shall be able to terminate other processes, peek into their resources, or do any other things that violate privacy unless it is permitted by the OS security policy.

On the other hand, PL focuses on expressiveness and cooperation. PL provides high level constructs and facilities so that one can write programs in less time and with less amount of effort. 10 lines of higher level PL code might be equivalent to 100 to 1000 lines of machine/lower level language code. Additionally, PL provides means for people to share reusable code through the concepts of modules, shared libraries, components, etc.

As time progresses, OS’es are becoming more like PL. And vice versa. OS now provides more and more ways for cooperation/sharing: IPC, threads, COM, etc. PL now provides ways to do isolation: sandboxing, processes, etc.

The article discusses three languages: Perl, Python and Ruby.