|
Project
Proposal: Simplified Computer
|
Full description of problem/need |
|
Pabal experiences approximately eight
hours of power cuts per day. It is
not known when there will be a steady
and reliable power supply to the village.
The lack of electricity inhibits the
use of computers in the village, and
even the thirteen computers in the
local junior college computer lab
sit idle for much of the day. Batteries
are used in the lab, but only to prevent
work from being lost; a battery can
support a computer system for a mere
20 minutes after the power has been
cut. One solution to this problem
is a way of storing more charge than
these batteries, but in conjunction
a computer system that runs on minimal
power and yet still performs the basic
requirements of the people is needed.
Such a computer system will be able
to run on battery power for a significant
amount of time.
|
| How will the local
community use the proposed solution? |
An appropriate solution
will allow computers to be run on battery
power for a significant amount of time.
The newly designed computers will also
be cheaper, so more people in Pabal
will be able to afford personal computers.
|
| Estimate of the economic
benefit anticipated and plans for training
of the local community? What are the
major impacts on such a project? |
|
Using low-power-consuming hardware
will mean a better and cheaper computer
system, enabling more people in Pabal
to own computers for less. The schools
will be able to expand their computer
labs. The electricity cost for people
who own computers will be lower, as
well.
If more people own computers, more
people will become fluent in Office
Suite, Flash scripts, image manipulation
and data entry softwares (some of
the most common uses for computers
currently). More people will also
be able to complete the MS-CIT, a
certification course in these softwares.
Vigyan Ashram, the local NGO, will
train people in the use of the computers.
|
| Full description of
the local situation (e.g. social, economic,
geographical, political) |
|
Currently no low-power computers
are available in Pabal.
|
| Full description of
relevant infrastructure available locally
and/or internationally |
|
Some of the following solutions may
be possible, though it was not possible
to complete research on available
resources.
1. A low-power-consuming CPU. Attachments
that use large amounts of power should
be eliminated. Some of the existing
hardware can also be replaced with
hardware that uses less power.
2. Thin clients on Linux and Windows
platforms. Thin clients have already
been successfully implemented on Linux
platforms, but so much research has
not been done on using the thin client
with a Windows platform. Linux thin
clients are known to work just like
normal desktops. However, Linux systems
cannot be used in Pabal because most
of the software that is used in the
village was designed for Windows operating
systems. In order to use the existing
software, Windows thin clients must
be developed.
3. Clones of existing software for
Windows operating systems that can
be made available as open source software.
These clones could make alternatives
to expensive software (such as Adobe
Photoshop) available to the population
of Pabal. The software could also
be made compatible with Linux, in
which case it could be used with Linux
thin client machines.
|
