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India’s $35 Tablet Computer
This story by Erika Kinetz (AP) is on Google news with an AP logo, but I’m not sure what you’d say was the most authentic source for it. I found it serendipitously on Roger Ebert’s Journal (from which it appears since to have been removed.)
Christopher Dawson of ZDNet has also commented.
I don’t know what the ur-source would be, but BBC News – South Asia has the story and a photo.
As does CBC: http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2010/07/23/india-computer-cheap.html
Well it’s a 1500 Rupee device the official announcement of which is on the PIB website here and which is described in detail by the Hindu here
It seems unfair that the United States, as other countries in the World, should have to compete with others elsewhere where very cheap labor is their primary advantage. Yet complaining about our house getting flooded won’t make it any drier. Only our hard work will do that, and only the ingenuity and savvy of the American people will see us through.
In facing the challenge, let us not forget that we still excel in the important areas of education, technology, individual freedoms, the arts, entertainment, elective government, our courts, natural resources, and yes, even our health care. Moreover, labor costs should eventually reach an equilibrium across the globe, since people and their needs are the same across the globe.
Yet, an even greater challenge lies ahead, and with far greater consequences than cheap computer technology: This is the abundant energy from the sun, and our constantly improving ways to capture it and store it the form of hydrogen. Thus while the sun for centuries had dried-up huge lands, it is about to make them vibrant with cheap electricity for industry and living.
By the time we take notice, the geopolitical implications will be beyond anybody’s control. For those of us who are accustomed to having our way, times may get a lot rougher ahead. But there ain’t no going back to the world of yesterday. The sooner we accept this, the sooner we can roll up our sleeves to compete on the global stage — the only forum left.
Yes, the story appears to be everywhere. I’d be curious to see it for real though.