Free Technology Newsletters
» All 33 InfoWorld Newsletters
Technology & Business Daily
 
InfoWorld
 

Intel kicks off low-cost PC effort in Mexico

Intel promises 'full-featured' PC with the price adjusted for family incomes

By Jeremy Kirk, IDG News Service
March 31, 2006
 

Intel has partnered with a Mexican telecoms company to sell an affordable PC designed for first-time computer users in developing countries. It's the latest effort by technology vendors to develop products for emerging markets.

Free IT resource

Hear how top CIOs turn change into a competitive advantage.

Sponsored by HP

Intel said the PC would be a small, energy efficient system with "full-featured" PC technologies. It will be cheaper than typical PCs, with the price adjusted for local conditions and family incomes, Intel said, without providing a specific price.

It will use a low-power Intel processor running either the Linux operating system or Microsoft's XP Starter Edition, a stripped-down version of the Microsoft OS for poorer countries.

The company has yet to determine who'll manufacture the PCs, Intel said. It often produces reference designs for systems and then shops them around its PC-making partners. The PC sellers will decide which OS is used, Intel said.

It's the latest candidate to put computers in the hands of everyday people in the developing world. The One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) group, under founder Nicholas Negroponte, is developing a rugged $100 laptop for use in child education programs. Participants in that effort include Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Google, News Corp., and Red Hat.

Plans for Negroponte's laptop call for a machine running Linux with a sunlight-readable screen, 128MB of RAM and no hard disk. Instead, the laptop would have 500MB of flash memory, as well as four USB ports.

The lack of a hard disk has been criticized by Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates, who questioned the usefulness of a computer with reduced functions. Microsoft has, however, expressed interested in community computing projects in developing countries where networked terminals and devices could be widely shared.

Intel's PC will have a hard drive, as well as built-in graphics, audio and networking capabilities. It will come with four USB 2.0 ports, two PS/2 ports and a parallel port. Video is supported through a standard video graphics array (VGA) system, and the computer has an S-Video TV-out connection, Intel said.

In Mexico City Thursday, Intel President and Chief Executive Officer Paul Otellini said the company's "Discover the PC" program, under which the system is being developed, will be expanded to other countries later this year, including Brazil, Egypt, Ghana, and Nigeria. Intel also pledged to donate 5,000 PCs for education and other programs in Mexico.

REFERENCES:
, Jan. 31, 2006
, Dec. 14, 2005
, Sep. 28, 2005




 



TOP NEWS:


» Reports: AMD to cut 375 jobs in wake of ATI acquisition
Move will weed out redundant positions caused by ATI buy, analysts said

» Interview: Zimbra turns to channel as competitive weapon
IDG News Service sat down with CEO Dharmaraj to talk about Zimbra, its competition and recent developments in open source

» CA sues to recover former CEO's legal fees
Judge approves order on pieces of Kumar's property to pay the claim should CA win

» PlayStation 3 debuts to crowds, chaos
Demand for the console is high because Sony is short of the blue-laser diode that sits at the heart of the console's Blu-ray Disc drive

» Calacanis to leave AOL after CEO change
Weblogs founder departs AOL after his mentor is forced out in surprise move

» Yahoo to buy online contest site
Yahoo pushes into online social media services with purchase of Bix.com




TOP REMOTE ACCESS TIPS OF 2006
Learn how current trends in remote access are changing the way today's enterprises mobile-enable their networks in this live InfoWorld Webcast. Get answers for questions you may have about implementing a secure remote access solution in your organization. Sponsored by Positive Networks.

»  Click here to view this Webcast
  SPYWARE
Unwanted software is running rampant in today's enterprises, and spyware is evolving faster than its countermeasures. This newly updated IT Strategy Guide will show you what can be done about it. Sponsored by Clearswift.

» Click here to download now


- Special Advertising Partners -
WHITE PAPERS
 
>> WHITE PAPERS LIBRARY

WHITE PAPERS E-MAIL ALERT

Find out when the latest white paper is available:

 

»  2006 IT Compliance Benchmark Report - Learn about the various methods that have been identified to improve IT security and regulatory compliance by downloading a free copy of the 2006 IT Compliance Benchmark Report, compliments of ...
»  5 Essential Steps to Safer Email: How to Protect Small and Medium Business from Virus and Spam Threats - Email is your business's lifeline-and its worst security nightmare. Learn the 5 critical steps you can take to stop spam and viruses, ensure compliance, and protect your corporate identity.
»  How to Stop the Latest Internet Email Traffic Emergency: Why Misdirected Bounce Messages Are Costly and Dangerous - Get up-to-date information on handling misdirected bounces- those countless spam emails claiming your company's message couldn't be delivered, when you didn't even send one in the first place!
»  Ironport Email Security Appliance Overview
»  Context Adaptive Scanning Engine: Protecting Against the Broadest Range of Blended Threats
»  Solve wireless security worries

 
MORE HARDWARE WHITE PAPERS


WHITE PAPERS BY TOPIC


Application development
Applications
Business
Hardware
Networking
Platforms
Security
Standards
Storage
Telecom
Web services
Wireless
» Network Security for Small to Medium Size Business
The more your small- to medium-sized business relies on information and an Internet connection, the ...
» Maximize SAP with HP Virtualized Solutions
This webcast explores solutions for the IT challenges faced by many enterprise-level firms today. ...
» Introducing Intel(R) vPro(TM) Technology
Need a better game plan for managing your desktop fleet? Go Pro. Intel(R) vPro TM Technology has ...
» Network Security for Small to Medium Size Business
The more your small- to medium-sized business relies on information and an Internet connection, the ...
» The ROI of Process Integration
Learn how companies that extend processes to customers and suppliers measure ROI in terms of ...

 
SPONSORED LINKS  

»  ISS - Shielding VoIP vulnerabilities from attack
»  Microsoft - Visual Studio 2005. Over 400 new features, the difference is obvious.
»  Adobe - Start creating engaging elearning experiences with Adobe Captivate 2.
»  Oki Data - $150 Rebate NOW off of HD Color Printing- OKI Printing Solutions
»  Dell - OptiPlex 745 Business Desktops!
 


INFOWORLD MARKETPLACE


» Hoffman Delivers Quality, Selection, Availability
Find the broadest range of standard DataCom racks, cabinets and cabling solutions plus extensive ...
» Introducing Intel(R) vPro(TM) Technology
Need a better game plan for managing your desktop fleet? Go Pro. Intel(R) vPro TM Technology has ...
» Six Steps to Success in Storage Consolidation
Six steps can ensure the success of your consolidation project, simplify your workload, and enhance ...
» PDA, Cell Phone, Laptop Batteries from AtBatt.com
AtBatt.com offers IT Managers a Battery Configurator to correctly identify the proper Laptop Battery ...


 

FREE SUBSCRIPTION


Order today to get your FREE subscription (a $195 value!) to InfoWorld magazine, the weekly publication that provides indispensable product information to IT professionals.


NOTE: Complimentary subscriptions sent only to those applicants who qualify.

First Name:
Last Name:
Company Name:
Title:
Mailing Address:
City:
State/Province:
Zip/Postal Code:
Email Address:


NOTE: Offer valid in U.S. and Canada only
Non-U.S. click here


FIND PRODUCTS AND COMPANIES
» COMPLETE PRODUCT GUIDE



TECHNOLOGY INDEX
• Applications
• Application Development
• Security
• Networking
• Wireless
• Platforms
• Hardware
• Data Management
• Storage
• Web Services
• Business
• Telecom
• Professional Services
• Standards

TECH WATCH 


IT services group picks the winners and losers in IT job growth
The National Association of Computer Consultant Businesses [NACCB] whose members are those in the IT services business, released a report on IT employment prospects this week. Too lengthy, 53 pages, to summarize here, the upshot is that despite a ...

Weblogs entrepreneur quits AOL
Jason Calacanis, whose startup Weblogs was acquired last year by AOL, has resigned in the wake of CEO Jonathan Miller's replacement by NBC exec Randy Falco. Calacanis remained as chief executive officer of Weblogs after it became an AOL subsidiary, ...

JON UDELL'S CORNER 


Jon Udell's Column and Blog XQuery and the power of learning by example
(InfoWorld) - If you set out to explore XQuery, the XML query language, you’ll soon encounter a collection...

Jon's Blog | Jon's Column

COLUMNISTS

Microsoft's Linux indemnification trap
Neil McAllister's Column and Blog (InfoWorld) - The partnership between Microsoft and Novell has raised as many questions as it has provided answers....
» MORE COLUMNISTS

MORE INFOWORLD BLOGS


Open Sources 
User-generated content or user-generated theft?
It was bound to happen (and will almost certainly continue to happen to Google/YouTube, as well): News Corp. is being ...

Virtualization Report 
XenSource Launches Partner Program for XenEnterprise
XenSource, Inc. introduced a partner program that will leverage relationships with independent software vendors (ISVs) ...



• Advice Line
• Database Underground
• The Deep End
• Enterprise Mac
• Geeks in Paradise
• Grid Meter
• The Gripe Line
• InfoWorld Daily
• Inside IT
• IT Troubleshooter
• ITXtreme
• Jon's Radio
• Open Sources
• ProdBlog
• Real World SOA
• Security Adviser
• SMB IT
• The Storage Network
• Tech Watch
• Virtualization Report
• Zero Day

ADVERTISEMENT


RESOURCE CENTERadvertisement 

GOVERNMENT IT & POLICY
Agency Spending $6.5 Million on Upgrades
Amateur Videos Are Putting Official Abuse in New Light
Sleepless Over Security Breaches



 HOME  NEWS  COLUMNS  BLOGS  PODCASTS  VIDEOS  TECHNOLOGIES  TEST CENTER  EVENTS  CAREERS  IT EXEC-CONNECT   About | Advertise | Awards | Store | Contact Us 

Copyright © 2006, Reprints, Permissions, Licensing, IDG Network, Privacy Policy, Terms of Service.
All Rights reserved. InfoWorld is a leading publisher of technology information and product reviews on topics including viruses,
phishing, worms, firewalls, security, servers, storage, networking, wireless, databases, and web services.

ComputerWorld :: LinuxWorld :: Network World :: CIO :: PC World :: CSO
IT Careers :: JavaWorld :: Macworld :: Mac Central :: Playlist :: GamePro :: GameStar :: Gamerhelp
ITWorld Canada :: Computerwoche :: Techworld UK :: tecChannel :: IDG.se :: IDG.no :: IDG.pl