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Originally Posted by =X=
@howyoudoin & cHex: Let me put it in perspective. Creating an underpowered unusable device for the under privileged is not a noble deed, it is a downright disservice. You both might feel lofty ans smug in your reply but you do it at the comfort of a decent machine while arguing that this tablet, which neither of you would be happy to use is good enough.
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I dunno about howyoudoin, but my observations were based on personal observations in India and living in Asia for 34 years, including 10 years in a provincial university town.
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Going Android 2.2 on a 366MHz processor is good enough to do little and next to nothing. I've tried writing on my nook overclocked at 1Ghz and long document start to lag. They should have put more thought into the desing and use an OS that could work well with that processor.
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I agree. But the choice is not between the $35 tablet and one with a better-matched OS and processor; my thesis it is between the $35 tablet and nothing. I'm saying the tablet is better than nothing.
Running Windows 3.1 on my old 33 MHz 386 was in many ways more painful than running DOS 3 on the same computer was--but I still made the move (primarily to access better fonts and not having to have separate printer drivers for each application), and I was the envy of my team, most of whom were using typewriters at the time.
I imagine there will now be Indian students who will end up writing a better OS and application suite for the tablet, if they don't merely adapt some other existing OS.
Philosophically, I'd say don't provide any computer at all; instead, keep taxes low and let the people prosper without unnecessary burdens. But that doesn't blind me to the impact of putting technology into the hands of people that otherwise would only be able to access it at Internet cafes.