New initiatives by chip and computer manufacturers and Dr Raj Reddy of Carnegie Mellon University are joining hands to widen computer use by making them cheaper and easier to handle.
Reddy is working with partners to design a new class of devices that will let semi-literate people use a remote control to watch television and DVDs, make voice calls and receive e-mail with video clips in it, a US media report has said.
Reddy's project, dubbed PCtvt, hopes to deliver systems priced at about $250, using low cost chips from Intel and Advanced Micro Devices, stripped down versions of the Linux or Microsoft operating systems, and subsidies from monthly subscription fees, the Wall Street Journal said.
The project, funded by a $3.4 million National Science Foundation grant, includes graduate students and faculty at Berkeley, collaborating with researchers at Intel, the Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi and other institutions.
Participants hope to design and deploy new technology in two years' time in rural India. Efforts in Africa and Latin America are also being considered.
Company executives and university researchers are trying to strike profit-making partnerships with indigenous businesses in India, China and other countries that could help market new technology, the report said.
