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AMD Cuts Personal Internet Communicator
DaGiants writes "AMD has killed the Personal Internet Communicator (PIC), one of the first major efforts at designing ultra low-cost PCs for the third world. Ars Technica reports that AMD decided to pull the plug, taking a loss on the project. AMD can't be too disappointed though, as the OLPC uses AMD's Geode x86 processor, and delivers a lot more for much less. While OLPC gets most of the attention these days, AMD's role in spurring interest in low-cost PCs for developing nations can't be overlooked."
Considering that low-end desktop computers (w/ monitors and software) are now running in the $300 range from large computer vendors, it's tough to make a business case for selling $250 computers to third world countries ... so it sounds like they made the right decision. Either that, or they realized that since even Negroponte's $140 alternative wasn't really catching on, there'd be no way that a $250 machine would.
Crack - Free with every butt and set of boobs
When building low-end devices based on boards like Geode, margins are so razor thin for the OEMs that it generally requires the presence of a significant market demand for the product just to make up the development costs. How you can spin the dissolution of an unprofitable division as a strategic market win and continued prosperity for that particular segment baffles me.
There is a need for low-end computers to satisfy the basic computing needs of developing countries, but those computers need to be based off of hardware that has relatively good performance compared to the average PC. Geode is a baseline platform good for set top boxes and kiosks, it fails it as a true PC computing platform.
Used:
On Ebay
One of the big problems is that it runs Windows CE, and it's hard to add applications. There is some magic with the BIOS that won't let it boot into anything but a signed version of Windows.
EBay has them for about $75, maybe there will be a break in getting Linux on it.
There is another AMD machine in the pipeline, however, the successor to the PIC, called the Ultra Value PC. Look for it in January.
Yoohoo We got rid of a loss making project. Next quarters profit sharing is going to be sweet.
**Life is too short to be serious**
You get the right to make fun of Hector when you have achieved 1% of what this guy has achieved. This is a guy born in Mexico who travelled across the border everyday to attend high school in Texas, went from no English knowledge to valedectorian of his high school gradiuation class in 4 years, finished a bachelors and a PhD in engineering (Yes he is a real techie unlike the slashdot script kiddies who took a 6 week course during the boom and call themselves IT professionals and now that they are unemployed spend their time bitching on Slashdot)
This is also a guy who has taken AMD and turned it into a lean mean green machine which ate Intel's lunch.
When you do something with your life other than bitching than you can make fun of him
**Life is too short to be serious**
I would invest in a communications infrastructure to support them. Ground up wireless phone, computer, TV, and anything else that can be broadcast.
But, before I did that I would build a transportation infrastructure, so there were roads everywhere people wanted to go and goods could be moved from one place to another efficiently.
I know computers seem high on slashdot readers' priority list, but honestly, America did pretty well without them for a long time. And many 3rd world citizens would love to have the standard of living that Americans enjoyed in the early 20th century.
I'm not saying computers are bad or not helpful. But the grandiose schemes of bringing them everywhere when so many more basic needs and wants haven't been met seem a bit misplaced.
Forget Desktops I saw a 299 dollar Celeron laptop at Walmart today. And you can pretty much assemble your own computer for 200 dollars in India so a 250 dollar PIC is kind of dead. And if AMD actually ramps up and starts producing chips at its Bangalore contractor factory we can look forward to even cheaper chips
**Life is too short to be serious**
AMD's role in spurring interest in low-cost PCs for developing nations can't be overlooked."
I'm overlooking it right now, buddy!
For those who don't know, OLPC is an abbreviation for One Laptop per Child (and not One Love Peace Concert).
... Karma whoring since 1998.
www.timcoleman.com is a total waste of your time. Never go there.
Of course, open source and open content already exist but if the aim was to directly help kids in developing countries, the content created would be more suitable for their needs and maybe more people would volunteer.
Yahh, hiii haaaaa! -Major Kong, from Dr. Strangelove
Maybe if they change the name to Personal Internet Exlorer then more third world countries will invest in them.
They all want more PIEs
A Geode GX is little more than a core clock-speed increased version of the MediaGX/Geode GXm, that was bought from NatSemi, who
bought it from Cyrix when they sold the other half to VIA. It's a weak chip. it has a FSB of 33 MHz so that
it could work with PC-66 memory without any L2 cache involvement to raise board or chip pricing. The whole design cripples it
out of the gate. If it's a GX design, it stinks on ice except for a few usable embedded/kiosk designs and, yes, the thing
stinks compared to your machine. It's biggest selling point was it consumed 1-2 Watts TDP at full speed and didn't need much
fansink and could be completely passively cooled. The PIC used THIS CPU in it's design. This destined it to fail out of the
gate. Just like every other design using this chip. It looks good on paper, the marketing speak talks a good talk, but when
it comes to reality, the rubber meeting the pavement- the 33 MHz FSB dooms the device to mediocre performance every time.
They shave pennies off the BOM with this idea, only to have a truly sub-optimal performer, when they could have used a LX or
a NX (Or in the case of someone other than AMD, an Eden or C3/C7 design...)
A Geode LX is a reworked version of the chip design, which was slated to be called the Geode G2 by NatSemi, but they never
really released it. AMD bought the design and took it to market. It's an improvement, with a 66MHz FSB, etc. It's still
underpowered compared to a VIA C3 or a Geode NX, but a decent design. This, I believe, is the CPU choice for the OLPC
laptop. It's not the greatest chip in the world, but it burns a little less watts than the VIA answers, so while it performs
slower overall, it's cooler overall as well- meaning it needs less juice to operate with.
A Geode NX is a very low-power version of the AthlonXP core with all that entails. You can buy machines at Fry's on the
bottom end of the price scale with these on an older style AthonXP motherboard right now- about $250 or so without a monitor.
I am not merely a "consumer" or a "taxpayer". I am a Citizen of the State of Texas
I know these computer people making this stuff can't be stupid, right? I guess that means they're just insane.
A-Bomb
It's hard to believe you're not trolling, since you're so aggressively and pointedly wrong - but I suspect you just haven't been following the story, or the situation is many developing countries.
it's something geeks can relate to a little better than starvation, typhoid and malaria. But [...] cheap computers are a hell of a long way down the list of needful things
It's true that there are many people who die of disease and starvation in the third world. Over a million are expected to die in central Africa alone this year. These people (especially those in Darfur right now) need food and medicine, badly. There are other people, however, who are not dying of starvation or disease at the moment, but are still quite poor, with few options for supporting themselves or improving their situation. Many villages are prosperous because of a single factory providing jobs, or a certain ecosystem providing enough food. They may be doing okay now, but if that factory closes, or that river gets over-fished, it's back to the starvation game.
These people need education, they need communication, they need the ability to learn independently and develop skills and connections that will make their community independently sustainable, instead of dependent on a tenuous and unreliable livelihood.
And yes, the laptops will be able to run on human power - no infrastructure necessary.