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'ri!‘ JJortlanb (Ohscruer
August 4, 2010
I
iPad Knock-Off Unveiled
Tablet is a fraction
o f the cost
( A P) — It looks like an iPad, only
it's 1/14th the cost: India has un
veiled the prototype o f a $35 basic
touchscreen tablet aim ed at stu
dents, w hich it hopes to bring into
production by 2011.
I f the governm ent can find a m anu
facturer, the Linux operating sys
tem -based co m puter w ould be the
latest in a string o f "w orld's ch eap
est" innovations to hit the m arket
out o f India, w hich is hom e to the
$2,127 com pact N ano car, the $16
w ater p urifier and the $2,000 open-
heart surgery.
The tablet can be used for func
tions like w ord processing, w eb
brow sing and video-conferencing.
It has a solar p o w er option too —
Kapil Sibal displays a low-cost computer tablet at its launch in New
Delhi, India. The device looks like an iPad and is l/ 1 4 t h the cost.
though that add-on costs extra.
M am ta V arm a, a m inistry spokes
w om an, said falling hardw are costs
and intelligent design m ake the price
tag plausible. The tablet doesn't have
a hard disk, but instead uses a m em ory
card, much like a m obile phone. The
tablet design cuts hardw are costs,
and the use o f open-source softw are
also adds to savings, she said.
V arm a said several global m an u
facturers, including at least one from
T aiw an , hav e show n in terest in
m aking the low -cost device, but no
m anufacturing or d istribution deals
have been finalized.
India plans to subsidize the cost
o f the tablet for its students, b rin g
ing the p u rch ase price dow n to
around $20.
"D epending on the q uality o f
m aterial they are using, certainly it's
plausible," said Sarah Rotm an Epps,
aru analyst at Forrester R esearch.
"The question is, is it good enough
for students?"
P rofitability is also a question for
the $35 m achine,
Epps said go v ern m ent subsidies
o r dual m arketing — w here higher-
priced sales in the developed w orld
are used to subside low -cost sales
in m arkets like India — could co n
vince a m an u factu rer to com e on
board.
This and sim ilar efforts— like the
K akai K no and the E ntourage Edge
tablets — show that there is global
dem and for an affordable device to
trim high textbook costs, she said.
If it w orks, Epps predicts the de
vice m ay send a shiver o f cost-con
sciousness through the industry.
"It p u ts p ressu re on all device
m anufacturers to keep costs dow n
and innovate," she said.
Facebook Addresses Privacy Concerns
(A P ) -- Facebook is rolling out a
new feature that requires outside
applications and w ebsites to tell
users exactly w hat parts o f their
profiles have to be shared for the
apps to w ork.
A pplications already had to ask
users for perm ission to access any
thing in their profiles that w asn't
public. But these services didn't have
to specify w hat inform ation they
w ere using. Such inform ation can
include your photos, your friends'
birthdays or y our e-m ail address.
U nder the new policy, the ser
vices w ill say w hich aspects o f a
profile they will m ine, but the user
still w on't be able to pick out w hich
pieces they w ant to grant access to.
T hey have to eith er grant p erm is
sion o r disallow the app from w o rk
ing at all.
Facebook has com e under fire for
the w ay it treats the inform ation its
nearly 500 m illion users post on the
site. M ost recently, privacy ad v o
cates and law m akers have co m
plained about Facebook's "instant
p e rs o n a liz a tio n " fe a tu re , w h ich
draw s inform ation from users' p ro
files to custom ize a handful o f other
sitesl
Partly because o f criticism and
partly because o f the site's grow th
from a sm all netw ork for college
students, Facebook's privacy set
tings becam e com plicated and o f
ten confusing over the years.
In response, Facebook sim pli
fied its privacy settings though som e
critics still say these changes don't
go far enough.
Social media such as Facebook and Twitter have become power
ful tools that influence what people buy.
President Ronald Regan established Minority Enterprise Development Week in a statement on December 17, 1982.
Ir is celebrated a full week in the first part of ( ictober. Our challenge today is to enhance the ability of minority
Americans to participate in the market economy and to achieve greater economic independence. We are indebted
to minority entrepreneurs tor their contributions to our economic well being. They bring innovative products and
services to the marketplace, create jobs and provide training to thousands of workers.
The Nation is undergoing the most difficult economic rimes in decades. With the high price of gas and a national
economic down-trend, we are facing are most challenging times in America. 1 Iowever it is up to our small business
communities to be able to aid in the recovery.
Minority Americans share in the aspiration to have the opportunity of business ownership. Every year the number
ot minority business ownership has increased representing the hope for opportunity. It is important to look at how
minority businesses have added to ( iregon's economy and its growth in the global market. The Portland ( tbserver
recognizes the contributions every year of disadvantaged, women owned, minority and small emerging businesses
with its Minoritv Business Special Edition to provide information and profile local minority business.
Please join us in this year special on September 22nd, 2010. The deadline for advertisements will be Wednesday,
September 14th, 2010 and tor editorial submissions it will be September 9rh, 2010.
TriMet Connects
with Smart Phones
T r a n s it
r id e r s
w ho
use
sm artphones, such as B lackB erry,
iPhone and A ndroid phones, can
p endently by third-party dev elo p
ers using T riM e t’s open data, p ro
vide a variety o f inform ation to im
n o w a c c e ss tra n s it in fo rm a tio n prove the rid e r’s experience.
q u ick ly and easily at m .trim et.o rg .
The apps include trip planning,
T riM e t’s n ew m o b ile-frien d ly m aps, bus and rail schedules, G PS
w ebsite loads fast and is easy to location o f the nearest stops, trip
navigate. It features the m o st p o p u planning via text m essaging and
lar in te rn e t rid e r to o ls su ch as saving planned trips. T riM et has
T ransitT racker, real-tim e arrival in created som e very successful ap p li
form ation, trip planner, service alerts cations itse lf including an interac
and route and system m aps.
tive m ap and T ransitT racker.
T hirty-six third-party co m p u ter
To view the applications go to
ap plications are also available at trim et.org and click on “ A pp C en
trim et.o rg . The apps, created inde te r” on the hom e page.