From Wired:

Imagine being asked to design an Internet-connected computer network that can function without telephone lines or electricity.

The equipment will also be subjected to torrential rains every six months, and will have to cope with high temperatures and choking clouds of red dust for the rest of the year.

Sounds like a system administrator's nightmare, but volunteer tech experts working with the Remote IT Village Project in rural Laos say that all it takes is some pedal-powered generators, a few wireless antennas and some rugged, Linux-powered computers.

The rugged computers, built from components used in automatic teller machines and powered by pedal-pushing people, will be connected to wireless broadcasting stations. The local network will broadcast voice and data signals between five villages and the main server, which will be located at the Phon Hong Hospital nine miles away.

Prakash Advani asks and answers 5 questions on Linux in the Indian context:
- Are large enterprises relying on Linux?
- Is Linux right for India?
- Is Linux cost effective?
- How do I get support on Linux?
- Is Linux ready for the desktop?

WSJ writes about the home platform war which surfaced at the Consumer Electronics Show:

At the heart of the dispute is whether the personal computer or the television will be the entertainment hub of the future - and the focus of a new wave of product development.

Making the products that are the fulcrum for the move to new forms of entertainment digital video and music downloaded from the Internet can mean the difference between growth and stagnation. It is not surprising that PC makers Dell, Intel and Microsoft see a powerful role for the computer. Barrett argues that the PC is an interactive device allowing material to be created and tailored for use, as opposed to a television, which is largely limited to a passive display. As consumers adopt wireless, broadband connections to the Internet, "I think we are increasing the importance of the PC," he said during a speech.

It is the computer that is leading the way to online gaming, and not the game console, Dell pointed out at the show. However, Sony's Ando sees the broadband connection to the home leading to the television, not the PC.

"The television is being reborn as an always-on interactive device," he told show attendees during an address. Other devices in the home, from PCs and game machines to digital cameras, will become subordinate, feeding the TV content for display.

Wired writes about computer recycling: "The refuse from discarded electronics products, also known as e-waste, often ends up in landfills or incinerators instead of being recycled. And that means toxic substances like lead, cadmium and mercury that are commonly used in these products can contaminate the land, water and air."

I have often mentiond that what is needed is that the old computers should be sent to emerging markets like India where they can become the desktops for the next set of users. What has so far been missing is the software to leverage these old computers. This is where a server-centric computing solution like Emergic Freedom comes in.