ICT in Papua New Guinea

One of the staunchest supporters and critics of this column has been my good friend and University of Technology electrical electronics and telecommunications lecturer Elias Mandawali (pictured left).

Mr Mandawali is a visionary who has strong views about the status quo of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in Papua New Guinea.

I often engage in tech-talk with him over the phone or through email and seek his technical expertise on the massive Information Revolution currently sweeping the globe.

Mr Mandawali will next month run a short course conducted by the Department of Electrical Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering Department at Unitech as part of an educational campaign to provide necessary information and education to IT sections in this country.

The hi-tech workshop - geared towards Internet Broadband fundamental concepts and implementations in Papua New Guinea – will cover topics such as Wireless Radio Systems Technology, Wireless Internet Access Technology and Application, Practical Computer Laboratory Sessions, and Powerline Communication Systems.

It comes at a time when a massive Information Revolution is taking place in this increasingly-globalised world as economies use ICT as a passport to what economists call the “New Economy”.

Mr Mandawali explains that the short course aims “to make everyone aware of the technology and to remind us here that this technology is taking the world by storm”.

“What does ICT means to you and I and the bulk of the Papua New Guineans?” he asks

“If we can firstly define the three words, we are then able to make good important decisions that will benefit the bulk of the Papua New Guineans, and then we can talk about making the policies on the ICT.

“If we blindly make a policy without understanding of ICT and its applications and if the policy does not suit us, then we have become ignorant in the technology and we can just forget the policy because it is going to be someone else that is going to benefit from the ICT.

“It is my firm believe that everyone must firstly be made away of the advantages and disadvantages of the technology so everyone can appreciate its implementation and support it in every means.

“Information – may include voice and data.

“Communication – means the exchange of information and the information must be received understood and be returned or replied and or transmitted.

“Technology – means the mechanisms which the information is communicated and the mechanisms which we can refer to in this explanation are the PSTN and the WWW as in the digital systems.

“By way of understanding and the proper meaning of the ICT, we tend to think of the ICT as transmission/reception of information technology in terms of ‘0’, and ‘1’ or bits.

“A bit can be sent via a transmission network or many bits can be sent via a transmission network.

“And so the ICT is actually the telecommunication network that provides a network in telecommunication engineering systems and network for the exchanges of bits which contains information of voice or data or mixture of both.

“By definition the two telecommunication networks - the World Wide Web (WWW) and Public Switch Telephone Networks (PSTN) - are not the same.

“These two systems are referred to as providing ICT

“The Broadband Internet provided by either system is not the same and is not equal.

“Therefore PSTN Broadband Internet cannot be called Broadband Internet because it is riding on 4 kHz which never and cannot become Broadband according to the telecommunication technologies.

“The Public Switch Telephone Network goes back as far as 1920s when first radio link was invented and used in the ‘50s, ‘60s, and ‘70s, and ‘80s.

“The ‘90s saw the emergence of digital technology where half-synchronous digital hierarchy was developed to replace the analogue 4 kHz voice frequency telephony systems used in history.

“In Public Switch Telephone Network, the frequency division multiplexing technology is used to send more than one signal through the main transmission network through cable or microwave radio relay links.

“One system is limited to a maximum of 960 channels only.

“The PSTN is provided on the circuit-based telecommunication network.

“The World Wide Web is based on the latest packet technology and the information is transmitted in bits of ‘0’, and ‘1’ digital bit stream and so the bit rate and the terms capacity tends to used in ICT to rate the information flow within the various transmission and user networks.

“With the present latest WiFi-function computer Broadband telecommunication network, the network and the last-mile solutions are brought closer to the user base to effect simple solutions on cost-effective simple-to-install networks and user components at the last-mile.

“The last mile is where WiFi-function wireless Local Area Network providing Broadband Internet becomes very effective at 54Mbps.

“Every WiFi function wireless local area network shall operate at 54 Mbps at 450 meters,
the latest IEEE 802.11 standard.

“The individual WiFi wireless local area networks are inter-connected via the IEEE802.16e standards.

“The WiFi-function mesh network configuration computer telecommunication network is illustrated in this article.

“The Wi-Fi Mesh Network Configuration is believed to provide unlimited Broadband Internet capacity on IP Address to anyone person anywhere and shall be done at homes on wired access points and on WiMAX and Wi-Fi standards and protocols as stated above.”

Those who wish to engage in tech-talk with Mr Mandawali or find our more about next month’s short course can contact him on email emandawali@ee.unitech.ac.pg .

•For feedback and comments, email malumnalu@yahoo.com or SMS 6849763

Malalo celebrates 100 years

Laukanu village kasali arrives in Malalo

 By MALUM NALU

It was one of those typically-beautiful Huon Gulf days on Friday, October 12, 2007, when we sailed from Lae to Malalo on Lutheran Shipping’s MV Rita for the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the historic Malalo Lutheran Mission Station.
It was a sunny day, not a cloud was in the sky, as if they did not want to spoil the celebrations.
Hundreds of people from all over Salamaua, Morobe Province, converged on Malalo that Friday for the centenary celebrations.
Work started on this icon - overlooking idyllic and historic Salamaua – exactly 100 years ago on October 12, 1907.
Surrounding villagers and guests from Lae, other parts of Morobe, and Papua New Guinea, converged on Malalo for the 100th anniversary celebrations.
The people of my mother’s Laukanu village rekindled memories of yore when they brought a kasali (ocean going canoe) to Malalo in a re-enactment of the arrival of the first Lutheran missionaries.
The people of Laukanu were among the greatest mariners of the Huon Gulf, making long ocean trips throughout the Huon Gulf to exchange goods, long before the arrival of the white man.
When the first Lutheran missionaries arrived in Finschhafen in the late 1880s, the Laukanu made the long sea voyage to Finschhafen, and helped to bring the Miti (Word of God) to the villages south of Lae.
The launch of the kasali celebrated not only the great seamanship of the Laukanu, but more importantly, coincided with the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the Malolo Mission Station - overlooking idyllic and historic Salamaua – on October 12, 1907.
The people of Salamaua and surrounding villages, who make up the Malalo Circuit, converge on Malalo last week for this momentous occasion.
It was a time for all to celebrate the important role the church had played in their lives, as well as remember the many expatriate missionaries and local evangelists, who worked through the dark days of World War 1 and World War 11 to bring the Miti (Word of God) to the people.
These legendary missionaries include Reverend Karl Mailainder and Rev Herman Boettger (who started actual work on the Malalo station), Rev Hans Raun, Rev Friedrich Bayer, Rev Mathias Lechner, and Rev Karl Holzknecht.
Rev Raun suffered the humiliation of being interned by Australian authorities during WW1 while Rev Holzknecht (whose family has contributed much to the development of PNG) suffered the same fate during WW11 – their only crime being Germans.
Rev Bayer was taking a well-deserved leave in his homeland of Germany when he lost his life on July 24, 1932.
The heart-warming and touching story of Rev Bayer and his wife, Sibylle Sophie Bayer, is told in Sophie’s autobiography He led me to a far off place.
Rev Holzknecht replaced Rev Lechner in 1939 and was there when World War 11 broke out and wiped out Malalo and its famous neighbour of Salamaua.
Missionary’s wife Helene Holzknecht accompanied her husband on all but the trips along the Black Cat Trail into the Wau and Bulolo valleys, ministering to village women and helping the sick she found in these areas.
The outbreak of war in Europe in 1939 brought this idyll to an end.
Karl Holzknecht – being a German - was taken prisoner as an enemy alien by Australian authorities, leaving a pregnant and heartbroken Helene at Malalo.
Her eldest child and only daughter, Irene, was born at Sattelberg, on February 1, 1940, after Karl’s removal to Australia.
Helene and Irene were returned to Malalo, but were eventually evacuated after Japanese bombers attacked Lae and Salamaua.
Helene often talked of seeing those planes skimming the hills on their way to Salamaua, and the horror of the bombing of Salamaua.
Soon after their evacuation by DC3 to Port Moresby, Japanese aircraft also bombed the Malalo Station, destroying all the family’s possessions.
Reverend Karl Mailainder and Rev Herman Boettger started work on the Malalo Mission Station exactly 100 years ago last on October 12, 1907.
They had already checked out other places from Busamang to Kelanuc before settling at Asini at a place called Poadulu.
At Poadulu, work started on Malalo.
The local people were very happy and gave a large piece of land to the Lutheran Church.
The Laukanu people had two kasali so they sailed all the way to Finschhafen and brought missionaries’ cargo back to Malalo.
When Rev Mailainder was clearing land at Malalo, he had a surveyor, Mr Mayar, who worked alongside him.
Work had already started when Rev Boettger arrived and the station was established.
At that time, a church was made of sago leaves.
This was after the congregation membership increased to 500.
Work started on Malalo Mission Station on October 12, 1907, and the opening was on December 20, 1907.
In 1908, the work of confirmation started and work started on a new church building with proper roofing iron.
One missionary gave 1000 German Marks, while Munchen in Germany gave a big bell and a bowl for baptism.
Work started on the new church building and on January 30th, 1910, it was opened with Holy Baptism.
Malalo 100th anniversary organiser Elisah Ahimpum was pleased with the hundreds of people who turned up for the occasion, which also featured a cultural show.
Plaques with the names of all missionaries and evangelists who worked at Malalo were unveiled on the day.
Invited guests to the 100th anniversary celebrations include Evangelical Lutheran Church of PNG leader Reverend Dr Bishop Wesley Kigasung, Morobe Governor Luther Wenge, Lae MP and prominent Lutheran Bart Philemon, Huon Gulf MP and Health Minister Sasa Zibe, as well as Bulolo MP Sam Basil as the Miti filtered into his area from Malalo.
Unfortunately, not all were able to attend, with only Assistant ELPNG Bishop Zao Rapa representing the church and Mr Philemon and Tewai-Siassi MP Vincent Michaels representing the government.
However, that did not spoil the occasion, with hundreds turning up to witness celebrations marking the centenary.

Lae becoming overrun by potholes

The once-beautiful garden city of Lae is virtually being overrun by potholes.

All over the city, potholes – resembling moonlike craters – are appearing.

The bitumen in many parts of the city has disappeared and been replaced with dusty roads found in rural areas of the country.

Lae, in fact, can no longer be called a “city” if the terrible road conditions are anything to go by.

A case in point is the main Town bus stop at Eighth Street (pictured above) where the bitumen has all but disappeared.

“This place doesn’t deserve to be called a city,” said concerned Lae resident Philemon Nalusi as he pointed out the dusty track which is Eighth Street bus stop (pictured above).

“It’s more or less like an undeveloped rural area.”

Former residents of Lae would be astounded at the atrocious roads conditions if they were to visit.

The people of Lae are complaining that they don’t seem to have leaders who can push for the roads to be fixed.

The city is also falling into anarchy with law and order problems all over the city every day.

The need for MPs to have their own websites

I have been following with interest the feedback from the general public since the launching of the Ambunti-Drekikir website (www.ambunti-dreikikir.gov.pg) in September this year.

Since the launching of the website, there have been letters from far and wide in The National, particularly from people who said they couldn’t access the site.

The problem, as was later pointed out in an explanatory letter, was that the spelling in the newspaper story was wrong.

I was one of those who entered the wrong spelling on Google vainly looking for the website, but when I got the spelling right, I was able to access the website.

There was also a letter from a government officer claiming that he and his colleagues were not acknowledged on the website for all the planning work they did for the Ambunti-Dreikikir district of East Sepik province.

That all added to the hype generated by www.ambunti-dreikikir.gov.pg since it was launched by local MP and Correctional Services Minister Tony Aimo.

And the great thing is that rural Ambunti-Dreikikir – at a cost of only K10, 000 - now has global exposure as it tries to sell itself to the world as a potential tourist destination.

This “bush” area has been like the proverbial tortoise and beaten many of our “town” electorates to have its own website.

Ambunti-Dreikikir District is one of the six districts within East Sepik Province.

Dreikikir sub-district covers and is located wholly on mountain area.

Ambunti-Mayama covers the Sepik flood plains and mountains in the Hunstein Range/Frieda and Waskuk Hills.

It takes 45 minutes to travel by Cessna 206 aircraft from Wewak to Ambunti/Mayama and eight to 10 hours if you chose to travel by road or river.

The website features almost anything from the district and East Sepik province generally including its cultures and traditions, youth activities, development projects, cash crops, as well as the lifestyle of the people.

Okay, the website isn’t that fancy, however, all credit must go to Mr Aimo for being a visionary leader in this increasingly-globalised world, in which a massive Information Revolution is taking place as economies use Information and Communication Technology (ICT), as a passport to what economists call the “New Economy”.

Mr Aimo said at the launch that the Internet was the latest and most-convenient medium as an avenue to acquire maximum global exposure and publicity.

He said his district was considered as a “least-developed” in the country and his people could not sit back and wait for “miracles to happen” but to move forward with the available resources through aggressive promotion and awareness.

Mr Aimo said this was also one way for his district to seek assistance from overseas investors and donors for the district to continue being developed.

“Major corporate organisations worldwide are turning to the Internet as an alternate and effective marketing tool,” he said.

Mr Aimo said his district was now using the Internet to its advantage.

He also described the website as a way in which his people could move on with the changing times into the future as the Internet had exploded on to the global marketplace as a powerful business tool.

Our MPs should realise that we no longer live in an age of typewriters, telex machines, faxes and phones.

Computers, email and the Internet, as well as mobile phones are the way to go.

In the near future, as wireless networking (Wifi) comes into play in Papua New Guinea as in other countries, newspapers, radio and television may also become obsolete.

Each of our 109 MPs should have their own website to share information with their good voters, the people of Papua New Guinea and the rest of the world.

I’m sure they all have the money to hire a good writer who can also serve as a photographer and webmaster to develop and update the website.

Government departments, statutory organisations, non-government organisations, sporting teams, provinces, villages, families, individuals, and many more should also be looking at seriously building their own website if they don’t already have one in this rapidly-globalising world.

It is, however, quite ironic that the ICT monopoly in Papua New Guinea held by Telikom, and fiercely protected by our government and MPs, is a major deterrent to the development of ICT in this country.

Papua New Guinea will continue to remain light years behind the rest of the world if we do not jump on the ICT bandwagon in this globalised world.

The digital divide within PNG is an enormous barrier to the ability of the people to participate in and benefit from the digital economy.

Access to Internet, adequate infrastructure, human capacity building and appropriate policies on ICT are central issues in addressing the digital divide.

Success in this globalised world is predicated on ICT knowledge and successful knowledge-based economies will be based on the efficient and widespread use of ICT by all sectors within any given country.

If they are not ICT-savvy, they will not receive the benefits of globalisation and they will be left behind the rest of the world

•For feedback and comments, email malumnalu@yahoo.com or SMS 6849763.

WiFi is the way to go for computers

Wireless networking, also called WiFi or 802.11 networking, is taking off in a big way throughout the world.

Papua New Guinea, however, has been very slow in catching up to this technology – that allows information to travel over the air – and which is very efficient and cheap in developed countries of the world.

For instance, in cities like Tokyo, Taipei and Singapore which I visited recently, you can use your laptop computer to access the Internet almost anywhere without the need for a wire connection.

WiFi is currently only available in Port Moresby at selected buildings and “Hotspots” at hugely-inflated prices.

This contributes to the massive digital divide within Papua New Guinea and is an enormous barrier to the ability of the people to participate in and benefit from the digital economy.

Daltron is currently Papua New Guinea’s leading WiFi provider and has already “wired up” buildings such as Ela Beach Tower, Deloitte, Pacific Place, Monian Tower, Somare Foundation and Investwell House to use its Wireless Internet system.

Daltron’s Hotspots are located at places predominantly frequented by the well-to-do such as Latitude 9, Yacht Club, Golf Club and Crowne Plaza

“Other centres will be covered in due course,” Daltron promises on its website.

Many people throughout the world use WiFi or to connect their computers at home, and an increasing number of cities use the technology to provide free or low-cost Internet access to residents.

In the near future, wireless networking may become so widespread that you can access the Internet just about anywhere at any time, without using wires, but in the meantime, that remains a far-off, unaffordable and inaccessible dream for many Papua New Guineans.

One wireless router can allow multiple devices to connect to the Internet.

WiFi has a lot of advantages.

Wireless networks are easy to set up and inexpensive.

They're also unobtrusive - unless you're on the lookout for a place to use your laptop, you may not even notice when you're in a Hotspot.

A wireless network uses radio waves, just like cell phones, televisions and radios do.

In fact, communication across a wireless network is a lot like two-way radio communication.

Here's what happens:

• A computer's wireless adapter translates data into a radio signal and transmits it using an antenna.
• A wireless router receives the signal and decodes it. It sends the information to the Internet using a physical, wired Ethernet connection.
• The process also works in reverse, with the router receiving information from the Internet, translating it into a radio signal and sending it to the computer's wireless adapter.

The radios used for WiFi communication are very similar to the radios used for walkie-talkies, cell phones and other devices.

They can transmit and receive radio waves, and they can convert 1s and 0s into radio waves and convert the radio waves back into 1s and 0s.

But WiFi radios have a few notable differences from other radios.

They transmit at frequencies of 2.4 GHz or 5GHz.

This frequency is considerably higher than the frequencies used for cell phones, walkie-talkies and televisions.

The higher frequency allows the signal to carry more data.

WiFi radios can transmit on any of three frequency bands.

Or, they can "frequency hop" rapidly between the different bands.

Frequency hopping helps reduce interference and lets multiple devices use the same wireless connection simultaneously.

As long as they all have wireless adapters, several devices can use one router to connect to the Internet.

This connection is convenient and virtually invisible, and it's fairly reliable.

If the router fails or if too many people try to use high-bandwidth applications at the same time, however, users can experience interference or lose their connections.

If you want to take advantage of public WiFi Hotspots or start a wireless network in your home, the first thing you'll need to do is make sure your computer has the right wireless gear.

Most new laptops and many new desktop computers come with built-in wireless transmitters.

If your laptop doesn't, you can buy a wireless adapter that plugs into the PC card slot or USB port.

Desktop computers can use USB adapters, or you can buy an adapter that plugs into the PCI slot inside the computer's case.

Many of these adapters can use more than one 802.11 standard.

Once you've installed your wireless adapter and the drivers that allow it to operate, your computer should be able to automatically discover existing networks.

This means that when you turn your computer on in a WiFi Hotspot, the computer will inform you that the network exists and ask whether you want to connect to it.

If you have an older computer, you may need to use a software program to detect and connect to a wireless network.

Being able to connect to the Internet in public Hotspots is extremely convenient.

Wireless home networks are convenient as well.

They allow you to easily connect multiple computers and to move them from place to place without disconnecting and reconnecting wires.

For comments and feedback, email malumnalu@yahoo.com or SMS 6849763.

Computers for our children

I’ve been inundated by queries from people all over the country wanting to know more about the revolutionary US$100 laptop for children that is becoming a big hit in developing countries all over the world.

To these many people, and especially the wonderful (and forgotten) children of Papua New Guinea, contact details of the producer of this technological marvel are provided below as our government and relevant authorities seem to be working at a snail’s pace for our children to reap the benefits.

It comes at a time when Papua New Guinea is struggling to bridge the digital divide and make computers affordable and accessible to our children.

The "US$100 laptop," a product five years in the making, is right now taking off in a big way in developing countries of the world including neighbouring Solomon Islands.

The XO laptop, as it's officially called, is produced by the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) Foundation, a nonprofit organisation founded by Nicholas Negroponte, who also founded the MIT Media Lab.

The OLPC says that the XO laptop offers children a sense of ownership and ensures that they're no longer dependent on a corrupt or inept government to provide educational opportunities.

The OLPC Foundation aims to provide these laptops to millions of children throughout the developing world in order to improve their education and their quality of life.

The XO laptop was designed to be lightweight, cheap and adaptable to the conditions of the developing world.

While a US$100 laptop is the goal, as of September 2007, the laptop costs about US$188.

Originally the OLPC Foundation said that governments must buy the laptop in batches of 25,000 to distribute to their citizens, but a new program will soon allow private citizens to purchase an XO.

Starting November 12, 2007, the Give 1 Get 1 (G1G1) program will allow U.S. residents to pay US$399 to buy two XO laptops - one for the purchaser and one for a child in need in a foreign country.

“Most of the nearly two–billion children in the developing world are inadequately educated, or receive no education at all,” the OLPC Foundation says on its website http://www.laptopfoundation.org/.

“One in three does not complete the fifth grade.

“The individual and societal consequences of this chronic global crisis are profound.

“Children are consigned to poverty and isolation—just like their parents—never knowing what the light of learning could mean in their lives.

“At the same time, their governments struggle to compete in a rapidly evolving, global information economy, hobbled by a vast and increasingly urban underclass that cannot support itself, much less contribute to the commonweal, because it lacks the tools to do so.

“It is time to rethink this equation.

“Given the resources that poor countries can reasonably allocate to education—sometimes less than $20 per year per pupil, compared to the approximately $7500 per pupil spent annually in the U.S.—even a doubled or redoubled national commitment to traditional education, augmented by external and private funding, would not get the job done.

“Moreover, experience strongly suggests that an incremental increase of ‘more of the same’—building schools, hiring teachers, buying books and equipment—is a laudable but insufficient response to the problem of bringing true learning possibilities to the vast numbers of children in the developing world.

“Standing still is a reliable recipe for going backward.

“Any nation's most precious natural resource is its children.

“We believe the emerging world must leverage this resource by tapping into the children's innate capacities to learn, share, and create on their own.

“Our answer to that challenge is the XO laptop, a children's machine designed for ‘learning learning’.

“XO embodies the theories of constructionism first developed by MIT Media Lab Professor Seymour Papert in the 1960s, and later elaborated upon by Alan Kay, complemented by the principles articulated by Nicholas Negroponte in his book, Being Digital.

“Extensively field-tested and validated among some of the poorest and most remote populations on earth, constructionism emphasises what Papert calls ‘learning learning’ as the fundamental educational experience.

“A computer uniquely fosters learning learning by allowing children to ‘think about thinking’, in ways that are otherwise impossible.

“Using the XO as both their window on the world, as well as a highly programmable tool for exploring it, children in emerging nations will be opened to both illimitable knowledge and to their own creative and problem-solving potential.

“OLPC is not, at heart, a technology program, nor is the XO a product in any conventional sense of the word.

“OLPC is a non-profit organisation providing a means to an end—an end that sees children in even the most remote regions of the globe being given the opportunity to tap into their own potential, to be exposed to a whole world of ideas, and to contribute to a more productive and saner world community.”

If you want to get in touch with OLPC, you can write to:
One Laptop per Child
P.O. Box 425087
Cambridge, MA 02142
U.S.A.

General information: http://www.blogger.com/information@laptop.org; Press inquiries: http://www.blogger.com/press@racepointgroup.com; Hardware, software, and technology issues:
technology@laptop.org; Information on specific countries: http://www.blogger.com/countries@laptop.org; Content inquiries: http://www.blogger.com/content@laptop.org; Volunteer opportunities:
volunteer@laptop.org; Donating to OLPC: http://www.blogger.com/giving@laptop.org; More ways to give:
givemany@laptop.org.

For comments and feedback, email malumnalu@yahoo.com or SMS 6849763.

Making computers affordable and accessible to our children

The National recently ran an exciting news story about “US$100 laptop” computers being made available to children in the neighbouring Solomon Islands.

It caught my attention, and that of many other Papua New Guineans, especially at a time when our country is struggling to bridge the digital divide and make computers affordable and accessible to our children.

The "US$100 laptop," a product five years in the making, is right now taking off in a big way in developing countries of the world including the Solomon Islands.

The XO laptop, as it's officially called, is produced by the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) Foundation, a nonprofit organisation founded by Nicholas Negroponte, who also founded the MIT Media Lab.

Why give a child a laptop when he might need food, water, electricity or other basic amenities?

To that, the OLPC says that the XO laptop offers children a sense of ownership and ensures that they're no longer dependent on a corrupt or inept government to provide educational opportunities.

The computer is a powerful tool for learning and collaboration, exposing children to a wealth of knowledge and providing opportunities that they would not normally have.

It also replaces the need for textbooks, which are expensive, easily damaged and less interactive.

In many parts of the developing world, people live in large family groupings.

The XO laptop allows children, parents, grandparents and cousins to teach each other.

In some communities with limited electricity, children have used the laptop's bright screen as a light.

The OLPC Foundation aims to provide these laptops to millions of children throughout the developing world in order to improve their education and their quality of life.

The XO laptop was designed to be lightweight, cheap and adaptable to the conditions of the developing world.

While a US$100 laptop is the goal, as of September 2007, the laptop costs about US$188.

Originally the OLPC Foundation said that governments must buy the laptop in batches of 25,000 to distribute to their citizens, but a new program will soon allow private citizens to purchase an XO.

Starting November 12, 2007, the Give 1 Get 1 (G1G1) program will allow U.S. residents to pay US$399 to buy two XO laptops - one for the purchaser and one for a child in need in a foreign country.

The program's initial run will last two weeks.

To start, laptops purchased through this program will be given to children in Afghanistan, Haiti, Rwanda and Cambodia.

More laptops should be available for sale in the future, and more developing nations will be able to apply to join the G1G1 plan.

As of September 2007, about 7,000 laptops were being tested by children around the world.

Many governments have expressed interest in the laptop or verbally committed to buying it, but Negroponte said that some haven't followed through on their promises.

Still, enough computers were ordered - observers estimated more than three million - that full-scale production began in July 2007.

The XO laptop's design emphasises cheap, durable construction that can survive a variety of climates and the rigors of the developing world.

The machine can withstand dirt, scratches, impact and water while also providing long battery life.

Every feature is carefully engineered to conform to these standards and to minimise the need for maintenance.

To that end, the XO laptop has no moving parts - no hard drive with spinning platters, no cooling fans, no optical drive.

Unlike most commercially available laptops, the XO's display is readable in full sunlight.

Users can switch between color and black-and-white viewing modes to save energy.

The screen "swivels" around, making the computer into a tablet or e-book.

The 433 Mhz AMD processor and 256 megabytes of SDRAM are unimpressive by today's standards, but the XO has ample speed to run its lightweight, no-frills software.

The XO's processor is designed to be energy efficient, and several devices are available to recharge the battery, including an electrical adapter, hand crank, foot-pedal and solar-powered charger.

Rather than a traditional hard drive, the XO has a 1 gigabyte flash drive, similar to what's used in USB thumb drives, the iPod nano and digital camera memory.

Google will provide online storage services, and some communities or schools will have servers with large amounts of hard drive space.

The computer also has an SD memory slot to add more storage.

Like most new computers, the XO has an integrated WiFi card.

But it does have something most computers don't have.

The XO's green "rabbit ear" antennae boost the wireless card's range up to 1.2 miles.

The computer isn't dependent on a router being nearby either.

Instead, XO laptops can form a mesh network; any computers within WiFi range can connect to one another and share Internet access through a computer that's within range of a wireless connection.

The XO's durable, waterproof plastic shell has an integrated video camera, microphone, three USB ports and speakers.

Its keyboard can be adapted for different countries and alphabets.

The Red Hat software company supplies a version of the popular open-source Linux operating system.

Other software includes a Web browser (Mozilla Firefox), a word processor compatible with Microsoft Word, a PDF reader, a music program, games and a drawing program.

Certainly something for our authorities to consider for our children!

For comments and feedback, email the author at malumnalu@yahoo.com or SMS 6849763.