|
Mailbox
Made in India
hardware
The not-so-enthusing results of Indian IT stalwarts is one more
reminder of the fact that it is high time for the IT industry to
change tack. India should replicate its software success in the
hardware arena as well. Depending on imports to meet our hardware
requirements could also prove detrimental to the security of the
country. China had refused to accept hardware/software from the
US, which incorporated just 128-bit encryption. But even today our
defence sector imports most of its hardware from the West. It’s
time we designed, developed and manufactured our own hardware not
only to resolve the security issue but also to stay ahead in the
IT game.
— Arun Samak, Delhi
Inspiring profile
The profile of Kanwal Rekhi (‘Sage of the New Age’) that
appeared in the May 19, 2003 issue of Express Computer-IT People,
made inspiring reading. I have always been fascinated by the celebrated
venture capitalist who has nurtured many tech entrepreneurs. It
was also interesting to know that the man who has so many achievements
to his credit needs to keep working at the age of 57 to prove to
himself that he can still combat challenges. The writer was not
only able to successfully portray Kanwal Rekhi as Silicon Valley’s
guru, but also as a person. Do keep publishing such interesting
profiles that can inspire young techies like us.
— Rajat Gupta, Kolkata
Media Lab Asia
The front page story on ‘Media Lab Asia is dead, Long Live
Media Lab Asia’ (Express Computer, June 2) was interesting.
For a change, one publication has gone beyond the obvious and tried
to focus on what should be the road ahead rather than the indulge
in the familiar mud-slinging media drama that follows such stories.
It was also heartening to know that while the incident was unfortunate,
some key lessons have been learnt as can be seen from IIT Bombay’s
case. For an industry that is plagued by fragmentation, collaboration
is undoubtedly the way ahead. Here is hoping that the rest of Indian
academia and research institutions imbibe the same lessons. If this
happens, the future of Indian IT R&D will definitely be bright.
— Nilesh Wanii, Pune
Low cost PC
This is in reference to the article on ‘Revisiting the low
cost PC market’ (Express Computer, May 19). For long, India
Inc. has been advocating the low cost PC model and a slew of solutions
have been tried to make this dream successful. While one certainly
admires the efforts of various vendors in trying to make a low cost
PC, one certainly needs to look at other avenues. The US, for instance,
replaces millions of PCs every year. A year-old PC is available
in the US for close to $100 (Rs 4,700). Why can’t the Indian
government allow imports of second hand PCs, if the stated objective
of the government is to increase PC penetration across all sectors.
It is time the Indian government started thinking on these lines
till a practical approach to the achievement of the low cost PC
dream is possible.
— Shankar Natrajann, Chennai
|
