Old is (not always) gold

We love to invest in the latest electronic gadgetry to play our music, run our household chores or to entertain us but when it comes to buying a computer we Pakistanis go for second hand and cheap (read technologically obsolete) PC without pondering over its negative consequences

By Haad Ahmed

Why is it that we opt for the latest in consumer electronics and gadgetry and mobile phones but are perfectly willing to settle for obsolete and hazardous junk when it comes to investing in PCs. Countries like Pakistan are a heaven-sent opportunity for the technologically advanced West. There won't be any better way to profitably dispose off aging and environmentally hazardous junk on to unsuspecting consumers.

Pakistan is a country of contrasts. As consumers, we love to invest in the latest electronic gadgetry to play our music, run our household chores or to entertain us. We spend oodles on food which is yet another facet of entertainment in our society. But come the time to acquire a PC for your school-going kid and the mantra one will most probably hear is "get your kid a used PC for now. No need to waste money on a new PC yet."

Neither is this wisdom restricted to individual consumers. Some well-known educational institutes have purchased significant quantities of 2nd hand PCs. Ditto for some enterprise-level business entities. Then there is the misplaced "sympathy factor" for the "common man" by the Mandarins in the Government. The current wisdom here being that availability of cheap (read technologically obsolete) PCs would at least ensure that the have-nots have some access to technology.

Before going into the pros and cons of second hand PCs, it would be advisable to understand and list the arguments that are put forth in defence of second hand PC import. Broadly speaking, these arguments can be paraphrased as under:

- Second hand PCs are helping to bridge the digital divide. This is a good thing because now children of less well-to-do families are learning to work on affordable PCs

- A PC is a PC. Old PCs can do the same things that one can do on a used PC. Besides these old PCs are foreign brands which are quite sturdy.

- Refurbished PCs provide automation and computing at an affordable price. The level of work that I do does not require me to have the latest CPU and oodles of RAM.

- Second hand PCs (import and resale) provide employment to a lot of people who would otherwise remain unemployed and thus contribute towards social unrest.

- Pakistan needs to make a great leap forward in order to catch up with neighbouring countries in the sphere of information technology (IT) literacy quickly. Environment protection is not a top priority.

Let us now dissect these arguments one by one. The objective here is to determine whether the case for second hand PCs is in fact as strong as it appears to be:

Are these computers helping to bridge the digital divide? Nothing could be farther from the truth. In fact, for serious computer users, second hand PCs are helping to create another sort of digital divide. How so? It is well known that the latest software and computer applications do not run as effectively on older machines. In some cases, the older PCs are incapable of installing these new programmes due to their limited computing power and memory availability.

How then can one argue that the digital divide is being bridged by importing obsolete technology?

By stretching one's imagination, about the only benefit that such PCs could possibly provide is a foretaste of the wonderful world of computers. An interesting analogy would be the training of fighter pilots. Would any sane person argue that it is fine to import WWII vintage aircraft to train fighter pilots since Pakistan cannot afford jet trainer aircraft? Cost cutting is good but failure to invest in quality inputs, especially in the IT field will never make Pakistan a cradle of IT professionals of international standards.

The "all computers are alike" fallacy: To a layman, yes. If all you want to do is to type out word documents and do basic math calculation in Excel all day, then why not get a typewriter and a calculator in the first place? If, however, one plans to become a professional in the IT industry or even acquire proficiency in a highly automated environment, it is always a good idea to invest in a PC, which has a good mixture of current and future capabilities and features.

The "refurbished computers are cost-effectiveness" fallacy: One of the most surprising statements in favour of refurbished PC technology is this one. The first-time buyer is most susceptible to this argument because he or she is only considering the acquisition cost of the refurbished PC in the whole equation. What they are NOT considering (knowingly or unwittingly) are the hidden costs associated with such a purchase. Consider the following:

- Refurbished PCs do not carry any warranty. Product is usually sold on an as-is-where-is basis. Once the buyer walks out of the door, they are on their own as far as warranties are concerned. Failure prone components such as HDDs usually cost Rs 2,000 to Rs 3000 to replace thus offsetting the initial "cost-saving".

- Most of the refurbished systems currently being offered cannot be upgraded. So if someone started off with 256MB of RAM and now requires 512 MB cannot do so for life or money. Why? Because in the first place RAM technology has changed drastically. Older PCs used either RD-RAM or SD-RAM both of which are no longer being manufactured. In case, one is lucky enough to get a module, it will be quite costly, as the vendor would have probably cannibalised this from a similar system.

- The total cost of ownership is the outlay that one would spend on ensuring that the machine stays up and running. Logically, this should be higher for an obsolete piece of equipment as compared to a newer machine.

To be continued

Wireless revolution for the rural community

With one of the fastest growing telecom markets in the region, it is important for Pakistan to broaden its horizons and continue to explore how this multi-functional device (cell phone) can be used to facilitate the people of Pakistan and make their lives convenient and accessible to resources that eluded them before

By Our Correspondent

Love it or hate it, mobile technology is here to stay. Take Pakistan as a prime example, everywhere you look you will see people with cell phones. Watching T.V on the go, browsing the Internet or simply staying connected, it seems that there is nothing this little hand held devices cannot do! There used to be a time when cell phones were a luxury, carried by the wealthy and a status symbol akin to owning a Louis Vuitton or Patek Philippe. However, now the cell phone has come to symbolise a reality of every day living, heralding an age of on-the-go convenience, which is also rapidly being adopted in full force by the lower income groups of society, world over.

With more than 80 million cell phone subscriptions till 2008, and facilitated through expanding networks of all major telecom operators, the phenomenon of increasing cell phone penetration is catching up with the poorer rural class of the nation. With one of the fastest growing telecom markets in the region, it is important for Pakistan to broaden its horizons and continue to explore how this multi-functional device (cell phone) can be used to facilitate the people of Pakistan and make their lives convenient and accessible to resources that eluded them before.

As a developing nation, we have a great advantage that we can draw inspiration from tried and tested models in other countries and adapt them to work effectively at home. Take for example the revolutionary concept called "G-Cash" that has been introduced in rural areas of the Philippines, where individuals and small business owners are now able to make payments and deposit or transfer money through SMS. All transactions are instantaneous and hassle free. This initiative has capitalised on the popularity and ease of text messaging and transforms a mobile phone into a virtual wallet for secure, fast, and convenient money transfers countrywide!

Looking at this example it is evident that a successful business model is dependent upon fulfilling a need or connecting the unconnected in a way they never imagined possible. With success stories like G-Cash, telecommunications solution providers in Pakistan now have only one overriding challenge; to keep abreast of the changing times and successfully adapt those concepts in Pakistan. Clearly, there is no need to reinvent the wheel, but there is a need to introduce concepts which have benefited the rural poor in other countries, and thus help take Pakistan into a period where there are fewer barriers to seamless communication and the nation as a whole can benefit through this "wireless revolution".

Technology driving motorists to distraction

Car gadgets are nothing new, but a growing crop of high-tech systems designed for both vehicles and roadways may dramatically transform how drivers commute in the 21st century. The potential for driving while distracted, a danger already well documented among cell phone users, is one major concern. So is the difficulty in predicting whether drivers will be able to understand often complex navigation and safety systems, and how they'll change their behaviour as a result

By Bryn Nelson

Sometime in the near future, a driver may be navigating a city street with a three-dimensional GPS interface and breezing through a self-organising traffic light when her bumper-mounted radar sensor slows her car to avoid a close encounter with another sedan. Whew! Now if only that tune emanating from the asphalt was a bit more melodic.

Car gadgets are nothing new, but a growing crop of high-tech systems designed for both vehicles and roadways may dramatically transform how drivers commute in the 21st century. Some, like increasingly sophisticated GPS systems, offer dashboard-mounted virtual worlds complete with realistic city landmarks. Others, such as "Melody Roads", reward drivers moving at set speeds with songs played every time their tires move over precisely cut grooves or raised patterns along a road.

But where automotive technology is concerned, can there ever be too much of a good helpful or harmful?

With so many recent arrivals popping up around the world, "I'm confident in saying we don't know very much," said Rob Foss, a senior research scientist at the University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Centre in Chapel Hill. "Some of this stuff is going to be terribly dangerous and some of it is going to be tremendously helpful, and probably everything in between. We have no idea, but we're really worried."

The potential for driving while distracted, a danger already well documented among cell phone users, is one major concern. So is the difficulty in predicting whether drivers will be able to understand often complex navigation and safety systems, and how they'll change their behaviour. John Lee, Director of Human Factors Research at the National Advanced Driving Simulator at the University of Iowa in Iowa City said, "there hasn't been a really well-stated or well-defined arrangement for assessing how new technology is changing driving for the better or the worse."

One product set to hit the markets this year is a software package that allows GPS devices to display three-dimensional maps of road elevation, surrounding terrain, nearby buildings and other landmarks. Budapest, Hungary-based Nav N Go, is calculating that photo realism will dominate the navigation market within the next five years.

Safety concerns

Some of iGO 8's landmarks are uncanny in their likenesses, like the Old Chicago Water Tower and London's Big Ben. But realism isn't necessarily an advantage if a virtual London or Chicago prevents drivers from paying attention to the real thing.

"In principal, it's like one of these Second Life (virtual worlds). You're going into a second world, when you need to be devoting every second to your real world and driving," Foss said. "It doesn't strike me as a good idea in terms of safety."

Nav N Go's van de Pas said that the virtual buildings become transparent as drivers approach them to cut down on distractions. But with sound controls, a simulated dashboard of speed and time information, and a zoom in and out function that can display a city block or an entire continent, there's no shortage of things to look at.

"Anything that takes the driver's attention away from what he or she needs to be doing, which is paying attention to the road at all times, probably is not going to be helpful," Foss said, stressing that inattention for more than two seconds can be particularly dangerous. The risk is especially high for younger, inexperienced drivers who are still learning to keep their eyes on the road.

TECHNOTALK
Google creates image search based on photo content

Google has created an algorithm called "VisualRank", which promises to return search results for images based on the content of the images rather than the text associated with it. At the International World Wide Web Conference in Beijing, two Google scientists presented a paper describing what the researchers call VisualRank, an algorithm for blending image-recognition software methods with techniques for weighting and ranking images that look most similar. "We wanted to incorporate all of the stuff that is happening in computer vision and put it in a Web framework," said Shumeet Baluja, a senior staff researcher at Google, who made the presentation with Yushi Jing, another Google researcher. The company's expertise in creating vast graphs that weigh "nodes", or Web pages, based on their "authority" can be applied to images that are the most representative of a particular query, he said.

Quantum-hall effect observed

The quantum-Hall effect (where electrons condense into an exotic quantum fluid) was thought to only occur in specially prepared materials under the influence of an intense magnetic field, but Princeton University researchers have observed the effect in a bulk crystal of bismuth-antimony without any magnetic field being present. The new work builds upon previous research that predicted that electrons should be able to form a Hall-like quantum fluid even in the absence of an externally applied magnetic field, in special materials where certain conditions of the electron orbit and the spinning direction are met. The electrons in these special materials are expected to generate their own internal magnetic field when they are travelling near the speed of light and are subject to the laws of relativity.