PC Conectado
Encyclopedia
PC Conectado, or Computador para Todos, is a tax-free computer initiative launched by the Brazil
ian government, since 2003.
PCs available through the project are relatively low-end, but therefore are cheap enough to satisfy most of the population, at R$
1200 (or about US$
500). Most PCs available have:
In the initial phases of the project, Microsoft
offered the Brazilian government the use of its Windows XP Starter Edition, a cut down version of their popular OS for developing countries. The offer was rejected due to the severe limitations of the Starter Edition. Since then, the project has used only free and open source software for general work, like Inkscape
, OpenOffice
, GIMP
and Amarok.
The Brazilian government's decision to reject Microsoft's proprietary and limited (i.e. cut-down) version of Windows XP in favor of a full featured and free Linux
operating system was widely reported in the US media and IT periodicals. This decision could be interpreted as a severe, humiliating and embarrassing rejection for Microsoft. The president of the Brazilian agency in charge of the governments technology initiatives, Sérgio Amadeu, unequivocally stated that he was against spending Brazilian tax-payers money on furthering Microsoft's monopoly:
An option providing cheap dial-up access
to the Internet
may be available soon, costing R$7 (about US$2.50). Also, a project to offer a popular broadband internet access (512 kbps), charging a monthly fee between 15 and 35 reais (between 8.5 and 20 U.S. dollars).
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian government, since 2003.
PCs available through the project are relatively low-end, but therefore are cheap enough to satisfy most of the population, at R$
Brazilian real
The real is the present-day currency of Brazil. Its sign is R$ and its ISO code is BRL. It is subdivided into 100 centavos ....
1200 (or about US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
500). Most PCs available have:
- 128 or 256 MBMegabyteThe megabyte is a multiple of the unit byte for digital information storage or transmission with two different values depending on context: bytes generally for computer memory; and one million bytes generally for computer storage. The IEEE Standards Board has decided that "Mega will mean 1 000...
RAM - A low end processorCentral processing unitThe central processing unit is the portion of a computer system that carries out the instructions of a computer program, to perform the basic arithmetical, logical, and input/output operations of the system. The CPU plays a role somewhat analogous to the brain in the computer. The term has been in...
, usually a CeleronCeleronCeleron is a brand name given by Intel Corp. to a number of different x86 computer microprocessor models targeted at budget personal computers....
processor. - 40 GBGigabyteThe gigabyte is a multiple of the unit byte for digital information storage. The prefix giga means 109 in the International System of Units , therefore 1 gigabyte is...
or 80 GBGigabyteThe gigabyte is a multiple of the unit byte for digital information storage. The prefix giga means 109 in the International System of Units , therefore 1 gigabyte is...
hard diskHard diskA hard disk drive is a non-volatile, random access digital magnetic data storage device. It features rotating rigid platters on a motor-driven spindle within a protective enclosure. Data is magnetically read from and written to the platter by read/write heads that float on a film of air above the... - LinuxLinuxLinux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
, usually Insigne Linux, a FedoraFedora (operating system)Fedora is a RPM-based, general purpose collection of software, including an operating system based on the Linux kernel, developed by the community-supported Fedora Project and sponsored by Red Hat...
based distribution fully compatible with software repositories.
In the initial phases of the project, Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
offered the Brazilian government the use of its Windows XP Starter Edition, a cut down version of their popular OS for developing countries. The offer was rejected due to the severe limitations of the Starter Edition. Since then, the project has used only free and open source software for general work, like Inkscape
Inkscape
Inkscape is a free software vector graphics editor, licensed under the GNU General Public License. Its goal is to implement full support for the Scalable Vector Graphics 1.1 standard....
, OpenOffice
OpenOffice.org
OpenOffice.org, commonly known as OOo or OpenOffice, is an open-source application suite whose main components are for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, and databases. OpenOffice is available for a number of different computer operating systems, is distributed as free software...
, GIMP
GIMP
GIMP is a free software raster graphics editor. It is primarily employed as an image retouching and editing tool and is freely available in versions tailored for most popular operating systems including Microsoft Windows, Apple Mac OS X, and Linux.In addition to detailed image retouching and...
and Amarok.
The Brazilian government's decision to reject Microsoft's proprietary and limited (i.e. cut-down) version of Windows XP in favor of a full featured and free Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
operating system was widely reported in the US media and IT periodicals. This decision could be interpreted as a severe, humiliating and embarrassing rejection for Microsoft. The president of the Brazilian agency in charge of the governments technology initiatives, Sérgio Amadeu, unequivocally stated that he was against spending Brazilian tax-payers money on furthering Microsoft's monopoly:
"We're not going to spend taxpayers' money on a program so that Microsoft can further consolidate its monopoly. It's the government's responsibility to ensure that there is competition, and that means giving alternative software platforms a chance to prosper."
An option providing cheap dial-up access
Dial-up access
Dial-up Internet access is a form of Internet access that uses the facilities of the public switched telephone network to establish a dialled connection to an Internet service provider via telephone lines...
to the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
may be available soon, costing R$7 (about US$2.50). Also, a project to offer a popular broadband internet access (512 kbps), charging a monthly fee between 15 and 35 reais (between 8.5 and 20 U.S. dollars).