VIA pc-1 Initiative
Encyclopedia
The VIA pc-1 Initiative is a project of VIA Technologies
, established in January 2005, to help bridge the digital divide
by developing information and communication technology (ICT) systems to benefit those who currently do not have computer
s or Internet access
.
In January 2006 a development center was opened in Mumbai
.
using a 90-nanometer silicon on insulator
(SOI) process with a VIA digital media chipset. Systems offer:
, Geniac pc-1 systems in Nigeria
, Sico pc-1 systems in Egypt
, and Alaska pc-1 systems in Mexico
.
The pc1000 and pc1500 platforms were described in 2006, using the VIA C3
processors. The pc3500 was introduced in August 2007 using the VIC C7.
in Mali
to design a computer for hot dusty conditions, as well as donating low-powered computers for use in Mali desert radio stations.
VIA worked with the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
(APEC) Digital Opportunity Center (ADOC) to bridge the digital divide in emerging markets within Pacific Rim
countries. One project includes donating 20 systems for use in the VIA pc-1 ICT Center at the Thai
Nguyen University of Agriculture and Forestry (TUAF) in the Northern Mountainous Area (NMA) of Vietnam
. VIA worked with ADOC and the Institute for Information Industry (Taiwan) on an affordable computing advocacy project.
VIA works with the Samoan Ministry of ICT to establish Samoa
's first solar powered information center, arranging for solar cells and computers to be provided.
In South Africa
, VIA worked with Ikamvayouth in several projects - most recently providing computers and thin clients for a tuXlab IT center at the Nazeema Isaacs Library in Khayelitsha
.
VIA Technologies
VIA Technologies is a Taiwanese manufacturer of integrated circuits, mainly motherboard chipsets, CPUs, and memory, and is part of the Formosa Plastics Group. It is the world's largest independent manufacturer of motherboard chipsets...
, established in January 2005, to help bridge the digital divide
Digital divide
The Digital Divide refers to inequalities between individuals, households, business, and geographic areas at different socioeconomic levels in access to information and communication technologies and Internet connectivity and in the knowledge and skills needed to effectively use the information...
by developing information and communication technology (ICT) systems to benefit those who currently do not have computer
Computer
A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
s or Internet access
Internet access
Many technologies and service plans for Internet access allow customers to connect to the Internet.Consumer use first became popular through dial-up connections in the 20th century....
.
Aims
The initiative sought to enable the next billion computer users with three goals:- Expand individual personal computerPersonal computerA personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
(PC) ownership via creating affordable, reliable, and energy efficient systems, with smaller sizes that can fit into the dense living environments often found in households. - Increase PC and Internet access opportunities for those who cannot afford to buy PCs, via community access deployments in schools, offices, libraries, Internet cafes, village kiosks, and telecenters.
- Enable PC and Internet access in remote regions via developing specialized power, heat, and dust (PHD) systems designed for extreme environmental conditions.
In January 2006 a development center was opened in Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
.
Design concepts
At the heart of the system platform architecture includes processors built by IBMIBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
using a 90-nanometer silicon on insulator
Silicon on insulator
Silicon on insulator technology refers to the use of a layered silicon-insulator-silicon substrate in place of conventional silicon substrates in semiconductor manufacturing, especially microelectronics, to reduce parasitic device capacitance and thereby improving performance...
(SOI) process with a VIA digital media chipset. Systems offer:
- Energy efficiency: Low power consumption reduces the burden on the electricity generation infrastructure and operate without air-conditioning. Devices can run on car batteries and solar panels in remote locations.
- Software compatibility: The x86 instruction set is compatible with Microsoft WindowsMicrosoft WindowsMicrosoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
and 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...
operating systemOperating systemAn operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
s and programs.
- Connectivity: Interfaces such as Fast EthernetFast EthernetIn computer networking, Fast Ethernet is a collective term for a number of Ethernet standards that carry traffic at the nominal rate of 100 Mbit/s, against the original Ethernet speed of 10 Mbit/s. Of the fast Ethernet standards 100BASE-TX is by far the most common and is supported by the...
and Universal Serial BusUniversal Serial BusUSB is an industry standard developed in the mid-1990s that defines the cables, connectors and protocols used in a bus for connection, communication and power supply between computers and electronic devices....
(USB) can connect to fixed and wireless networks, as well as peripheralPeripheralA peripheral is a device attached to a host computer, but not part of it, and is more or less dependent on the host. It expands the host's capabilities, but does not form part of the core computer architecture....
s such as digital cameraDigital cameraA digital camera is a camera that takes video or still photographs, or both, digitally by recording images via an electronic image sensor. It is the main device used in the field of digital photography...
s, digital video cameras. Optional televisionTelevisionTelevision is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
output couples with TVs with standard cathode ray tubeCathode ray tubeThe cathode ray tube is a vacuum tube containing an electron gun and a fluorescent screen used to view images. It has a means to accelerate and deflect the electron beam onto the fluorescent screen to create the images. The image may represent electrical waveforms , pictures , radar targets and...
(CRT) and liquid crystal displayLiquid crystal displayA liquid crystal display is a flat panel display, electronic visual display, or video display that uses the light modulating properties of liquid crystals . LCs do not emit light directly....
(LCD) computer monitors.
- Durability and scalability: Durable and scalable options accommodate uses ranging from Internet cafes and village kiosks to households, schools, government departments, and businesses.
Systems
VIA provides reference designs, but vendors use different brand names. Examples include iDot pc-1 systems in Taiwan, Longmeng pc-1 systems in ChinaChina
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, Geniac pc-1 systems in Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
, Sico pc-1 systems in Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, and Alaska pc-1 systems in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
.
The pc1000 and pc1500 platforms were described in 2006, using the VIA C3
VIA C3
The VIA C3 is a family of x86 central processing units for personal computers designed by Centaur Technology and sold by VIA Technologies. The different CPU cores are built following the design methodology of Centaur Technology.-Samuel 2 and Ezra cores:...
processors. The pc3500 was introduced in August 2007 using the VIC C7.
| VIA platform | VIA chipset | VIA processor | frequency Clock rate The clock rate typically refers to the frequency that a CPU is running at.For example, a crystal oscillator frequency reference typically is synonymous with a fixed sinusoidal waveform, a clock rate is that frequency reference translated by electronic circuitry into a corresponding square wave... |
|---|---|---|---|
| pc1000 | CLE266 | C3 | 800 MHz |
| pc1500 | CLE266 | C3 | 1 GHz |
| pc1500E | CLE266 | Eden | 1 GHz |
| pc2500 | CN700 | C7-D | 1.5 GHz |
| pc2500 Mobile | CN700 | C7-M | 1.5 GHz |
| pc3500 | CN896 | C7-D | 1.5–1.8 GHz |
Projects
As a part of the pc-1 Initiative, VIA became involved in digital inclusion projects. These include working alongside the GeekcorpsGeekcorps
Geekcorps is a non-profit organization that sends people with technical skills to developing countries to assist in computer infrastructure development...
in Mali
Mali
Mali , officially the Republic of Mali , is a landlocked country in Western Africa. Mali borders Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west. Its size is just over 1,240,000 km² with...
to design a computer for hot dusty conditions, as well as donating low-powered computers for use in Mali desert radio stations.
VIA worked with the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation is a forum for 21 Pacific Rim countries that seeks to promote free trade and economic cooperation throughout the Asia-Pacific region...
(APEC) Digital Opportunity Center (ADOC) to bridge the digital divide in emerging markets within Pacific Rim
Pacific Rim
The Pacific Rim refers to places around the edge of the Pacific Ocean. The term "Pacific Basin" includes the Pacific Rim and islands in the Pacific Ocean...
countries. One project includes donating 20 systems for use in the VIA pc-1 ICT Center at the Thai
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
Nguyen University of Agriculture and Forestry (TUAF) in the Northern Mountainous Area (NMA) of Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
. VIA worked with ADOC and the Institute for Information Industry (Taiwan) on an affordable computing advocacy project.
VIA works with the Samoan Ministry of ICT to establish Samoa
Samoa
Samoa , officially the Independent State of Samoa, formerly known as Western Samoa is a country encompassing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It became independent from New Zealand in 1962. The two main islands of Samoa are Upolu and one of the biggest islands in...
's first solar powered information center, arranging for solar cells and computers to be provided.
In South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, VIA worked with Ikamvayouth in several projects - most recently providing computers and thin clients for a tuXlab IT center at the Nazeema Isaacs Library in Khayelitsha
Khayelitsha
Khayelitsha is a partially informal township in Western Cape, South Africa, located on the Cape Flats in the City of Cape Town. The name is Xhosa for New Home...
.
See also
- One Laptop per Child, also called "$100 Laptop Project" or "XO-1"
- Classmate PCClassmate PCThe Classmate PC, formerly known as Eduwise, is Intel's entry into the market for low-cost personal computers for children in the developing world. It is in some respects similar to the One Laptop Per Child trade association's Children's Machine , which has a similar target market...
, from Intel World Ahead program - 50x15 (AMD), similar initiative by Advanced Micro DevicesAdvanced Micro DevicesAdvanced Micro Devices, Inc. or AMD is an American multinational semiconductor company based in Sunnyvale, California, that develops computer processors and related technologies for commercial and consumer markets...
- Personal Internet CommunicatorPersonal Internet CommunicatorThe Personal Internet Communicator is a consumer device released by AMD in 2004 to allow people in emerging countries like India, Uruguay and the Caribbean access to the internet. The PIC has been deployed by Internet service providers in several developing countries...
- SimputerSimputerThe Simputer is a self-contained, open hardware Linux-based handheld computer, first released in 2002. Developed in, and primarily distributed within India, the product was envisioned as a low-cost alternative to personal computers...