Pradhan, who spent 23 years with top IT companies in the U.S., says an "affordable computing solutions lab" that will be inaugurated in the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay in mid-April is the first step towards this goal. "A lot of work has gone into R&D for computer software. But little has been done on optimisation. We need to know for a particular solution what exact hardware can be optimally used," says Pradhan, India manager for Via Technologies. The lab at IIT-Bombay will see the setting up of some 60-plus computers of various capacities that can be used by anyone wanting to test their software functionality and hardware requirements. The computers are being "permanently given, not sold" to IIT-Bombay by Via Technologies, a billion-dollar hardware-manufacturing firm working mainly out of Taiwan. Pradhan's next goal is to build similar centres in other IITs. "We want to take India to the next level (in hardware). In the world of software, people here have already done a phenomenal job," says this former top engineer of IBM, who has a degree in mechanical engineering from IIT and is one of the rare expatriate Indians to strike it big in the hardware world in Silicon Valley before opting to return home. If his plans materialise, Pradhan sees some 30 such labs across India. "We would like the IITs to give a third-party, honest opinion." This plan, says he, could cost "one or two million dollars" and take up to two years to implement. "If there are times when my solution (Via chips) do not work, I'm fine with that," says Pradhan, traces of his American accent peeping through. But Pradhan is confident that price-sensitive India could gain from avoiding the herd-mentality of using the fastest and latest computer processor even for simple tasks like running an office computer. "People say lowering the cost of computers (to 15,000) is doable in the next two years. Actually that's not true. It's here today!," says he. Pradhan has linked up with Rajesh Jain, a Mumbai-based IIT-educated whiz who made history by selling his content-packed websites for nearly 500 million and is now focussing on software solutions to lower the cost of computing in India. "Jain has some great ideas. By providing hardware solutions, we can (move ahead together)," said Pradhan. Via Technologies says its low-cost computers in India have been doing well. "In March we sold 12,000-14,000 computers. That's a decent number," says Pradhan. Each computer -- with an 800 MHz processor, 128 megs RAM, a CD-ROM drive, floppy drive, 20 GB hard disc, internal modem, keyboard, mouse and monitor -- costs 15,000 plus taxes. Lower-end 'thin-clients' that can be used on networks cost as little as 11,000. Services charges could be extra. India, in spite of claiming to be a software superpower, has only a limited number of computers available. It is estimated that less than five out of every 1,000 Indians own a PC, on an average. "For me, it (expanding computing in India) is a mission... even if I have to put in 100-hour weeks," says Pradhan. Via Technologies president and CEO Wenchi Chen of Taiwan is expected to be in Mumbai for the April 14 launch of the affordable solutions computing lab at IIT-Bombay.
Source: IANS