A group of researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) in
Beijing believe they can solve the shortage of computers facing
China's schools by using network computers (NCs) running an
embedded version of the Linux operating system.
With more than 600,000 schools in China and limited financial
resources, giving students access to computers poses a tremendous
challenge for the Chinese government.
As in most countries, the main obstacle to getting computers into
Chinese classrooms is money. The Chinese government has set aside
130bn renminbi (£10.2bn) to be spent between 2001 and 2011 to put
computers in every school. But with more than 600,000 schools, that
leaves just over 210,000 renminbi (£16,424) per school, said Shu
Huang, a project manager in the business development department at
the Institute of Computing Technology (ICT) at CAS.
Equipping a classroom with one server running Microsoft's Windows
2000 operating system and 40 NCs will cost schools about half as
much as purchasing a comparable number of PCs, he said.
Once touted as a replacement for the desktop computer, thin-client
computers like the network computer have lost some of their lustre
in recent years. However ICT researchers have developed an NC based
on an embedded version of the Linux OS that would allow schools to
stretch their budgets further and give more students access to
computers running Windows applications. "Given the market
conditions here in China, the NC is a cheap option to replace the
PC," Huang said.
The ICT-designed NC aims to cut costs for both hardware and
software. Rather than a more expensive, powerful chip from Intel or
Advanced Micro Devices, the ICT NC uses a low-end processor, such
as Via Technologies's C3 processor or a Chinese chip, like the
166MHz Fangzhou-1 processor developed by Beijing Zhongxing
Microsystem Technology, he said.
To reduce costs on the software side, ICT has looked for ways to
cut back on the cost of software licences required for the system.
In addition to using an embedded version of Linux, the NC takes
advantage of a provision in Microsoft's licensing agreement for
Windows 2000 that ICT believes will allow educational users to have
free site licences, which are required for each thin client that is
connected to the server, Huang said.
ICT is holding talks with a Taiwanese hardware maker to
commercialise the NC design but a deal has yet to be finalised,
Huang said.