India's broadband rush is hardly on, with the target for 100 million connections still less than halfway met, but the dismal quality of service already has the telecoms and broadcasting regulator Trai getting into the swing of things. Trai will soon launch a system of quality of service (QoS) checks on broadband connections and service providers. The key elements that it will check are pricing, connection downtime and actual speeds. India is perhaps the only country where broadband can be ‘‘true’’ or ‘‘false’’, the latter meaning speeds below 128 kbps in India. Even this halfway mark is not being met by some providers outside the metros—the further you move from the metros, in fact, the more troublesome broadband connections become, with regular outages taking place like for power cuts, to cater to rising demand.

Working model of $100 laptop

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has demonstrated for the first time its $100 laptop meant for countries like India, China and Latin American countries. Nicholas Negroponte, co-founder of MIT’s Media Lab, displaced the first working model of the $100 laptop, which has changed slightly from early prototypes. The laptop no long has a directly attached crank for powering up but still goes with a slimmer version of Fedora Linux. It will run at around 2 watts power, be readable in bright light, and rugged enough to use in dusty, hot areas.

Google backs original philosophy

Google.com CEO Eric Schmidt has written to Google users, asking them to speak up for net neutrality. Barely days after Google officials agreed they may have deviated somewhat from their original funding principles in China, Schmidt’s note is way to get people involved in Washington DC’s impending vote on the future of Internet governance. In his note, Schmidt says, ‘‘The Internet as we know it is facing a serious threat...We’re asking you to take action to protect Internet freedom.’’ The message is also up in part on the Google blog site. Schmidt says that the Bill would ‘‘give big phone and cable companies the power to pick and choose what you will be able to see and do on the Internet...Creativity, innovation and a free and open marketplace are all at stake in this fight. Please call your representative and let your voice be heard.’’

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