Microsoft installs XP, Office on cheap Portuguese laptops

October 04 12:05:01 PM, Yahoo News

A schoolgirl poses with her new 'Magellan' computer at a primary school in Lisbon September 23, 2008. (Nacho Doce/Reuters)

Reuters - Microsoft launched on Friday a software package for a Portuguese ultra-cheap laptop for school children that the government hopes will boost the country's technological edge in education.

Portugal started rolling out the "Magellan" computer at schools last month. It aims to hand out a total 500,000 of the laptops, which cost just 50 euros ($69.29) for school children, at home and export it to countries in Latin America and Africa.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer unveiled the software package called "Magellan Learning Suite" to go with the laptops, which will include Windows XP and Office in addition to development applications, free email and instant messaging.

"This is a unique, amazing and wonderful program on a global scale," Ballmer said at the presentation. "It's a great example to show how the private and public sectors can work together to create new opportunities."

Portuguese Socialist Prime Minister Jose Socrates has made boosting poor education standards and technology at schools a priority of his government.

"We all know that one of the fundamental keys for the country to progress lies in technology," he said. "We all know that the presence of computers in schools boosts education."

The government hopes the Magellan project, named after the 16th century Portuguese explorer, will raise computer access at schools to two students per computer by 2010, up from five now.

Portugal has developed a fledgling software industry in the past few years and in June Microsoft bought Portuguese mobile software company MobiComp.

Ballmer said the Magellan project could help create a platform for the computer industry development in Portugal.

"This is an important step forward for Portugal's high-tech industry," Ballmer said.

While the computer will be assembled in Portugal by a company called JP Sa Couto, it is based on Intel's Classmate PC, a cheap computer that has been adopted in various formats in countries such as Brazil and Indonesia.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez signed an agreement to buy 1 million Magellan laptops for Venezuelan schools. The computers also went on public sale in Portugal last week for 285 euros ($394).

(Reporting by Axel Bugge; Editing by Sharon Lindores/Andrew Callus)

Source

Fewer Than 1% Arrested From TSA's "Behavior Detection"
An anonymous reader writes "Fewer than 1% of airline passengers singled out at airports using the much vaunted 'suspicious behavior detection' techniques are arrested, Transportation Security Administration…
Google's virtual world Lively to die next month
AP - Lively, a virtual reality service from Google Inc., is dying.
Google picks Austria village for new European server farm
AFP - Google has bought a 75 hectare (185 acre) property in the north of Austria to erect a new European server farm within two years, the US Internet search engine giant said Thursday.
Certification credited with boosting online confidence
CNET - Extended certificate validation for Web sites has boosted online confidence in 2008, according to a statement released Thursday by the Authentication and Online Trust Alliance (AOTA).
Emerging markets to drive mobile growth: British watchdog
AFP - The top emerging economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China will drive mobile services growth in the coming years, a new report by Britain's telecoms regulator Ofcom said Thursday.
Sun receives complaint about Java vetting process
InfoWorld - Sun Microsystems has heard from a company concerned about the vetting process of Java and open source, a Sun official said on Wednesday.
A future without programming
InfoWorld - A few years ago, self-proclaimed nondeveloper Kevin Smith worked for a software company that tried to build a project tracking tool using Microsoft .Net. Some 15 developers spent a year with…
Virgin Media sees mobile broadband as complementary
Reuters - British cable operator Virgin Media said it did not believe mobile broadband had mass appeal in the short term, but it entered the market to offer the service in its high-end mobile, broadband…
Towards a World Wide Grid?
Roland Piquepaille writes "In recent months, the concept of 'cloud computing' was all the buzz. European researchers think about another name, the World Wide Grid, which could run on top of the Internet.…
When Agile Projects Go Bad
blackbearnh writes "CIO Magazine has an article up looking at some of the ways that Agile projects can fail, or Agile can be misapplied in organizations. Some of the issues raised may not be new, but folks…
Guns N' Roses album to debut on MySpace
CNET - Updated at 8:55 p.m. PST to reflect that NPR Music had the streaming debut of Paul McCartney's album.
U.S. woman posed as teen online, teased girl: attorney
Reuters - A Missouri woman established a fake identity online to torment a vulnerable teenage girl who later committed suicide, federal prosecutors said on Wednesday in a trial that is being closely watched…
Review: New BlackBerrys cool but can't beat iPhone
AP - With the recent releases of three new BlackBerrys across three different wireless providers, Research In Motion Ltd. has fired back at Apple Inc. in the Great Smart Phone Skirmish of 2008.
Physicist Admits Sending Space-Related Military Secrets To China
piemcfly writes "Chinese-born physicist Shu Quan-Sheng Monday pleaded guilty before a US court to violating the Arms Export Control Act by illegally exporting American military space know-how to China.…
Review: New BlackBerrys cool but can't beat iPhone
AP - With the recent releases of three new BlackBerrys across three different wireless providers, Research In Motion Ltd. has fired back at Apple Inc. in the Great Smart Phone Skirmish of 2008.
Microsoft lets Zune music subscribers keep tunes
AP - Microsoft Corp. is giving an early holiday gift to people who pay for all-you-can-listen access to the Zune digital music store: 10 songs to keep each month, included in the $14.99 monthly subscription…
Interviewing Experienced IT People?
thricenightly writes "After more than 20 years in IT I've learned that the most valuable people in a team are frequently the old timers. Young pups straight out of college might (think they) know all the…
New Xbox Experience Launched To Battle Sony's Offering
NewsFactor - Microsoft launched its New Xbox Experience on Wednesday, expanding the existing service to compete with Sony in turning the video-game console into an entertainment hub.
China's Baidu.com fights to rescue reputation
AP - Baidu.com has been the star of China's Internet world. But now the search engine dubbed "China's Google" is scrambling to rescue its reputation after state TV accused it of letting unlicensed suppliers…
Microsoft, Novell eye Moonlight beta, system management
InfoWorld - Marking the two-year anniversary of their controversial interoperability agreement, Microsoft and Novell this week are announcing upcoming availability of both the beta version of Moonlight,…
Microsoft's 'New Xbox Experience' Goes Live
PC Magazine - Microsoft on Wednesday unveiled a revamped Xbox gaming console that includes streaming HD movies from Netflix, a revamped dashboard, and movie and game purchases via Xbox.com.
`Fake Steve Jobs' stops blogging as the 'Real Dan'
AP - It was bad enough when Dan Lyons stopped sharing his musings about the technology scene in a hilarious satire of what Apple Inc. founder Steve Jobs would be like as a blogger.
McColo Briefly Returns, Hands Off Botnet Control
A week ago we discussed the takedown of McColo (and the morality of that action). McColo was reportedly the source of anywhere from 50% to 75% of the world's spam. On Saturday the malware network briefly…
Ballmer dismisses Yahoo buyout but open on search
AP - Microsoft Corp. is no longer interested in buying all of Yahoo Inc., CEO Steve Ballmer said Wednesday, though he told shareholders that the company would still be "very open" to a collaboration on…