'$100 laptop' production begins

Five years after the concept was first proposed, the so-called $100 laptop is poised to go into mass production.

Hardware suppliers have been given the green light to ramp-up production of all of the components needed to build millions of the low-cost machines.

Getting the $100 laptop to this stage has been a turbulent journey for the organisation and its founder Nicholas Negroponte.Since the idea was first put forward in 2002, the low-cost laptop has been both lauded and ridiculed.

Intel chairman Craig Barret famously described it as a "$100 gadget" whilst Microsoft founder Bill Gates questioned its design, particularly the lack of hard drive and its "tiny screen".

Professor Negroponte's response has always been the same: "It's an education project, not a laptop project."

The view was shared by Kofi Annan, ex-secretary General of the UN. In 2005, he described the laptop as an "expression of global solidarity" that would "open up new fronts" for children's education.And as time passed, even some of the critics have changed their stance. Earlier this month, Intel, which manufactures what was considered a rival machine, the Classmate PC, joined forces with OLPC.(more...)

Statue of Christ Redeemer among new seven wonders of the world

Lisbon, Portugal: The Great Wall of China, Jordan's Petra, Brazil's Statue of Christ Redeemer, Peru's Machu Picchu, Mexico's Chichen Itza pyramid, the Colosseum in Rome and India's Taj Mahal were named the new seven wonders of the world on Saturday.

They were chosen according to a tally of around 100 million votes cast by people around the world over the Internet and by cellphone text messages, the non-profit organisation that conducted the poll said.People from every country in the world voted by internet or by phone message for the world's top architectural marvels, according to New7Wonders, the nonprofit organisation conducting the balloting.

The Colosseum, the Great Wall, Machu Picchu, India's Taj Mahal and Petra have been among the leaders since January.

The Acropolis and the Statue of Christ Redeemer recently received a surge in votes.

Muslim Youth Urged to Examine Themselves During This Ramadan

Ghana,Africa : It is the commonest belief in the Muslim, Christian, Jewish and Hindu societies that fasting and prayer are the only channels whereby one can speak to God or communicate with the Infinite.

For example, before Jesus started his earthly ministry, he went forth into the wilderness to be alone with God that he might look into his inner heart, and note its strength and worthiness. This took him 40 days and 40 nights. He succeeded.

In the material world, we have automobiles to speed our ways, steam engines to shorten distance and airplanes to make distance easy. The same applies to spiritual development. Fasting and affirmative prayer shorten its course. Without them no spiritual development is realized. We fast to free the soul from earthly chains and bondage. We fast to gain healing power, spiritual development, spiritual inspiration, for health, purification of one's self and obtain favour and blessing from God.

The ADM, therefore, calls on all Muslims, especially the youth to use this fasting period to examine themselves deeply, as regards to their behaviours and actions to bring their passions under control, work to give shine to their souls, remove the false sense of prestige and keep their faith in Almighty Allah a living force.(more...)

FOX HAS FAITH IN RELIGIOUS FEATURE FILMS

Los Angeles: In a departure from its normal mainstream fare, 20th Century Fox is praying its new FoxFaith film productions bring in a new congregation of cinema fans as well as fill its corporate collection plates.

Acknowledging the fast-growing – and demographically desirable – number of Americans embracing Christian beliefs, 20th Century Fox will create a new division devoted to the devoted.

The new FoxFaith film division will produce a number of straight-to-DVD and theatrical releases that focus on the core values of and materials produced by evangelical Christians. Budgets for the new films will range from $3 million to around $20 million.First out of the FoxFaith stable will be LOVE'S ABIDING JOY, a western based on the novel by the Christian writer Janette Oke. It is scheduled for release on October 6.Lending economic weight to the studio’s decision was the success of 2004’s THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST, a theatrical blockbuster that also sold 15 million DVDs.

Teenagers can change the world, says Tutu

Denver,USA - South African Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu looked across a sea of cheering teenagers from around the globe on Sunday, and told them not that only can they change the world, but they must."I look at you, and I am in awe," he said on the final day of an international call for peace and action called PeaceJam."You are the ones who are going to make this a better world."

The Archbishop, a 1984 Nobel Peace Prize recipient, was one of 10 Nobel laureates to address the 3 000 young people gathered from 31 countries for the 10th anniversary of the PeaceJam movement at the University of Denver. Over the three-day run, laureates urged the world's youth to not just yearn for peace, but to take action."

The fact of the matter is, Nobel laureates don't come floating down from Heaven," Tutu said on Sunday.(more...)

Gandhi's message preserves peace

By Jyoti Malhotra, Special to Gulf News

On September 11, a hundred years ago as well as today, India has a message for the world and for itself.

Malegaon, a small town in Maharashtra, India's richest state, was last week caught in the crucible of a Hindu-Muslim confrontation when a handful of bicycle bombs went off just as the town's Muslims were emerging from their Friday afternoon prayers.Forty-one people died in the bomb blasts and nearly 300 injured in the stampede that followed. And yet, 24 hours later, Malegaon's Muslims were emerging from their shell-shocked hellhole, to walk across to the Wadia hospital in the Hindu part of the town to donate blood to the wounded.

At first, the way a local resident tells it, many Hindus thought this was a mob come to take revenge. The fact that it was the exact opposite averted not only a full-blown riot, but gave hope to a nation despairing that the recent blasts in Mumbai had irrevocably strained the city's cross-religious ties.(more...)

‘The first sign of intelligence is not to talk’

Sri Sri Ravishankar has been winning over ever diverse adherents to his Art of Living mode to spiritualism. He dropped by for tea with the Indian Express Group reporters and editors — with the promise of a special 15-minute meditation at the end — took an array of questions to explain his vision for morality in the 21st century. Sportingly addressing both sceptics and believers, he emphasised on the need to come to terms with guilt and to be physically enabled to embrace spiritual understanding

ON HIMSELF: The first sign of intelligence is not to talk. The second sign of intelligence is not to talk if a question is not asked. The first kind of intelligence is of course that of God. I don’t pay any attention to popularity. Whatever I say is from my own experience. My strength is that I don’t speak anything not in my experience. I’m just natural. You can’t make me feel not at home anywhere. I’m never shy of criticism-either giving it or taking it.(more...)