INDIA'S TELECOM REVOLUTION has been extraordinary so far to say the least, and PC sales have been an important part of this, having surpassed a swashbuckling 7.3 million units in the last fiscal, thus represent¬ing a growth of 16%. But in order to sustain this growth and to make sure it is meaningful, PC penetration would have to make itselffelt in the most common denominations of our society. Understandably, affordability is a concern for the masses but that might well be a thing of the past with the announce¬ment of the Nova NetPC.

The brainchild of a partnership be¬tween Tata Teleservices and Novatium, the client-based network computer costs a mere RS.2499 and runs both Windows and Linux. Since the architecture of the system is server-driven, there is no question of the PC getting outdated, thus curtailing the necessity of additional costs at the user end. It's a PC that's very un-PC like. There's no hard disc for an operating system or software to reside on and any local applications you want to run have to be done through USB peripherals. All of this has been geared towards achieving one objective; keeping costs as low as possible and this has been done to a very large extent. It's internet and multimedia ready, so that has been taken care of and it consumes an enormous (ll) 5 watts of power, so it won't weigh heavy on your electricity bill either.

The Nova NetPC will be re¬ceived is open for debate, but the fee does gloss over extras that are either part of the deal for an everyday PC or just simply not factored in by buyers. For one, there's no monitor sold with the NetPC, so whether users will perceive the offering valuable enough to pick as opposed to a fully-featured PC
is questionable. The'n there's a monthly charge of Rs. 300-400 per month, and usage is limited to 30 hours a month, which somehow might not sit well with the target audience. Microsoft Office is also an "optional" extra (read extra charge), so the PC user that just pirated the latest version will have a real laugh.

The Novatium NetPC has all the makings of a winner, but what any ultra-cheap PC needs more than anything else is scale, and that's possibly the one thing that will elude this generation of the NetPC. While all these costs are a necessity, they cumulatively take the sheen off a product that could really appeal to lower income households. All that really remains is an entry barrier where none should have been, but with a lowered total price, the NetPC has what it takes to change the landscape of computing.