Charlie’s Angles: Forecasting the financial weather sounds a good idea. But could we?

I once read a science fiction story whose author had clearly been inspired by watching the weather forecast one day, and on seeing the presenter talk of "highs" and "lows", had thought: what if that was not a forecast of weather, but of moods? Thus people walking along roads would be gripped by sudden happiness, or thrown into despair, as the highs and lows passed over them. Well, now it's time for the next great idea that is being very quietly suggested: the financial forecast. Yes, I know that we already get some of that sort of thing. The IMF, the Bank of England, the G7, and Uncle Tom Cobbley and all put out predictions about how various economies will fare in the months and years ahead. (Rather as with analysts' predictions, hardly anyone ever seems to go back and ask how well they did.) But if we're honest, if you compare that to the quality of weather forecasting today - which uses some of the most powerful supercomputers in the world, constantly refining their systems and using feedback loops to evaluate what they're getting wrong and right - forecasting of the financial weather is still on a par with examining seaweed to figure out if it's going to rain. Now, some people are suggesting that supercomputers can get us out of the situation that we're in: one where the banks are, what's the technical term, "in a bit of a pickle".

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Charlie's Angles: Forecasting the financial weather sounds a good idea. But could we?

India to launch credit crunch £7 laptop, world’s cheapest computer

The credit crunch computer is set to arrive tomorrow in India when officials unveil the 500 rupee (£7.25) laptop. In an attempt to bridge the "digital divide" in the country between rich and poor, the government will show off the prototype, low-cost laptop as the centrepiece of an ambitious e-learning programme to link 18,000 colleges and 400 universities across the country. India has a reputation for creating ultra-cheap technologies, a trend sparked last year by the Tata Nano , the world's cheapest car at Rs100,000 (£1,450). The computer, known as Sakshat, which translates as "before your eyes", will be launched as part of a new Rs46bn "national mission for education". This envisages a network of laptops from which students can access lectures, coursework and specialist help from anywhere in India, triggering a revolution in education. A number of publishers have reportedly agreed to upload portions of their textbooks on to the system. Prabhakar Rao, vice-chancellor of the university in Andhra Pradesh from where the Sakshat will be launched, said that India was "looking to get the hardware and software cheaper. In a developing country, costs have to be kept low so that the maximum number of students will benefit. That means cheap computers and cheap broadband access, so that students get access to ebooks and ejournals." Although half of India's 1 billion people are aged below 25, the country has fallen behind in terms of university places, with only 11% of students enrolled, compared with double that in China. India's bigger northern neighbour already has 180 million internet users, five times India's total. Designed by scientists at the Vellore Institute of Technology, the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore, the Indian Institute of Technology in Madras and the state-controlled Semiconductor Complex, the laptop has 2Gb of Ram and wireless connectivity. In an attempt to keep costs low, experts say it is unlikely to use familiar Microsoft Windows software. Officials are confident that the Rs500 price tag can be met. RP Agarwal, the top civil servant for Indian higher education, told newspapers last week that "at this stage, the price is working out to be $20 [Rs1,000] but with mass production it is bound to come down." The Indian machine would also be considerably cheaper than the "$100 laptop", the lime-green computer known as the Children's Machine or XO that was designed by scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the US. Launched in 2005 in a flurry of praise by Nicholas Negroponte, the former director of MIT's Media Lab, the XO has failed to take off, partly because it costs $200 (£141) to make. However it has given rise to low-cost computers that save money by getting rid of hard drives and using cheap screens. The Classmate PC made by Intel, the world's biggest microchip manufacturer, can be bought for $400. Taiwan's Eee PC costs as little as $200. However, some experts doubt that a laptop at $20 or $10 is commercially sustainable. Rajesh Jain, managing director of Netcore Solutions and a pioneer of low-cost computing in India, said: "You cannot even [make] a computer screen for $20.

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India to launch credit crunch £7 laptop, world's cheapest computer

India to launch credit crunch £7 laptop, world’s cheapest computer

The credit crunch computer is set to arrive tomorrow in India when officials unveil the 500 rupee (£7.25) laptop. In an attempt to bridge the "digital divide" in the country between rich and poor, the government will show off the prototype, low-cost laptop as the centrepiece of an ambitious e-learning programme to link 18,000 colleges and 400 universities across the country. India has a reputation for creating ultra-cheap technologies, a trend sparked last year by the Tata Nano , the world's cheapest car at Rs100,000 (£1,450). The computer, known as Sakshat, which translates as "before your eyes", will be launched as part of a new Rs46bn "national mission for education"

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India to launch credit crunch £7 laptop, world's cheapest computer

Microsoft cuts jobs and tech firms feel the pain

The world's largest software company, Microsoft, is slashing 5,000 jobs in the first radical cutbacks in its 34-year history as the global economic downturn sinks its teeth into the once dynamic, historically resilient technology industry. Microsoft yesterday warned of a "vast" fall-off in demand for personal computers as cash-strapped buyers scale back on expenditure.

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Microsoft cuts jobs and tech firms feel the pain

CES: Gambling on the gadgets of the future

To most people, Las Vegas is the home of cheesy entertainment, drunken weddings and has-been crooners. But this week the city became the heart of the hi-tech future where a purse-sized laptop and a mobile phone made from recycled plastic bottles were just some of the gadgets of the future on display. The annual Consumer Electronics Show, one of the biggest of its kind in the world, has seen more than 2,000 companies unveil their most innovative, exciting – and outlandish – products in the charge to wow consumers. Among the cutting-edge gadgets generating the most buzz was the tiny Sony Viao P laptop – which has an 8-inch screen and costs around £800, but could easily be mistaken for a purse thanks to its incredibly slim design and shiny case. On the other side of the coin, the Eee keyboard from Taiwanese company Asus was also generating interest of a different sort – from those who were left puzzled by the machine; a computer keyboard with a fully-functional PC hidden inside

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CES: Gambling on the gadgets of the future

Tech Weekly podcast: preview of 2009

Our predictions for what will be big in technology in 2009.

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Tech Weekly podcast: preview of 2009