The VIA pc-1 Initiative is a project of

VIA Technologies VIA Technologies Inc. (), is a Taiwanese manufacturer of integrated circuits, mainly motherboard chipsets, CPUs, and memory. It was the world's largest independent manufacturer of motherboard chipsets. As a fabless semiconductor company, VIA c ...

, established in January 2005, to help bridge the

digital divide The digital divide is the unequal access to digital technology, including smartphones, tablets, laptops, and the internet. The digital divide creates a division and inequality around access to information and resources. In the Information Age in ...

by developing

information and communication technology Information and communications technology (ICT) is an extensional term for information technology (IT) that stresses the role of unified communications and the integration of telecommunications (telephone lines and wireless signals) and computers, ...

(ICT) systems to benefit those who currently do not have

computer A computer is a machine that can be programmed to Execution (computing), carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations (computation) automatically. Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic sets of operations known as C ...

s or

Internet access Internet access is the ability of individuals and organizations to connect to the Internet using computer terminals, computers, and other devices; and to access services such as email and the World Wide Web. Internet access is sold by Internet ...

Aims

The project sought to increase individual PC and Internet access for those who could afford it, and community access for those who couldn't, via community access deployments in schools, offices, libraries, Internet cafes, village kiosks, and telecenters. The project also sought to enable PC and Internet access in remote regions. In January 2006 a development center was opened in

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

Design Concepts

The system platform architecture includes processors built by IBM using a 90-nanometer

silicon on insulator In semiconductor manufacturing, silicon on insulator (SOI) technology is fabrication of silicon semiconductor devices in a layered silicon–insulator–silicon substrate, to reduce parasitic capacitance within the device, thereby improving perfo ...

(SOI) process with a VIA digital media chipset.

Systems

VIA provides reference designs, but vendors use different brand names. Examples include iDot pc-1 systems in Taiwan, Longmeng pc-1 systems in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, Geniac pc-1 systems in

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

, Sico pc-1 systems in

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

, and Alaska pc-1 systems in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. The pc1000 and pc1500 platforms were described in 2006, using the

VIA C3 The VIA C3 is a family of x86 central processing units for personal computers designed by Centaur Technology and sold by VIA Technologies. The different CPU cores are built following the design methodology of Centaur Technology. In addition to ...

processors. The pc3500 was introduced in August 2007 using the

VIA C7 The VIA C7 is an x86 central processing unit designed by Centaur Technology and sold by VIA Technologies. Product history The C7 delivers a number of improvements to the older VIA C3 cores but is nearly identical to the latest VIA C3 Nehemiah ...

Projects

As a part of the pc-1 Initiative, VIA became involved in digital inclusion projects. These include working alongside the

Geekcorps Geekcorps is a non-profit organization that sends people with technical skills to developing countries to assist in computer infrastructure development. The non-profit was created in 2000 by Ethan Zuckerman and Elisa Korentayer in North Adams, ...

Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali ...

to design a computer for hot dusty conditions, as well as donating low-powered computers for use in Mali desert radio stations. VIA worked with the

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC ) is an inter-governmental forum for 21 member economy, economies in the Pacific Rim that promotes free trade throughout the Asia-Pacific region.

(APEC) Digital Opportunity Center (ADOC) to bridge the digital divide in emerging markets within

Pacific Rim The Pacific Rim comprises the lands around the rim of the Pacific Ocean. The ''Pacific Basin'' includes the Pacific Rim and the islands in the Pacific Ocean. The Pacific Rim roughly overlaps with the geologic Pacific Ring of Fire. List of co ...

countries. One project includes donating 20 systems for use in the VIA pc-1 ICT Center at the

Thai Thai or THAI may refer to: * Of or from Thailand, a country in Southeast Asia ** Thai people, the dominant ethnic group of Thailand ** Thai language, a Tai-Kadai language spoken mainly in and around Thailand *** Thai script *** Thai (Unicode block ...

Nguyen University of Agriculture and Forestry (TUAF) in the Northern Mountainous Area (NMA) of

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

. VIA worked with ADOC and the Institute for Information Industry (Taiwan) on an affordable computing advocacy project. VIA works with the Samoan Ministry of ICT to establish

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands (Manono Island, Manono an ...

's first solar powered information center, arranging for solar cells and computers to be provided. In

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

, VIA worked with Ikamvayouth in several projects - most recently providing computers and thin clients for a tuXlab IT center at the Nazeema Isaacs Library in

Khayelitsha Khayelitsha () is a township in Western Cape, South Africa, on the Cape Flats in the City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality. The name is Xhosa for ''New Home''. It is reputed to be the largest

References

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External links