I-Slate's probabilistic chip-powered tablet PC for the OLPC set
By Joseph L. Flatley 
posted Mar 12th 2009 12:59PM
posted Mar 12th 2009 12:59PM
Researchers have developed a solar-powered, WiFi, stylus-controlled tablet PC called I-Slate, which makes use of the probabilistic CMOS technology designed by Dr. Krishna Palem and his team at Rice University. Introduced to the world this week at the IEEE's 125th Anniversary event, the machine is designed to replace the old chalk slates apparently still used in some parts of the world (and on re-runs of Little House On The Prairie) with something that can download lesson plans and help children with their math, among other things. But this is just the beginning -- Dr. Palem and the gang are looking forward to the day when the chips find a home in all sorts of gadgets, from cellphones to televisions and beyond. Prototype slates should start making the rounds in India this spring.
3+5? Integer? Probably 7... Maybe 8...
For developing countries so they will not know what is exact number? xD
nice...thanks to this "solar-powered, WiFi, stylus-controlled tablet PC" i'll finally be able to learn basic math.
isn't technology wonderful?
Hey jackass, dont talk about your own ignorant self. Most third world country kids are considered smarter than First World countries with the exception of maybe Japan.
So please gimme a break. Calculus is taught in the 10th grade in a developing country. Most Americans dont ever have to learn it. So please, do us a favor and do not broadcast your ignorance to the Internet.
@ arnie...
how correct you are, by the way, i love your avatar...patapon rocks!
i think the joke was that it shows "options" and it's "probabilistic" so it's saying that it's not sure which one it is.... and the next joke was that it's stupidly advanced technology to just teach basic math. but I'm sure you like having something to feel self righteous about so go right ahead.
@John
The joke is about PCMOS giving you the "probably correct" answer. You never know when its going to give you that "probably incorrect" answer... and giving that to teach kids math is a destructive force, IMO.
@ Arnie
I'm neither doubting you nor provoking you, but I would like to see some empirical evidence to back up your claim. That stuff interests me.
Did I read that correctly? The IEEE is 125 years old? Wow. I didn't know the world had begun getting so much smaller even before the airplane or intercontinental telephone...
No, IEEE was formed in 1963 - there weren't any "electronics" to speak of back in 1884. But, it was formed by two groups of people, one of which i can't recall and doesn't matter, and the other was the AIEE, American Institute of Electrical Engineers, which WAS formed in 1884.
that is a great PC and Solar powered?? Amazing. I want one too. ;P
b2busa@usa-ham.com
Who is this targeted to? They slap solar power which make me think it's for third world countries, but the solar panels are going to jack up the price, making it unaffordable for most of these countries.
It's good that there's a push to get tablets into schools, however I think Asus is poised to dominate the education market with its upcoming Eee tablet. Its small form factor, aggressive pricing (for a tablet), and upcoming windows 7 is going to win a lot of people over.
Did you say it's got a probability drive, Zaphod?
I want one!
Crap, where's my towel!?
- m