Linux and 8 megabits for French digital currencies

Paris – The ease of connection to the network and the many tools that can be used for the purpose available today (PCs, PDAs, mobile phones, consoles …) often make us forget that, in the major European countries, there is a substantial portion of the population not yet interconnected, or even without a computer in the house.

According to the analysis of the research firm Médiamétrie, 50% of French homes it lacks the fundamental IT tool , and 60% do not have access to the network. To take advantage of this void, hoping to fill it, the French provider Neuf Cegetel has just launched a unique commercial initiative: a connection offer called Easy Neuf, proposed in conjunction with a cheap PC. The device, called Easy Gate, looks like a box, is based on the Intel 852GM chipset (no specification regarding CPU speed) and comes with a Linux build as an operating system.

The expandability and connectivity with peripherals is guaranteed by the 6 integrated USB ports, and the memory offered amounts to 512 Megabytes of RAM plus another half a gig of flash memory for the operating system and applications. Easy Gate is offered at the price of 40 euros per month (plus a guarantee deposit of 150), and if the buyer also needs the pointing devices, keyboard, webcam and monitor, he can have them integrated into the package at an additional price of 100 euros to be paid one-time.

An entry-level configuration then, but more than suitable for the most common uses of the Internet: e-mail, web surfing, discussion groups and so on. Without considering the possibility of purchasing external USB data storage units, on which to save the contents and material recovered around websites.

The provider claims to be able to offer a bandwidth that reaches 8 Megabits per second and also offers some additional services that are particularly interesting and for which no additional outlay is required: together with the Easy Neuf + Easy Gate combination, the user will have unlimited voice calls on the VoIP platform throughout the French territory, and will be able to enjoy remote monitoring of the always optimal functionality of the machine.

This “proactive monitoring service” allows Neuf Cegetel’s technicians to constantly monitor the system, with any on-the-fly adjustments to what is wrong “without the consumer having to first contact the help line”. If a remote surveillance system is perhaps not the best of life for those who prefer the guarantee of privacy when connected, it can certainly prove to be a useful addition for the less experienced or for those approaching the IT world for the first time. and to the network, the main target of the new French product. For 8 megabits, on the other hand, there are certainly those who are willing to have their PC monitored.

Alfonso Maruccia