Duplamente porreiro! Os alunos das nossas escolas primárias vão poder adquirir este computador por um valor de 0 até 50 Euros conforme o escalão do abono de família! Finalmente, as nossas crianças vão poder beneficiar de um enquadramento tecnológico digno dos tempos onde vivemos!
Pois... 3 meses passaram... o primeiro trimestre está praticamente acabado e quem viu o Magalhães nas escolas? De facto, acho que muito poucos. Curiosamente, o Magalhães está muito presente em superfícies que vendem material informático, e quem o quiser terá de dispensar a módica soma de 285 Euros! E com a publicidade constante feita por um primeiro ministro que parece um autentico vendedor de hardware, difícil é mesmo falhar o Magalhães, com todos as encenações mediáticas que são feitas a volta do produto, onde se vêem o nosso PM a oferecer computadores aos alunos e retoma-los imediatamente a seguir, gabando tanto o facto de ser um produto nacional, como o facto de estar a ser entregue aos nossos filhos. Mas lá está: O Magalhães não está a ser entregue nas escolas. Falta de capacidade de produção dirão alguns? As lojas de informática onde o vi a ser vendido, não parecem sofrer de falta de stocks! Talvez no final do ano leitivo, os nossos alunos irão receber o seu Magalhães! De certo é que acho que esta campanha enganosa só serviu de publicidade a um produto que nunca teve a finalidade anunciada.
Mas há pior! Um amigo enviou-me um Email curioso: o Magalhães existiria desde 2006, não seria nenhum produto português, mas sim o resultado dos esforços de desenvolvimento tecnológicos exclusivos da Intel, onde Portugal seria apenas um distribuidor, como outro pais qualquer. Vejam somente como é parecido! http://www.classmatepc.com/ Na realidade, o Magalhães chama-se Classmate PC.
Vejam como fomos enganados mais uma vez e de forma tão descarada! Afinal o Magalhães não é um computador fabricado em Portugal, nem mesmo parece se destinar aos nossos alunos aos preços que foram anunciados. Decidi contactar a Intel de forma a tentar entender as jogadas dos nossos governantes.
Um amigo, conciliante, disse-me que talvez por "fabricar" entendia-se "assemblar". Retorqui-lhe que comprar e assemblar os moveis que compro no IKEA não faz de mim um fabricante de móveis!
Eis a resposta da Intel (os documentos estão em inglês e confirmam de facto as suspeitas):
Hello,
Thank you for your interest in the
project and for following up. We would like to share the latest information
available, so I am attaching the fact sheet that outlines what we had 100 days
after the announcement. Hopefully, this document will clarify some of your
questions below.
We are also collaboration on the next steps of the
project as mentioned in the latest press release (attached) related to the
ongoing development of the project.
Please feel free to email me if you
have any additional questions or concerns.
Thanks!
Intel-powered
classmate PC Team
Primeiro documento enviado junto com a resposta:
JP Sá Couto, CEIIA and Intel sign a MOU
JP Sá Couto, Centro para a Excelência e Inovação na Indústria Automóvel (CEIIA) and Intel signed today a Memorando de Entendimento (MOU) for the continuous development of Magellan initiative.
The signing of this MOU represents a new step into the improvement of Magellan project and a contribution to the development of computer industry in Portugal as well.
Delivering new features and enhancement to current ones in the Magellan computer medium long term to children, educative community, teachers and parents, is the main objective, reflected in the agreement reached now. The existing synergies between JP Sá Couto and Intel, reinforced by another common project, are combined with CEIIA know-how. With almost 60 engineers specialized in product development, Centro para a Excelência e Inovação na Indústria Automóvel is the ideal partner for the research, design and support to the industrialization of Magellan
initiative.
On top of being part of the team that will design the laptop, JP Sá Couto will manufacture, distribute and promote this new Magellan. CEIIA, a Portuguese not for profit association, will bring to the project all its technical expertise and knowledge on local needs, being up to Intel to share with the two companies the know-how in developing PCs and technologies for education.
The wish of the three companies is that Magellan, as a global educational initiative, keeps contributing to the educational development of thousands of young students at an affordable price. Wireless-capable and low cost, water- and shock-resistant, pre-loaded with educational software, adapted to educational programs of the schools, those will keep being the essential premises to the evolution of Magellan initiative, at medium-long term.
The signature took place today, November 21, in the room D. Filipa of the Hotel Penha Longa, and was attended by João Paulo and Jorge Sá Couto, from JP Sá Couto, José Rui Felizardo, from CEIIA and Brian Gonzalez, from Intel. As testimonial to the ceremony, Mr. Craig Barrett, Intel Chairman and Prime Minister, José Sócrates were present.
About J.P. Sá Couto
Founded in May 1989, J.P. Sá Couto is a Portuguese computing company, exclusively for reseller channel. It manufactures high quality computing equipment and has own brand Tsunami, one of the leader brands in computing equipment. Based in Matosinhos, with own facilities of 6.500m2, it values solidity, availability, security, efficiency, quality and competitiveness. In 2007, revenue volume was around 97 million Euros.
About Magellan
A low cost notebook computer, design for children. Presented for the fist time July 30th within the project “e-escolinha”, and launched on September 26th for the public, “Magellan – my first notebook” is the ideal partner for those who want to enter into the universe of new technologies. By end of 2008, 75.000 Magellan will be produced per month. During first quarter of 2009, JP Sá Couto will produce 150.000 Magellan monthly, and have a estimation to reach a total of 250.000 notebooks monthly starting in May.
Segundo documento enviado com a resposta (os contactos foram removidos):
Fact Sheet
100 days of Magellan Initiative
1. Background
Portugal announced a program with Intel on July 30th to provide 500,000 PCs to all children receiving basic education (equivalent to elementary school) in the country. The PCs will be branded as Magellan PC and are based on the Intel-powered classmate PC reference design. The program is one of the most comprehensive educational technology programs in the world and builds on four years of experience on deployment PCs in schools through out the whole country.
The Magellan Initiative (“Magalhães Initiative”) is a new addition to Portugal’s education technology plan, complementing Portugal’s successful two year-old e-School (“e-Escola”) project, which provides educational notebooks and Internet access to teachers and students for the secondary level of school education. To date, the e-Escola project has delivered over 300,000 PCs to teachers and secondary level
students. Both programs align with the government’s far-reaching “Technology Plan”. The umbrella plan is to increase the use of computers and the Internet to provide Portuguese citizens with the latest technology and support them to participate in a knowledge-based economy, in-turn increasing Portugal’s international competitiveness.
The Magellan Initiative goes well beyond supplying PCs to the students. It also aims to provide opportunities for the local private sector to participate in assembling the devices, providing technology support to consumers, building local job skills by acting as a catalyst for the local software and PC assembly industry and helping to create local jobs in areas such as manufacturing, training, deployment and support. The current phase of the Magellan project will create local jobs in Portugal to support the 500k PCs most of which are being assembled by a local OEM, JP Sa Couto, who will assemble many units for Portugal and work to enable local manufacturing in Venezuela by the end of 2009.
Portugal also plans to work with other countries to provide the Magellan initiative to their citizens by focusing on transferring know how for introduction of ICT in education and by leveraging the initiative to catalyze the local IT industry.
2. Intel collaboration with Portugal
According to the memorandum of understanding signed at Magellan Initiative launch, Intel is providing technology advice and support to the Portuguese government in managing, promoting and implementing the e-Escola initiatives and Magellan initiatives together. There is also a plan to create a “Competence Centre” in Portugal in order to expand the use of mobile PCs and Internet access and use that knowledge to replicate pilot projects in other countries.
3. The Concept - Magalhães Brand
The brand Magalhães was defined with the great Portuguese navigator Fernão de Magalhães in mind, who became the first person to lead an expedition across the Pacific Ocean; the first successful attempt to circumnavigate the Earth in history. The objective of the “Magellan Initiative” is also to connect with other countries, and in a similarity with Fernão de Magalhães success history to bridge frontiers.
4. Magalhães computer
The Magalhães computer is based on the Intel-powered classmate pc reference design. The full-featured student laptop has been specially developed by Intel for education and the systems are compact, simple to use, water- and shock-resistant. JP Sá Couto, the Portuguese OEM, is assembling the Magalhães computer and participated in the specific configuration to respond to local needs. The first units of
Magalhães PCs enabled by JPSC and have started delivery in 16 cities (Matosinhos, Sabrosa, Albufeira, Amadora, Castelo Branco, Faro, Lisboa, Lourinhã, Mafra, Mortágua, Paredes, Ponto da Barca, Portel, Portimão, Resende, Santo Tirso) to Portuguese children.
Current Magalhães computer carries the education-specific design of the classmate pc, powered by an Intel® Atom™ processor and supports both - Microsoft Windows* and Open Source*-operating systems.
The Magalhães computer also has parental control that enables teachers and parents to access activity logs, restrict access to websites and software and schedule computer usage.
5. Business model
Under the e-escolinha Program, all the primary school students will have access to Magalhães computer; the product will be commercialized through local telecommunication operators: Optimus, Vodafone and TMN from Portugal Telecom.
Under this program, the price of Magalhães computer will depend on the economic
capacity of the families: 0, 20 or 50 €.
6. Intel & Education
Intel has been committed to helping students realize the promise of education for decades. Under its World Ahead Program, Intel annually invests more than $100 million around the world to improve the quality of education in the fields of math, science and technology. The Intel World Ahead Program is a comprehensive initiative focused on developing communities and aims to enhance lives by accelerating access to technology.
The focus is to enable greater numbers of people with the benefits of uncompromised technology through programs that promote accessibility, connectivity, and education.
Intel also invests in local companies and works with industry partners to further expand the use of technology in order to support social and economic advancement.
7. Specific content
Intel® skoool™ Learning and Teaching Technology is an interactive Web-based resource for learning math and science The skoool.pt offers resources for high school students in math, biology, physics and chemistry, and has registered more than 60,000 visits in its first 8 months. After registering 61,800 visits, achieving 250.000
page views, significant numbers in the Portuguese educational context, the content will be extended before year end to support the Magalhães initiative.
8. Training for teachers
Organized by Ministry of Education, trainings have been delivered to 850 IT coordinators, with the participation of Intel, Microsoft* and Caixa Mágica* (Linux). Those teachers will then train the rest of the teachers all over Portuguese schools.
The methodology of the training was based in two areas: 1) equipment – the features of the Magalhães computer were presented to the IT Coordinators and 2) educational
contents – focusing the different applications of Magalhães computer for the digital teaching.
The training sessions were conducted by experienced professionals with proven international experience in the application of technology in the classroom. Some collaborative exercises have been implemented with the teachers in order to demonstrate how the Magalhães computer could be used as a vehicle to improve the thinking, searching and creating capacity of the students between 6 and 10 years old.
About Intel
Intel (NASDAQ: INTC), the world leader in silicon innovation, develops technologies, products and initiatives to continually advance how people work and live. Additional
information about Intel is available at http://www.intel.com/pressroom/index.htm and blogs.intel.com.
Intel and the Intel logo are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the United States and
other countries.
* Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.
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