6 November 2007 - In the framework of its research on the use of low-cost computing for education, the Open Schools Program is developing a large training room at the National Institute of Educaiton which will be equipped with low-power-consumption computers.

In order to equip this room, chip manufacturer Intel has donated to the project 60 "Little Valley" computer mother boards with CPU embedded. The mother board of a computer is its central part, and includes most of its electronics. The "Little Valley" board has been announced by Intel in 2007 as its low-consumption product. A full computer based on this board (screen excluded) will use less than 25 watts, compared to the over 200 watts of a normal modern computer.

In consumption, performance, price and format (mini-ITX, 17 cm. x 17 cm.) the Little Valley competes quite well with similar solution of the other two CPU manufacturers: VIA and AMD. Further testing will be done by the OSP research team.

Low-power-consumption is a basic need for computers installed in schools in Cambodia, as few schools would be able to pay for the electricity to maintain computer labs open.

Low-power-consumption is only one of the five concepts that for OSP make low-cost computing for education, the others are low cost of hardware, software, maintenance and training.

The OSP team is already working on designing the most adecuate casing (box) for these computers, considering the encironment in which they would be placed in schools, as well as concerned with making their maintenance very simple.