06-25-2005, 07:00 PM
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Executive Editor
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 29,160
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The $100 Laptop: Will it Re-Define Education or Flop?
"The $100 Laptop will be a Linux-based, full-color, full-screen laptop, which initially is achieved either by rear projecting the image on a flat screen or by using electronic ink (developed at the MIT Media Lab). In addition, it will be rugged, use innovative power (including wind-up), be WiFi- and cell phone-enabled, and have USB ports galore. Its current specifications are: 500MHz, 1GB, 1 Megapixel. The cost of materials for each laptop is estimated to be approximately $90, which includes the display, as well as the processor and memory, and allows for $10 for contingency or profit."
All that for $100? Seems too good to be true, but I don't think Nicholas Negroponte would be making claims that were unrealistic. If this can be achieved, it will certainly allow for some amazing educational opportunities in developing countries. Heck, for $100, I'd buy a few of them and leave them around the house in different rooms - especially if they're powered by a hand crank. In fact, they should sell them for $200 each in economically rich countries, and give $100 back to a village that needs it, thereby creating a 2 for 1 subsidy.
I thought this line was hilarious when talking about cutting the fat out of the laptop: "Two-thirds of their software is used to manage the other third, which mostly does the same functions nine different ways." :lol: That's sadly true - I installed Linux on an old machine and was amazed at how snappy it was compared to running Windows XP on the same box. The trade-off here is compatibility with the rest of the world, but if it's primarily a closed system with a fixed number of peripherals for the students to use (shared printers, etc.) it could work out quite nicely.
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