The Hundred-Buck PC

skreuzer writes "MIT Media Lab founder Nicholas Negroponte has a plan to build a $100 PC for the developing world, which is supposedly going to have a 14-inch color screen and run on Linux, has the backing of AMD, Google, Motorola, Samsung, and News Corp. Apparently they're all getting mixed up in a joint-venture to produce the PC, which will be sold directly to governments only."

Comments

Will this be like drugs?

[Anonymous Coward]

Americans will start buying their $100 PCs across the border?

But does it

[Anonymous Coward]

fit in a Mac Mini?

The REAL question is....

[alan_dershowitz]

How many mouse buttons does it have, dammit?

Re:The REAL question is....

[Anonymous Coward]

How many mouse buttons does it have, dammit?

Only 1/2 a mouse button that only works on tuesday and every 3th friday.

Re:The REAL question is....

[kosmicki]

It has an optical sensor under it and the top is one giant button. It IS the mouse!

Idea of the VIC-20 Lives!

[reporter]

This idea of setting an arbitrarily low price, $100 in this case, for a personal computer (PC) and building the most features into the PC is simply a rehash of the idea behind the VIC-20. About 20 years ago, the management of now defunct Commodore predetermined the price of the new home computer to be $200 because management felt that such a low price point would be attractive for the intended market. Then, Commodore engineers added as many features as they could into the new computer. Commodore marketing called it the "VIC-20", and William Shatner (ugh!) served as the spokesman in the print (and TV?) advertisements.

Maybe, MIT should call the new computer the "VIC-10" and ask Shatner if he wants to do some ads for it. I wonder how the audience in Vietnam would feel if they see William Shatner being dubbed to speak Vietnamese?

This is really old news

[SlashCrunchPop]

I think this must be really old news because those PCs seem to already be on their way to 3rd world countries, at least judging by the following email I got today:

Dear Sir,

ASSISTANCE REQUIRED FOR ACQUISITION OF PCS

I write to inform you of my desire to acquire PCs
in your country on behalf of the Director of
Contracts and Finance Allocations of the Federal
Ministry of Education in Nigeria under the Special
Provisions US$100 PC Act #2317USNG-1A5.

Considering his very strategic and influential
position, he would want the transaction to be as
strictly confidential as possible. He further
wants his identity to remain undisclosed at least
for now, until the completion of the transaction.
Hence our desire to have an overseas agent.

I have therefore been directed to inquire if you
would agree to act as our overseas agent in order
to actualize this transaction.

The deal, in brief, is that the funds with which
we intend to carry out our proposed purchases in
your country is presently in a coded account at
the Nigerian Apex Bank (i.e. the Central Bank of
Nigeria) and we need your assistance to transfer
the funds to your country in a convenient bank
account that will be provided by you before we can
put the funds into use in your country. For this,
you shall be considered to have executed a
contract for the Federal Ministry of Education in
Nigeria for which payment should be effected to
you by the Ministry, the contract sum of which
shall run into US$26.4 Million, of which your
share shall be US$25,000 if you agree to be our
overseas agent. We hope you understand this is a
nonprofit matter under the Special Provisions
Contract Act which limits payments to agents to
US$25,000.

As soon as payment is effected, and the amount
mentioned above is successfully transferred into
your account, we intend to use our own share in
acquiring PCs. For this too you shall also serve
as our agent.

In the light of this, I would like you to forward
to me the following information:

1. Your company name and address if any
2. Your personal fax number
3. Your personal telephone number for easy
communication.

You are requested to communicate your acceptance
of this proposal through my above stated email
address after which we shall discuss in details
the modalities for seeing this transaction
through.

Your quick response will be highly appreciated.
Thank you in anticipation of your cooperation.

Yours faithfully,
BIBI LUCKY

You know what that means, don't you? That's right, they're buying 264,000 PCs!

Picture of the new device

[Sophrosyne]

Here is a great leaked picture of the new sub 100$ computer:
Here

MORE MOUSE DETAILS

[alan_dershowitz]

I've just learned that to assist those in third world countries by providing them with a familiar pointing interface, the provided mouse will be shaped like an AK-47.

Now you see...

[rbochan]

...some places in the third World, it might be difficult to dance to. This because the Kerosene record player is not a very efficient Device...

Re:But does it fit in a Mac Mini?

[game kid]

I like how people have to change the classic first post when the story already says it runs Linux, but damn, yours is genius. It makes me actually want to get one of these hundred-buck thingies so I can check.

(TFA) The low-cost computer will have a 14-inch color screen...

...nope, I doubt it. Moving on.

Re:Touch pads in the future NEED to be "one button

[BobNET]

you gesture with that finger.

I'm sure most Slashdot readers would like to gesture in your general direction with a certain finger right now.

Re:But I thought

[CheapEngineer]

As if everyone doesn't hate us *enough*, you want to give them a junk computer *and* make them try to install (and actually attempt to *operate*) Linux?

Jesus, just shoot 'em in the head and get it over with.

CheapEngineer

Re:I'd be happy to pay that without a display

[deft]

99% of slashdot wants to know what this "exercise bicycle" you speak of is.

Re:Touch pads in the future NEED to be "one button

[jaavaaguru]

Hopefully there will be a way to alias that gesture to pressing CTRL-ALT-DEL on PCs.

Apple Lisa

[BlackHawk-666]

Let's not forget Apple's other great success stories, like the Lisa personal computer and the Newton.