MIT Unveils Prototype for $100 Linux Laptop

Examancer2 writes "MIT is showing off a prototype of a $100 laptop. It uses a 500MHz AMD processor, stores everything on flash memory, and runs Linux. The AC adapter acts as the carrying strap, and there is a hand crank so if you can't find a source of electricity you can charge it kinetically. The prototype laptop is also much more flexible and durable than your average notebook. In addition the unit has a screen that has a special daylight-friendly black & white mode that makes a great ebook." From the article: "Nicholas Negroponte, the co-founder of the Media Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, detailed specifications for a $100 windup-powered laptop targeted at children in developing nations. Negroponte, who laid out his original proposal at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in January, said MIT and his nonprofit group, called One Laptop Per Child, is in discussions with five countries--Brazil, China, Thailand, Egypt and South Africa--to distribute up to 15 million test systems to children." More coverage of this story available from ITWorld, InformationWeek, BBC, ZDNet, and the Associated Press.

Comments

Re:Extremely cool, but...

[10Ghz]

I include "other people trying to kill you" as part of the environment from which one needs protection.

Maybe they shouldn't then try to kill each other? Why should we help them, if they are hell-bent on tearing everything down? When they demonstrate that they are capable of building a stable society that doesn't destroy everything it touches, meybe then we should move in with money and resources? But trying to support Africa the way it is now, is equivalent to pissing in the wind.