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$12 MIT Computer Based On NES, Not Apple II

Posted by timothy on from the different-can-different-beans dept.

ericatcw writes "The $12 computer that a bunch of designers and grad students are talking up at an MIT conference this month as a potential, cheaper alternative to the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) for Third World students is actually a knockoff of the original Nintendo Entertainment System gaming console released in the mid-1980s, reports Computerworld, and confirmed in a comment by the project's spokesman, Derek Lomas. According to Lomas' account and pictures, the Victor-70 is an 8-bit NES clone that accepts its cartridges and is wholly contained in the keyboard. It is also likely to be an unlicensed clone made in China, according to Lomas, though he notes that may not matter patent-wise in the US, due to the length of time that has passed."

7 of 308 comments (clear)

  1. Don't blow. Use rubbing alcohol. by tepples · · Score: 5, Informative

    Blowing can actually damage edge connectors of NES Game Paks and other PCBs by depositing humidity, which attracts more dust and more corrosion. I've made an illustrated guide to cleaning cartridges.

    1. Re:Don't blow. Use rubbing alcohol. by SwordsmanLuke · · Score: 4, Informative

      rubbing alcohol (or, better yet, an electronics contact cleaner)

      Don't use rubbing alcohol! That will also eat away at the contacts. Use either an electronic contact cleaner or hydrogen peroxide.

      --
      Any plan which depends on a fundamental change in human behavior is doomed from the start.
    2. Re:Don't blow. Use rubbing alcohol. by negRo_slim · · Score: 4, Informative

      They're copper, and they're quite prone to corrosion.

      Exactly the contacts on the cart, 9 out of 10 times, had nothing to do with an NES not reading them it's the internal 72 pin connector, that once replaced provides a user accustomed to fiddling around with carts a very welcomed and joyous experience. Depending on the site you can get the parts for under $10USD.

      --
      On the Oregon Cost born and raised, On the beach is where I spent most of my days
    3. Re:Don't blow. Use rubbing alcohol. by wumingzi · · Score: 4, Informative

      In the U.S., rubbing alcohol is typically 70% isopropanol in water.

      90% alcohol is available from behind the pharmacy counter. You simply need to convince the pharmacist that you're not likely to drink it once you walk out of the pharmacy.

  2. Re:8 bit???? by sznupi · · Score: 5, Informative

    http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8517523543573905150
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SymbOS
    http://youtube.com/group/symbos

    Check those three links if you're in doubt about what can be accomplished on 8-bit system.

    --
    One that hath name thou can not otter
  3. Re:BIOS.... by Joe+Snipe · · Score: 4, Informative

    it's Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, B, A.

    --
    Sometimes, life itself is sarcasm...
  4. Re:Sweet!! by camperdave · · Score: 4, Informative
    Apparently, it's doable.

    Contiki supports per-process optional preemptive multi-threading, inter-process communication using message passing through events, as well as an optional GUI subsystem with either direct graphic support for locally connected terminals or networked virtual display with VNC or over Telnet.

    A full installation of Contiki includes the following features:

    • Multitasking kernel
    • Optional per-application pre-emptive multithreading
    • Protothreads
    • TCP/IP networking
    • Windowing system and GUI
    • Networked remote display using Virtual Network Computing
    • A web browser (claimed to be the world's smallest)
    • Personal web server
    • Simple telnet client
    • Screensaver
    --
    When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!