Windows Cheap Enough For $2B Aussie Laptop Deal

An anonymous reader writes "Windows-based netbooks aren't too expensive to be ruled out of the Aussie government's billion dollar promise to give a laptop to every school-aged child, according to several education departments. The admission follows an earlier report that open source machines based on Ubuntu or Mandriva are the only option to deliver up to four million computers to students for under $2 billion. Microsoft itself claimed it will keep costs per unit down by hosting a lot of the educational software in the cloud rather than on the netbook devices."

Comments

The Two Billion Dollar Laptop

[atomicthumbs]

Doubt that this project will catch on.

Re:Save money

[insane_machine]

Two Laptops Per Child Act (TLPC)

Re:Educational applications in the cloud

[Dragonslicer]

But with a cloud, you can tie all of those kids into a network that Microsoft will be able to monetize, propogandize, etc.

Isn't that a bit "conspiracy theorist"? Why can't the explanation be something normal, like Microsoft making sure that every kid in Australia grows up believing that computer == Windows.

Re:Too bad there won't be a useful

[XDirtypunkX]

While Australia's wired access in rural areas is lacking, we have pretty much ubiquitous access to fast mobile (wireless) broadband. In fact, you can get 7.2mbit access pretty much everywhere in the country.

That's soon going to be 21mbit, the first large scale roll-out in the world of that particular mobile technology.

Re:The Pusher

[ozmanjusri]

if Windows is a drug , I say it's PCP

Nah, it'd have to be nicotine.

It's heavily marketed, addictive and once you're hooked, you have to keep spending and spending to get more of the same, though there's been no buzz for decades.