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Bill Gates Rubbishes $100 Laptop
Techtree News Staff, Mar 17, 2006 1657 hrs ISTBill Gates has publicly slammed the much-hyped $100 laptop being developed at MIT, backed by funding from Google.
Philanthropist and Microsoft Chairman and Chief Software Architect, Bill Gates, has publicly slammed the much-hyped $100 laptop that is being developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) - backed by funding from Google.
Dubbed "One Laptop per Child," the $100 laptop project aims at providing inexpensive computers to people in developing countries. However the project has come under criticism, that these laptops would lack in several features that are found on typical personal computers such as hard disks and software.
Earlier this year Google co-founder Larry Page pledged his company's support for MIT's project, and showed a model using a crank as a source of power.
At the Government Leaders Forum held in Washington, Gates asserted that the last thing one would expect from a shared-use computer is the lack of a disk and the presence of just a tiny little screen.
He expressed the view that hardware is only a small part of the cost of providing computing capabilities, and that the big costs typically come from network connectivity, applications and support.
Gates suggested that for a project wherein computers are being developed for shared-use, it would be advisable to get a broadband connection and get somebody to help support the user, rather than having to crank the computer while trying to type.
Sometime back Kofi Annan heaped praises on the $100 laptop, calling it an "expression of global solidarity," however those in the business of making computers have not shied-away from expressing their "real views" on the project - Bill Gates being the latest case in point.
There have been no comments on the matter, from representatives for the project.
Related News:
Quanta to Build $100 Laptop
Dubbed "One Laptop per Child," the $100 laptop project aims at providing inexpensive computers to people in developing countries. However the project has come under criticism, that these laptops would lack in several features that are found on typical personal computers such as hard disks and software.
Earlier this year Google co-founder Larry Page pledged his company's support for MIT's project, and showed a model using a crank as a source of power.
At the Government Leaders Forum held in Washington, Gates asserted that the last thing one would expect from a shared-use computer is the lack of a disk and the presence of just a tiny little screen.
He expressed the view that hardware is only a small part of the cost of providing computing capabilities, and that the big costs typically come from network connectivity, applications and support.
Gates suggested that for a project wherein computers are being developed for shared-use, it would be advisable to get a broadband connection and get somebody to help support the user, rather than having to crank the computer while trying to type.
Sometime back Kofi Annan heaped praises on the $100 laptop, calling it an "expression of global solidarity," however those in the business of making computers have not shied-away from expressing their "real views" on the project - Bill Gates being the latest case in point.
There have been no comments on the matter, from representatives for the project.
Related News:
Quanta to Build $100 Laptop
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