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Laptop Yes, but No More $100
Techtree News Staff, Jun 05, 2006 1356 hrs ISTThe head of the "One Laptop Per Child Project" (OLPC), Nicholas Negroponte, has said that his "$100 laptop computer" will ship for more...
The head of the "One Laptop Per Child Project" (OLPC), Nicholas Negroponte, has said that his "$100 laptop computer" will actually ship for a price ranging between $130 and $140, when it becomes available to children in developing countries by the middle of next year.
However, Negroponte hopes to bring down the price to the previously-planned $100, by 2008, when the production apparently reaches five to six million, thus creating economies of scale.
The OLPC project is aimed at equipping millions of children in the developing and underdeveloped world with an affordable computer. India is one of the seven countries world-wide selected for the launch of the project, scheduled for April next year.
The first generation machine will have a 500 MHz AMD processor, 256 MB of RAM, and 512 MB Flash memory; it will not have a hard disk, but will have four USB ports and a wireless LAN connection. The laptop will run on the Linux operating system.
Moreover, the machines will automatically connect with others, forming a mesh network to support communications and Internet connection sharing. The machines will run software including the Skype Voice over IP application.
In order to prevent damage from dust or water to the 2-pound laptop, the keyboard and expected four USB ports will be sealed. The computer will be designed to require just 2 watts of power.
The low-power, 7-by-4-inch LCD screens, will be the most innovative part of the notebook. The notebook display will run in both, color and black-and-white modes. In black-and-white mode, the 1,110 by 830 pixels, backlit screen will be readable under direct sunlight. In color mode, the screen will revert to 640 by 480 pixels.
In order to overcome infrastructure issues, such as lack of Internet access, the OLPC hopes to distribute cheap satellite dishes whose range will be lengthened by the laptops themselves, which will connect to each other in a mesh network.
It is learnt that the OLPC has already designed a $100 server with 200GB of storage that can be sent to individual villages for caching or storage devices.
According to Negroponte, this much-touted laptop will be able to be used in a variety of ways, including as a computer, as an electronic book, as a television, and as writing or drawing tablet.
However, Negroponte hopes to bring down the price to the previously-planned $100, by 2008, when the production apparently reaches five to six million, thus creating economies of scale.
The OLPC project is aimed at equipping millions of children in the developing and underdeveloped world with an affordable computer. India is one of the seven countries world-wide selected for the launch of the project, scheduled for April next year.
The first generation machine will have a 500 MHz AMD processor, 256 MB of RAM, and 512 MB Flash memory; it will not have a hard disk, but will have four USB ports and a wireless LAN connection. The laptop will run on the Linux operating system.
Moreover, the machines will automatically connect with others, forming a mesh network to support communications and Internet connection sharing. The machines will run software including the Skype Voice over IP application.
In order to prevent damage from dust or water to the 2-pound laptop, the keyboard and expected four USB ports will be sealed. The computer will be designed to require just 2 watts of power.
The low-power, 7-by-4-inch LCD screens, will be the most innovative part of the notebook. The notebook display will run in both, color and black-and-white modes. In black-and-white mode, the 1,110 by 830 pixels, backlit screen will be readable under direct sunlight. In color mode, the screen will revert to 640 by 480 pixels.
In order to overcome infrastructure issues, such as lack of Internet access, the OLPC hopes to distribute cheap satellite dishes whose range will be lengthened by the laptops themselves, which will connect to each other in a mesh network.
It is learnt that the OLPC has already designed a $100 server with 200GB of storage that can be sent to individual villages for caching or storage devices.
According to Negroponte, this much-touted laptop will be able to be used in a variety of ways, including as a computer, as an electronic book, as a television, and as writing or drawing tablet.
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neo
,bombay, on Jun 20, 2006 01:45 PM
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,Surat, on Jun 10, 2006 12:33 PM
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,JackVille, on Jun 05, 2006 02:54 PM
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,Kirkland WA, on Jun 06, 2006 09:45 AM
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