digg

Facebook Connect Join Digg About
See the original image at abcnews.go.com

Forget the '$100 Laptop' ... Try $12!

abcnews.go.com — As the prices of educational laptops for children in developing countries creep upward, a group of researchers attempts to create a new, even lower-tech computer that would cost as little as $12.

Who dugg this? Made popular Aug 9, 2008

Digg DudeWhat is Digg?

Digg is a place for people to discover and share content from anywhere on the web. Digg surfaces the best stuff as submitted and voted on by the community. Take the Tour to learn more.

122 Comments

show profanity settings
expand all
  • FlyingPhotog, on 08/08/2008, -4/+86They could have made the gun a little less realistic-looking.
  • Tippx, on 08/09/2008, -10/+88but will it run crysis?
  • inactive, on 08/09/2008, -1/+56Since this is for developing countries, the gun is probably real for fending off violent robbers trying to steal the laptop.
  • Kallius, on 08/09/2008, -2/+54$12 laptops with screens have been available for some time. They are sold under the brand name "Etch-a-Sketch."
  • SublimeRuin, on 08/08/2008, -2/+48Dugg for it's stylish design and cunning use of primary colors.
  • cloudberries, on 08/09/2008, -5/+41but will it run Wolfenstein 3D?
  • u8myfoood, on 08/08/2008, -2/+36Except the $100 laptops come with a screen, this doesn't have a screen.
    In places like India, as stated in the article, it may work, but in places with out the resources to buy tv's, it would seem more expensive than the laptop
  • VandyB, on 08/09/2008, -1/+28Yes Tippx, the $12 Laptop will run Crysis.
  • inactive, on 08/09/2008, -0/+19Don't you mean zero and one?
  • smacksaw, on 08/09/2008, -2/+20This needs an Onion article on the competitor to this, a $2 solar calculator and then it being eclipsed by a $0.25 abacus.
  • bdubatdi, on 08/08/2008, -0/+17cereal killer huh?

    damn..spilled my serial

  • EvilKaz, on 08/09/2008, -1/+17thats what happens when you put your pecker in the usb port.
  • juankovo, on 08/08/2008, -10/+25I recently bought a p-p-p-powerbook for just $11.
  • RedneckRandy, on 08/09/2008, -3/+18I am right now proposing a new project. A $1 computer. It will be made from a silver dollar. It can do a simple binary calculation. Heads is one. Tails is two.
  • inactive, on 08/09/2008, -0/+11boo hiss, every kid wants a realistic looking toy gun.
  • bakagaigin, on 08/09/2008, -0/+10can't believe you made that reference...killing myself for getting it.
  • mizarone, on 08/09/2008, -0/+10The computer proposed is not a laptop, its a console device similar to the Apple II or Commodore 64. It is designed to be plugged into a TV.
  • Dundasbro, on 08/09/2008, -1/+9Conversely, it could also aid the robbers in stealing the laptop without having to afford a real gun.
  • inactive, on 08/09/2008, -0/+8Yeah, damn kids murdering legends like Cap'n Crunch and Count Chocula...
  • ZephyrNinety, on 08/09/2008, -1/+9I think they need food before they need Duck Hunt...
  • godzilla8nj, on 08/09/2008, -0/+8So how does "Totally original, I swear" work? http://digg.com/hardware/12_Rival_to_OLPC
  • KingLeo, on 08/09/2008, -2/+10You obviously didn't read the article. It clearly states that the guy had a light bulb moment when he saw a game being sold that includes controllers, a gun and a keyboard. The actual $12 computer has not been developed yet.
  • Shadowgamers, on 08/09/2008, -0/+7I am a Cereal Killer too. Infact, I've killed so much Cereal that I'm being hunted by the United States of Cerealica for crimes against Cereality. But they'll never find me. Ha ha! I'm too smart for them...
  • BooLag, on 04/23/2009, -0/+7Cause toy guns are for adults...
  • BooLag, on 04/23/2009, -0/+6Won't anyone THINK OF THE CHILDREN?!!
  • Smwbigboss, on 08/09/2008, -3/+9Or how about you give each person a computer just powerful enough to run a remote desktop. Then give each town a $600 desktop or something and use virtualization software so they each share the power from that one. That seems like a much cheaper way to go, IMO.
  • theadvinci, on 08/09/2008, -0/+6No beer today... I'll buy a laptop instead.
  • Xoti, on 08/09/2008, -0/+6I guess the gun is for when someone tries to steal the 12 dollar laptop.
  • andymci, on 08/09/2008, -0/+6Keep in mind that the image shown is from a product already being sold on the streets... at least, that's the impression I'm getting. From the article:

    "Variations on that original console sell in India for anywhere between $10 and $20 and plug into your TV, complete with game controllers and a computer keyboard."

    I highly doubt the final "$12 computer", the one for educational purposes, would ship with an imitation toy gun. If you look at the second photo -- http://a.abcnews.com/images/Technology/ht_12_dolla ... -- you can see that the system he's typing on is different from what the article shows on the first page.

  • Black6x, on 08/09/2008, -1/+7I think you mean "you're" in place of your (if you didn't you're and idiot and you should have :P ).
  • Radan, on 08/09/2008, -1/+7Though, then they would have to set up a wifi connection through the town or draw weather padded ethernet cables to the houses, which might turn out to be quite difficult, seeing how they most likely don't even have electricity.
  • naughtyboy, on 08/09/2008, -0/+6Applying More's law to the assumption that the $12 laptop is running a 500mhz processor. It will run Crysis in about 5 years from now.
  • subarusqueege, on 08/09/2008, -2/+8Building these for a long time, called a calculator
  • onimusha115, on 08/09/2008, -0/+6I dont think thats a picture of the finished product, in the article it said this was just a proposal at the moment. I think that was a picture of the NES rip off that you can buy for 10-20 dollars, I doubt they would pack an educational laptop with a gun attachment.
  • Mutton, on 08/09/2008, -0/+5Stop being so naive. How would they learn to hunt for their own food without Duck Hunt?
  • Disease, on 08/09/2008, -0/+4You never had a cap gun when you were a kid?
  • tmattoneill, on 08/09/2008, -1/+5Toy?
  • jonnyfatman, on 08/09/2008, -1/+5'an'
  • MrSteamTank, on 08/09/2008, -0/+3The only country that has truly implemented that laptop is Uruguay(plan ceibal if you want to look it up) and almost everybody has a tv here. I´m living here right now and their is internet access everywhere. If anything sometimes it´s even easier to get internet service because it´s state controlled making it cheaper than the service in many first world countries.
  • dualboy24, on 08/09/2008, -0/+3Yeah but the $100 laptop costs $187, a device for $12-$50 could really make a difference in nations like India. Too bad more of the used equipment from first world nations does not seem to get a new home with many of these people.
  • Grassmunk, on 08/09/2008, -0/+3So do children in this country (america).

    Had you read the article it's not for the poor its for developing countries where people have electricity and have a TV. Countries like China, India etc. This is not for countries who can't afford to feed their people. But thanks for playing.
  • lukemeister, on 08/09/2008, -0/+3Haha, nice. When I first saw the picture that goes along with the article I had to check to see if I was at the Onion web site. Nope.
  • TheMachine1, on 08/09/2008, -0/+3Until they bundle a gun with Etch-a-Sketch I have to give that Indian laptop the edge.
  • accelleron, on 08/09/2008, -0/+3How about a 2.68 MHz processor?
  • thewump, on 08/09/2008, -0/+2Based on pricing of the $100 laptop, the $12 version could cost as little as $79.95!
  • mnky9800n, on 08/09/2008, -0/+2Since when was pink a primary colour?
  • Myztry, on 08/09/2008, -0/+2All mobiles, phones, routers, etc have more than enough power to create a fully fledged computer.
    The Commodore Amiga used a 7Mhz processor and 512k of RAM, and had a fully fledged 32bit pre-emptive multitasking GUI Operating System.
    Seriously, what is that kind of processing power and storage worth these days. A couple of dollars in an intergrated chip.
    But back then they built the OS to suit the hardware, and not the wrong way around. The only thing stopping such a thing is bloatware.

  • gannondork, on 08/09/2008, -0/+2they already have a c64 complete on a chip with sdcard capability via an add on board, they were sold as plug and play joystick things, they had flash memory on board and the ability to hook up to a disk drive from a classic c64. I suggested that they market the device in 3rd world countries to the developers, instead of doing it they went bust and got into a lawsuit with the creator of the system on a chip. I have a modded on though that i can hook up to a keyboard and play around in microsoft basic.
  • krazyjosh5, on 08/09/2008, -1/+3I think you mean "an" in place of and (if you didn't you're an idiot and you should have :P ).
  • BackEnThaWomb, on 08/09/2008, -0/+2As I saw the crysis comment, I was hoping I wouldn't see a, "***** you..." comment....you have failed.
  • Fetching more discussions...
    Show 51 - 100 of 126 discussions

  • Add a Comment

    Login or register to comment!
    Or, sign-in super fast with your Facebook account ...


© Digg Inc. 2009 — Content created and posted by Digg users is dedicated to the public domain | Terms of Use Updated | Privacy Policy
DIGG, DIGG IT, DUGG, DIGG THIS, Digg graphics, logos, designs, page headers, button icons, scripts, and other service names are the trademarks of Digg Inc.