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- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+26But still smaller than a regular calculator :D
- dclowd9901, on 10/12/2007, -3/+25Of "it?!" You should be ashamed! Speaking of a little girl as an object, and sick, to boot!
- biko523, on 10/12/2007, -4/+24$100 laptop!?
my $2000 MacBook Pro doesn't even have a swivel monitor!!!! - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+19I like how they sat a girl next to the laptop in one of the pictures, but there's like five adult male hands fighting for use of it.
- dharm, on 10/12/2007, -3/+19the link says that its priced around 135$ right now
"According to Negroponte, the $100 laptop will initially cost around $135 and he expects the price to drop to $50 by 2010." - djblast, on 10/12/2007, -6/+20the resolution on it is nuts, look how big the calculator is
- Lurk3r, on 10/12/2007, -1/+15Am I the only one who misses the charge up crank?
- dharm, on 10/12/2007, -4/+16seems its running fedora core 5 (by looking at the wallpaper)
but just cause its cheap, doesnt mean it needs to be orange like a plastic toy - BrandonAbell, on 10/12/2007, -1/+12The point of the $100 laptop is to be able to load it up with books and other educational materials. Ever bought books for college? $100 buys maybe one solid textbook. With a little education, fewer of those Ugandans will be struggling to feed their families. . .
And it's ugly and orange to make it obvious that if somebody other than a kid has it, they stole it from a kid. That reduces its value to anybody other than the children it's designed for.
The people who designed this thing are smarter than you and smarter than me. Perhaps you should engage your brain before your mouth next time you feel like reacting to a bunch of pictures of something you know nothing about. - NinjAlt, on 10/12/2007, -7/+18We only think its incredibly stupid and overused.
- manchld, on 10/12/2007, -0/+10It had better come in other colors.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+11The best idea I heard is letting non-third world people buy it at double the price, then giving one for free to some kid in a third world country...
- MikeMacMan, on 10/12/2007, -2/+10Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a life time.
- dcjake, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8Hynotiq, bringing learning and information tools to developing countries isn't an inherently misguided idea. If you think just dumping money and raw food on developing areas is a long-term solution to improving regions' quality and length of life, then you haven't been doing much reading on the history of development projects.
And this is a landmark project that deserves the attention. There aren't nearly enough examples of technological development aimed at those members of society who are face the greatest challenges and unmet needs.
That said, considering the collective wealth in the tech industry, I wish the IT community would get as excited about other efforts to help the developing countries--agricultural and medical assistance in particular. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Why do all the poor kids get all the cool stuff?
- Quakes, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Because it's made for kids. Trust me, they love the bright orange colorscheme.
- spyro187, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5I wish my first OS had been Fedora or linux. I would have been much smarter for it.
- fabio1, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Some of you are complaining that it looks like a toy. Well, it is much better than some 386 pcs that are being used to teach basic computer classes in a local NGO i visited last month here where I live (Brazil).
I think that this project will work here. The reason is that these kids are really eager to learn how to use a computer. Never underestimate the curiosity of a child. And they can learn a lot while fiddling with a computer, especially one running linux.
Meanwhile Im trying to convince some people where I work to donate the next batch of replaced computers to this NGO. - nox411, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5It's also great that the mainboard is behind the lcd screen rather than other way around. If it were to release heat, which seems unlikely, u won't feel it on your lap.
- gcnaddict, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4For those who care: here is the article itself
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,1973992,00.asp - 16x9, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5> flashboca wrote: "...even the most pathetic Apple fanboys now laugh at idiots like you who still think this is clever. (Not the mention the internet smiley. Are you 8 years old?)"
I've been accused of being an Apple fanboy and you're right that I too feel that sticking a dollar sign into the Microsoft name is more than a little bit over the top. But that's easy for me to say since I actually like Microsoft's products quite a lot (I'm a fan of Linux as well).
However, please don't disrespect the venerable 'smiley face.' It does seem a bit juvenile, I know, but in a brief online comment it is damned difficult to convey emotional intent. Those little icons, as goofy as they are, do help in this regard. - BlueLaser, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5Engadget pointed out that we have yet to see the little orange computer run -without- a tether. You'll notice that it's always plugged-in in these snaps.
This may be a "working" model of the OLPC, but it clearly has a long way to go before it's viable as portable PC in countries with little access to reliable power. I'm curious how long the battery lasts in its current form factor when the plug is pulled... - hankryan, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4"Plus, most AC power in developing nations is horrible, with voltage constantly fluctuating from 180 to 240 volts, capable of frying most power supplies within months."
To be fair... it is supposed to come with a hand crank to supply the power.
Also... this is being designed by the fine folks at MIT right? Not to put too much faith in college-age geeks (who are likely baked), but it is entirely possible that just because it appears cute to you it could still be engineered to be quite rugged. Sometimes rubber & plastic can be more durable (flexibility, heat resistance, etc) than aluminum--and cheaper to boot. I also believe that storage is hangled by solid state memory rather than a hard drive... that should help as well.
Bottom line: Don't judge a book by its cover... cute things can be rugged as well. - MrViklund, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4I want one!
Do you think they will be for sale in I-countries too? - agent6, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4I think they made them ugly so they wont go on the black market.
- WRoach, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5IMHO, if the project ever reaches its goal, it will be the greatest success in connecting the world. OS, Third world countries and cheap new hardware are words sounding good to my ears. I would donate to help childs in less developed countries be able to access technology. I'm sad to see there surely are great minds lacking proper access to technology or even appropriate reference material for that matter.
- chrono13, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Function before form.
And also I doubt they wanted it "sexy" or stylish to avoid increasing its monetary worth (not to be confused with cost).
The looks themselves serve a function. It helps offset its worth so that it is less likely to be stolen or sold. - drizek, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4do you even know what a second world country is?
- Barlo_Mung, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4"Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a life time."
Light a man a fire and he's warm for the night. Light a man on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life. - demha, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3The term "third world" aren't politically correct anymore. These terms were used during the Cold War. The "third world" countries were countries that were too busy with their own problems to align themselves with the Communists or the Capitalists. There wasn't even a "first world" or "second world," just "third world" until much later when contries part of NATO unofficially called themselves the "first world."
- BrandonAbell, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3@garethDE:
Seriously, you people aren't thinking. Access to technology is only incidental here, it's the access to information that you're buying for $100. You don't think that the moveable type printing press could possibly have had some positive impact on the course of civilization by making access to books much cheaper? Well this makes the reach of information much farther and puts entire libraries into the hands of people who have next to nothing. - Charbax, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4Hey please digg my video of Nicholas Negroponte keynote on the One Laptop Per Child also:
http://digg.com/linux_unix/Nicholas_Negroponte_keynote_video - pyzer, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3(reply to people with the computers or food argument)
Knowledge = Power
If people can get on the Internet with those, they might be able to find different ways to improve their lives. I know there are better ways to grow food than they may know. A better figure of speech might be: Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a life time. Teach a man TO LEARN to fish and you empower him for a life time. - dcjake, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3You know, these gadgets are cool enough and there's enough demand and curiosity--at least right now--that I'm surprised they don't sell them at a considerable premium in developed countries (say $200?) as a way to help subsidize costs in third world markets. [Whoops, as I was writing my comment I see someone else brought up the premium price in developed countries to subsidize distribution in the more needy areas]
It's also about time they start doing pilot studies to figure out best practices at distributing these machines. I've got a hunch it's going to take having agreements with NGOs already working in developing countries to find arrangements that make sense and pan out to avoid the obvious problems of just having a black market created or entire communities of users with no resource for getting help in how to use the machines. - pornel, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I suppose that's why Gates hates this project so much. This means that millions of kids will appreciate Linux and later they won't want to switch to expensive and doubtly better OS.
- karch, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3no. the idea is, there can't be ANY of these 100 dollar pcs for the general public that aren't kiddy orange or neon green, or else all the adults in africa have to do is paint their stolen pcs.
there's gotta be zero tolerance. at least until the 100 dollar pcs are well established... no awesome mit pcs for america just yet. - drizek, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I dont see your point. when has any company demoed a laptop without a tether? They had it set up there for people to use for probably several hours.
- hankryan, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Dude... Am I the only one who thinks that the bright orange color/cartoony design is pretty ***** bad-ass in a cheesy "Hackers" sort of way? I mean yeah it looks like a toy, but so do many high tech fashion accessories. And besides... you can always spray paint the bitch any color you want. (I'm thinking neon camo-style... oh yeah).
- karch, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3look, you are not smarter than the makers. it's kiddy colored to prevent adults from stealing them from children and to prevent a black market from forming.
- pornel, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Not _everyone_ in "3rd world" is starving, and education for these people is the next need after survival. They need doctors, farmers, engineers, etc.
In poverty regions it often happens that anyone who has got decent education migrates to prospering cities, so these kids have chance of leaving their mudhole. If situation improves in 20 years you might have developing world bussiness dominated by Linux... - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3yes of course, we can't mention anyones skin colour in a derogatory way unless your white.
for a start, this laptop is aimed at developing countries, not countries without basic services you ignorant idiot. access to information is a KEY difference between wealthy and poor countries.
secondly, you can ***** off with that racist *****. these guys are trying to help people less fortunate and all your comeback is to rag on them on an internet forum? pathetic little man you are. - hankryan, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Wikipedia knows, oh yes... Wikipedia knows all...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/$100_laptop#Hardware - allan, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2@298th_Scat: the term second world was used under the cold war as a reference to the soviet union
- Charbax, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2To be successfull it's got to:
1. Have WiMAX, cause if you spend money to create a new infrastructure for internet connectivity, you might as well get WiMAX, so the children are able to walk far from the hotspot center, is WiMAX mesh networking possible? This would enable worldwide free peer-to-peer internet connectivity..
2. Support full DVD resolution video, DivX, mpeg2 and other codecs, video is the best educationnal application, the curriculum can be sent out to students as documentaries, learning cartoons, shows..
3. OS and softwares are still on Flash memory, but there should be a way to use a 2,5" harddrive also, one that the student can buy on the market, be it a 40GB for 40$ or a 160GB for 100$ and insert it himself into the laptop by just inserting it in the compartment and connecting the power and data cables.. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2you underestimate bill.
he will give windows away to 3rd world countries, in return they will be come entirely trapped into using it and once they have any money to milk, he'll start pumping. - WackyT, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4Well, it is a United Nation project.
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=41627 - offthecufflink, on 10/12/2007, -6/+8I really want one to futz with... but I hope that the children aren't tempted to sell theirs because whatever it would command on the open market would be a lot of money to them, perhaps more than those "for N cents a day you can help a child" campaigns really give to the children. Maybe people will see a market for them here too, only in green with a LeapFrog logo.
Where is the hand crank though? That was my favorite part! - Woknblues, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Not on board with this. The tech will go obsolete in 2 years, some obscure government funded company will be back billing the tax payer $500 each in subsidies. The only thing I like about this is that it looks like my speak and spell from 1982. Just give the people education, in 3rd world countries like the Philippines where I am right now, college teachers make about 200-300 USD a month, with class sizes about 50-60.
- Jaymoon, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I'm sure they won't have a problem switching lives with you....
- Mousse, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3And 5 years off its lifetime.
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