Sub $100 laptop: it’s a clinker - forget it!

A story on BBC News, found here, says “Nicholas Negroponte, the founder of MIT's Media Labs…is developing a laptop PC that will go on sale for less than $100.” It will be a stripped down laptop, running on a Linux-based operating system, with very limited resources.

Nicholas Negroponte said: "We have to get the display down to below $20…to do this we need to rear project the image rather than using an ordinary flat panel…the second trick is to get rid of the fat, if you can skinny it down you can gain speed and the ability to use smaller processors and slower memory”.

The computer will probably be sold as a kit of parts to keep costs down. Mr. Negroponte envisions this device used as a textbook for school children. It will be a not for profit venture, “though he recognized that the manufacturers of the components would be making money.”

This may be a good way to get lots of computers into classrooms of pre-middle school students to be used as textbooks. But remember, they are in kit form. Who will put them together for all those lower grade students? For the general market - forget-it! Few of these stripped down, low resource clinkers will sell to the general public in kit form!

Comments

[John Little]

This device is targeted at developing nations like China and is intended to be sold in bulk, I think a minimum of 1 million units was what I read elsewhere. It isn't really a general consumer product but rather a way for schools and governments to rapidly and inexpensively roll out hardware. Using Linux OS and software allows cheaper hardware and still puts a whole suite of modern productivity enhancing tools (and the internet potentially) in the hands of lots of folks for very little money.