The One Laptop Per Child initiative is getting ready to roll out their line of $100 laptops for school children in developing countries in Q2 of 2007. Quanta Computer in Taiwan is the manufacturer that was brought into the project to create the low cost devices, expects that they will produce close to 10 million units in the first year of development. OLPC figured out a way to improve inexpensive black and white DVD player LCD displays, in order to keep the normally few hundred dollar feature, at a price of only $35. Software was cut out of the machines, since two thirds of software in laptops manages the other third, and supposedly they mostly do the same functions in nine different ways. The OLPC laptops will be running Linux OS, 500MHz microprocessor, and 128MB of DRAM with 500MB of flash memory usage. Unfortunately the laptops will not have a hard disk, so no downloading, but they will have four USB ports if that makes it better? So if anyone has some good deals on flash memory keys that the kids can use, I'm sure OLPC would be interested. Other than the no hard drive feature, and black and white display, sounds like this laptop initiative is really going to help these kids out with their studies, and look into what the rest of the world is like.More pictures of the laptop after the jump...
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
10-23-2006 @ 12:59PM
Randy Williams said...
You know, if these things are any good at all, they should make us the following offer: a 1 for 2 deal (pay for 2 of them, keep one). I have a 7th grader and a 9th grader, I'd pay $400 today for two decent laptops like this for my kids, and they could send the other two wherever the need is greatest.
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10-23-2006 @ 3:31PM
Eagle117 said...
I think your pictures are out of date. Last I heard they dropped the crank support for some kind of pull string generator.
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10-26-2006 @ 12:55PM
wayan said...
Your article is filled with errors.
1. they are $140+, not $100 each, $208+ including install
2. they will allow downlaoding - that's what the 500M flash is for
3. the displays will be dual-mode, B+W in sunlight, full color in shade
4. the first photo is the current design, all other photos are outdated
Next time, fact check better on http://www.olpcnews.com
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