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Nicholas Negroponte talks about the $100 laptop

 
The co-founder of the Media Lab at MIT, Nicholas Negroponte, unveiled details of the $100 windup laptop.   He said that this project was the most important thing he's ever done.  Negroponte said that the reception has been incredible.  The idea is a simple one, an educational project.  The low-cost personal computer will start a grassroots movement which will be like Wikipedia (the free encyclopedia) or Linux (the open-source operating software).  Governments will buy the laptops for about $100 and then give them to students for free.  The $100 laptops will be both a laptop computer and and electronic book.

The proposed display is innovative -  flat, flexible printed display that only costs $.10/square inch, creating a $12 12-inch display with almost no consumption of power.  The power can come from regular household current, a windup crank, or batteries.  With Linux software, the software will be reliable and simple.  It will also have the peer-to-peer concept of "mesh networking" which will allow PCs to share a single internet connection.

The $100 laptop will start with 5-15 million test units the first year.  By 2007, 100-150 million will be made.  Only 50 million laptops are currently being made worldwide right now.

Advanced Micro Devices is going to make a Personal Internet Connector for $185 (no display) and Novatium of India will make a stripped down PC for about $75.  Microsoft expects to make a $100 PC for developing nations, too.
  Independent news source on the $100 laptop.
  Not associated or endorsed by the OLPC, creator of the $100 laptop

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