All the latest UK technology news, reviews and analysis

$100 Linux laptop for schoolkids

by Ken Young

29 Sep 2005

Comments: 4

  • Tweet this
Linux
Non-profit group to distribute 150 million Linux laptops in three years

Nicholas Negroponte, founder and chairman of MIT's Media Lab, has announced a project to develop $100 laptops for schoolchildren.

The non-profit One Laptop Per Child group has ambitious plans to distribute 150 million laptops in three years. The idea is based on applying the concept of open source to education, according to Negroponte.

"All we can do is seed the change and, like Wikipedia grew, and like Linux grew, do the same for open source education," he said.

The group will demonstrate a prototype of the laptop in November at the World Summit on the Information Society in Tunisia.

The first countries to distribute the laptops are expected to be Brazil, China, Egypt, South Africa and Thailand.

Negroponte explained that the cost of the 500MHz 1Gb laptop can be reduced to $100 because the group will cut out the cost of sales, marketing, distribution and, most importantly, profit.

The group plans to deliver laptops directly to national ministries of education, which can distribute them like textbooks.

The prototype is expected to have a dual-mode LCD display found in inexpensive DVD players which can also be used in black and white, in bright sunlight, and at four times the normal resolution.

It will be Linux-based, full-colour and full-screen, and will use alternative sources of power, including clockwork. The laptops will be enabled with Wi-Fi, and have at least four USB ports.

Do you agree?

 

Add your comment

We won't publish your address
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms & Conditions. Your comment will be moderated before publication.

Poll

IT priorities for 2012

What is the most important IT priority for your company this year?

99%

0%

1%

0%

0%

Connect with V3.co.uk

Sign up to our daily or weekly newsletters

Accurev

Top 5 software development challenges

This paper focuses on a series of best practices and techniques for development teams looking to improve their software development processes

Talend

Rubbish in, rubbish enterprise

Why good data management at all levels is essential in the modern business (video, 6mins)

Network Support Engineer Up To £40k

(Roc Search - Network Support Engineer, 2nd line, 3rd...

3rd Line Engineer / Infrastructure Engineer - VMware, Server,

3rd Line Engineer / Infrastructure Engineer - Berkshire...

SQL Server DBA - Database Administrator - MySQL Suffolk - £50k

MySQL SQL SERVER DBA / Database Administrator - Online...

PMO Analyst - Banking

PMO Analyst - Banking Client A financial organisation...

To send to more than one email address, simply separate each address with a comma.