"A Chinese company called YellowSheepRiver wants to make affordable budget computing a reality with its new $150 Linux Municator, a highly compact and innovative PC built with inexpensive Chinese hardware components. Although MIT's much touted $100 Linux laptop has yet to transcend its status as vaporware, YellowSheepRiver already has a working product which could potentially be available for purchase within the next three months." It runs on a custom 64 bit processor, derived from the MIPS processor, and as a result won't run Windows.
To read all comments associated with this story, please click here.
Member since:2005-07-08
Personally speaking, the idea of computers in schools as a substitute for teachers & books is a terrible idea esp when it means states like Maine forcing families to buy an iBook for every kid.
Computers were invented and developed to help people solve ever larger scientific & business problems, not to allow ordinary people to unburden themselves with the necessity of having to learn anything. If you want to have an iBook next to you in class and exams as a crutch, you might as well become a google borg.
Most of the people who design computer chips (self included) all went to school at a time when there were no PCs or computers in school or home except for occasional dialup through a terminal. Since computers have entered schools, I can only see decline in standards. They don't do this in schools in Asia or parts of Europe where their kids whip US kids in the world tests.
Books & good teachers, eating well, exercises, no computers please. I could go on but would likely only inflame the I wanna an iBook too students. Students who want to learn should be separated from those that don't, that will solve the CRIME problem right away.
Member since:2005-12-23
I agree with the last staement and I dont think I said it should replace teachers. I was just saying that they could use a simple cheap laptop to replace books but maybe that would be just a s expensive. To me the largest problem is affording to pay teachers. I wouldnt want kids on computers all the time.
It smacks of multi-culturalism by homoginizing cultures into a borg. Most people don't trust the Internet and I dont blame them. It's not a perfect utopia.
Member since:
2005-12-23
The schools in my city (Chicago) need textbooks and computers. They just don't have enough like the suburbs and the state doesn't want to move money from the suburbs to the city (property taxes). Today there are much more expenses due to tech unlike the old days when my parents went to school so why not make tech free. If every child had this it would be completely helpful and stop allot of crime. Kids would stay in school off the streets and the college attrition rate is like only 3 percent graduation from Chicago. This could stop the need for most textbooks and help allot with CRIME.
Maybe tech van be very cheep and free to create a utopia. i think it should be since that's why we invented it not to overburden ourselves.