At an event put on to honor the top technology innovations from Massachusetts companies, a technology designed for users far from the halls of MIT and Harvard stole all the thunder. At the MITX in Boston, Nicholas Negroponte, the co-founder of the MIT Media Lab, was inducted into the MITX Innovation Hall of Fame. But Negroponte used his time at the podium to talk about his current job as chairman of the One Laptop per Child association and its goal of putting what is commonly referred to as the $100 laptop into the hands of children in developing countries. Negroponte didn’t just talk about the association and its goals; he also brought the first working model of the $100 laptop.
obviously poor children don’t care about looks. or are they all colour blind?
otherwise, i know of at least one person that really needs to dump their ageing P1 laptop and this might just do the trick for casual use.
Remember, it’s a prototype.
“obviously poor children don’t care about looks. or are they all colour blind?”
You’re right-most poor kids usually worry about little things like…oh, I don’t know….food and clothes?
there’s poor (i.e. can’t afford a computer) and then there’s poor (i.e. can’t afford food/clothes/clean water). i don’t think the latter are going to be that bothered with the $100 laptop whatever it’s looks like.
either way I can’t see why nice looking plastic costs any more than day-glo orange. the other colours don’t look so bad though.
Was the thing designed by McDonalds?
Edited 2006-06-08 17:21
I also wonder this. I don’t see why it has to be a dayglow colour. Why cant they use black like most normal laptops?
I also wonder this. I don’t see why it has to be a dayglow colour. Why cant they use black like most normal laptops?
Hint : One Laptop per Child
Right or wrong, product for children = garish colours. Very few children like black apparently. That comes with the existential crisis’ of adolescence I guess ;-).
At the same time don’t be surprised if they release models here in North America and Europe with a black/grey/gray case.
To max out egos the darker models should have a shiny Logo/Sticker that makes it clear that in buying this computer you are helping educate children in poorer countries.
Boasting rights are an important addon to any laptop.
It’s so that adults who steal laptops from kids look stupid.
That’s the real reason, to be distinctive so that they are less likely to be stolen.
Don’t underestimate the power of spray paint. If someone was so determined to steal from children (literally) they could do this and spray paint it up like a car. Just tape up paper over the screen, spray paint the outside casing then say your selling them in various colors for profit. I don’t agree with it but I’m sure there is someone out there who would do such a thing.
>>Don’t underestimate the power of spray paint.
True, except the keys are going to be a royal pain. For most people it will not be worth it. For the few who try by the time they put the effort in to do a good enough job to make it look professional the profit margin will be badly eaten into. Still do-able, but not a quick steal, repaint, and it looks like a new machine – no quickic/high profit job here.
The shape is pretty distinct too, isn’t it? I bet most people would recognize the 100$ laptop with the “devil-looking” antennas pointing up. It’s a funny looking shape, one that you remember.
It’s so that adults who steal laptops from kids look stupid.
Ummm…but can’t adults buy these things for $300??
(As posted above):
http://www.pledgebank.com/100laptop
Edited 2006-06-08 21:57
Don’t worry.
Apple will market one that comes in black and will only cost 500$ extra. ;-D
Seriously, as someone else already said, that want to make sure that it’s obvious that its meant for children in order to stigmatise those who steal one, or buy and sell one on the black market.
the laptop has to be distinctive, so it’s immeadiately spotted as one of the OLPC units. The reason for that is to fight the grey markets on those countries where these laptops will be deployed. If someone, not a child or teatcher, has it, he carries a social stigma.
It’s not about aestetics, it’s about fighting corruption, and there’s plenty of corruption in those countries.
Edited 2006-06-08 18:41
http://www.pledgebank.com/100laptop
Nicholas Negroponte has previewed of the $100 laptop that he has designed for students in the developing world. ” One Laptop Per Child – a Preview of the Hundred Dollar Laptop http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/003707.html ”
The suggestion has been made that he also offer it for sale for ~$300 to the rest of us so that we do have an interesting machine and can help to support the cost computers for the developing world. If he does offer it, then I will buy one at three times the cost and thus contribute to supplying two to the proposed users.
I suggest that you might want to also pledge so that he would consider this “We Purchase, They Benefit” option.
Edited 2006-06-08 18:44
I don’t think many people will be interested in getting this machine for $300, but build a ‘higher-end’ version, with decent back-lit display, more memory, charge accordingly (+ surcharge to help with producing the lower-end $100 version), I’m sure there will be a strong interest.
Such a laptop would likely cost substantially more than $300.
You have to remember part of the reason for the laptops low price is not just because it uses low-cost components, but because MIT and the OLPC consortium companies are footing the bill for the R&D. While these entities may be just fine doing research for free to help children in the third world, I don’t think they’d be willing to work for free to benefit yuppies in the first world.
I don’t know if I would pay $300 for those exact same specs. Maybe $200-$250 but not $300.
Unless they come up with a machine with that same design but with at least twice the memory and storage. Then I Wouldn’t hesitate(or however it’s spelled)
Edited 2006-06-08 20:23
Don’t think of it as paying $300 for a laptop. Think about it as getting a free laptop if you donate $300. The whole point of selling these laptops is to raise money for the charity, nothing else.
Donate? Is it tax deductible then?
No, it’s just good karma.
Not all donations are tax deductible
Is going to cost $135 initially? And $50 by 2010 (which it will probably be worthless).
Why all the hoopla over the term USD100 then?
if you look at this picture
http://common.ziffdavisinternet.com/util_get_image/13/0,1425,sz=1&i…
i’m impressed that it’s still readable (and even has correct colors) from this angel.
not that it’s something special, but i wouldn’t have expected it from such a lowcost product
You miss the point. The fact is that if you pay 300$ for one, then two kids get one for free. Maybe that has no value to you, but to me it is worth it.
This is a great idea, for a great project. I just went to the site and took the pledge.
Edited 2006-06-09 02:36
The best thing about this project is that although one of the more prominent goals was to reduce the cost of the laptop as much as practical, they also managed include some pretty innovative technology. The dual-mode display, power envelope of 2W, and “Wi-Mesh” are all features you can’t really get on any “full-price” laptop. Hell, pre-installed and fully-configured Linux is a rare feature on laptops today. By boldly imagining/expecting/pursuing a huge (volume) and open-minded target market, they were able to rethink the usual laptop feature-set and provide a truly unique product.
Not that it matters (to me at least), but I think that the “aesthetic” complaints surrounding the OLPC laptop are unique to Western cultures jaded by exposure to various mild-colored consumer electronics products. We’ve been conditioned to be comfortable with black, grey, beige, and white gadgets (with a smattering of blue every now and again), and everything else makes us bristle, like Ubuntu’s default brown/orange desktop theme has for many users. I’ve been told that the color orange evokes quite different mental associations in African and Asian cultures than it does in Americans and Europeans (who apparently often associate orange with hunger). Not too long ago, it wasn’t so rare to see an American executive-type walking around in a three-piece suit and proudly carrying a tangerine iBook…
What is that… About a 10 inch screen maybe? Running in 640×480?
Hopefully the photographs are just playing tricks with my eyes. Cause if that screen is running in as low a resolution as it looks like it is, this $100 laptop is basically a $100 paperweight. I mean you won’t even be able to browse the web with it if the screen is as low a resolution as it looked like it was in those photos.
The resolution would be 1200 x 900 in the final version according to the wiki at the official site: http://wiki.laptop.org/index.php/Main_Page
What you see now is 800 x 480 because this is a smaller screen.
BTW this screen is 7.0 inch : The final one will be 7.5 inch.
Edited 2006-06-09 04:38
Ah… 1200×900 on a 7.5 inch display though? I assume it will have to be using oversized fonts for anything to be readable at that resolution on a 7.5 inch display.
There are 2 resolutions, if you read the specs. Low res (colour) and c.1200×800 (monochrome, no backlight, daylight readable, power-saving). It seems like an intelligent design choice for its purpose. Of course it’s a compromise – any design. of anything, is. Don’t all Linux desktops have scaleable fonts anyway? All the ones I’ve ever used do.
On the subject of the case colour, not exeryone in the world likes beige, or black/grey/white/silver for that matter. I used to puchase from a wholesaler in Newcastle (UK), a Sikh, who sold portable radios, etc. He had three ranges from major manufacturers, all the same products in different colourways – silver (UK consumers), gold (Asians) and red and gold (Chinese buyers).
And on spending the money on something else? This is about empowerment of the next generation of 3rd world kids so that they can argue their own case, to give them the knowledge and abilities to shape their destinies in a time of great change. Or do we want them to remain poor and ignorant for our own glorification?
I think this is a great project – I really hope it works as planned.
So, Negroponte used his time on the podium to market his little pet project, at this event… It’s sad that he already gets so little attention that he has to pull crap like this.
The OLPC is not about top technology innovation and had no place at the event.
Personally I see the whole project as a waste of time and money that could be spent on dealing with real problems in the areas this is targeted for.
Personally I see the whole project as a waste of time and money that could be spent on dealing with real problems in the areas this is targeted for.
Do you have any suggestion of what that might be? Plenty of people are doing other things already.
Well I’d be interested.
They can even make it Day-Glo green.
As the cheapest I can get a desktop for my school in Africa is about US$460 the US$ 100 laptop looks great.
Wonder if they could make a US$75 desktop?
Damn I love that Ice-blue one, it looks better than an ibook.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pete/151856861/in/set-7205759414322476…
Well it seems very nice, and even though connected to the U.N., is a seperate non-profit which is better.
They should go the Simputer route soon as x86 or Cell, with total open hardare to keep the prices low and help people innovate hardware and their machine more.
They are using an AMD Geode which is nice though.
http://www.amidasimputer.com/
I think it will help push free quality hardware for all or at least basic hardware needs. This is similar to FOSS where basic software is free. It helps defeat crime and dependancy. The gov is still peying for some of it but it’s still cheap stuff and no doubt it costs like a grain of rice to create 1 microschip anyway.
The only reason small computers still cost allot is they have to pay employess i guess.
http://wiki.laptop.org/index.php/Main_Page