Thread: '$100 laptop' grows a bit more pricey

'$100 laptop' grows a bit more pricey
Device being developed for children overseas now would cost $188
Saturday, Sep 15, 2007 - 12:08 AM

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- The vaunted "$100 laptop" that Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers dreamed up for international schoolchildren is becoming a slightly more distant concept.

Leaders of the nonprofit One Laptop Per Child that was spun out of MIT acknowledged yesterday that the devices would cost $188 if mass production, expected to begin this fall, were to start now. The nonprofit group described the $100 price as a long-term goal.

Spokesman George Snell blamed the increase on many factors, including currency fluctuations and rising costs of components such as nickel and silicon. He said the project was committed to keeping the price from rising above $190.

While less than $200 for an innovative, wireless-enabled, hand-powered laptop is a relative bargain, a price nearly twice what the project's memorable nickname promised could make it harder for One Laptop Per Child to sign up international governments as customers.

Those governments are expected to give the computers to children for them to keep and tinker with, which the project's founders believe will cause critical thinking and creativity to blossom.

"Where does it end? It started out at $130, then it was $148, then it was $176, now it's $188 -- what's next? $200?" said Wayan Vota, the former director of the Geekcorps international tech-development organization and current editor of the OLPCNews blog. "You have these governments who were looking at this original, fanciful $100-per-child figure; now we're going up towards or maybe past $200."

One Laptop Per Child says it has commitments for at least 3 million of its rugged XO computers, though it won't disclose which countries are first in line. Among the nations that have shown interest are Brazil, Libya, Thailand and Uruguay.

The XO machines feature an open-source interface designed to be intuitive for children, a sunlight-readable display, low power consumption, built-in wireless networking and a pull cord for recharging by hand. The laptops are being made by Taiwan's Quanta Computer Inc., the world's leading manufacturer of portable computers
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS


another one for the ,

never seen that coming file ..................

Get some new engineers - the old lot have become clones already!!!

Originally Posted by Mid

hand-powered laptop is a relative bargain,

Can anyone explain that bit to me n?

mediacatalyst.com

Should be worth a few bags of rice at the market.

wireless enabled is really convenient in the desert

Originally Posted by Butterfly

wireless enabled is really convenient in the desert

I saw on telly they have to go to some sort of wifi hotspot, located yards from starving babies.

It has a MESH network which will allow peer to peer connections to eventually to a hot spot.

I will be buying one once I can figure out how.

I don't really want to have to cover myself in boot polish and wander about Africa for a year though to get one.

I'd buy one for my daughter! I hope it gets made... But governments giving them out for free? Yeah right...

Developing-world laptop project to let donors buy two, keep one
1 minute ago

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - The project that hopes to supply developing-world schoolchildren with $188 laptops will sell the rugged little computers to U.S. residents and Canadians for $400 each, with the profit going toward a machine for a poor country.

The One Laptop Per Child project expects that its "Give One, Get One" promotion will result in a pool of thousands of donated laptops that will stimulate demand in countries hesitant to join the program. It will be offered for only two weeks in November.

Originally conceived as the "$100 laptop," the funky green-and-white low-power "XO" computers now cost $188. The laptops' manufacturer, Quanta Computer Inc., is beginning mass production next month, but with far fewer than the three million orders One Laptop Per Child director Nicholas Negroponte had said he was waiting for.

Negroponte said the availability of donated laptops would not be the sole condition for many countries weighing whether to place multimillion-dollar orders. But "it just triggers it," he said. "It makes it all happen faster."

snip

canadianpress.google.com

what a joke !!! reminds me of "light PC" and "slim PC" hype brought by MIT during the late 90s and the dotcom era, and we all know where that concept went to.

One laptop per child project opens up on November 12
By Mark Raby Monday, September 24, 2007 10:05


Cambridge (MA) - Starting November, North American residents will be able to purchase an XO laptop for $400, sending another machine to a child in an impoverished country.


See the $100 laptop in detail (15 pictures) ...

Beginning November 12, Americans and Canadians will be be given the opportunity to purchase the low-cost computers, but only if they also buy one as a donation to a child overseas as well. The "give one get one" campaign will run for two weeks.

The first 25,000 buyers will be guaranteed a delivery by Christmas. All other purchases will arrive in the first part of 2008. Beginning today, customers can also just submit $200 online to send a laptop to an impoverished child without buying one for themselves.

The XO laptop sports a green-and-white casing, a high resolution screen, and it runs completely on open source software. It also uses a significantly less amount of power than most laptops and can be powered by solar energy and hand cranks, as well as electricity.

The OLPC project was created in 2005 by MIT professor Nicholas Negroponte. "Give 1 Get 1 presents a terrific opportunity for the public to help eliminate poverty and make the world a better place by inoculating children against ignorance," said Negroponte.

The first wave of countries to receive the inexpensive laptops will include Thailand, Uruguay, Nigeria, Brazil, Libya, and Rwanda.


tgdaily.com

Originally Posted by Mid

The first wave of countries to receive the inexpensive laptops will include Thailand

Surely a poor country like Loas or Cambodia would be more suitable?

Of course price will grow, and I must say it will be 200$ for a piece. One laptopo per child will be killed by intel Classmate laptop.

If you can't play Doom 3 on it them kids are going to be disappointed.

New education minister plans to give 1 million computers to students
February 7, 2008


Education Minister Somchai Wongsawat said Thursday that he would have the ministry purchase 1 million computers to distribute to poor students.

He unveiled the plan upon taking office for the first day and after met senior education officials.

Somchai said the project was initiated by the Thai Rak Thai Party during election campaigns in 2005.

Khunying Kasama Worawan said she believed Somchai was referring to the project initiated by then prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra to buy low-cost notebook computers designed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for poor students.

The Nation
nationmultimedia.com

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