(Warning: The link takes you to an article that uses the title “Bridging the digital divide”; how original!) How do you make sure that people in developing countries have access to information technology? By making it cheap. Very cheap. Famous technologist from MIT Media Lab Nicholas Negroponte and other associates are planning to produce a $100 USD laptop to give to children in developing countries. This is a very good development, hopefully the computers will be good and not only cheap. The laptops will be cheap because they will be a mesh network. The specs are quite impressive as well:
It will have a 12in colour screen and run Linux and other open source software. It will be Wi-Fi and 3G-enabled, with many USB ports. The laptops will not have lots of storage space, and will not be hooked up via a conventional local area networks, but will rely on mesh networks, where one child’s laptop will act as the print server, one the DVD player, and another the mass storage device.
Can I get one? I am from a developing country.
1 Comment
Andrew Ducker · February 20, 2005 at 8:08 am
I'm sure you'll be able to get one – but beware, they'll be using back-projection screens to keep the prices down. Not very pretty.