$100 Laptop Computer

mit laptop

The MIT Media Laboratory expects to launch a prototype of its US$100 laptop in November, according to Nicholas Negroponte, the lab’s chairman and co-founder. The facility has been working with industry partners to develop a notebook computer for use by children in primary and secondary education around the world, particularly in developing countries. The laptops should start appearing in volume in late 2006.
MIT to launch $100 laptop prototype in November

This is going to be an amazing machine. The 500MHz machine will run a version of Linux, can be viewed in colour or black and white for better resolution in sunlight, runs on AC or via a crank — 1 minute cranking earns you 10 minutes computing. The features go on an on.

The lab will initially target Brazil, China, Egypt, South Africa and Thailand, according to Negroponte, as well as the U.S. state of Massachusetts, which has just committed to equipping every schoolchild with a laptop. Negroponte hopes to start mass production of some 5 million to 15 million laptops for those markets towards the end of 2006. Come December 2007, he estimated production of the laptops at between 100 million and 150 million, three times the number of annual shipments of commercial laptops.

What a great poke in the eye for certain large corporations. I want one. A laptop, I mean, not a large corporation.

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