Orders received for $100 laptop
p2pnet.net News:- India doesn’t like the One Laptop per Child project, but the plan to provide inexpensive computers to needy children seems to be going ahead nonetheless.
"We have not finalized the deal with the Nigerian government yet, but we are in the process of doing so," OLPC program director for Middle East and Africa Khaled Hassounah told DesktopLinux.com.
But, "We are actively moving ahead with Brazil, Argentina and Thailand" and, "Others are being considered," he said, according to the story.
And as various countries pinder on whether or not to buy the laptops, the price has risen from the original estimation of $100 each to between $130 and $140, plus shipping extra.
But India’s ministry of human resourceOLCP project as, "pedagogically suspect" and it may, "actually be detrimental to the growth of the creative and analytical abilities of the child," education secretary Sudeep Banerjee is quoted as saying.
And Intel and Microsoft have both dismissed it.
"The last thing you want to do for a shared use computer is have it be something without a disk … and with a tiny little screen," Bill Gates said at the Microsoft Government Leaders Forum in suburban Washington and, "I think a more realistic title should be ‘the $100 gadget’," said Intel chief Craig Barrett last December.
And, "Geez, get a decent computer where you can actually read the text and you’re not sitting there cranking the thing while you’re trying to type," Gates was also quoted as saying.
Intel boss Craig Barrett’s view? " I think a more realistic title should be ‘the $100 gadget‘," he said. "The problem is that gadgets have not been successful."
Also See:
DesktopLinux.com – Four countries commit to 4 million Linux-powered OLPC laptops, August 1, 2006
pedagogically suspect – India nixes child laptop project, July 27, 2006
original estimation – $100 laptop now $130, June 3, 2006
tiny little screen – Gates disses MIT’s $100 laptop, March 16, 2006
$100 gadget – Intel boss scorns MIT laptop, December 9, 2005
p2pnet newsfeeds for your site.
rss feed: http://p2pnet.net/p2p.rss
Mobile – http://p2pnet.net/index-wml.php
August 2nd, 2006 at 6:59 pm
Its easy for them to sit back in the million doller home and critizize. But what have they done to help poor people. If they don’t think this “gadget” is a good idea why don’t they come up with their own project and build a better cheap laptop.