And of course, Bill Gates will subsidize the first 640 KB of RAM! ;) On Wed, 16 Nov 2005 08:16, Rei Shinozuka wrote: > i saw this in the WSJ, this project has been going on for some time, > but this was the first i had heard about it. wonder what they will use > for word processing and spreadsheets? > > --------------- > The $100 Laptop Moves Closer to Reality > By STEVE STECKLOW > Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL > November 14, 2005; Page B1 > > A novel plan to develop a $100 laptop computer for distribution to > millions of schoolchildren in developing countries has caught the > interest of governments and the attention of computer-industry > heavyweights. > > First announced in January by Nicholas Negroponte, the founding > chairman of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Media Lab, the > initiative appears to be gaining steam. Mr. Negroponte is scheduled to > demonstrate a working prototype of the device with United Nations > Secretary General Kofi Annan on Wednesday at a U.N. technology > conference in Tunisia. > > Mr. Negroponte and other backers say they have held discussions with > at least two dozen countries about purchasing the laptops and that > Brazil and Thailand have expressed the most interest so far. In > addition, Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney recently proposed spending > $54 million to buy one of the laptops for every student in middle > school and high school in his state. > [Design Continuum's prototype of a $100 laptop with hand crank, for > students in developing countries.] > Design Continuum's prototype of a $100 laptop with hand crank, for > students in developing countries. > > > > Although no contracts with governments have been signed, > Mr. Negroponte says current plans call for producing five to ten > million units beginning in late 2006 or early 2007, with tens of > millions more a year later. Five companies -- Google Inc., Advanced > Micro Devices Inc., Red Hat Inc., News Corp. and Brightstar Corp. -- > have each provided $2 million to fund a nonprofit organization called > One Laptop Per Child that was set up to oversee the > project. Mr. Negroponte says five companies are bidding to make the > laptop, although he declined to name them. > > Mr. Negroponte remains eager to place the laptop in the hands of 100 > to 150 million students. He says he has learned in educational > projects in Cambodia and other developing countries that computers > spur children to learn and explore outside the boundaries of a > classroom, and share their discoveries with their families. "I do not > think of them only in classrooms, but part of an integrated and > seamless experience for kids and their families," he says. > > Still, the project would require governments in the developing world > to come up with $15 billion to supply 150 million laptops, and it > isn't yet clear how many countries can afford even a $100 > machine. Technical hurdles also remain. > > The device that will be shown in Tunisia is still an early version; > Mr. Negroponte says the screen alone will require another three months > of development. The designers also have yet to bring the overall price > down to $100, although they say they are getting close. "Even if the > first ones are $118.50, as long as subsequent machines are less and > less expensive, that is what counts," Mr. Negroponte says. > > Major computer industry players appear to be taking the venture > seriously, including companies like Microsoft Corp. that aren't yet > participating. Microsoft could be confronting a laptop that could > become a standard in the developing world -- one that, for now, would > come without its dominant Windows software. > > Mr. Negroponte discussed the project last week with Microsoft Chairman > Bill Gates and Craig Mundie, chief technical officer of advanced > strategies and policy. "We're in serious discussions to determine what > the appropriate type of involvement is with us with their project," > says Mr. Mundie. > > Steve Jobs, Apple Computer Inc.'s chief executive, offered to provide > free copies of the company's operating system, OS X, for the machine, > according to Seymour Papert, a professor emeritus at MIT who is one of > the initiative's founders. "We declined because it's not open source," > says Dr. Papert, noting the designers want an operating system that > can be tinkered with. An Apple spokesman declined to comment. > > Under present plans, the first production version of the laptop will > be powered by an AMD microprocessor and use an open-source Linux-based > operating system supplied by Red Hat. Open-source software is not > patent protected and can be copied for free. To get the price down, an > eight-inch diagonal screen -- smaller than standard notebook computers > -- will run in two modes, with a high-resolution monochrome mode for > word processing and a lower-resolution color mode for Internet > surfing. It will be powered by both a power adapter, if electricity is > available, or through a wind-up mechanism. The device will have > wireless capabilities and can network with other units even without > Internet access. > > Mr. Negroponte says the project's supporters are working to provide > Internet access in some areas via cellular phone networks. He also > believes competition and deregulation eventually will bring low-cost > access to even the poorest countries. The designers say they are > planning to give the laptop a unique look to discourage sales on the > black market in developing countries. > > At the same time, they say they are hoping to authorize a commercial > version that would sell for around $200, with a share of the profits > ideally used to subsidize the educational project. "We are in talks > with large, brand-name companies," Mr. Negroponte says, noting it will > be up to them to decide where and how to sell it. "I would not hold my > breath for it to be in Best Buy," he says. > > Software will include a word processor, a Web browser, an email > program and a programming system. Governments would decide how to use > the machine in classrooms. "We're going to give them general tools so > they can make big changes [in curriculum] if they want to," says > Dr. Papert, who is a pioneer in using computers in education. "Even > using it as a typewriter has a payoff." > > Rodrigo Mesquita, a Brazilian entrepreneur and a member of a > government working group on the project, says his country believes the > laptops could be used both to improve public education and the > economy. Brazil is hoping to manufacture three million units, > beginning next year, and supply some of them to other countries, he > says. He also says money normally spent on textbooks would be used to > pay for the laptops for Brazilian schoolchildren. "I'm very > optimistic," he says, giving the project a "70 to 80%" chance of being > launched in the country. > > Daryl Sartain, director of strategic business development at AMD, says > his company is "absolutely committed" to the project and that it fits > in with its initiative to bring Internet and computing access to half > the world by 2015. "I have no doubt that this will happen," he says of > the laptop project, adding, "It will, like everything else, have bumps > in the road and some evolution that occurs." He declined to say how > much the company would charge for its microprocessor, but says, > "Certainly we expect this to be a business for AMD. We also expect it > to be a business for many other companies, not just us." > > Meanwhile, Intel Corp. says it isn't worried about the thought of > millions of laptops in developing countries powered by a competitor's > chips. "Our view is that whatever it takes to get computer power to > places where it hasn't been before is a good thing," says spokesman > Chuck Mulloy. "But there will be different flavors of these kind of > devices." Noting that Intel is involved in other projects to bring > low-cost computers to developing countries, he says the company has > learned from experience that "functionality is equally important to > cost." > > Gretchen Miller, director of world-wide marketing for mobile systems > at Dell Inc., said she didn't think a $100 laptop would be powerful > enough to meet students' needs. "We don't believe it's feasible at > this point to manufacture a $100 notebook that meets our quality > performance standards. Those things are all customer driven," she > says, adding, "It's important that a computer prepare students for the > applications they'll be using after they get out of school." > > But Mike Evans, vice president of corporate development at Red Hat and > who has been working on the laptop project for nine months, disputes > the suggestion that the machine will be inadequate for > students. "There are people in developing countries who have never > seen computers so it's not like, 'How is this better than Windows?"' > he says. > > Mr. Papert, who is critical of the computer industry, says one of the > project's goals is to challenge the notion that a laptop must be > expensive. "They've followed a policy of stuffing more and more into > it which most people don't really need and keep the price up. I think > it's quite amazing that they managed to convince the world to accept > that, but they did." > > He also says Microsoft, which is a financial contributor to MIT and a > backer of its Media Lab, has undergone a change in attitude about the > $100 laptop. "Their first reaction was to laugh at the idea, then the > next reaction was kind of antagonistic," he says. "Recently, they're > very friendly." > > Microsoft's Mr. Mundie says he wasn't aware of any antagonism, adding, > "At the end of the day, I think we have fundamentally the same > objectives that the Media Lab project has relative to the kids." And > Mr. Negroponte, after meeting with Mr. Gates, now says, "The machine > will run anything, including Windows." > > > Write to Steve Stecklow at [EMAIL PROTECTED] > ------------------- > > the website for the MIT laptop project is: > http://laptop.media.mit.edu/
-- Clinersterton beademung, with all of love - RIP James Blish ----- Mau e ki, he aha te mea nui? You ask, what is the most important thing? Maku e ki, he tangata, he tangata, he tangata. I reply, it is people, it is people, it is people. --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
