Saturday, October 22, 2005

Closing the Cybergap

Blueprints for a $100 laptop aimed at children in poor countries have been unveiled by scientists. The machines would have a hand crank to power them when there is no electricity and their power adapters would double as carrying straps. They would be carried like slim lunchboxes and, for outdoor reading, their display would be able to shift from full colour to glare-resistant black and white. The wireless laptops would also have a rubber casing as "they have to be indestructible", said Nicholas Negroponte, of the MIT - Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

He hatched the idea after seeing children in a Cambodian village benefit from having a notebook PC donated by a charity. He hopes to get up to 15 million machines in production within a year.

Countries like Brazil, China and Thailand are already interested in the project.

3 comments:

Chris O said...

I read about this recently and I think it's an excellent idea. If it helps to educate and develop people who would normally be disadvantaged purely on the basis of being poor, it can only do a lot of good. :)

Nice Continental said...

Thanks for your coments Chris... otherwise I'd think I am writing in the desert!

Chris O said...

I agree! We miss that stuff! (Nice new graphics, by the way!)