One Laptop Per Child





is an initiative to create a child-friendly laptop that can sell for $100. The project is the brainchild of Nicholas Negroponte of the MIT Media Lab, and the research is being sponsered by One Laptop Per Child, a non-profit association. The laptops are not in production yet and will not be available in retail settings - they will be distributed to schools through large scale government initiatives. Most countries in the world have expressed interest in this project (click the "map" link on the OLPC website...looking at the countries who aren't involved yet is also instructive).

Apparently, some people (well, actually, Bill Gates) just can't stand competition ever, even if it is competition to do some good in the world. Uncle Bill even had the nerve to mock one of the most innovative features of a OLPC prototype, a hand crank to power the computer's battery...after all those discovery trips to Africa, you haven't noticed that some places are a little short on 1) electricity and 2) batteries? Guess it has nothing to do with the fact that this project undercuts the price of your own product by several hundred dollars and runs on Linux.

Shame on you Mr. Gates!

-- Rebecca Rouilly