Comments on: The $100 laptop moves closer to reality

MIT's Nicholas Negroponte lays out a design for a low-cost PC with a twist: Windup power and an innovative display.

[indrakanti]

Very ambitious, but...

What children in poorer nations need is - food, clean drinking
water and clothing, along with basic education. Even $100 is alot of
money for them. Where many people make less then $10 a day, I
can assure you laptops are the last thing in their mind.

[volterwd]

I dont think

the africans with aids and distended stomaches because they dont eat are the ones that they aim at getting these too... not all poor people are that desolate...

I agree

as much as its a great way to spread information, its not going to feed them. and im sure put in the hands of the government distributing them, im sure the information they do recive would be more propaganda.

Long Term View

Hi,

I see what you're saying - they do need food and water. However, giving them food and water won't help break the poverty cycle. It will merely build nations which are dependant upon hand-outs.

$100 for a laptop which can educate a number of people on an infinate number of subjects is cheap compared to the equivalent in text-books.

With improved education, entire nations will eventually be able to work themselves out of poverty.

I'm not saying we shouldn't help - far from it - I just think that the $100 laptop COULD be one of the best investments in the long term.

- Chris

[Lynn_S]

Too rich to get the concept?

And I can assure you that you're concept of poverty isn't very realistic based on your comments.

Actually places where workers earn around $10 per day are exactly where this type of machine would hit the make/break point between being given away and being sold for the equivalent of $100 USD. People making that much could actually afford it. Places where workers make $300USD per *year* is where this project is more likely targeted. They couldn't afford it and it would reduce the expense of providing education so that money could be spent on something else, like maybe clean water and food.

>>What children in poorer nations need is - food, clean drinking water and clothing, along with basic education.<<

This project is part of basic education and could free up money for more basic needs so why are you speaking out against it?

[georgetang]

Re: Very ambitious, but...

Jack,

$100 is the target offer price to local governments in order for them to purchase a learning tool for the children.

$100 is not intended to be purchase by children.

Please read all related news of such project.

[SUNSHINE2940]

I agree with you! and what about the kids in our country are they not as important as any others? I think we need to put "AMERICA" first!!!

[indrakanti]

Very ambitious, but...

What children in poorer nations need is - food, clean drinking
water and clothing, along with basic education. Even $100 is alot of
money for them. Where many people make less then $10 a day, I
can assure you laptops are the last thing in their mind.

[volterwd]

I dont think

the africans with aids and distended stomaches because they dont eat are the ones that they aim at getting these too... not all poor people are that desolate...

I agree

as much as its a great way to spread information, its not going to feed them. and im sure put in the hands of the government distributing them, im sure the information they do recive would be more propaganda.

Long Term View

Hi,

I see what you're saying - they do need food and water. However, giving them food and water won't help break the poverty cycle. It will merely build nations which are dependant upon hand-outs.

$100 for a laptop which can educate a number of people on an infinate number of subjects is cheap compared to the equivalent in text-books.

With improved education, entire nations will eventually be able to work themselves out of poverty.

I'm not saying we shouldn't help - far from it - I just think that the $100 laptop COULD be one of the best investments in the long term.

- Chris

[Lynn_S]

Too rich to get the concept?

And I can assure you that you're concept of poverty isn't very realistic based on your comments.

Actually places where workers earn around $10 per day are exactly where this type of machine would hit the make/break point between being given away and being sold for the equivalent of $100 USD. People making that much could actually afford it. Places where workers make $300USD per *year* is where this project is more likely targeted. They couldn't afford it and it would reduce the expense of providing education so that money could be spent on something else, like maybe clean water and food.

>>What children in poorer nations need is - food, clean drinking water and clothing, along with basic education.<<

This project is part of basic education and could free up money for more basic needs so why are you speaking out against it?

[georgetang]

Re: Very ambitious, but...

Jack,

$100 is the target offer price to local governments in order for them to purchase a learning tool for the children.

$100 is not intended to be purchase by children.

Please read all related news of such project.

[Captain_Spock]

What Will Be The Scenarios....

When all these children in the developing world grow up to become adults, move into the productive labor forces where the Microsoft $$$ backed "Office" productivity suite may very well still be the "king" of the road; also, much more American jobs becoming exportable in addition to the increased number of H1B, (HSLW1 - Highly Skilled Low Wage 1 Visas...). Will this strategy be more Americans on the bread lines and the now touted $100 laptop becoming paper weights in some homes or offices.

[bowenwi]

Good, but what about Urban communities here

I would like to know why everyone is talking about helping developing countries, when in fact America is becoming more of a third world country everyday thanks to the decline of public education. This technology is desperately needed in today's classrooms so that children here in America will actually have a chance of getting decent paying jobs, without have to pay to go to private high schools. In colleges most of the students of excel are those from either high income housing and private schools or those who are from other countries. That means that our government needs to do a lot better in providing better education for ALL students and not just some. If they don't America will be a third world country, because it is very clear that the middle class is about to go up in smoke.

[Captain_Spock]

What Will Be The Scenarios....

When all these children in the developing world grow up to become adults, move into the productive labor forces where the Microsoft $$$ backed "Office" productivity suite may very well still be the "king" of the road; also, much more American jobs becoming exportable in addition to the increased number of H1B, (HSLW1 - Highly Skilled Low Wage 1 Visas...). Will this strategy be more Americans on the bread lines and the now touted $100 laptop becoming paper weights in some homes or offices.

[bowenwi]

Good, but what about Urban communities here

I would like to know why everyone is talking about helping developing countries, when in fact America is becoming more of a third world country everyday thanks to the decline of public education. This technology is desperately needed in today's classrooms so that children here in America will actually have a chance of getting decent paying jobs, without have to pay to go to private high schools. In colleges most of the students of excel are those from either high income housing and private schools or those who are from other countries. That means that our government needs to do a lot better in providing better education for ALL students and not just some. If they don't America will be a third world country, because it is very clear that the middle class is about to go up in smoke.

What about *OUR* students?

Forget about the world for a minute. What about *OUR* poor,
*OUR* students? I say tackle issues at home first. I'm damned
sick, as an american, of hearing all of the effort we're pouring
into countries abroad, when we've got high school graduates
who routinely can't read. No Child Left Behind doesn't work,
most students still don't have adequate access to technology
that's becoming more and more a requirement. And we're not a
third world country.

Most schoold districts here don't have enough qualified tech
people, many businesses here complain of a lack of qualified
techs HERE. So let's start there.

[lingsun]

Americans do have access to technology.

I don't believe in the so-called digital divide. We live in a country where you can buy a $100 used PC & monitor with dial-up internet access. For $100 on eBay you could buy a 500MHz Emachine with a 17" monitor if you can pick it up instead of paying to ship it. The $100 laptops are going to be SOLD in poor countries, not given away as an act of government charity. Plus, in America we spend way too much money on education. We spend more than any other country but we have the educational level of Pakistan.

yeah, what about them...

don't be sick of efforts to help the world -- they need to go on. america, on the whole, enjoys privileges most people will never know. there's plenty of wealth and brains to go around. a reader above mentioned used PCs -- for the students here, this is much more apropos - easy to ship and usually a bit more powerful. the problem in the us is that the efforts to bring cheap PCs to kids here still use winblows and office; a critical factor in keeping PCs cheap is keeping the software costs down, can't be done. here's an idea: get a grant for giving underprivileged students cheap PCs, then go to walmrt and buy a 1.5GHz linux PC (perhaps with a discount from walmart) and solicit donations of used monitors...

I agree "US First"

We live in NYC and my son is in high school as a junior and has yet to touch a computer there. In grammar school there were pc's in every classroom yet in high school they are reserved for the higher academics only. Thats a disgrace. The U.S. first is what the tax payers in this country expect.

I agree with you

We need to help the "financially challenged" in
OUR OWN COUNTRY first and foremost. Once that
is done, then we can move forward and help other
countries. Let's not forget the victims of
hurricanes Katrina and Rita, many of these
survivors lost everything they had, including
PC's, laptops, monitors, printers, and PDA's.
The majority of these folks do not have property
insurance and therefore do not have the
financial resources to replace this equipment.
Technology will enable people to regain some
semblance of normalcy in their lives. The crank
powered laptop would be especially helpful in
the event of a power outage. Let's support our
own BEFORE we can even BEGIN to think of meeting
the technology needs of the rest of the world!

What about *OUR* students?

Forget about the world for a minute. What about *OUR* poor,
*OUR* students? I say tackle issues at home first. I'm damned
sick, as an american, of hearing all of the effort we're pouring
into countries abroad, when we've got high school graduates
who routinely can't read. No Child Left Behind doesn't work,
most students still don't have adequate access to technology
that's becoming more and more a requirement. And we're not a
third world country.

Most schoold districts here don't have enough qualified tech
people, many businesses here complain of a lack of qualified
techs HERE. So let's start there.

[lingsun]

Americans do have access to technology.

I don't believe in the so-called digital divide. We live in a country where you can buy a $100 used PC & monitor with dial-up internet access. For $100 on eBay you could buy a 500MHz Emachine with a 17" monitor if you can pick it up instead of paying to ship it. The $100 laptops are going to be SOLD in poor countries, not given away as an act of government charity. Plus, in America we spend way too much money on education. We spend more than any other country but we have the educational level of Pakistan.

yeah, what about them...

don't be sick of efforts to help the world -- they need to go on. america, on the whole, enjoys privileges most people will never know. there's plenty of wealth and brains to go around. a reader above mentioned used PCs -- for the students here, this is much more apropos - easy to ship and usually a bit more powerful. the problem in the us is that the efforts to bring cheap PCs to kids here still use winblows and office; a critical factor in keeping PCs cheap is keeping the software costs down, can't be done. here's an idea: get a grant for giving underprivileged students cheap PCs, then go to walmrt and buy a 1.5GHz linux PC (perhaps with a discount from walmart) and solicit donations of used monitors...

I agree "US First"

We live in NYC and my son is in high school as a junior and has yet to touch a computer there. In grammar school there were pc's in every classroom yet in high school they are reserved for the higher academics only. Thats a disgrace. The U.S. first is what the tax payers in this country expect.

I agree with you

We need to help the "financially challenged" in
OUR OWN COUNTRY first and foremost. Once that
is done, then we can move forward and help other
countries. Let's not forget the victims of
hurricanes Katrina and Rita, many of these
survivors lost everything they had, including
PC's, laptops, monitors, printers, and PDA's.
The majority of these folks do not have property
insurance and therefore do not have the
financial resources to replace this equipment.
Technology will enable people to regain some
semblance of normalcy in their lives. The crank
powered laptop would be especially helpful in
the event of a power outage. Let's support our
own BEFORE we can even BEGIN to think of meeting
the technology needs of the rest of the world!

[Eduardo1234565]

market share

150 million by 2007, and it will run Linux. That alone would give Linux maybe 20% of the world PC market.

[lingsun]

150 million by 2007?? MAYBE 1.5 million...

I just don't think the sales projections are anywhere close to reality. In many countries people are struggling just to have enough to eat. I can't see why people will see a $100 laptop as some magic ticket to a better life.

[Eduardo1234565]

market share

150 million by 2007, and it will run Linux. That alone would give Linux maybe 20% of the world PC market.

[lingsun]

150 million by 2007?? MAYBE 1.5 million...

I just don't think the sales projections are anywhere close to reality. In many countries people are struggling just to have enough to eat. I can't see why people will see a $100 laptop as some magic ticket to a better life.

Exciting Opportunity for American Kids

I'm sure mistakes will be made along the way?design,
distribution, tech support, etc., but I'm excited about this
project. In the 1st world we see children out-pacing adults in
technological literacy, and I imagine this will be even more
extreme in the 3rd world.

How will African, Egyptian, Thai kids go about "learning the
computer"? Mostly on their own, without much help from
adults. They will benefit from not having their imaginations
stunted by technology-jaded adults. What kind of virtual
communities will they develop? How will they reach out to their
1st world peers? How many American 8 year olds are going to
start up friendships with these 3rd world kids? How might their
relationships develop into innovative, problem-solving
collaborations?

How many American kids are going to start wanting to learn
Linux so they can work on projects with other kids around the
world?

[Mendz]

Linux for the masses...

... is coming... and it's mobile... :D

[paranormal69]

exciting indeed

Mr. Ferguson, your statements are quite true and exciting. I concur wholeheartedly. I would only hope that this blurs the lines of racism even more. Global collaboration.

Exciting Opportunity for American Kids

I'm sure mistakes will be made along the way?design,
distribution, tech support, etc., but I'm excited about this
project. In the 1st world we see children out-pacing adults in
technological literacy, and I imagine this will be even more
extreme in the 3rd world.

How will African, Egyptian, Thai kids go about "learning the
computer"? Mostly on their own, without much help from
adults. They will benefit from not having their imaginations
stunted by technology-jaded adults. What kind of virtual
communities will they develop? How will they reach out to their
1st world peers? How many American 8 year olds are going to
start up friendships with these 3rd world kids? How might their
relationships develop into innovative, problem-solving
collaborations?

How many American kids are going to start wanting to learn
Linux so they can work on projects with other kids around the
world?

[Mendz]

Linux for the masses...

... is coming... and it's mobile... :D

[paranormal69]

exciting indeed

Mr. Ferguson, your statements are quite true and exciting. I concur wholeheartedly. I would only hope that this blurs the lines of racism even more. Global collaboration.

[lingsun]

Still way too expensive for the billion poorest people in the world.

Still way too expensive for the billion poorest people in the world. They're better off getting used PCs from the west.

[Cesar Santamaria]

Maybe people is going too far...

Most people are missing the point here. The proyect is aimed for developing countries; DEVELOPING. Not to the poor countries that have bigger problems to solve(starvation, diseases, etc.). Here in my country(a developing one) we do have a computer-culture. You can find in each corner cafes with computer usage(broadband included) about USD 0.50 an hour. So here in developing IS an opportunity for this. Even adults could fell in love with this proyect. Laptops are not cheap, so having a personal system for carrying to work and home in about $100 is a blessing for many. The people in Africa have bigger problems to solve; they may not care about having a laptop for doing homework and communicate with other people, as here in Latin America where is poorness, but a big computer culture. I think that the proyect could be a great success; it depends of the "people" they want to reach. Latin America could be the best option for the beginning.

[Captain_Spock]

Why Not Try BOOT and Bartering Programs!

Why not try out Building, Ownership, Operating and Transfer of Technologies (BOOT) to developing countries; also, bartering programs (possibly increased outsourcing) as a way out the social and economic doldrums that under-developed and developing countries sometimes find themselves in; in this way they may be able to affford more than a $100 computer - even perhaps an auto!

[Mendz]

Nah...

It's the cheapest ever if ever... Even the elite would want to own one. Looks good... imagine going out camping or mountain climbing with it... amazing crank power... wow!

[haugland]

Used PCs?

Brilliant idea. Send some used PCs (and don't forget to include a couple of miles of extension cords for each PC).

the money will not come from donations and government funds

ummm, yeah right those handcrankable dells that are all the rage. you know, the ones with hard drives that never die and really low power consumption.

Power cost and availability

A lot of those poor probably couldn't afford the power to run those old PCs, provided that power is available. Plus they would need places to put the hardware, which might be difficult if they are living on the streets or in cardboard shacks.

[lingsun]

Still way too expensive for the billion poorest people in the world.

Still way too expensive for the billion poorest people in the world. They're better off getting used PCs from the west.

[Cesar Santamaria]

Maybe people is going too far...

Most people are missing the point here. The proyect is aimed for developing countries; DEVELOPING. Not to the poor countries that have bigger problems to solve(starvation, diseases, etc.). Here in my country(a developing one) we do have a computer-culture. You can find in each corner cafes with computer usage(broadband included) about USD 0.50 an hour. So here in developing IS an opportunity for this. Even adults could fell in love with this proyect. Laptops are not cheap, so having a personal system for carrying to work and home in about $100 is a blessing for many. The people in Africa have bigger problems to solve; they may not care about having a laptop for doing homework and communicate with other people, as here in Latin America where is poorness, but a big computer culture. I think that the proyect could be a great success; it depends of the "people" they want to reach. Latin America could be the best option for the beginning.

[Captain_Spock]

Why Not Try BOOT and Bartering Programs!

Why not try out Building, Ownership, Operating and Transfer of Technologies (BOOT) to developing countries; also, bartering programs (possibly increased outsourcing) as a way out the social and economic doldrums that under-developed and developing countries sometimes find themselves in; in this way they may be able to affford more than a $100 computer - even perhaps an auto!

[Mendz]

Nah...

It's the cheapest ever if ever... Even the elite would want to own one. Looks good... imagine going out camping or mountain climbing with it... amazing crank power... wow!

[haugland]

Used PCs?

Brilliant idea. Send some used PCs (and don't forget to include a couple of miles of extension cords for each PC).

the money will not come from donations and government funds

ummm, yeah right those handcrankable dells that are all the rage. you know, the ones with hard drives that never die and really low power consumption.

Power cost and availability

A lot of those poor probably couldn't afford the power to run those old PCs, provided that power is available. Plus they would need places to put the hardware, which might be difficult if they are living on the streets or in cardboard shacks.

Cooper Union Students

I am currently working with other students in an Engineering and Design class at The Cooper Union For The Advancement of Science and Art. Our project for the semester is designing a computer for the masses: In particular, designing a computer that is low-priced and that provides access to the internet.

This article was forwarded to our class by our professor.

It is great to see the strides that are being made in this area, as I believe it to be one of the most important developments/projects of our time. Knowledge is power after all.

Good luck to all of those involved.

JD

Cooper Union Students

I am currently working with other students in an Engineering and Design class at The Cooper Union For The Advancement of Science and Art. Our project for the semester is designing a computer for the masses: In particular, designing a computer that is low-priced and that provides access to the internet.

This article was forwarded to our class by our professor.

It is great to see the strides that are being made in this area, as I believe it to be one of the most important developments/projects of our time. Knowledge is power after all.

Good luck to all of those involved.

JD

[hemen thacker]

Its Nice.

Well I was impressed by the 4 type of utility of this product. Even you spend 2000 bucks you don't get Laptop and tablet combine. MIT start selling customized version of this product in market will be a great hit.

[hemen thacker]

Its Nice.

Well I was impressed by the 4 type of utility of this product. Even you spend 2000 bucks you don't get Laptop and tablet combine. MIT start selling customized version of this product in market will be a great hit.

[jer2eydevil88]

Amazing...

It looks like that laptop is more aestheticly appealing than the $1200 Dell Inspiron notebooks. Frankly i'd buy one just because of the crank letting me recharge it on the go.

[jer2eydevil88]

Amazing...

It looks like that laptop is more aestheticly appealing than the $1200 Dell Inspiron notebooks. Frankly i'd buy one just because of the crank letting me recharge it on the go.

That's right, but

The billion poorest people are not footing the bill. The country buys the $100 laptop and distributes them to the citizens.

That's right, but

The billion poorest people are not footing the bill. The country buys the $100 laptop and distributes them to the citizens.