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$100 laptop to boost desktop Linux?
Nicholas Negroponte, head of the "One Laptop per Child" project and co-founder of the MIT Media Laboratory has claimed that the project will make Linux as popular on the desktop as it is on the server today. Speaking at the Red Hat annual user summit, Negroponte said that the OLPC project should foster the mass adoption of Linux as a desktop operating system.
The OLPC project seeks to produce a portable PC for use by children in the developing world for a cheap price. The price started at $100, but has since risen to about $140. Negroponte claims that the price is floating (they are a non-profit organization) and that they have a target price of $100 by 2008. The project has received widespread support from companies such as Red Hat and AMD, but Microsoft and Intel, on the other hand, don't seem to think the project is up to much.
"AMD is our partner, which means Intel is p***ing on me. (Microsoft Chairman) Bill Gates is not pleased either, but if I am annoying Microsoft and Intel then I figure I am doing something right," Negroponte said.
The OLPC project seeks to produce a portable PC for use by children in the developing world for a cheap price. The price started at $100, but has since risen to about $140. Negroponte claims that the price is floating (they are a non-profit organization) and that they have a target price of $100 by 2008. The project has received widespread support from companies such as Red Hat and AMD, but Microsoft and Intel, on the other hand, don't seem to think the project is up to much.
"AMD is our partner, which means Intel is p***ing on me. (Microsoft Chairman) Bill Gates is not pleased either, but if I am annoying Microsoft and Intel then I figure I am doing something right," Negroponte said.
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User Comments (6)
Post a comment| Phantasm66 on June 4, 2006 9:29 AM | "If you are going to go have people share the computer, get a broadband connection and have somebody there who can help support the user," Gates chided. "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." What a really judgemental thing to say. Starving African people don't have broadband connections, or lots of money for kick ass laptops, or endless supplies of batteries. The whole point is to be able to give these people access to computers (which can only have a positive affect) and Gates is probably bitter he's not doing this himself.
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| canadian on June 4, 2006 11:15 AM | Im surprised Google isn't in on this, they seem to be everywhere in stuff like this now.
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| crossfire851 on June 4, 2006 11:27 AM | Well I know this is gonna be a big thing here in the states too, but I know alot of people are very jugdemental like, "hey that a pice of shi7". I know if I am able to get one I am going to srcap it and make mods and what not.
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| fiziks on June 4, 2006 2:27 PM | for 100 bucks I don't think it matters whether it's a piece of shi7 or not.. and mods, there will be 3rd party mods I'm sure, I'll give it a week after the release. Everybody will try to mod this thing, but what about repairs, they'll cost just as much as the unit probably...
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| eko on June 6, 2006 1:32 AM | I'll get one for me! Although I'm not African, I am willing to spend 140 bucks if I can open an e-mail, edit a document and listen to music. And carry the whole thing with me all over the place. Good initiative, but for those poor African kids, it should be free. Totally.
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| DragonMaster on June 6, 2006 10:26 AM | Although I'm not African, I am willing to spend 140 bucks if I can open an e-mail, edit a document and listen to music. And carry the whole thing with me all over the place. True! It could be good here too. Is there something under $100 in North America that can browse the Internet, let you listen to music or read our e-mail with a screen bigger than an inch? I don't think so.
Good initiative, but for those poor African kids, it should be free. Totally.
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