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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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