First OLPC laptops ready to be tested

The first $150 laptops from the OLPC program seem to be ready for their field test. Eight developing nations are expected to receive about 2,500 laptops this month. Among the features they will host is the string pulley battery which delivers 10 minutes of electricity for every minute of pulling, a special screen that turns black and white when hit directly by sunlight, a digital video camera, wireless connectivity, and of course, all powered by the Linux OS.

"We're pledging to always drive the price down," Walter Bender, the group's president of software and content, told Reuters. "Rather than continuing to add features to keep the price inflated, we're keeping the feature set stable and driving the price down."

The project seems great, but not everyone is buying it (the laptops nor the initiative). There are critics who say this program will only bring debt to countries already struggling to survive. They speculate that governments will have to borrow money to fund a program which has no proven results.