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$100 laptop for poor children will cost $130 mongabay.com February 15, 2007
To date, said Quanta, seven countries have signed up for the project. These include Argentina, Brazil, Libya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Thailand and Uruguay. Quanta will make a profit on each machine sold. The laptops have been billed as a durable low-cost PC for children in developing countries. The project has received support from Google, AMD, Brightstar, News Corporation, and Red Hat. Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft criticized the computer in March 2006 but by December it became evident that Microsoft was indeed involved in the effort.
The laptop, which was tested by the U.S. State Department in mid-November, is WiFi- and cell phone-enabled, and can be powered using a hand-crank. It is designed to be used in harsh environments such as remote rural areas in developing countries. The weather-proof laptops will available in some 30 colors. The U.N. has voiced approval for the project. "When they start reaching the hands of the world's children, these robust and versatile machines will enable kids to become more active in their own learning," said Kofi Annan, former Secretary-General of the U.N., in comments made at the World Summit on the Information Society in 2005. "Children will be able to learn by doing, not just through instruction or rote memorization. And they will be able to open a new front in their education: peer-to-peer learning." Comments? News options News index | RSS | Add to MyYahoo! Advertisements: Organic Apparel from Patagonia | Insect-repelling clothing |
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