Sunday, November 27, 2005
A Laptop for Every Child
The U.N. has a truly ambitious project - provide every child in the world with a laptop, to further education and development. And it looks like they just might be able to do it. At this months U.N. IT meeting, the prototype was unveiled: a $100, Linux based system with a extra tough chassis, Wi-Fi connectivity, LCD screen, and, amazingly, a hand-powered crank in lieu of costly and hard-to-obtain power sources. It's an incredible technical achievement, and could revolutionize education around the world. From Massachusetts to Thailand to Brazil, enormous orders have already been placed, and dozens of other countries are keenly interested. Not that the systems doesn't have flaws, however. Still, it's a bold concept to bring everyone into the information age.------------------------------------------------