$100 Laptop from MIT

A hand-cranked laptop that will cost roughly $100, developed by MIT is expected to be available to poorer countries by late 2006. This project is for bringing poor school children in poor countries closer to computers and create a new wave in field of education.

In principle, the project seems simple: Design a laptop with built-in wireless and minimal power consumption, find manufacturers willing to build it for about $100, convince governments to buy it in quantities of at least 1 million as an initial order, and give it to schoolchildren to keep as their own property.The proposed design of the machines calls for a 500MHz processor, 1GB of memory and a unique dual-mode display that can be used in full-color mode, or in a black-and-white sunlight-readable mode. It's not clear yet how much cranking will be needed for the higher-power color mode.

It's expected to run an open-source operating system, probably Linux, MIT Media Lab Chairman Nicholas Negroponte said, rather than a closed-source product from Apple Computer or Microsoft. Companies including Google, Advanced Micro Devices, News Corp. and Red Hat have donated to the project. This laptop will surely bring one hell of a technological revolution in developing countries. The wait is on!

Cheers!