| OLPC a good idea, but questions remain |
Jun. 22, 2006
 Despite derision from many analysts, former MIT Media Lab director Nicholas Negroponte's $100 crank-up Linux laptop for poor children around the world is still a very good idea, PCMag.com columnist Lance Ulanoff writes. However, he has some serious doubts about the low-cost laptop's unusual power source.
"Negroponte's OLPC (One Laptop Per Child) program has long been derided because of the plans to use a hand crank to generate electrical power for it, and he indicated that the new plan is to include a sort of foot-pedal instead -- something, he added, that might even be attached to something else to move it and generate power, perhaps even a dog," Ulanoff writes. "A dog? What was Negroponte talking about? What if the dog was tired and didn't want to help keep the laptop running?"
Is Negroponte really, um, barking up the wrong tree? Read the rest of Ulanoff's article, to find out:
The $100 Laptop Ideal
Meanwhile, the latest version of the $100 laptop (now estimated to cost $150) was recently shown in Boston. Read the complete eWEEK.com story here:
Working Model of $100 Laptop Steals MITX Spotlight
For more details on the OLPC, refer to our prior coverage in the related stories, below.
Related Stories:
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