Thursday, November 17, 2005
Green Machine At The United Nations.
The prototype of the $100 wind-up laptop for kids in developing countries has made its debut at the United Nations.
Millions of the lime green machines should be in production within a year.
The laptop will run on open source software. Apple offered to supply an operating system but that was rejected, rightly, as that would tie the users of the machine into commercial software, which would defeat the purpose of the whole scheme.
Most of the stuff on my Mac is open source and free, and arguably better than many equivalent commercial versions, but I still have to buy the operating system itself. At the rate of development by Apple at the moment that can mean £100 per year and a half to keep up to date.
Critics say that computers come low on the list of priorities for kids in developing countries, saying basic schooling, learning to read and write, desks and chalk are what is required. Hard to argue with that, but these days it is simply not enough.
These green machines will transform the lives of children all over the world, whether they have access to formal education or not.
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan looked like he was having a lot of fun with his.
The Clockwork Laptop, 30 Sept 05
Millions of the lime green machines should be in production within a year.
The laptop will run on open source software. Apple offered to supply an operating system but that was rejected, rightly, as that would tie the users of the machine into commercial software, which would defeat the purpose of the whole scheme.
Most of the stuff on my Mac is open source and free, and arguably better than many equivalent commercial versions, but I still have to buy the operating system itself. At the rate of development by Apple at the moment that can mean £100 per year and a half to keep up to date.
Critics say that computers come low on the list of priorities for kids in developing countries, saying basic schooling, learning to read and write, desks and chalk are what is required. Hard to argue with that, but these days it is simply not enough.
These green machines will transform the lives of children all over the world, whether they have access to formal education or not.
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan looked like he was having a lot of fun with his.
The Clockwork Laptop, 30 Sept 05
© Colcam 2005-2007
