circle.ch :: Modifications on the $100 Laptop

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2013-05-11T15:38:07

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17. November 2005

Modifications on the $100 Laptop
Technology (wiki) | Random Thought (wiki) - urs @ 22:25:16

Last Monday I read the first time about the $100 Laptop of the MIT to be built for the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) initiative [1]. There will be no shop that is going to sell that Laptop, as I read on the introductional page. The Laptop roughly will be

a Linux-based, full-color, full-screen laptop that will use innovative power (including wind-up) and will be able to do most everything except store huge amounts of data. This rugged laptop will be WiFi-enabled and have USB ports galore. Its current specifications are: 500MHz, 1GB, 1 Megapixel.

So far quite impressive, if you keep $100 in mind. Nevertheless I would like to add the following;

To add a solar panel on the top of the Laptop case [2].
To add a foil keyboard to make it more robust [3].
To add more fixed Memory (>1GB).
To set up a Hardware-Kit to let students build their own Laptop.
To find a way to license the schematics, Hardware-Kit etc. under a non-commercial license.

I am not yet sure about what an Open Hardware License would look like and even if it even is nescessary. As said, it is just a random thought. But I can imagine that it would push the innovation in the soft- and hardware industries, even though I tend for a non-commercial license. The idea behind is that companies should not re-produce the hardware and sell it at exorbitant prices. The Laptop should be available for approx. $100. So if they are innovative, they produce it for less.

[1] http://laptop.media.mit.edu
[2] http://www.kenkifer.com/bikepages/touring/laptop.htm
[3] http://www.industrialkeyboard.com/html/internettastatur-folie.html

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Related tags(s):

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Comment by Matthias @ 2005-11-18 00:04:37:
I guess it's a cute engineering problem, but nothing else. There are cerainly things these people need a lot more urgently than laptops.
Comment by Gregor J. Rothfuss @ 2005-11-18 01:45:30:
With Fab costs approaching 10^10$, open hardware is bound to be a phenomenon always a couple generations behind the state of the art..

Comment by Urs @ 2005-11-18 10:36:45:

There are certainly things that are more important than laptops, I aggree. But if we have that level behind, then education is very important. And if computer technology can foster it, we should give it a try. And yes, to have way behind state of the art technology is not what we would like. Have a look at the Simputer, which seems to be a huge success in India, and it is not even a laptop. Actually there is quite some activity concerning Open Hardware.

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