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| | The Internet Marketing Tools Network is not currently active and cannot accept new posts | | One Laptop Per Child | Views: 833 | | Oct 02, 2005 4:44 pm | | One Laptop Per Child | # | 
Garland Coulson | | Here is a link to an article about how MIT plans to provide $100
durable laptops to the children
of the world. This is done through a non-profit program called One
Laptop Per Child. Local governments would purchase and distribute the
laptops.
The laptops run on Linux and are made of weatherproof rubber. Since not
every child may always have power available, the laptop includes a manual crank
to recharge the battery. See pictures of the
proposed laptops.
A very intriguing concept. Now, if someone can set up Internet access,
we will have a whole new group of people publishing web sites and joining our
group!
Garland Coulson, "The E-Business Tutor"
Market while you surf!
FREE Traffic and Research Toolbar for FireFox and Internet Explorer
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Private Reply to Garland Coulson | | Oct 03, 2005 3:00 pm | | re: One Laptop Per Child | # |
Chris Young | | The folks at the MIT Media Lab have made provisions for Internet access as well.
Each machine will be a node in a distributed mesh network that will provide wifi access to each village.
While the projected point for the hardware is interesting,Moores Law makes the price easily attainable,hardware is not the whole story.
What is of true significance is the fact that these will all be powered by Open Source Applications.
Cheers,
ChrisPrivate Reply to Chris Young | | Oct 04, 2005 6:30 am | | re: re: One Laptop Per Child | # | 
Haresh SC | | Dear Chris, am really glad to know that the folks at the MIT Media Lab have made provisions for Internet access as well.
Each machine will be a node in a distributed mesh network that will provide wifi access to each village.
am from india, no more a country of snake charmers! u may be aware that india is one of the biggest economy in the world, emerging as a superpower in the near future. The whole world is witness to the software capabilities that india has displayed. i guess there will be atleast 3 verticals that this nation is going to be proud of in presenting to the whole world.
now the other side of the coin, the ground reality is, that while the indian metros are getting developed by the day, the rural population is still devoid of luxaries such as PC, electricity, portable water, to name a few.
the purpose of writing this note is - whether u could explore the possibility of doing something for my gr8 country, specially for the rural india? am willing to give u a helping hand and it would be my pleasure to network with u. would highly appreciate if u could drop in my page. untill then best wishes to u and ur family/friends.
haresh s c
Private Reply to Haresh SC | | Oct 04, 2005 12:36 pm | | re: re: re: One Laptop Per Child | # |
Chris Young | | Haresh,Your illustration of the digital divide is not unique to India but, it exists here in Canada and the United States too.
While electricity is not an issue,there are other barriers to knowledge development such as access to broadband internet and functional low cost computers.
Having worked on the development of leading edge broadband and wireless applications, I have come to the realization that the vast majority of computer users in developed countries buy more computing power than they need. And, pay far too much for applications that run on those machines.
Out of this,I have become convinced that the Open Source software movement will become a powerfull economic force that will alter the existing development process and allow more people save a significant amount of money, and create new economic opportunities outside of the major software vendors (and likely to impact offshore development centers too).
The Challenge is, how do we respond to these mounting pressures?
My approach is to be on the front end, promoting low cost applications , and help develop an ecosystem for Open Source applications in the North American market.
On that note, I'm looking for distribution partners in the US and Canada who can call on small businesses in their local area.(Anyone Interested?)
With regard to basic infrastructure, there is debate in this country (Canada)as to whether Universal Broadband Internet is a basic necessity. While it may be a luxury in emerging markets, I would argue it is a necessity here, in order to ensure equal access to learning opportunities. However, when compared to simple utilities like water and electricity, perhaps we are more than a little off the mark.
Cheers,
ChrisPrivate Reply to Chris Young | | |
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