$100 Laptop In Action

Soon, mass production of the extremely inexpensive laptop will begin. The "One Laptop per Child" project aims to impart knowledge to school children in developing and industrializing nations. With its dual-mode display that is readable in sunlight and national networking, the $100 laptop truly sets itself apart from the competition.

The laptop has been designed for children's hands; it is much smaller than conventional notebooks and only weighs around 1kg including the battery. Its most important feature is a completely new 7.5 inch display. Whether used inside or outside in broad daylight, the screen is easily legible, far surpassing the performance of all notebook displays currently found on the market. The developers also came up with a clever solution for wireless connections between devices. The WLAN chips communicate with each other in what is called a "mesh network," in which every laptop transmits data for others. This approach reduces infrastructure demands. In extreme cases, all you need is a single WLAN base station to connect all of the school children to the Internet. Most importantly, the "mesh" networks all of the schoolchildren to each other without the use of any external connections.

Founded by Nicolas Negroponte, the "One Laptop for Child" (OLPC) project pursues the philosophy that capacity-building starting with school children in developing and industrializing nations will take the world one step closer to peace. The content and communication technologies that the "100 dollar laptop" offers to children serve that purpose. Before the year is over, Taiwanese manufacturer Quanta Computer is expected to have finished the first million devices.

Unfortunately, the target of $100 dollars (US) per item is still nowhere in sight. Currently, the OLPC project estimates the unit price at around $140 dollars just to cover production costs.

Before mass production can start, binding orders have to be placed for at least 5 million laptops. Up to now, only Libya has signed a declaration of intent. Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, and Nigeria also say they will be signing if the devices prove to work as planned. If the project continues at the current rate, the future looks bright despite all the criticism.