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I don’t normally like to post anti-Gates and anti-Microsoft banter, but this even has me a bit upset.  As many of you may know, MIT has been working on developing a sub-$100 laptop for deployment in developing countries.  Although that is still a steep price, they’ve been able to pack a pretty decent punch (all things considered) into the little lappy.  It’s powered by a hand-crank to forego the necessity of electricity (although it is not the only form of power available) and has an AMD Geode processor running at 366mhz, 128mb of DDR memory, and up to 1gb of flash storage space.  It will feature usb, mic, line out, external speaker, and various other I/O ports.  A 7” VGA resolution screen looks like the standard, although a monocrome display may also be available.  WLAN should be included, as is a standard keyboard…Read More to see what Gates thinks about this ambitious, humanitarian project.

If you ask me, those aren’t bad specs for the cost of production.  These won’t be sold to the public, so the price is production, NOT an MSRP of any sort.  The "One Laptop Per Child" (OLPC) has the following mission statement posted on their homepage:

So what does Gates think?  According to CNET, he thinks that the device is absurd due to its tiny screen and lack of a harddrive.  He also says, "If you are going to go have people share the computer, get a broadband connection and have somebody there who can help support the user, geez, get a decent computer where you can actually read the text and you’re not sitting there cranking the thing while you’re trying to type."

Firstly, his comments seem quite arrogant to me.  Read the CNET article linked above to see what I mean.  He seems to have failed to notice the name of the project (not shared, one per child) as well as to have read the mission statement, indicating how and where they would be used.  He also comments that software is a large part of the cost, not hardware.  Perhaps if they were to use Windows it would be, but they are not, instead opting for open-source software.  I can’t help but wonder if Gates is simply hurt because the device won’t run Windows.  Gates saying "get a broadband connection" is just absurd.  I’m not one to go on humanitarian rants, but come on Bill, don’t you think they would if they COULD.  Sheesh.  Help them or shut up (he tends to be charitable).  Seriously.

That’s my rant, please feel free to respond, I’d like to hear what you all think about the project.   

Chris Leckness (3549 Posts) - Website | Twitter | Facebook

Chris Leckness is the Owner/Administrator of Mobilitysite. He is a Microsoft MVP, Mobile Devices and a member of the exclusive focus group, Mobius. Chris runs a Mobilitysite, GotZune, and a few other smaller sites and blogs. His personal blog is chris.leckness.com.