The $100 Laptopby Mary Ann Romans | More from this Blogger 16 Jul 2007 10:07 AM The One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) initiative, started by Nicholas Negroponte, promises to bring laptops to children in less advantaged areas of the world. The laptops are an engineering feat of economy and efficiency. Currently they cost about $175, but the goal of the OLPC is to get that cost down to $100 or less with mass production. Called the XO, the laptop device is highly practical. Because the children who could use these laptops might not have access to electricity, the laptops use very little of it, and can be recharged manually. Earlier designs featured a hand cranking system, but recent designs feature a "fist cranking" method that is similar to the way we would start a lawnmower. A cord is pulled to give the laptop some juice. The screen can be used as a traditional screen, or turned to be used more as a board or tablet. it can also be viewed with no backlighting, in other words, you can view the screen as you might view a piece of paper! This is another feature that allows the XO to use less energy. The XO comes with tiny stereo speakers and three USB ports. Content is being developed by Wikimedia Foundation. Although many companies and organizations have reached out to the project, such as AMD, who is providing the silicon chip, there have been a few critics. Intel has called the device a simple gadget and not a real computer. It's rival unit, called the Classmate, which is a more traditional laptop, sells for $225 and is less energy efficient than the XO. It also require electricity to charge the battery or run the machine and hasn't been as an attractive choice The excitement of the OLPC initiative is taking off (orders are coming in from countries around the world), and it seems that Intel is changing its tune. It has teamed up with OLPC. While it is unclear where the partnership will lead, two scenarios are emerging: a deal to package both the XO and the Classmate together to overseas countries (the Classmate to be used in more traditional classroom settings); and Intel replacing the AMD chip in the XO with one of its own. Mary Ann Romans also writes for the Frugal Living Blog here at Families.com, where she shares money saving tips for today's families. Related Articles Learn more about Mary Ann Romans  Mary Ann Romans is a freelance writer, wife and mother of three children. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, the kids and a 16-pound cat. Relevantcomputers tags User Comments No comments on this article yet. Be the first to comment! Community Tags AMD, Intel, laptop, OLPC, XO Discuss this article
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