Much has been written about the need for affordable PCs – particularly among school children in the developing world. Which is why MIT’s Nicholas Negroponte launched his One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project with the goal of producing a $100 computer. Sadly, that price proved unachievable and the machine currently costs just under $200 – which is still remarkably affordable. But just how capable can such a machine be? Could Intel chairman Craig Barrett have had a point when he called the OLPC a $100 gadget? Or were those merely comments designed to promote Intel’s more expensive – and Windows-based – competitor, the Classmate PC?
Ars Technica has an excellent comparative review of the two machines. Even more interesting is the review by nine year-old Rufus Cellan-Jones after his father took one home to the UK from Nigeria. I wouldn’t mind getting my grubby paws on one of these gadgets to see for myself.
