$100 laptop will be available to public

[Jimmy 2004]

Most techPowerUp! readers will already know about the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project, but if you are unaware what it does it is a project aiming to build basic laptops which can be produced for $100 in order to encourage IT development in poorer countries. The machine is set to go on sale next week and when it was first announced many people were interested to know whether the laptop would be available to richer countries, and the answer is yes. But is does have a catch: you need to buy two. This isn't the manufacturer trying to be greedy though - you will only get one laptop but you are essentially paying for one of the machines to be sent to the developing world. The main aim of the project is still to help poorer countries, but this should allow it to provide a few extra laptops. To learn more about the project visit this site.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[RickyG512]

can it run windows XP

 

[L|NK|N]

Thats awesome IMHO I'd buy 2, one for each of my sons, then 2 other kids somewhere else in the world will get one. Thats a trade-off thats worth it if your into good deeds. Its great to see things like this in a fallen world.

 

[ATIonion]

$200 for a lappy for yourself and you're also buying one for someone who can't afford it....that actually sounds like a good idea...

 

[DaMulta]

I wonder if it can run windows and office

 

[Jimmy 2004]

can it run windows XP

It wouldn't be very quick and isn't possible at the moment - XP requires 1.5GB of free space to install, this only has something like 512MB of flash memory. However, M$ are looking to make it work and an SD card slot has been included in the design IIRC.

 

[ATIonion]

who cares if it can run windows on not.....as long as its parts are upgradeable, you could always upgrade the hdd, and RAM cheap...hell i would pay $100 for a stripped down laptop...the screen is well worth that alone...

 

[Jimmy 2004]

Here are some of the key specs:

366MHz X86 CPU
128MB DDR266 RAM
512MB flash storage
7.5” display

If the BIOS is / could be made compatible with Windows XP and it was either modded or installed to the SD Card then it should work. Windows 98 should run fine I expect, with one of the older version of office.

 

[Polaris573]

Excluding the amount of storage space that is a good as the old PII system I have, and it runs office just fine.

 

[newtekie1]

I still think the design should be less "Speak and Spell".

 

[RickyG512]

from the website it says this, note a 500 mhz cpu and not 366

What is the $100 Laptop, really?
The proposed $100 machine will be a Linux-based, with a dual-mode display—both a full-color, transmissive DVD mode, and a second display option that is black and white reflective and sunlight-readable at 3× the resolution. The laptop will have a 500MHz processor and 128MB of DRAM, with 500MB of Flash memory; it will not have a hard disk, but it will have four USB ports. The laptops will have wireless broadband that, among other things, allows them to work as a mesh network; each laptop will be able to talk to its nearest neighbors, creating an ad hoc, local area network. The laptops will use innovative power (including wind-up) and will be able to do most everything except store huge amounts of data.

 

[Jimmy 2004]

from the website it says this, note a 500 mhz cpu and not 366

The wiki on the OLPC site states that it is an AMD Geode GX-500 running at 366MHz. I expect that the name 500 is leading to confusion, but most sources seem to say 366MHz. I think 500MHz is an error, but I'm not totally sure.

 

[newtekie1]

The processor runs at 366MHz, but is Performance Rated at 500MHz, hence the 500 in the model number.

 

[RickyG512]

but it says "The laptop will have a 500MHz processor" and its from the official site

 

[newtekie1]

but it says "The laptop will have a 500MHz processor" and its from the official site

The wiki is also part of the official site, and it says an AMD Geode GX-500@366MHz Perofrmance Rated 500MHz.

 

[jocksteeluk]

The wiki is also part of the official site, and it says an AMD Geode GX-500@366MHz Perofrmance Rated 500MHz.

quick question which cpu's are these geode gx chips rated against o come with a figure of 500mhz?

 

[Jimmy 2004]

quick question which cpu's are these geode gx chips rated against o come with a figure of 500mhz?

If it uses AMD's PR Rating then it would be being compared to the Pentium series... but I don't know which one. I would assume it would perform the same as P3 500MHz, because those were the only 500MHz Pentiums IIRC.

 

[Benpi]

I think it's a great idea - however, by the time all of Ethiopia is connected to the internet via dialup, the rest of the world will be connected via Fibre Optics. The Ethiopians won't even be able to use the internet because every website will have a 1gb flash intro -.-

 

[spectre440]

awesome.
where do i get one of these?

i can see a ton of uses for a small light durable laptop for a mere 200$, and a poor kid in someplace else gets one too? hell yeah! where do i sign up?

 

[Jimmy 2004]

i can see a ton of uses for a small light durable laptop for a mere 200$ and a kid in some poor country gets one too? hell yeah! where do i sign up?

They're not available yet and the price per laptop may be nearer $150 to start with, I'd keep an eye on the OLPC website to see when they're released. I think the developing countries will get the first batch that's made.

 

[Deleted member 24505]

heres a link to the full spec-

http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Hardware_specification

http://wiki.laptop.org/images/1/10/Proto-a-front.jpg

http://wiki.laptop.org/images/e/ea/Proto-a-back.jpg

 

[spectre440]

They're not available yet and the price per laptop may be nearer $150 to start with

still a great deal.

this might just be the one laptop that i will buy, simply for its robustness... i like my stuff to be heavy-duty.
that's why i never bought a laptop until now... too flimsy.

 

[Grings]

i read a section on amd's site a couple of months ago and the geode is basically a refined (for lower power)athlon xp style core, so that pr is probably quite accurate (note XP core, not older 500mhz thunderbird etc)

and yeah the developing countries deal is a good thing

 

[RickyG512]

if it cant run xp then might aswell get something like PSP, how much is a PSP by the way

 

[newtekie1]

I think it's a great idea - however, by the time all of Ethiopia is connected to the internet via dialup, the rest of the world will be connected via Fibre Optics. The Ethiopians won't even be able to use the internet because every website will have a 1gb flash intro -.-

These aren't meant to bring internet connections to every child in the world. They are meant to give them a computer that can do office productivity work that aid in their learning.

if it cant run xp then might aswell get something like PSP, how much is a PSP by the way

The PSP can run office apps and have a full keyboard attached to it?!?!