Laptop project set for 2 weeks in Nov.
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The project that hopes to supply developing-world schoolchildren with $188 laptops will sell the rugged little computers to U.S. residents and Canadians for $400 each, with the profit going toward a machine for a poor country.
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(InfoWorld) - The Kenyan government is launching a project to start assembling low-cost computers that will be sold to many African countries, according to officials. Lenovo Group, Sahara Computers, and Mecer PC have been appointed by the Communication Commission of Kenya (CCK) to assemble the first 150 computers in the Madaraka line by Feb. 7, according to Kenyan Ministry of Information and Communication Permanent Secretary Bitenge Ndemo. Ndemo spoke last week at a signing event to commemorate the project, which is being launched with initial funding of about $300,000. The first computers are acting as a proof of concept for the project and will be displayed at the Jomo Kenyatta International Conference center in Kenya. The PCs are expected to be priced at $450. The project will adhere to a manufacturing model pioneered in Taiwan, where enterprises will be encouraged to produce machines to guideline specifications with certifications given before export. University of Nairobi, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, and Strathmore University will act as incubators of the project. Once the first 150 PCs are assembled by the three vendors, students at the universities will be trained to assemble them. "Basically, Sahara Computers will have to supply a full set of components to the three universities, and they will assemble the computers," said Sahara Computers Marketing Supervisor Peter Bremner. The computers will have an Intel Celeron 2.8GHz processor, 256MB of RAM, an 80GBe hard disk, and a 15-inch TFT screen, according to Bremner. The Kenyan government has already removed duties and value-added tax (VAT) on all imported computers and computer parts to encourage more Kenyans to embrace PC technology. The Kenyan Technical Training College (KTTC) will oversee the whole project, Ndemo said. The idea is that the universities will train people who would then be able to assemble the computers on a long-term basis. If all goes as planned, Kenya will become the first country in the eastern and southern Africa to set up a PC assembly plant.
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The One Laptop Per Child project to lessen the digital divide is in full swing.
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Europeans interested in the One Laptop Per Child Project&#39;s XO laptop may soon have the chance through a &quot;give one, get one&quot; offer similar to that offered in North America last year.&quot;At some point we might do it in Europe,&quot; said Walter Bender, OLPC&#39;s president, in an interview Friday.Under the &quot;give one, get one&quot; program offered in Canada and the U.S., customers could buy an XO laptop for US$400 and a second XO laptop would be donated to a developing country. Each XO laptop currently costs around $188.OLPC hasn&#39;t yet made the offer available in Europe because the XO has not received the necessary certifications to be sold there. &quot;We haven&#39;t finished all that stuff, so we couldn&#39;t do it in Europe yet,&quot; Bender said.Whether or not OLPC does make the XO available in Europe remains to be determined, and such an offer remains under consideration. &quot;We may or may not do it,&quot; Bender saidFrom OLPC&#39;s perspective, the &quot;give one, get one&quot; offer helped large numbers of people in North America get involved with the group&#39;s efforts to bring computing to children in developing countries, Bender said.&quot;A lot of people [are] jumping in to the software, to learning and to support. ...That&#39;s what I was hoping Intel would do, but they didn&#39;t. The public is doing it instead,&quot; he said, referring to&#160;Intel&#39;s acrimonious departure&#160;last week from OLPC&#39;s board of directors.OLPC has so far shipped around 50,000 XO laptops to North American customers under the &quot;give one, get one&quot; program, and more remain to be shipped, Bender said. The number of customers who ordered laptops under the program was not immediately available, but as many as 150,000 units may have been donated through the program.&#160;
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A supposedly earth-friendly PC is being developed in Britain, featuring wood casing for keyboard, screen, and mouse.
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The One Laptop Per Child project suffered a blow this week, with Chief Technology Officer Mary Lou Jepsen quitting the nonprofit to start a for-profit company to commercialize technology she invented with OLPC.Jepsen, who joined OLPC as its first employee in 2005 after Nicholas Negroponte started the effort, will pursue an opportunity to chase after &quot;her next miracle in display technology,&quot; OLPC said in an e-mail sent on Sunday.Jepsen was responsible for hardware and display development for the rugged and power-saving&#160;XO laptop, designed for use by children in developing countries. Though the laptop has struggled to find buyers, it has been praised for its innovative hardware features and environmentally friendly design.Her last day with the organization is Dec. 31, though she will continue consulting with OLPC, according to the e-mail. Dec. 31 is also the end of OLPC&#39;s Give One Get One program, in which two XO laptops can be purchased for about $400, with a user getting one laptop and the other being donated.Satisfied that XO laptops were shipping in volume, Jepsen noted in an e-mail that she was starting a for-profit company to commercialize some of the technologies she invented at OLPC.&quot;I will continue to give OLPC product at cost, while providing commercial entities products they would like at a profit,&quot; Jepsen wrote in an e-mail.&quot;I believe that the work I led in the design of the XO laptop is just the first step in changing computing,&quot; she wrote.Powered by solar power, foot pedal or pull-string, the laptop doesn&#39;t rely on an electrical outlet to run, making it useful for situations where power is unreliable or unavailable. The laptop&#39;s specially designed lithium-ferro phosphate battery consumes between 2 watts to 8 watts depending on usage, compared to 40 watts on commercial laptops depending on usage.The laptop&#39;s battery lasts up to 21 hours because of custom-designed, efficient power-saving features implemented at the hardware and software level. Batteries in commercial laptops may explode at high temperatures, while XO&#39;s batteries can run and recharge in temperatures around 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius), Jepsen said in earlier interview.OLPC is also designing a cow-powered generator that works by hooking cattle up to a system of belts and pulleys.For connectivity, the laptop has mesh-networking features for Internet access.
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The One Laptop Per Child Project will start selling its low-cost computers in the United States, one of the founders of the organization says.
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By George Hsu  Nicholas Negroponte's plan to give laptop computers to 100 million poor children is enriching parts makers more than the principal manufacturer.
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Retailer will begin offering Gateway notebook and desktop PCs next month.
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The One Laptop Per Child Foundation indicated Monday that it might begin selling a version of the "$100 laptop" it is now producing for educational use. The system would become available by the holiday season for a price of about $350 USD.
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Intel is working on another laptop aimed at serving the developing world.
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In the next eight days, crews will perform tasks to prepare for the installation of a European laboratory.            Presented By     From Dell? Home!      &nbsp;&nbsp;The new Dell? Inspiron? 1520 notebook with hi-def widescreen and long-range wireless for only $799. Add mobile broadband for $150. Limited time offer. Click here. www.dell.com    Ads by Pheedo
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This miniature budget notebook may not be preloaded with Windows, but it ably serves most on-the-go computing needs.
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New component could allow players small enough to fit in notebook PCs.
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The race to build the world's most portable laptop can get ridiculous. Companies will build computers that fit on one knee, with screens little bigger than an iPhone's -- all for the sake of having the "world's smallest laptop."
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Buy a Dell PC, help plant a tree ... that is, if you care to make a donation.
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The Balance laptop is being marketed as an affordable, easy-to-use home machine and should appeal to lower-income households, students and people who would previously not have considered a laptop.