UN Backs $100 Laptop Project

The United Nations has put its name into backing the $100 hand cranked laptop project for school children around the globe being run by M.I.T.

Some details from the Daily Times:

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) will sign a partnership agreement with the head of the project, Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT) Nicholas Negroponte, in the Alpine ski resort of Davos on Saturday, officials said.

The goal is for governments or charitable donors to pay for the laptops, although children will own them. About the size of a textbook, the machines developed at MIT can set up their own wireless networks and operate in areas without a reliable electricity supply, since they can be powered by hand cranking. Proponents say the devices, which have been welcomed by United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan, will be a boon for education. But not everyone is convinced.

I am personally glad to see that the project is moving forward. While it is not a laptop I would want, I can see it being very helpful to children, and maybe even older people looking for new ways to communicate, as I am sure the operating system will be more simplistic then your general Linux install.