The $100 laptop is a project from MIT’s Nicholas Negroponte to bring a low-cost open source, windup-powered laptop to the world, targeted at children in developing nations. I really admire what they’re doing, this could be the most amazing thing ever. I am about to leave for a quick trip, but I wanted to post this up before the weekend – is it possible to cobble together “something” like that, using eBay and hunting around for stuff – while trying to stay under the $100 limit? Maybe – so, here it is so far, my version using an old Apple eMate. It’s not practical or scalable, or open source, but it’s going to be under $100 and best of all, it’s green too…Here’s the one they’re showing around, it looks really cool..
The MIT Media Lab has launched a new research initiative to develop a $100 laptop—a technology that could revolutionize how we educate the world’s children. To achieve this goal, a new, non-profit association, One Laptop per Child (OLPC), has been created. The initiative was first announced by Nicholas Negroponte, Lab chairman and co-founder, at the World Economic Forum at Davos, Switzerland in January 2005.
More images here.
The version I am working will likely cost about $50 through eBay auctions, Craigslist, Freecycle and it’s not practical for kids. The funny part about my version, it’s likely to cost more in shipping (I just won an auction for an Apple eMate and the shipping was the same as the final cost).
I need to find a laptop like device that had great battery life, tons of free apps, the ability to use Wifi and would work with a hand crank to charge it.
It might not work out, but here is what I have so far.
The Apple eMate is a great little system from 1996.
Here is the original info about it:
The Apple® eMate(tm) 300 is the first of a new class of affordable mobile computer that works as a companion to Mac® OS- and Windows software-based computers in a Distributed Learning Environment. Developed in collaboration with educators to meet the specific needs of education, the eMate 300’s unique industrial design is rugged enough to withstand the rigors of being carried, shared, and used in a variety of environments. The eMate 300 is easily portable for even the youngest students-it weighs only 4 pounds and is small enough to fit in a backpack. And it lets users enter data by keyboard, or with a stylus, so students can work the way that’s best for them. The eMate 300 features the powerful and easy-to-use Newton® 2.1 operating system. It comes with built-in software applications that are important for learning-including word processing, drawing, spreadsheet, a graphing calculator, address book, calendar functions, and more.
Built-in applications:
* Word processor, drawing program, spreadsheet, graphing calculator, address book, calendar functions and more
Power and speed:
* 25-MHz ARM 710a RISC processor
* High-speed infrared (IrDA) port for transferring data wirelessly at up to 115 kilobits per second within 3.3 feet (1 meter)
Memory and storage:
* 3MB of RAM (1MB of DRAM and 2MB of flash memory); 8MB of ROM
Display:
* 480- by 320-pixel gray-scale LCD with back- lighting; displays up to 16 shades of gray
More here.
I just won an auction on eBay for one for $9.98!! The shipping costs more than the unit!
I have a hand crank charger, but will likely build a better one – I need to work out the costs, but I don’t think it will be more than $20 or
The eMate doesn’t have wireless built in, but there are a lot of hacks to get it working with a WaveLAN bronze. There’s also a huge Newton community (what the eMate is based on) so there are thousands of free apps for everything.
The WaveLAN bronze card can also be scooped from eBay or other places for $10.
I have a flexible solar panel, but that of course would most certainly bump the budget outside of $100.
That’s it so far, I have testing to do and heading out for a quick trip. I am hoping this may get other Makers out there thinking about low cost computers, recycling gear and watching the progress of the real version from MIT.
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