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First '$100 Laptops' Sold to Uruguay

First Purchase for '$100 Laptop' Hits the Books


The tiny green and white, $100 XO notebook has been in development by the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) foundation for years, but the device, intended to bring computing to children around the world, has only now received its first official order. The government of Uruguay has purchased 100,000 devices for children 6-8-years-old. If things go well, the South American country's government has indicated another 300,000 may be purchased as well.

The OLPC XO laptop was made famous as a supposed '$100 laptop,' intended to be sold for just a Benjamin apiece. The idea was that children in developing nations everywhere would be using the things. Additionally, its rugged, simple, and completely integrated design made it a perfect computer for nations lacking solid infrastructure (it can even be powered via solar electricity, a foot crank, or even a pull-string generator). Additionally, the devices can communicate wirelessly and can daisy-chain and share central connections, meaning laptops on the edge of town may be able to connect to Internet access points that would otherwise be out of range.

While we earlier mentioned that Mexico's Carlos Slim was offering to purchase a million laptops for his country's children, the government of Uruguay is the first to actually step up with the cash to buy the things. Nicholas Negroponte, the founder of the OLPC foundation, recently said: "I have to some degree underestimated the difference between shaking the hand of a head of state and having a check written."

Perhaps this is why there aren't more tech-savvy politicians?

From BBC News

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Tags: $100 Laptop, $100Laptop, OLPC, XO

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