Mobile Ministry Magazine

If there is one barrier to some developing countries when it comes to computer technology of any kind, it is the cost of attaining and maintaining a system (hardware, software, and workflow) that is both problem solving and region specific. Many computers were, for the most part, created for the Western world, where functionality and use are determined on Western thought and task patterns. There is nothing wrong with this, as that is the way things should be. But when moving that hardware/software to an area that is not as industrial or technological, there are other aspects of computing that need to be considered, and the success rate of computer techology can then be more a positive figure than an imaginative one.

So enter the $100 OLPC (one laptop per child) project that is moving into prototype mode and will be demoed at the UN Net Summit in Tunnis. Engadget gives some excelletn pictures of this device as it will appear in action here.

Here are some specs for this $100 computer:
Encased in rubber
500MHz processor
Mesh networking capabilities
Four USB ports,
Handcrank for power use on the go
Three forms: laptop mode, gaming mode, and book mode
Linux operating system

C|Net reports that one of the larger standing issues for this PC is making sure that in areas where a $100 would be quickly sold off for food for a family, that there would be some so of security mechanism that would prevent a "second marketing" of these PCs to others.

Its a noble pursuit and I really hope that it at least leads to a success on the part of mobile computing and breaking down the digital barriers that developed countries have over not so developed ones. One thing that I can really see from the OLPC project is a concerted effort on the part of manufacturers to get everyone from in front of the screen so much and getting out to explore the non-digital world a bit more (only using the digital one to communicated and share moreso than interact).