NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Wednesday, June 15, 2005

Though the first $100 laptop has yet to be built — work is scheduled to begin in September — the project’s three corporate partners, Advanced Micro Devices, Google and News Corporation, have each pledged $2 million apiece and tech expertise.

The first 6 million laptops are to be manufactured in China starting in 2006, project representatives claim, and orders from the Chinese, Brazilian and other education departments are expected shortly. The machines are intended for governments or large institutions and will not be available commercially.

To reduce the need for technical support, Negroponte promises the laptops will be extra tough, simple and easily fixed.

However, power is a major problem when more then 2 billion people do not have access to electricity.

While solar and windup mechanisms are being explored, the MIT team is hoping to develop what it calls “parasitic power” — powering a laptop just by typing on the keys.
Story found here.