Quanta to build the $100 dollar laptop

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A few details

While it hasn't been built yet (in production form; prototypes have been shown), the spec calls for both black and white and color on the same machine; color for richness and black and white for readability and higher resolution outdoors. The CPU proposed is fully up to running a Windows-class OS, but won't, owing to the cost of the OS. DOS could run - even with a (pick one) shell like 3.11 or other, and run faster than you'd need (see below). As for robustness, that's another matter entirely.

Microsoft still owns DOS, to be sure; but there's a variant out there that is owned by another company and sold ($35 a copy or $25,000 for an unlimited license) into the embedded market. It used to be Digital Research's version, called DR-DOS - but is upgraded to a multitasker with data compression and protected mode operating capability. It will run on a 286 just fine, so you can imagine how easily it could run on this machine.

If you doubt how little it takes to run these older operating systems, fish out a Windows 95 install disk and put it on a Celeron 300 machine. Measure the boot time. Bet it's up faster than XP on a 3 GHz P4. (I've done it and measured; my P133 laptop boots 95 in 40 seconds)

But apart from the machine-related issues, the notion of experimenting with bringing a communications, information, and educational tool to the third world NOW, with the Internet replete with such information riches, connectivity to everywhere, Google out there, virtually unlimited commercial opportunities, etc. (how about a food eBay open to the world market of individuals?) is worth trying. The realities of Internet 2005 changes the game from past experimental outcomes. Not one of us can predict the outcome of that experiment; anyone out there reading this lay claim to the creative juices of tens of millions of people in hundreds of thousands of different situations, all struggling to succeed?

I certainly would sign on to a $200 purchase if it meant one unit would go to the 3rd world (individuals, not governments) and I'd keep one. That not only doubles the production volume, but I'd wager does more than that in the sense that it could bootstrap the whole production and deployment. I do have a concern that long term, it might undermine the original business plan, which is to require a government to order a million units in order to ensure financial coverage for localization, capital upgrades in manufacturing, etc.

I suspect they would see initial acceptance in coastal communities, where most of the world's population lives (even in the US, 70% of the population lives within 50 miles of the coast). That's where the mesh would work best and build the momentum.

I hope it happens and I hope I get to see it. We live in interesting times.

Posted by: gsteele531@...   Posted on: 12/14/05 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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