In an age where survival of the smartest is more of a reality than survival of the fittest, it is no wonder why various governments and private sectors are investing millions on modern communication technologies in hopes to close the intellectual gap.
One such project bringing modern communication technology into the rural homes of children across the globe is Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Professor Nicholas Negroponte’s One Laptop per Child (OLPC) project.
Negroponte who is leading the non-profit OLPC group plans to produce millions of “green machines”, $100 foldable lime-green laptops, and distribute them to children in various developing nations. The laptops will not be sold commercially, but will be sold in bulk to governments and then issued to children by schools on a basis of one laptop per child. Nations already interested in the project are China, India, Brazil, Argentina, Egypt, Nigeria and Thailand.
The laptop can be used as a conventional computer, an electronic book, a handheld game, and can even function as a TV. The computers are expected to be simpler than most consumer laptops; but will have the capability of doing almost everything a regular consumer laptop does, with the exception of being able to store massive amounts of data. It will only come with one gigabyte of memory. The green machines will come encased in strong rubber covers, making them durable for rough and tough situations. It will use a 500 megahertz processor with flash memory, instead of the conventional computer hard drive that has delicate movable parts. The computer will have four USB ports for peripheral devices, an adapter cable doubling as a carrying strap, and a wind-up crank to recharge the batteries. A minute’s worth of winding is estimated to equal enough power for 40 minutes of use. The machines will also have basic LED displays that consume only one-tenth of the power compared to conventional LCD laptops. The green machines will run on free software, like the Linux operating system and be able to share a net connection through “mesh networking”.
Negroponte’s ambitious OLPC project can help narrow the divide between core nations and all the others. With more projects such as this, focusing on closing the intellectual gap between the rich and the poor, the world’s unfair intellectual playing field may be leveled off to give children in developing countries a fair chance at the game of life.
One such project bringing modern communication technology into the rural homes of children across the globe is Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Professor Nicholas Negroponte’s One Laptop per Child (OLPC) project.
Negroponte who is leading the non-profit OLPC group plans to produce millions of “green machines”, $100 foldable lime-green laptops, and distribute them to children in various developing nations. The laptops will not be sold commercially, but will be sold in bulk to governments and then issued to children by schools on a basis of one laptop per child. Nations already interested in the project are China, India, Brazil, Argentina, Egypt, Nigeria and Thailand.
The laptop can be used as a conventional computer, an electronic book, a handheld game, and can even function as a TV. The computers are expected to be simpler than most consumer laptops; but will have the capability of doing almost everything a regular consumer laptop does, with the exception of being able to store massive amounts of data. It will only come with one gigabyte of memory. The green machines will come encased in strong rubber covers, making them durable for rough and tough situations. It will use a 500 megahertz processor with flash memory, instead of the conventional computer hard drive that has delicate movable parts. The computer will have four USB ports for peripheral devices, an adapter cable doubling as a carrying strap, and a wind-up crank to recharge the batteries. A minute’s worth of winding is estimated to equal enough power for 40 minutes of use. The machines will also have basic LED displays that consume only one-tenth of the power compared to conventional LCD laptops. The green machines will run on free software, like the Linux operating system and be able to share a net connection through “mesh networking”.
Negroponte’s ambitious OLPC project can help narrow the divide between core nations and all the others. With more projects such as this, focusing on closing the intellectual gap between the rich and the poor, the world’s unfair intellectual playing field may be leveled off to give children in developing countries a fair chance at the game of life.
No comments:
Post a Comment