p2pnet - rss feed: Gates disses MIT’s $100 laptop
p2p news / p2pnet: About three months to the day that Intel boss Craig Barrett poured scorn on the $100 laptop computer developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Bill Gates has done the same.
The idea behind the cheap, self-powered laptop is to give poor people around the world an effective and afforable way to communicate with each other.
But, "The last thing you want to do for a shared use computer is have it be something without a disk … and with a tiny little screen," Gates said at the Microsoft Government Leaders Forum in suburban Washington, according to Reuters.
"I think a more realistic title should be ‘the $100 gadget’," said Intel chief Craig Barrett last December.
Now, "If you are going to go have people share the computer, get a broadband connection and have somebody there who can help support the user, geez, get a decent computer where you can actually read the text and you’re not sitting there cranking the thing while you’re trying to type," Gates is quoted as saying.
Guess whose?
In an amazing coincidence, just before pissing on the MIT effort, Gates showed off his new "ultra-mobile" Omigod Origami mini-maxi with its seven-inch (17.78-centimeter) touch screen, says Reuters.
Is this something for cash-strapped developing nations? If they can fork out between $600 and $1,000 each, it is.
Meanwhile, "Aiming to give poor communities access to the benefits of information technology, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has announced plans to support an innovative project which aims to put cheap and energy-efficient laptop computers in the hands of the world’s most disadvantaged students," said the UN in January.
"The innovative $100 laptop project, designed to give children in developing countries access to the knowledge and educational tools that could lift them out of poverty, will take a step closer to realization."
Also See:
taken a page - Quanta to build MIT $100 laptop, December 15, 2006
Reuters - Bill Gates mocks MIT’s $100 laptop project, March 15, 2006
Omigod Origami - OMG it’s HUGE !!!, March 11, 2006
said the UN - $100 laptop wins UN backing, January 26, 2006
March 16th, 2006 at 7:04 pm
Bill’s just pissed it will run linux instead of windows os.
March 16th, 2006 at 10:54 pm
Geez, spit out those sour grapes Billy. Mr Gates’ comments would seem to betray an almost total lack of understanding of what this project’s inititives are, or perhaps he’s attemting to sabotage it with a bunch of red herrings. One small example, “get a broadband connection and have somebody there who can help support the user”. Broadband? These computers are destined to be used in areas that do not even have ELECTRICY, much less broadband and an IT person hanging around to “support the user”. Bill, make that trip to the clue store before you open your mouth next time. I’m sure you can afford it…
P.S. IMHO Mr. Barrett’s comments were just as absurd as Bill’s. They both sound like spoiled little brats who are pouting cuz mom said no.
March 17th, 2006 at 4:35 am
One of the biggest problems with holding down the cost of the $100 laptop is the software it will run. You can’t very well sell a laptop at a $100 dollars when the OS costs $200.00. Gates is POed that they didn’t chose his OS so he could add all the money coming from that project. Had they done so, he would have been singing it’s praises instead of having sour grapes.
I am sure that Gates knows the idea of having an IT tech for broadband where broadband nor 56k does not exist will not solve the problem. I’m also very sure that those same kids that learn on that laptop may well down the road be able for figure out a link up that works for some sort of local-in-the-circle network. Kids are about pushing boundries to see what works. Sometimes that’s tearing apart the peices of the OS to learn why it does what it does. Can’t very well do that with a locked down software such as Winblows. That was one of the very reasons that the linux software was chosen.
Down the road when those kids grow up, there may well be stiff competion from those very kids that learned of a computer world on a $100 laptop.
March 17th, 2006 at 8:27 am
man they are in trouble if you got 2 billion of them usin 100$ laptops to download illegal juarez