The One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project has now officially named the laptop “2B1: The Children’s Machine.” Last week it was announced that the laptop would be named “CM1″ but that choice didn’t last very long.
I think 2B1 is a much better choice because it is easy to remember. It actually reminds me of an abbreviation that you would see on a license plate or receive in an instant message. I wonder if it is supposed to mean “to be one” which could be interpreted as we are all meant “to be one.” That may not be the intentions of the new name but I like it.
If you haven’t heard any of the specs yet then you may be pleased to find out that this thing is a mad powerhouse and gamers will especially love it. Okay, not really, but it does have some impressive specs for the size and cost:
- 7.5-inch 1200×900 pixel TFT screen
- 400 Mhz AMD Geode processor
- 128MB of dynamic RAM and 512MB of SLC NAND flash memory
- 3-USB 2.0 ports
- SD card slot
- VOIP-enabled because of built-in mic
- No hard drive and only two internal cables
The manufacturer of the machine is going to be Quanta and is slated to go into production in the first half of 2007. So you want one of these? A site has been started where you can pledge to purchase a laptop at $300. They need 100,000 people to sign-up (remember, it is only a pledge so they only require your name) by October 31, 2006…but they currently have less than 3,200 pledges. That’s not looking like a good turn out. Hey, there is always eBay though and you know some of these things will pop up on there!
News Source: DailyTech
Has it been said what the OS will be? I would buy one of these as an eBook reader. it is a great price and decent screen size for one.
The last I heard it was supposed to run Fedora Linux. Hmmm, that would make for a nice eBook reader with the Tablet mode that it has.
I think that it would make a real decent eBook reader.
I have been patiently waiting for someone to create one. Not the direction that they are going with e-ink. Enven though that will be decent, I want something that will display my pdf’s as well as other eBook formats. I want to see images, photos and the other graphics included with the pdf’s that I have.
I was envisioning a device that is about the size of a hardback book, but thinner. You know, like in STTNG.
If you really want to know what is happening with the OLPC, you should be reading [olpcnews.com.] You would even find out how to buy an OLPC 2B1 (the new, new name)
It’s good that they’re getting ready to begin the manufacture – and reading your article on the PC being ordered by Nigeria and other countries I saw that back then it needed another million pledged buys before production – so only needing another 6,800 is a great step and I’m sure it will produce good results. Reading the Wiki it also conquers some interesting challenges at changing architecture, so even if it doesn’t succeed as a tool for education it will be a triumph of research.
I do think it is funny that other companies such as Microsoft and Intel often refer to the PC as being a toy. I’m sure that they are just mad that they can’t be a part of history. This thing will revolutionize the world and it will also familiarize people with Linux.
If they start selling these in the United States and parents buy them for their kids…we’re going to see a whole new generation of people that will have learned Linux before Windows. The effects from the OLPC project could be even larger than we think.
Yes. With any luck it will also encourage more people to release multiple compiled versions of their code for different platforms, or even release code for people to compile themselves.