Plans unveiled for a sub $100 Linux laptop unveiled

[Syngin]

Wow! Very interesting story that I'm sure has Microsoft quaking in their boots.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4292854.stm

[JayMan8081]

I don't think that MS is necessarily quaking in their boots as this laptop isn't aimed really at your average home-user. It is more aimed at developing countires to provide the technology reasonably to help them learn and to simply make the technology more accessible. That's not exactly the same audience that Microsoft typically targets. Still, it's a great idea and I hope he is able to achieve his goals and can help people gain some knowledge of technology.

EDIT: After reading the rest of the article, MS may be a little worried that the Mass. governor plans to buy them for all middle school and high school students. Nice article as the other one I had read didn't discuss the plans for the laptops to be used Stateside.

[retsaw]

I think MS would definately be concerned about a whole generation of children growing up using a non-MS OS wherever it is. Why do you think they created Windows XP Extremely Crippled, erm, I mean Starter edition at a reduced price point for people in poorer countries who can't afford the cost of the normal version. MS want everyone to use their OS so they get used to it and locked into the Windows platform.

[Icarus]

Buy them for the schools? MS go so big so quick because they did what Apple did in the early 80's and gave the computers to the schools ;)

$100x500= $50,000, that's one hell of a tax write off! :D

[Parcival]

Why do you think they created Windows XP Extremely Crippled, erm, I mean Starter edition at a reduced price point for people in poorer countries who can't afford the cost of the normal version.

Even the reduced price for the Starter Edition is a blatant rip off. :mad:

[Headfuzz]

I for one am really happy about this project. Primarily of course because it has a genuinely plausible potential to make a real difference to the imbalance of education across the world in this century, but also because it highlights the fact a lot of people in richer countries are being goaded into spending money on high end kit and Microsoft software that needn't be spent.

A 500MHz system running a Linux distro is still ample for web browsing, reading email and using an office suite, which makes it pretty hard to justify selling 3GHZ + systems with Microsoft licences (to print money :p) to end users who aren't going to be using their computer for something process heavy (games for example)...

But then, we already knew that :D