After five years of talking and development, it’s finally happening: the $100 laptop known as the XO is beginning mass production. It’s been criticized, reviled, and praised, butnow the first units should be in the hands of kids in developing countries by October. The One Laptop Per Child (OLPC), the inspiration of ProfessorNicholas Negroponte, has been questioned and derided by people like Bill Gates and Intel chairman Craig Barret, who described it as a “$100 gadget.”But it’s also received support from figures like former U.N. Secretary-General, who said it would “open up new fronts” for children’ education. However, views havechanged this year. Even Intel, which was contemplating a rival machine, has joined with OLPC. And it’s finally receiving praise for its unusual design. The software is open source, with a barebones OS that fits on the laptop’s 1GB of memory. With a waterproof case and high energy efficiency, it’s designed for the harsh climates found in developing countries. “There’sstill some software to write, but this is a big step for us,” Walter Bender, head of software development at OLPC. Quanta is Taiwan will make the XO machine, using an AMD processor. Currently the XO costs $176, but the hope is to eventually sell them togovernments for $100.
