TOKYO: 19th May 2005 -- The story comes first from Tokyo, but the developers are likely to be from the MIT (Massachusets Institute of Technology).  Every chance, then, that this is a story that will interest Salesians from our region, given that there is an opportunity forthcoming to give even the lowliest child personal access to new technologies.

    The plan to produce and distribute personal computers for no more than USD 100 is expected to take a major step forward in June with the receipt of the first orders.  MIT is waiting until it can assure orders totalling 6 million units.

    MIT's basic aim is to provide laptop computers for every child supplied via countries who wish to take up the project.  MIT's Media Lab Chairman, Nicholas Negroponte, was in Tokyo recently to promote the project, and spoke as part of a conference paralleling the UN World Summit on Information.

    It is MIT's view that many developing countries are already installing broadband possibilities, reaching villages as well as cities.  If they can combine this with a school curriculum in information technology and offer cheap but serviceable laptops to children, then millions can have access.

    Distribution, promotion and profit are what hikes costs of computers today, accounting for at least half the cost, according to Negroponte.  Reduce or eliminate these elements, and with some re-engineering of the product itself, the $100 mark is attainable, he says.

    Two thirds of the remaining ordinary cost of a laptop are absorbed by display panel and associated backlighting.  MIT plans to reduce costs there too with a projection display system costing only around $30.

    The plan is to run a tiny operating system, to wit, LINUX.  Distribution is still being worked through but Red Hat, part of the Open Source movement and China's Red Flag software are offered as possible contenders. The first generation will sport a 500 Mhz processor, 256 Mb of main memory, 1 Gb of flash memory in place of a hard drive and a wireless LAN connection.  Machines will automatically connect with others, forming a mesh network.  They will run software including Skype Voice over IP application.

    China is expected to order 3 million machines and Brazil 1 milion.  Once the orders for a remaining 2 million are placed production will begin immediately.

    It almost sounds too good to be true!  Machines will not be available in shops but through a government decision to purchase on behalf of education.  Salesians might wish to lobby their education ministries to give it serious thought.  For further information checkout laptop.media.mit.edu

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VOCABULARY

a steal:  cheap.  Contemporary colloquial English often uses a verb as a noun e.g. 'a good read'.

forthcoming: about to happen

hikes costs:  causes costs to rise steeply. 

to wit: namely, i.e.

contenders:  one who takes a part, offers to play a role

sport: to sport means to display, to show.  Its use is colloquial

lobby: as a verb, it means to represent a view, possibly as a pressure group, before government

checkout:  or 'check out'. Either way it means to view, to see, to check.

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