223: cheap laptop that just won't go away...

It's an intriguing little project, One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) - and those of you who've been reading RTBH for a while may remember it featured in discussion around my post way back on Day Twenty. This week, though, commentators were writing it off. Sales have been very slow and some users have experienced teething problems. And its founder, Nicholas Negroponte, has many detractors - some say he's naive, others that he's egotistical or money-grabbing. But he just won't give up. One of the most frequent criticisms levied at his project - which has attempted to develop, manufacture and deliver a $100 'XO' laptop to kids across the developing world - is that it's moving ahead of literacy rates and that any available resources would be better spent on books. So how does Negroponte respond? Well, according to today's linked article from the BBC, by launching a $75 laptop-book! In addition to its capacity to store more than 500 e-books, the XO2 will have a touch screen that doubles as a keyboard should the user wish. It will also be lighter, smaller and more energy efficient than the original XO laptop. The new model should be available in 2010. Whatever else you think of Negroponte, you have to admire someone so tenacious and so dedicated to accessible innovation. The world needs such mavericks, I reckon. (Photo from BBC online.)