The $10 Laptop
No, no I am not missing a couple of zeros, engineers in India are attempting to build a complete portable computer for TEN BUCKS. This idea stemmed from disparaging laments over the increasing price of the OLPC laptop (held up by Brazil’s president Luiz Lula, pictured left) or One Laptop Per Child project which gained momentum at the end of last year. The OLPC’s “$100 laptop” promise price keeps steadily increasing — now at $138 for Sugar/Linux, $175 for Windows, which is still pretty darn frugal and $75 less than its nearest competitor, the Intel Classmate PC. The OLPC preface is noble, attempting to bring technology to third world countries and impoverished education systems, but big business always seems to want a piece of the pie.
Two designs for the $10 Laptop are currently being considered and refined by the Indian government, and the cost has been drastically lowered to $47. Not quite the goal, but 
that’s impressive and they’re still working on it.
A manufacturing company hasn’t yet been secured to assist in production, but it’s a hard-sell since they will obviously absorb a significant loss. The government is allotting about two years before a feasible schema can be set into motion and a heavy duty meeting will take place this month to discuss further. Who knows? In the near future a $10 laptop may just be the norm.
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