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Topic: Hand-cranked linux laptops, cheap laptops for the third world

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Delboy

Group: Members
Posts: 144
Joined: Nov. 2003

Posted: Nov. 23 2005,13:14

Check this link out:

http://laptop.media.mit.edu/

The MIT came up with this laptop idea powered by a winding handle (like Trevor Bayliss' earlier 'clockwork radio') and will be manufacturing it too. I read about this in an article in the British Independent newspaper where it said it will have a 500mhz processor and Linux OS. loaded for full internet / wifi connection - a suitable candidate for DSL linux perhaps?

mikshaw

Group: Members
Posts: 4856
Joined: July 2004

Posted: Nov. 23 2005,16:33

It probably would be, although for the moment they are not planning to make it available commercially. There may also be some issues with hardware support, but i have no idea what sort of hardware it will have. With the "USB ports galore", it should at least be expandable.

In any case, I think it would be great fun to have access to one of these things. I'd like to hook it up to a bicycle.

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John

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Posts: 697
Joined: Sep. 2003

Posted: Dec. 11 2005,02:45

I emailed them and asked if they were familiar with DSL. I think the odds are good that they will run some variation of Redhat because RH is a corporate sponsor. Still, they seem like they would just be made for a Frugal install of DSL.

doobit

Group: Members
Posts: 912
Joined: July 2005

Posted: Dec. 13 2005,14:22

I think one thing DSL needs for a project like this is more language support. I noticed they will be distributing in a few third world countries to start with.

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dare2dreamer Offline

Group: Members
Posts: 113
Joined: Feb. 2005

Posted: Dec. 13 2005,21:22

According to several news sources I've seen, the project does intend to have both a commercial and an educational version available. The laptops will be identical, except that the educational units will be in bright colors to set them apart from the more publicly available consumer units.

Speculation runs rampant as to the final facts on this, but the general consensus is that the consumer version will likely cost 200-300, with the additional cost going to fund a laptop for a child.

I've vowed to make it my next laptop purchase. The idea of a CF booting laptop is everything I need (for DSL or in general) and the idea that a portion of my purchase price directly funds children's education is too good to pass up.

While they are slated to run with a customized version of Redhat, I see no reason why I can't back that up, install a frugal build of DSL and have at.

I do think that if these hit the general market, a howto on configuring them for use with DSL would be an excellent idea. Even better might be a pre-customized version or extension that supports whatever hardware they decide to include.

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----dare2dreamer.