First order for $ 100 laptops

Uruguay is the first country to place an order for $ 100 dollar laptop computers. The government plans to buy 100,000 sets and distribute them to six to 12-year-old schoolchildren in eight or nine provinces. In 2009, Uruguay intends to order another 300,000 laptops and distribute them in the rest of the country. The initiative “One Laptop per Child” (OLPC), which was founded by computer scientist Nicholas Negroponte, developed the low-cost computers in order to help to close the digital divide between developing and industrialised countries. The units are waterproof and powered by a battery that can be charged by hand crank, foot pedal or solar cells. The screen is designed so that the computers can also be used outdoors, even in bright sunlight.

Since the unveiling of the first prototype in 2005, however, the price of the device has risen sharply: the $100 laptop now costs $188. The response from the countries it targets has also been more subdued than anticipated. The BBC quotes Negroponte saying: “I have to some degree underestimated the difference between shaking the hand of a head of state and having a cheque written.”

In November, the OLPC laptop also went on sale to private individuals in some rich countries – on condition that they pay for a second computer for a child in a developing country. Donor governments can also buy the computers – for a minimum price of $ 299 each – and have them distributed in recipient countries of their choice. (ell)