For $150, Third-World Laptop Stirs a Big Debate

[Evan Leibovitch]

phiscock-g851W1bGYuGnS0EtXVNi6w at public.gmane.org wrote:
> One of the exciting things about the OLPC project is that it is creating a
> completely new, widely used hardware platform for computing.  PC hardware
> has been a monoculture for many years and this has limited the kinds of
> hardware explorations that might otherwise take place.
>   
What I'm hoping is that some of the R&D that went into the low-power CPU
and daylight-capable screen technology will find its way into mainstream
platforms -- maybe that's how OLPC players like AMD will recoup their
investments in it. The developing world isn't the only place where
inexpensive, "ruggedized" laptops that could survive drops and liquid
spills would be useful. And think of the possibilities of using the
"always-on" mesh networking in a conventional urban environment.

> We might even return to the days of the Commodore 64 and Atari ST, when there was a real diversity of machines to choose from -- with the added
> advantage of data compatability, so that users are not 'locked in'.
IMO this is already happening, in a sense, but not in the obvious ways.
The diversity I see is coming from platforms that don't identify
themselves as "computers".

The new generation of games systems are internet-capable, and the only
thing preventing them from being able to run conventional PC apps are
CPU differences and input devices (ie, keyboards -- most game consoles
could easily act as pointing devices). You mentioned the Commodore and
Atari, two systems that were indeed more popular for games than
"business" apps -- how different are they -- conceptually -- from
putting a keyboard on a PS3, XBox or Wii?

Going beyond that, I was able to buy a full-sized keyboard for my Treo
that allows me to use it to create and edit documents easily. Many
smartphones now come with MS-Word and PDF readers. I need my laptop
along with me far less than I used to, and as smartphones get even
smarter -- adding more video options and internal capabilities such as
GPS and better multimedia -- these units will IMO encroach even further
on the PC market. IMO part of the reason that tablet PCs have never
caught on is because many applications for them are already being filled
by PalmOS and WindowsCE touchscreens.

So I would argue that the amount of choice is indeed growing again.
Conventional Windows systems are threatened not only by "traditional" OS
alternatives of Mac or Linux, but also by non-traditional choices such
as Blackberry and Symbian. Dell probably has as much to fear from
Nintendo and Nokia as from HP and Lenovo. Compounding this is the
reality that new online office apps, games and other software
increasingly make the Internet -- not the underlying client hardware/OS
-- the "platform".

- Evan

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