INTEL thinks it's a bad idea? I bet this was right after they lost out to
AMD with the
MIT developers...
At WSIS, I got a good look at the circuit boards of the "$100 laptop"
prototype, and talked to
a knowledgeable member of the group about the chips used and the
limitations. One comment he made was "The big interests won't like the
idea of this low-power LINUX machine with all free software. Especially
Microsoft and Intel !."
I'm a little surprised that Intel was dumb enough to even comment on it,
since they obviously believe (or want us to believe) it will be no
competition for their "real" machines...
According to the WIRED article, "Barrett [Intel] said similar schemes in
the past elsewhere in the world had failed and users would not be satisfied
with the new machine's limited range of programs."
Um, WHAT similar schemes?? and, Uh, Linux has a "Limited Range of
Programs"?? Ask people and schools who are using Linux-based systems
extensively...
I just downloaded a demo CD of UBUNTU (A free Linux with lots of supplied
applications, Open Office etc.). I put the CD in a old Pentium II HP
machine the US Embassy gave away, and rebooted. The CD booted UBUNTU,
found all the hardware including integrated sound and network hardware and
came up running with Open Office, Firefox browser, email and a bunch of
other applications and games already installed. UBUNTU can act as a server
for many even-older used PC's with no working hard drives or OS software,
and provide thin-client services including all the applications to each
machine. Cost = $0 for recent Intel chips, and $0 for Microsoft operating
systems.
http://www.ubuntu.com/
And look at:
http://k12ltsp.org/contents.html
for another widely-used approach that pays $0 to Microsoft and runs on
chips that Intel would tell you are WAY obsolete and should be scrapped.
The MIT project is much more like Ubuntu and K12ltsp than any "Modern"
WINTEL machine. Although the 500 Mhz AMD processor has a lot of power by
any standards.
Time Will Tell...
Regards, Terry King ...On The Mediterranean in Carthage, Tunisia
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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