Well, from the BBC, I guess $100 would be a small fortune in some places, but at least the UN are trying..

$100 Lap Top

Nice idea, but surely that this is madness, surely it would be more viable to run it on AA batteries

The laptops are powered with a wind-up crank

Well I think the idea is zero maintenance costs Sean.
I assume that the 'wind up' function is a copy of the system that that English inventor made for his 'wind up radios', which I gather (have never actually seen one apart from on TV) were pretty dam clever & efficient - you sort of 'charged' it by winding every now and again....

I think this is a wonderful idea. I just wonder who will fund it. Maybe a farm family in Thailand could buy one but I doubt it, A whole villiage in Laos might invest in one, in Viet Nam and cambodia it would take the whole county most likely to afford one. I do not say this to put this idea down as I really do think it is great.

I hope they open it up for purchases to help. I have seen on here about orphanges and schools in Thailand that need donations. A couple of these would help with education that these kids will never get otherwise. It is a thought.

BobHelm wrote:I assume that the 'wind up' function is a copy of the system that that English inventor made for his 'wind up radios', which I gather (have never actually seen one apart from on TV) were pretty dam clever & efficient - you sort of 'charged' it by winding every now and again....

Yeah I remember them Bob, I think they became pretty popular in South Africa or somewhere...

All things said, it should be a very interesting machine, lets just hope their best intentions get heard