STRIPPED-down $100 laptops could hugely boost computer ownership in the developing world. So says Nicholas Negroponte, former head of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab, who is on a drive to convince PC makers to develop cheaper computers. He outlined his idea at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, late last month.
Negroponte says his target $100 price tag could be achieved by cutting down on the “obese” memory and processing requirements of today’s PCs and through use of a novel display. He envisages running a stripped-down version of Linux, and equipping the laptops with a cut-down version of a projection television screen that would…
