One Laptop Per Child Project

Have you heard about the initiative to provide a notebook/laptop computer for every child in the world? They're One Laptop Per Child (OLPC), and their stated goal is:

One Laptop Per ChildTo provide children around the world with new opportunities to explore, experiment and express themselves..

If this sounds interesting, I recommend reading: Can the "$100 Laptop" Change the World?, by Laurie Rowell.

I think this project will change the world, maybe in the ways they predict, and definitely in ways they can't. The OLPC project is breaking away from the current market definition of what a notebook computer is, and how much you pay for it. Having a self-powered $100 computer will lead to a wave of first world application experiments, both software and hardware. Consider what experimenters have done with XBoxes, PDAs, and $100 broadband routers. Consider what a cheap, self-powered, grid-networked, semi-rugged notebook might do in a disaster relief situation, to name just one possible alternate application. At that price point, trying something out is very easy.