eCROP Blog

Like all highly successful corporations Microsoft has been active in responding to actual and potential competition. The $100 Laptop Project of MIT pioneer Negroponte for the schools of the 3rd world and the not so rich becomes a challenging competitor as this cheap laptop plans on using Linux software for its operating system and for its office and productivity applications. Mr. Gates's company will make no money from that. Seven nations (Thailand, Egypt, Nigeria, India, China, Brazil and Argentina) are close to committing $700 for 7 million of these laptops. Then millions of 3rd world children will learn the Linux applications. The nonprofit group, One Laptop Per Child, that is directing this effort, signed an agreement on January 28, 2006 with the United Nations Development Program to work together to develop this technology further along with learning resources. This will require technical support jobs, servers, and more and there will be no money for MS to gain from that. It i...

InformationWeek ran a story about numerous press reportings addressing Google in secret negotiation with Walmart about selling a Google PC. It could easily be a rebranding of the MIT $100 laptop design that Quanta will be making but others see signs that it will be a specialized design for searching, not for running other applications. Put this in the class of a hot rumor, but still a rumor until Google and Walmart confirm it is true; at the moment they are denying it. Though co-founder Larry Page spoke this Jan 6, 06 to the Consumer Electronics Show, he said nothing about this, but was pushing GooglePack and Google Video , both free hot options, for those who have computers and net access. So for now, Google is growing its reputation as a creator of innovative software. Yahoo has countered with its own collection, http://go.connect.yahoo.com/go/pc (Yahoo Go Desktop). Gotta love the competition. I'm thinking the rumor will stay a rumor as MIT is a year away from having a manufactu...

"Taiwan's Quanta, the biggest manufacturer of laptops in the world, has signed on to the $100 laptop project." ( hardware.silicon.com ) Negroponte said in a statement: "Any previous doubt that a very-low-cost laptop could be made for education in the developing world has just gone away." ( MIT )