RCom Brings $100 Laptop to India

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CadCrazy

in search of myself
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The Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) has collaborated with One Laptop per Child (OLPC) foundation to bring the latter's much-hyped $100 laptop to India to promote e-learning among poor children.

Under this initiative, Reliance Communications (RCom) will provide Internet connectivity, network backbone, logistics, and support to the OLPC initiative.

The initiative aims at covering over 25,000 towns, and 6,00,000 villages in the country by 2008. The larger OLPC project has already provided laptops to 5 million school children across the world, and aims to cover 150 million by 2008.

Based on the Linux OS, the OLPC (XO) laptop has replaceable keyboards, which can be changed for use with 35 global languages.

While announcing the collaboration, Tina Anil Ambani, said, "Children are the future of the nation, and shaping the future of millions of school children through new age learning systems is of prime importance in today's digital era."

OLPC has launched its first pilot in the country at a school in a tribal village at Khairat, near Karjat in Maharashtra, where school children have been provided with laptops, and training for teachers to incorporate new ways of imparting education.

Carla Gomez Monroy, learning consultant of OLPC, and a part of the pilot, said, "Children lack opportunity, and not capability. Children at Khairat school, who have never even seen a laptop before, are showing easiness and receptiveness while learning on laptops. It has also resulted in reduction in the number of children absentees."

Sumit Chowdhury, chief information officer of RCom, said, "School children will be able to access their educational modules in local languages, collaborate with each other, connect to the Internet, and play games as well."

The laptops are connected via network to the school server. All laptops are on the network, so school children can interact with each other, and share the learning experience. However, once out of the school network, these laptops are rendered absolutely useless. They would work only till such a time the battery lasts.

"Keeping in mind that the laptops will be handled by school children, they have been built drop-proof, 45-degrees shock-proof, water proof, and have a longer battery life as compared to regular laptops," added Chowdhury.

RCom and OLPC are in talks with government agencies, NGOs, content developers, translators, teachers, and project managers to create successful ecosystems to further the OLPC program in India.

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enticer86

Stay Silent!
hmm... but wud they b of any help to us? wht abt amateur and advanced users? Or is it just meant fr children?
 

alsiladka

Noobie Pro
Its just meant for the children who cannot afford the expensive laptops. Its main purpose if in assisting Education and learning.

Excellant move RCom!
 

fun2sh

Pawned!... Beyond GODLIKE
good thing but does the lappy looks like the one shown in pic :confused: then its very childish but cool too
 
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CadCrazy

CadCrazy

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*wiki.laptop.org/images/thumb/4/41/Drawing75c1.jpg/485px-Drawing75c1.jpg

Check The Specifications Here
 

DigitalDude

PhotonAttack
i think the laptop is not for $100.... the production costs have increased and now it will be sold for around $188 and also that price is for mass buying from a govt for giving to the poor kids... so if you want to purchase that in the US u have to pay the cost price of $400 (the philosophy is that you buy one and give one to a poor kid in a developing world)

but the initial name $100 dollar laptop remained as such.. :D

to know more about this search for '$100 laptop' or 'OLPC' in engadget.com
 
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