We live in very exciting times, do you agree? One story worth watching is “One Laptop Per Child” (OLPC association). This project has recently released a low-cost laptop computer - complete with a hand-crank power supply - for children in developing countries. The cost per unit will be $100, low enough for governments and foundations to easily invest.
XO-1 (laptop)A child in a remote village in South America will soon be able to open her laptop, crank the generator, and surf the Internet. Here is a labelled image of a working model, some videos about the project (first one from 60 Minutes on CBS), and the Wikipedia article about the XO-1 laptop. The project was started by Nicholas Negroponte, the founder of MIT’s Media Lab (a leading school in the field of emerging technology), who stepped down from some of his duties at MIT to serve in this program.
Inspired people doing inspiring work.
Extensive development in security for these units is well underway, it seems.
“Millions of identical, network-attached systems will be deployed into some remote parts of the world, where they will be managed by people who are not security experts. The systems will be obvious targets for theft, self-propagating malware, and the creation of botnets. …”The goal was to significantly raise the bar from the current, deeply unsatisfactory, state of desktop security.”
When may I buy one, or ten? Seriously, how do I get one of these?
Update: Nicholas Negroponte’s presentation at TED: The vision behind One Laptop Per Child
Two hours spent wrapping a four minute video to demonstrate the use of bookmarklets, using the trial version of Camtasia screen capture video application. And, it is not yet finished; the video will receive several hyperlinks in the closing frame.
It is a new tool to me, so I am not surprised that it took so long; many knobs and dials…up the learning curve, again.
This technology puts the “potent” in potential. The production of a short series of videos should increase proficiency, and might develop style of presentation. Next may be a brief demonstration of a Wikipedia edit.
Newly focused attention on the 3D Web has given the impression that a confluence of activity is taking place. Every time I dive into the web since entering the grid of Second Life—surfing like I was when I started this weblog—I find more content than I can keep up with. Timely, pertinent stuff from many sources. Often and right in the middle of reading the longest of these pieces, I stop and think “I have scripting to do!”
Technology has been advancing rapidly since before me; but, what of the pace of the advance? What is time? How much of this document would you get through before you realized there was something else you could be doing to contribute to the metaverse?
Metaverse Roadmap: Pathways to the 3D Web
“What happens when video games meet Web 2.0? When virtual worlds meet geospatial maps of the planet? When simulations get real and life and business go virtual? When you use a virtual Earth to navigate the physical Earth, and your avatar becomes your online agent?”
Longfin Rest Area
Jumping with both feet. Azwaldo Villota now has a home. 4096 m2 on the new mainland of Nautilus.
