One Laptop Per Child, a nonprofit group started at MIT, is developing a low-cost wireless laptop. The XO laptop will have a 500 MHz, 128 MB of DRAM and 500 MB of Flash memory for long-term storage. XOs are small, colourful, and very durable, with a flat LCD screen. They are powered using a built-in wind-up generator, for use in areas without electricity. The XO supports mesh wireless networking, and uses open source software. The group is currently researching ways to connect them to the world wide web. The cost of each will be approximately $100.

Where can you get one? Sorry. These laptops are currently only available for free to school children in impoverished countries. 1.2 million children in Libya received the first shipment this past October, and there are plans to launch them in Argentina, Brazil, Nigeria, Rwanda and Uruguay.

As cool as this idea is ... I can't help but wonder if there are more pressing needs than laptop computers in these nations. I can just imagine these kids IMing each other in class:

RU hungry? Me 2 :(

Not to mention how much hand cranking it will take to charge the batteries of a computer. A hand crank radio needs to be wound for 90 seconds to play for 15 minutes. In ten years, there will be World Vision ads talking about the crippling effect of carpal tunnel syndrome on the Third World:

"For just pennies a day, you can buy an immobilizing wrist brace for little Emmanuel, and get him the physiotherapy he so desperately needs ..."