Crank up the Techno! (...logy)

It's like a Model T Ford computer. Old tech meets new tech crazyiness. Dig it:

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Nov. 15 -- A riddle: What has the durability of a sneaker, the smarts of a computer, the color scheme of a lunchbox and the potential to alter almost everything about the way schoolchildren in the developing world learn?

The answer: well, nothing yet.

But now, scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology say they're close to creating a device that would fulfill this ambitious vision -- a tough, kid-friendly laptop that could be sold to poor countries for $100.

A prototype of this computer will be unveiled Wednesday at a U.N. conference in Tunisia. Its designers concede that the prototype is still missing some crucial features, such as a cheap display screen and a hand crank that would provide power.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/15/AR2005111501546.html?nav=rss_print/asection

What's not to like here? You got your third world children (an old christian favorite) you got your MIT super geniuses bringing the almighty savior the internet to the poor savages and all at a very affordable price. (because it wouldn't be right makeing money off the poor, pfft...) Not only that, but you have the goofey 'hand-crank' trivia/irony angle to play-up for audiences left numb by twenty years of feeding Ethopian kid with flies on their faces and big bellies on infomericals.

Not only that but you got your Open-Source/not for profit angle for suckers like me. But at the end of the day My selfish little self thinks: "I KNEW IT!" those fuckers can make a laptop for a hundred BUCKS! and us loser westerners are paying THOUSANDS! fer FUCK sake!


Song of the Day is "Bang On!" by Propellerheads off their 1998 album "Decksandrumsandrockandroll."

Crazy Fact: Keyboardist/bassist/DJ Alex Gifford began his career as a studio musician, playing keyboards for Van Morrison and saxophone for the Stranglers.

njoy