The Dominican Republic could take advantage of a program that would provide Dominican students with US$100 laptops, if the government goes ahead with a proposal from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab. The $100 Laptop is a Linux-based, full-color, full-screen laptop, which initially is achieved either by rear projecting the image on a flat screen or by using electronic ink. Making matters more adapted to conditions in the DR, the computers are rugged, use innovative power (including wind-up), are WiFi and cell phone-enabled, and have USB ports galore. Its current specifications are: 500 MHz, 1 GB, 1 Megapixel.
Jose Santana, advisor to the Presidency on Science and Technology, said the computers could be implemented through a program with the Ministry of Education. He thinks the funding could come through a sister schools program between New York City schools and those in the DR. The program would also call for exchange of teachers.
MIT has plans to produce five million of the computers to be distributed to Third World countries through their ministries of education. The computers would be available for shipment by the end of 2006 or early 2007. They will not be available for purchase by individuals.
The plan is for the US$100 Laptop to do almost everything that a US$1000 laptop can do, except store a massive amount of data.
The developers of the US$100 laptop feel it is important for each child to have a computer versus community-access centers. “One does not think of community pencils – kids have their own,” is the explanation.
See http://laptop.media.mit.edu/