Geekfoolery

Getting a cheap computer has been possible for some time if you either know what you were looking for or don’t mind a bit of crap shoot. A basic tower can be had for a couple hundred bucks if you look around and get lucky. Laptops will set you back a couple hundred bucks more. We’re not talking about screaming power machines, but for what 90% of us do–email, a bit of web surfing, they’re just fine.

It’s about to get a lot cheaper.

We are about to enter the age of the hundred dollar computer. I want to start with two $100 computers, a laptop and a tower.

The first is the One Laptop Per Child initiative, or OLPC. This project was started by some folks at MIT who decided that private enterprise probably wasn’t going to get around to making a basic, rugged, cheap PC that third world countries and students could afford and use, so they created the design for this small laptop with a flash-based memory, wireless networking, and a neat little hand crank for boosting your battery life.

Everyone thought the idea of sending these laptops to developing countries was swell, but in the back of everyone’s mind (including mine) was the thought, “I wonder if I could get one of those, too.” Sure, I’ve got a sweet system at home AND a work computer, but it would be nice to have a beater box to take out and about without having to worry about dinging it. And for kids, it would be nice to say “Here, knock yourself out.” If they destroy it, you can give the kids the appropriate stern looks and talking to, but hey, it’s only a a hundred bucks.

Well, in reality, the OLPC is not out yet, and when it does come out, the plan is to charge double the cost for them which means you get one and a kid in a developing country gets one. So you’re doing a good thing. And the cost might be a bit more than $100. But bottom line, we’re talking a fully functional PC.

The other PC in this horse race is not as well known as the OLPC initiative, but it is going for the same idea. It’s called Zonbu, and like the OLPC, it’s a bare bones box (not a laptop) with all the word processing, email, and browsing you need. Like OLPC, Zonbu runs on Linux and has a whole suite of Internet and productivity apps preloaded. It’s not shipping yet, but the plan is to sell the device for $100, but you’ll need a monitor, mouse and keyboard.

Both of these devices, and others like them, could be the beginning of a Model-T like revolution in computing around the world. I liken it to the return of the Model T. Ubiquitious and cheap, these machines will be and should be sent around the world.

In the meantime, while we wait for these cheap volksputers to enter production, there’s always last year’s model. A sharp eye on eBay or a flea market… like the Chicago Sun-Times’ Andy Ihnatko… can score a perfectly useful machine for almost nothing if you you’re paying attention.

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