It's a crank. Intel Chairman Craig Barrett has dismissed a WiFi-enabled, Linux-based, full-color, full-screen laptop aimed at bringing computers to developing economies as a "$100 gadget". The lime-green devices run on electromotive energy from a wind-up mechanism--thus allowing the machines to be used in areas lacking a regular power supply. But Barrett thinks a computer's features are more important than its price.

Decide for yourself. The One Laptop Per Child non-profit association, first announced by Nicholas Negroponte, founder and chairman of Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Media lab at the World Economic Forum last January, claims the machine will "be able to do almost everything except store huge amounts of data". The current specifications of the rugged laptop, which has "USB ports galore", are 500MHz, 1GB, 1 Megapixel. The United Nations has heralded the cheap laptops--which will be shipped early next year to school children in Brazil, Thailand, Egypt and Nigeria--as an effective way to spread computers across the world.

Intel's Barrett Dismisses $100 Laptop As 'Gadget'

This list is always good for a few gems.

These are the ideas that, for better and worse, helped make 2005 what it was. You'll find entries that address momentous developments in Iraq ("The Totally Religious, Absolutely Democratic Constitution") as well as less conspicuous, more ghoulish occurrences in Pittsburgh ("Zombie Dogs"). There are ideas that may inspire ("The Laptop That Will Save the World"), that may turn your stomach ("In Vitro Meat"), that may arouse partisan passions ("Republican Elitism") and that may solve age-old mysteries ("Why Popcorn Doesn't Pop"). Some mysteries, of course, still remain. For instance, we do not yet have an entirely satisfying explanation for how Mark Cuban, the outspoken Internet mogul and NBA owner, came to be connected with three of the year's most notable ideas ("Collapsing the Distribution Window," "Scientific Free-Throw Distraction" and "Splogs"). That was just one surprising discovery we made in the course of assembling the issue. In the pages that follow, we're sure you'll make your own

The Year In Ideas 2005

The Psychasthenia Society, hosted by Jon Keith Brunelle, presents programs of stories, video, and music mediated by portable electronics, featuring some of the best work by New York artists whose instruments are laptop computers.

The Psychasthenia Society: laptop stories, video, and music

"We are all here in China that represents quite a lot of opportunities, not only on the business side, but also on the social side," Yang said.

"We look at our users' interests, without our users we don't have business."

At the same time, it was essential that Yahoo employees abide by local laws as well, he added.

"I would not put our employees at risk in anyway, shape or form and when it comes to issues such as seeking user information we have a very clear cut set of rules."

"The government of any country has engaged with us through legal documentation or legal procedures, we get a lot of those every day around the world."

On the heels of Yahoo helping China bust journalist Shi Tao, Jerry Yang is in China taking part in the Internet Summit being thrown by Alibaba. Who thinks they would have been welcome there if they didn't hand over the information? I don't.. And I'm not just talking about the summit.

Bill Clinton is also attending.

"In China, I think that so far the political system and restraint on political speech in the Internet has not seemed to have any adverse commercial consequences," Clinton said.

"It will be interesting to see whether that is true of the future.

"In America, the Internet is this wild cauldron of dissenting voices, we have now whole different media over the Internet with all the blog sites in America," he said.

Clinton nails it. Its all about the market. Its the Chinese internal market that must put the pressure on the Chinese government. An internal approach is better than an external one. In China's eyes, any pressure from outside to change their approach to speech would be seen in a light akin to terrorism. The Chinese citizens need to be the ones to fly the Internet into Beijing. To stretch the analogy for all its worth, the pilots cannot be Chinese trained in America for their actions to take hold in the society. It must come from within. They can do it based on our ideology, but lets not be so blatant about it as to put it in the context of a state based attack. Put your faith in freedom and people. In this case, the Chinese people.

The next person standing in front of a tank will be holding a laptop with Wifi.

Yahoo's Yang say hands tied in China Internet censorship case

nvestigators told local paper Helsingin Sanomat that the suspects wrongly believed that the use of an insecure wireless network in commission of the crime would mask their tracks. This failed when police identified the MAC address of the machine used to pull off the theft from a router and linked it to a GE Money laptop. Police say that stolen funds have been recovered. Four men have been arrested over the alleged theft with charges expected to follow within the next two months

The lession of the day: Always Always Always change your MAC Address before doing something you shouldn't.

Finnish security exec arrested over bank hack | The Register

What started as a sale turned into a mob scene as thousands of people pushed their way through the Richmond International Raceway gates to buy a $50 iBook laptop computer from Henrico County Schools this morning.

Just wait until it's oil, or food, instead of laptops.

Mob scene, several hurt in rush for cheap laptops

Thirteen Kutztown Area High School students are facing felony charges for tampering with district-issued laptop computers.

According to parent testimony and confirmed by an otherwise vaguely-worded letter from the Kutztown Police Department, students got hold of the system's secret administrative password and reconfigured their computers to achieve greater Internet and network access.

Berks-Mont Newspapers - Kutztown Area Patriot - 13 teens face felonies

The random chatter of several hundred Microsoft engineers filled the cavernous executive briefing center recently at the company's sprawling campus outside Seattle.

Within minutes after their meeting was convened, however, the hall became hushed. Hackers had successfully lured a Windows laptop onto a malicious wireless network.

"It was just silent," said Stephen Toulouse, a program manager in Microsoft's security unit. "You couldn't hear anybody breathe."

Matt Thomlinson, whose job it is to help make Microsoft engineers create more secure code, noticed that some of the engineers were turning red, becoming obviously angry at the demo hacking incident. Yet as painful as the lesson was, he was glad to see the crowd of engineers taking things personally.

Microsoft meets the hackers | CNET News.com

Compare these laptops.....then compare the prices....same laptop...different price...I am convinced that one comes with a pair of rayban sunglasses because people who buy that one have futures so bright, they have to wear shades

Check out the prices

] U.S. troops in Iraq will soon be able to lace their
] defensive perimeters with a high-tech, multi-pronged
] version of one of the most effective weapons in their
] enemy's playbook: the remote-controlled bomb.

The terrorists use them. Now so do we - except via a laptop over a wireless network in conjunction with GPS.

So there's a downside and upside to this.
Downside - hackers can now hack into the Matrix (nice name Army dudes!) and blow stuff up - dude, sweet.

Upside - It's about time we start dropping down to the terrorist's level. If it were up to me, I'd be strapping bombs to Iraqi death row inmates and sending them back home. Is that harsh?

THE MATRIX HAS YOU: Laptop-Triggered Mines Heading for Iraq