How do you make a laptop that can tolerate sandstorms and monsoons, run on a car battery, and cost just $150? That was the challenge facing One Laptop per Child, a nonprofit group founded by MIT Media Lab veterans to get youngsters in developing nations online.
OLPC's XO notebook PC attains its ultralow price through a combination of innovative technology (such as its dual-mode LCD) and old-fashioned streamlining (it doesn't have a hard drive, and it uses a Linux-based operating system).
OLPC plans to start distributing 5 million XOs in July. As production ramps up, the price should approach the original $100 target, OLPC says. (Click on the icon at right to view the laptop, including callouts explaining its features.)
Photograph: Mike McGregor
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