Skeptics argued that it can't be $10, as even a screen would cost more than that.
I wonder why a $10 laptop can't be, essentially, a wristwatch or a calculator instead of an iPhone or a netbook?
Linux will run on almost anything, a membrane keyboard (even a mobile phone 12-key pad using SMS text style input), and a small amount of memory... could you get enough hardware to run linux and have some kind of UI for ten bucks?
One guy hacked one (different model), and found its CPU was a 6502 (same as Apple 2e). I don't think linux runs on that, as no memory protection.
http://spritesmods.com/?art=picframe&page=1
Absolutely. IMO the thing to model them after would be the PIM (personal information manager) pseudo-computers of the early 1990s. Segmented or possibly coarse dot matrix LCD (2-4 lines, ~40 characters), and a special (read: charity) deal with a chip manufacturer for a modest but modern microcontroller, such as an Atmel AVR32, which Digikey has at unit prices around $7. Bulk pricing for a large order of these direct from the manufacturer might be drastically cheaper (~$5? $3, even?)
They'll run linux, but I'm not sure how to get networking into them. Wireless might be a bit ambitious (802.11 is clearly out of the question). Maybe with a simple GPIO pin you could control a small AM transmitter/receiver pair, with the intent of transmitting ~300bps. For the money it might make sense to just put a couple external metal contacts on it and run wires to each desk -- which would also solve powering it.
I wonder why a $10 laptop can't be, essentially, a wristwatch or a calculator instead of an iPhone or a netbook?
Linux will run on almost anything, a membrane keyboard (even a mobile phone 12-key pad using SMS text style input), and a small amount of memory... could you get enough hardware to run linux and have some kind of UI for ten bucks?