International group of grad students working on $12 laptop

No, that’s not a misprint. This group of students is hoping to put something out at about an Apple II level — enough to familiarize people with a keyboard, mouse, and a couple applications, but no more — and their aim is to do it for around $12. After all, that’s the big hurdle. While the OLPC DS is a cool idea, it’s more of a personal computer for the developing world than a computer designed to help develop the developing world. I hope these guys get the word out and make this thing happen; I think they have the right idea.