CNN.com reported today that 500 of the famed (and controversial) $100 laptops will be delivered to children in Thailand starting in October. Essentially a beta test, it's still good to see laptops rolling out to children.
In other school news, a Canadian school district announced a Mobile Study Force with a goal of putting laptops in 20,000 student laps. These laptops will cost considerably more than $100, unless Apple and Acer have made incredible deals with the school district.
Although the news from LinuxWorld showcases business advantages, many readers jumped in to our earlier school discussion about the value of Linux in education. Volume discounts working the way they do, schools benefit when businesses buy into a technology, and vice versa. Raising the general profile of Linux systems helps as well.
One claim by the "a laptop for every student" group always confuses me. A huge cost saving for these projects is the ability to get textbooks on CD for just a few dollars, a vast discount from the cost of normal textbooks. Hmm. Maybe I missed it, but I don't remember any textbook publishers being quoted. Since the cost of publishing the physical text book is less than two dollars versus the cost of burning a CD at a few cents, there will be a cost savings but not one to get excited about. Savings in shipping and storing physical textbooks will add up, but "free" textbooks on CD are an illusion. I also maintain putting laptops in the hands of students who can't read at grade level is a waste of money and an injustice to the student.
Some fans regard Linux as perhaps a bit too powerful. Reader Alan tells me Novell will return to glory riding SuSE Linux as a NetWare replacement. I'll cross my fingers, but won't hold my breath.
With tongue firmly planted in cheek (I hope), Reader Alan says: "And look at FEMA, they switched from Windows (after last year's disasters) to Linux this year. Since the switchover to Linux, the U.S. hasn't even suffered one hurricane disaster. Isn't that amazing!" That Torvolds guy must have souped up the Linux kernel beyond belief if it now controls the weather.
Back to Small Business Tech Notes
|
Does Verizon's Voyager stack up to the iPhone? |
5 IT skills that won't boost your salary 
[1,407]
Women 4 times more likely than men to cough up personal info [589]
Japan's 10 funniest tech-related commercials [Videos] [407]
Throwing away a promo CD is "unauthorized distribution"? [1,265]
Adults too quick to dismiss educational video games [682]
Attack of the iPhone clones [Slideshow] [578]
10 things IT needs to know about AJAX [1,258]
This Year's 25 Geekiest 25th Anniversaries [Slideshow] [409]
Network World on Twitter: Get our tweets and stay plugged in to networking news