Designers on Quest to Build $12 Computer

A group of computer designers at MIT’s International Development Design Summit are trying to develop a $12 computer. Derek Lomas is basing the computer on a device he saw people using in Bangalore, India, in which a cheap keyboard was combined with a Nintendo-like device and connected to a home TV. Lomas and others at the MIT symposium hope to improve the system, based on old Apple II computers, to have rudimentary Web access and other features. “We see this as a model that could increase economic opportunities for people in developing countries,” Lomas says. He thinks that with some help from programmers, the Apple II computers can be developed into more capable devices and give schools in third-world countries computer labs. A six-member team at the MIT conference is working on writing improved programs and connecting the devices to the Internet using cell phones. The group also wants to add memory chips to allow users to write and store their own programs. Apple II enthusiasts have been recruited to help with the programming, and the group has contacted an Indian nonprofit that has expressed interest in using the devices.
Boston Herald (08/04/08) Kronenberg, Jerry

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