One Laptop Per Child Project May Be Overcoming Security Issues
This project has intrigued me since it was announced several years ago. While the laptop won’t be available for $100 as originally hoped it appears to have a great chance for wide distribution. One of the major impediments was security, how to keep these precious items from being stolen from the children that most needed them… how do you secure the computer in other words. It looks like some of the hurdles have been overcome as you read in this fabulous Wired article.
By Ryan Singel| Also by this reporter
SAN FRANCISCO — The One Laptop Per Child project, which proposes to give every child in the developing world a computer of his own, dazzled fans with the unveiling of its little green “$100 laptop” in November 2005. Now it’s impressing hard-bitten security geeks with a plan to lock down the hundreds of millions of educational machines against spyware and computer intruders.
The laptop, officially called the XO, includes a swiveling LCD screen that can switch between low-resolution color and higher-resolution black-and-white. It also has a camera and microphone that enable clear video calls, three USB ports, 128 MB of RAM, 512 MB of flash storage, built-in Wi-Fi with extraordinary range, a long-lasting battery rechargeable by a cord or car battery, and a custom, Linux-based operating system that prefers tags to a traditional file system. Every full-grown geek who sees the 7.5-inch screen asks how they can buy one.
For the balance of the article, click here.
