Computer Makers Race to Create $100 Laptop

With all of my recent computer problems this next story drew me in right away. It is on AlterNet, and was written by Gregory M. Lamb, of the Christian Science Monitor, titled~~Computer Makers Race to Create $100 Laptop, and was posted today:

New lines of tiny PCs are small enough to fit in your purse and affordable enough for students in around the world.

The laptop computers most people haul around are underutilized. They hardly break a sweat to read e-mail, stream video, view photos, browse the Web, or run word-processing or spreadsheet programs. Their powerful processors are rarely tested except by heavy-duty gamers, scientific researchers, or other specialized users.

So while some PCs continue to bulk up and tout their speed and raw power, others represent a new trend: slimming down. Way down. These smaller, simpler machines are aimed at a potentially lucrative market: the next 1 billion PC users around the planet.

The market segment is so new it doesn't have a name yet or even an agreed-upon set of specifications. Intel, the chipmaker, calls the category "netbooks," recognizing that much of what people do on their laptops involves going on the Net. The new machines are also being called ultra-low-cost PCs, mininotebooks, or even mobile Internet gadgets.


LINK TO FULL STORY ON ALTERNET