Submitted by “Ars Technica recently got its hands on the new Intel Classmate laptop computer, one of the new projects competing for a share of school-aged computer users in developing countries. I was able to survey this machine thanks to Helio Chissini de Castro of Mandriva. The unit I looked at was powered by a specialized version of Mandriva 2007, with customizations aimed at school-aged children.”
but for impatient children who don’t need Microsoft Word compatibility, perhaps KOffice would be a better solution
childeren who need Microsoft Word more likely aren’t the targeted audience anyway.
“with customizations aimed at school-aged children.”
Bill Gates might be able to use it?
Interesting, but it seems a bit anemic compared to the Asus 701 (the Eee PC). Asus’ comes with a 7″ screen (and a 10″ later this year), 4 / 8 / 16 GB flash storage, 512 MB RAM and 4 USB ports. I believe it runs on a modified version of Debian.
The classmate has the same size screen, but 1 GB storage, 256 MB RAM, 2 USB ports.
What exactly do you expect for $200?
Dee dee dee!
This is not targeted at professionals. It’s targeted at the demographic that used to spend recess playing Oregon Trail.
The Asus 701 in base configuration has twice the memory, four times the storage and twice the USB ports for the same $200. No they are not targeting professionals with the classmate (or the Asus), but my personal opinion is the specs are too low even as a learning tool on the classmate. The small screen is fine for kids and the lack of optical drive shouldn’t be a problem for the given task. The market will decide what format/price point is the winner, even in underdeveloped countries.