$100 Laptop to Come from China
At the IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin, Germany, (August 29-September 3), Chinese hardware vendor HiVision showcased a Linux laptop that is to cost a mere $98.
The dream of Professor Nicholas Negroponte, founder of MIT's Media Lab, had been a $100 computer for children in developing countries. His dream became the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) initiative, also known as the Hundred-Dollar-Laptop project. No one up to now has been able to meet this goal, but it sparked a trend toward developing smaller and more affordable machines.
It seems now that a Chinese company, HiVision, has stepped up to make the $100 magic number a reality.Based in Shenzhen, the firm is known for its digital displays and Ultra Mobile Laptops (UMPCs) sold in 40 countries worldwide. At the IFA, they presented a Linux-based laptop currently selling for $120 and expect to enter the market with a model NB0700 in October having a reduced price of $98, according to the Techvideoblog hardware portal.
From Chinese vendor HiVision, a $98 laptop.
At first glance the features of the super-affordable device with a 7-inch monitor are comparable to those of competitors Asus EeePC and Aspire One. Corresponding with HiVision's claims, their machine should com with a Via C7-processor, at IFA the test machine was presented with a V MIPS processor. Standard features for the HiVision laptop include WiFi and Ethernet, 512 RAM, three USB ports, an SDHC card reader, and an integrated speaker and mic. The device weighs in at 32 oz. inclusive of the 3-hour lifespan rechargeable battery. According to their website Windows XP and Vista versions are also promised. Along with its diminutive model, the company will also be producing ones with 8, 9, or 10-inch monitors.
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Wayland 1.24 Released with Fixes and New Features
Wayland continues to move forward, while X11 slowly vanishes into the shadows, and the latest release includes plenty of improvements.
-
Bugs Found in sudo
Two critical flaws allow users to gain access to root privileges.
-
Fedora Continues 32-Bit Support
In a move that should come as a relief to some portions of the Linux community, Fedora will continue supporting 32-bit architecture.
-
Linux Kernel 6.17 Drops bcachefs
After a clash over some late fixes and disagreements between bcachefs's lead developer and Linus Torvalds, bachefs is out.
-
ONLYOFFICE v9 Embraces AI
Like nearly all office suites on the market (except LibreOffice), ONLYOFFICE has decided to go the AI route.
-
Two Local Privilege Escalation Flaws Discovered in Linux
Qualys researchers have discovered two local privilege escalation vulnerabilities that allow hackers to gain root privileges on major Linux distributions.
-
New TUXEDO InfinityBook Pro Powered by AMD Ryzen AI 300
The TUXEDO InfinityBook Pro 14 Gen10 offers serious power that is ready for your business, development, or entertainment needs.
-
LibreOffice Tested as Possible Office 365 Alternative
Another major organization has decided to test the possibility of migrating from Microsoft's Office 365 to LibreOffice.
-
Linux Mint 20 Reaches EOL
With Linux Mint 20 at its end of life, the time has arrived to upgrade to Linux Mint 22.
-
TuxCare Announces Support for AlmaLinux 9.2
Thanks to TuxCare, AlmaLinux 9.2 (and soon version 9.6) now enjoys years of ongoing patching and compliance.