Update: Disappointment strikes! Apparently, the MIT team’s computer built not on an Apple II, but on an NES. Well, who can blame them? That Mario dude is awesome.
We’ve proved that you can build a cheap laptop (if not quite one that goes for $100). That’s great, but it’s still pretty expensive. One group of MIT students aims to shoot even lower: they want to build a computer for $12—hey, that’s less than an Andrew Jackson.
But if your aim is going to be “affordable,” then you might as well start with something that’s tried and tested. In the case of the $12 computer team, their jumping-off point is the time-honored classic Apple II.
“My generation all had Apple IIs that we learned to type and play games on,” the 27-year-old said. “If we can get buy-in from programmers, we can develop these devices and give (Third World) schools Apple II computer labs like the ones I grew up with.”
Oh, man. That’s a great idea. If it’s anything like our junior high school’s Apple II lab, then pretty soon, the whole Third World is going to be full of monitors continuously scrolling “I AM AWESOME!”.
Andrew Jackson would be proud.
It's a quite foolish idea. People in developing countries (or any other type of countries) don't need old, underpowered or obsolete computers. They need just as powerful computers. And the idea of "computer labs" is wrong. Students should learn writing, reading and math skills. They should learn searching and organizing information. They should learn history and geography, and many other subjects. Computers should be just a [important] tool to augment skills. Not a subject per se. And that is true for schoolchildren all over the world
fahirsch, do you know what a computer lab is? It's a room with computers inside it where a variety of subjects can be augmented and taught.
But...how can a student learn how to augment their learning if they don't know how to use their computer? You may argue that programming is not important but programming is a form of mathematics.
Ta da!
No, this is based on the NES architecture, not the Apple ][
I always thought Apple should revive the Apple II brand, even if it's in name only. Maybe an OLPC-type project is the way to do it. Apple doesn't have to spend millions building up the "Apple II" brand, because anyone who went through school in the 80s/90s still has that emotional connection.