Researchers in India Say They Can Build a Laptop for $10

Those industrious Indians are so smart. To hell with that one laptop per child (OLPC, pictured above) project whose notebook price started at $100 and now costs upwards of $175 and climbing—Indian researchers say they can bring one in for a fraction of that cost, a mere $10 for a fully-functioning laptop PC. The idea is floating around the halls of Indian government agencies, and supporting the project is state-sponsored integrated circuit design and manufacturer Semiconductor Complex.

There are a couple of design proposals on the table from engineering hopefuls, but it’s just a whole lot of talk thus far, much of which is predicated on upbeat predictions of manufacturing and distribution techniques bringing costs down to that rock-bottom $10 level. Sure, the laptop will be loaded with free open-source Linux software, but unless that semiconductor manufacturer tosses in all the hardware for free, too, this $10 laptop malarkey goes directly into the “insert miracle here” file. – Charlie White

A $10 Laptop? [Coolest Gadgets]