werty316
07-26-2006, 06:59 AM
The $100 notebook is to get a pull-string external generator and will be produced by Quanta
When we last reported on the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) research initiative’s $100 laptop, the device had lost its hand crank which was to supply the unit with additional power when required. The laptop, looking very much like a production machine, sported USB ports, headphone and microphone jacks and a smallish keyboard.
We've now learned that while the hand crank has been ditched from the laptop's final design, another human-powered mechanism will be in place courtesy of Squid Labs. The pint-sized users will pull a string that will spin a generator separate from the laptop. "With a hand-crank system, if you're gung-** about it, you can get about five watts out of it. But you get tired after about a minute or so," says Geo Homsy, a designer at Squid Labs. A projected 20 watts will have to be generated to in order to give ten minutes of run time for every one minute of human effort. The generator will also run at low RPMs in an effort to keep noise levels at a minimum. "If you imagine an entire school room full of kids using this thing, it needs to be as quiet as possible. Otherwise it will drive everyone insane," said Homsy.
The pull-string system isn't the only power alternative being looked at for the $100 laptop though. The project leaders are also working with firms to create high-capacity batteries that can be paired with the generator to give children the ability to use the laptop for up to eight hours at a time.
Taiwanese laptop giant Quanta has confirmed that it will begin producing the $100 laptops during the first quarter of 2007. Quanta, which is a part of the Taiwanese “Big Four” is projected to ship between 22 - 23 million laptops during 2006 with that number rising even further for 2007.
http://images.dailytech.com/nimage/2159_large_olpc.jpg
Article Source: http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=3492
When we last reported on the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) research initiative’s $100 laptop, the device had lost its hand crank which was to supply the unit with additional power when required. The laptop, looking very much like a production machine, sported USB ports, headphone and microphone jacks and a smallish keyboard.
We've now learned that while the hand crank has been ditched from the laptop's final design, another human-powered mechanism will be in place courtesy of Squid Labs. The pint-sized users will pull a string that will spin a generator separate from the laptop. "With a hand-crank system, if you're gung-** about it, you can get about five watts out of it. But you get tired after about a minute or so," says Geo Homsy, a designer at Squid Labs. A projected 20 watts will have to be generated to in order to give ten minutes of run time for every one minute of human effort. The generator will also run at low RPMs in an effort to keep noise levels at a minimum. "If you imagine an entire school room full of kids using this thing, it needs to be as quiet as possible. Otherwise it will drive everyone insane," said Homsy.
The pull-string system isn't the only power alternative being looked at for the $100 laptop though. The project leaders are also working with firms to create high-capacity batteries that can be paired with the generator to give children the ability to use the laptop for up to eight hours at a time.
Taiwanese laptop giant Quanta has confirmed that it will begin producing the $100 laptops during the first quarter of 2007. Quanta, which is a part of the Taiwanese “Big Four” is projected to ship between 22 - 23 million laptops during 2006 with that number rising even further for 2007.
http://images.dailytech.com/nimage/2159_large_olpc.jpg
Article Source: http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=3492