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The Ed Tech Project that started it all

The Ed Tech Project that started it all . Mini Laptop Computers. - A Look at Size, Price and Features Vic Jaras. The Ed Tech Project that started it all. MIT (The Massachusetts Institute of Technology) announced plans to develop a $100 laptop around 2003 with a prototype released in 2005.

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The Ed Tech Project that started it all

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  1. The Ed Tech Project that started it all Mini Laptop Computers - A Look at Size, Price and Features Vic Jaras

  2. The Ed Tech Project that started it all • MIT (The Massachusetts Institute of Technology) announced plans to develop a $100 laptop around 2003 with a prototype released in 2005. • Eventually these laptops were named XO computers and in 2007, 1 million units were distributed to developing nations. • Netbook is the latest name for these mini- computers.

  3. XO Computer Children from Mongolia, China.

  4. Review of the XO

  5. Innovations of the XO • Use of FLASH drives to replace hard drives • Built-in web cameras • Linux Operating System • Web Oriented • Designed for Kids, not Adults • New OPEN SOURCE Software

  6. Innovations of the XO • Dan Bricklin (who invented the spreadsheet) has developed a web-based spreadsheet called social-calc for the XO. http://www.peapodcast.com/sgi/olpc/

  7. Children in Nepal

  8. Innovations of the XO • On May 21, 2008, at an OLPC Country Meeting, design studies of a next-generation XO-2 goals include: • Dual 16x9 proportioned sunlight-readable touch screens • Keyboard and touchpad both replaced by touch screens • Physically smaller than XO-1; size and weight more like a book • 1 watt power consumption • Price of US $75 to large educational buyers

  9. Childrenin Mongolia

  10. Children in Haiti

  11. NOW, EVERYONE IS ON THE BANDWAGON.. HP Mini

  12. Dell Mini 9

  13. What you give up for smaller size: • Missing a CDROM drive • How do you install your programs? • Running Linux or Windows XP • Minimum System Memory • Windows XP should have 1 gig of memory • Small Amount of Physical Storage • Smaller Screen (less than 14”) • Smaller Keyboard and Controls • Just reduced or ergonomically designed for kids?

  14. ACER & ASUS

  15. MSI & SYLVANIA

  16. CTL & INTEL CLASSMATE The CTL and a few others are based on the INTEL CLASSMATE laptop which competes with the X0 Laptop

  17. MPC TXT book

  18. Review of 4 mini-notebooks

  19. PC World –How to buy a Mini Computer • 1. Know what you want to use it for and how much you're willing to spend. • 2. Buy a netbook with an 8.9-inch screen or larger. • I tried out an Asus EEC PC with a 7-inch screen and the annoying part is not being able to see an entire Web page because the screen is too small. • Source: http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/150457/how_to_buy_a_minilaptop.html

  20. ASUS EEC PC 7" screen

  21. PC World How to buy a Mini Computer • 3. Make sure you get a 6-cell battery for your netbook, although you may have to pay $50 more and the device will weigh more. • Most companies are offering netbooks with 3-cell batteries as the standard, but that doesn't offer a whole lot of run time, just 2 to 3 hours. • A 6-cell battery doubles that, and in some devices designed around a 6-cell battery you can get up to 8 hours.

  22. PC World How to buy a Mini Computer • 4. Try out the keypad and make sure it's right for you. • Keys on the ClassMate PC's keyboard are raised and there is a lot of space between them, making them easy to find by touch. • By contrast, the EEE PCs, Wind and Elitegroup Computer Systems' designed their keypads with flat keys and little or no space between keys because, I was told it makes them look nice. The trouble is, it also makes typing more difficult. • I really liked the keypads on Acer's and Everex's CloudBook, but the best keypad was on Hewlett-Packard's.

  23. Everex CloudBook

  24. PC World How to buy a Mini Computer • 5. Software: see what it comes with and consider trying the Linux OS. There are two lessons on software. • First, some vendors have skimped on including software in their netbooks on the pretense that users can download a lot of free software on the Internet. • Asustek included a lot of useful software on its Eee PCs 1000, 1000H and 901, as has Acer, which also added a nice opening screen that boots up in just 12 seconds.

  25. PC World How to buy a Mini Computer • Second, it may be time to the give the Linux OS a try. • Most of the netbooks I tested with Linux OSs booted up far faster than Windows XP or Windows Vista (I would not buy a netbook with Vista, it's just too slow). • Vic Tip- if windows XP needs 1 gig of memory then Vista needs 2 gigs of system memory to perform well with average tasks.

  26. PC World How to buy a Mini Computer • 6. Price: if it costs more than $500, start looking at a regular notebook computer. • Companies have started promoting a wide range of netbooks at higher prices, but once you pass $500, netbooks start to compete with laptops. 1.3 to 3 MP camera 512mb Memory 3 GB Memory CD ROM 7” Screen 15.4” Screen .3 MP camera

  27. Gateway M series The Gateway M series Laptop has 3gigs of system memory, built in camera, a newer, faster DUO CORE processor, large hard drive, CDROM drive, More usb ports, a digital camera reader, more software and has a great design –one of the view models that forces warm air out the side instead of the bottom. You can find it for as low as $499 on sale.

  28. BEFORE YOU BUY: • Develop a Planning Rubric of your needs! • Small size may work for elementary and middle but high school kids may need a larger keyboard and more features. • Keep in mind that limited memory and storage could be a problem 1-3 years down the road when some great software appears that you cannot run because of space and memory requirements.

  29. Questions? vic.jaras@iowa.gov (email)

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