Wednesday, February 06, 2008
22 Years
If you've seen this before, you might know I went through an arduous time of trying to get an OLPC laptop. I finally got it and it is pretty cool. What is amazing is that it is around 22 years since I bought my first laptop. That was a TRS (Radio Shack) Model 100, a computer that is pretty much recognized as the first successful laptop. I bought my Model 100 back in early 1986 and here it is, 2008 and I'm buying another. It's interesting to see how they compare.
It's interesting in that the sizes are pretty close. The weight is almost the same while the OLPC is significantly smaller. However, that makes a big drawback for the keyboard. That is one place the Model 100 shines. The OLPC wins hands-down for software with browsers, text editors, programming, games and more. Battery-wise, the Model 100 also wins. It used to run for a week or two on just 4 AA batteries.
I've been using the OLPC for about a week now and am getting a little more familiar with it. I finally got it to connect with my Apple Extreme wireless yesterday and have been able to connect using Macdonalds and Barnes and Nobles wireless. I think the OLPC guys have really come up with a pretty cool little system for kids to learn on. Good job.
