Bringing the digital and the download to the downtrodden

There are very few things I’ve encountered or even heard of in my life that I’d call noble. I… There are very few things I’ve encountered or even heard of in my life that I’d call noble. I never would have thought nobility would come from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It just never occurred to me that “tech guys” would take on one of the world’s most massive problems. Not only has MIT Media Lab taken on such a problem, but its $100 Laptop Initiative might just win a vital battle for all of us.

Ignorance has always been crippling. Crusades, inquisitions, slavery and genocide – the worst acts of humanity come from the kind of fear and rage that can be met only with courage, with justice, with wisdom borne of learning. Without some form of education, the mind is stunted, and it cannot combat the daily strife that has, in every age, withered the human spirit.

The times dictate the depth and nature of the education required to survive. Ours is a world where even the most practical forms of learning have become absurdly complex. Success now depends on education that can’t be gained quickly or without resources.

If the United States is failing to meet the educational needs of its poorer citizens, what chance do truly destitute nations have of giving their citizens the basic learning they’ll need to grow and succeed in the modern world?

There aren’t enough teachers. There aren’t enough books. There’s too much distance between schools and homes. Power’s not always a guarantee. The poorer countries need educated citizens to build their own infrastructures, and without those same skills learned in school, the citizens have no real chance of success even if they manage to emigrate to a wealthier nation.

Enter MIT Media Lab. Their goal is to have a laptop for every child on the planet. They want every kid alive to be able to log on to the Net, read books, write and learn. Even Wal-Mart’s Web site isn’t selling laptops no less than $500. It’s just not practical to expect people who can barely feed themselves to shell out that kind of money, especially for a computer that’s unlikely to survive in their environment.

MIT Media Lab’s got a totally different idea in mind. Not only are the people there trying to get the cost down to $100, but they’re building a new breed of laptop. MIT Media Lab is hardly alone in this project. Advanced Micro Devices, Google, News Corp and Red Hat are all involved. Apple even offered to donate an operating