__/ [ Mark Kent ] on Tuesday 20 March 2007 12:21 \__
> [H]omer <spam@xxxxxxx> espoused:
>>
> <snip>
>> One minute DVD players are sold exclusively in Hi-Fi shops for hundreds
>> or even thousands; the next minute you can pick up a region-free player
>> in ASDA (Walmart) for peanuts, stuffed into your trolley on top of your
>> groceries. It was quite a culture shock when it first started.
>>
>> The irony is, that these cheap Taiwanese imports are often much more
>> functional than their more expensive counterparts (at least in every way
>> that actually matters - such as being region-free, or being able to play
>> a wider range of media like XviD and MP3, for example). And all that for
>> just 10 or 15 quid. Amazing.
>>
>> I foresee a future where supermarkets sell 50 quid Linux PCs, maybe even
>> the OLPC XO system itself, and the era of rip-off Windows PCs comes
>> crashing to an end (pun intended).
>>
>
> This is a very prescient remark, in my view. I think the XO machine is
> going to be a revolutionary device - it will overturn the laptop market
> like nothing else which has ever appeared. I think it will have a truly
> dramatic effect on the world of education, and I think it will bring
> portable computing into the hands of the masses who previously just
> could not afford it.
>
> As you say, once Asda have it on their shelves...
I can imagine a generation of young kids glued to the screen of their laptop
though. And 50 quid (even less in a matter of years) is something that will
lift that barrier which says laptops are only for adults.
--
~~ Best wishes
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