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U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan unveiled the first working prototype of the $100 laptop last week at the World Summit on the Information Society in Tunis, Tunisia.
The $100 laptop is a joint project of the MIT Media Lab and the One Laptop per Child association, which plan to distribute the computers to schoolchildren in underdeveloped nations.
Due by early 2007, the Linux-based machine is so energy-efficient that a hand crank provides sufficient power to operate it, according to Media Lab officials.
It includes Wi-Fi support so that many children can gain access to a single Internet connection through a mesh network.
According to an FAQ list on the Media Labs Web site, creating a $100 laptop was a matter of using a cheap display and keeping software to a necessary minimum.