In February of this year I made a post (http://www.progressiveu.org/213257-one-laptop-per-child) about a non-profit intiative called One Laptop Per Child which aims to provide 100 million laptops into the hands of kids 6 to 16 in the next few years. The laptop, called the 
Children's Machine, is designed to be used by children all over the world and most importantly by the world's poorest children and those with limited or no access to education.The laptop is finally in its final stages of development after years of research and hundreds of prototype models. The OLPC is already beta-testing thousands of XO's with children in Nigeria, Libya, Brazil, Uruguay, Rwanda, Argentina, and Thailand. The OLPC aims to have the cost $100, but right now the cost is closer to $150 which will decrease with mass porduction.
The main goal of the project is to provide the most efficient and cost effective way to educate the world's children. Believe it or not a $150 laptop is more cost effective than textbooks or teacher training. The provides children with a way to learn by doing with full Internet access and open source formatting. The children will be able to colloborate with other children with , so groups can work on projects and lessons collectively.
My fascination with this project is the ingenious design of the . It gives children a way to learn actively and creatively as well as providing them with a wealth of information through the Internet and e-book reading capabilities. The is also durable and meant to sustain harsh environments and the wear and tear of a child's use. The sheer possibilities provided by this project are amazing and I hope one day soon it becomes an amazing reality.
For the full facts on the project and laptop check out the links I provided below.
The article from AARP website "Educating the World: One Laptop At a Time": http://www.aarp.org/learntech/lifelong/one_laptop_per_child.html
It's companion article "Meet the Children's Computer" : http://www.aarp.org/learntech/lifelong/meet_the_xo.html
One Laptop PerChild homepage: http://wiki.laptop.org/go/One_Laptop_per_Child
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It's amazing that someone even thought up and followed through with this plan. I hope that it catches on and all computers can be made in this fashion. Having worked with kids before, both inside and outside the classroom, I'm happy to see that their chance for a healthy, and no doubt effective, learning experience drastically improve. Too many times have I seen a child's education become tainted when they fail to learn, paving the way for unfruitful high school, college, and adult life experiences.
Again, I have to thank you for such a wonderful post. Hopefully your caliber will rub off on some other crappy users who, for example, complain about their lack of real friends or how their uncle yelled at them about why America is great.
Whisper on a scream doesn't change a thing. - Kenny Wayne Sheppard Band