$100 Buys an OLPC Laptop With VoIP and a Webcam

The much talked about US$100 OLPC (One Laptop Per Child) not only has a name, 2B1, but has some fascinating features. These include being preloaded with VoIP software and the ability to form a wireless mesh network, provided one computer has an Internet connection. [via VoIP Weblog]

I think that the idea is brilliant, given how rare an Internet connection actually is some of the countries that the OLPC 2B1 is intended for. But I’m wondering what a child from a low-income family will want to do with VoIP. I’m hoping that they’ll call up their congressman/ woman and ask what they he** they are doing about poverty.

Although in all seriousness, I’m hoping that these children can use VoIP to form some friendships - the VoIP equivalent of a penpal. Having once sponsored seven children around the world, I know how desperate some of these children are just to find some hope by forming friendships outside of their villages. While the laptop will not have a hard drive, the nice thing is that they have a webcam, microphone, speaker, USB ports, are lightweight and low-power. Bravo.