(This blog post is about the low-cost ultraportable Linux laptop due for release in August or September, 2007.)
The Eee PC laptop is a little marvel. (Video here.) While it will be delightful to use this laptop with wifi at a public library or other hotspot, the truly exciting feature on this laptop is the 56kbps modem. A dialup modem exciting? Sure. Check this out. You can get dialup service for $40/year from www.vtisp.com. Sure you're limited to 150 hours per months, but who can stomach more than 5 hours of dialup per day? Right.
This solution would work well for many families that just can't afford DSL or cable modem service. But wait, there's more. There are several ways of sharing that 56kbps dialup service between two Eee PC laptops (or from the Eee PC to another computer.) Why would anyone share dialup Internet service? Well, a family with several kids often needs to have more than one computer online at the same time. You've never seen kids fight for Internet access? Right.
So while one kid is playing some Flash game (with zero bandwith usage after the game transfers), another kid could be practicing their touch typing skills at Sense-lang.org -- or a parent could be checking their email or applying for a job online. I'm a huge fan of the Blox logic puzzle games -- which play fine via dialup. (Check out the screencast I made about Blox on YouTube.)
Beyond anything else the Eee PC is a social computer. It's light enough for a kindergarten student to carry in his or her backpack. That means that people who are new to computers can carry this laptop to those who delight in showing and explaining things to them.
That's a huge step forward for computing. People like myself who volunteer time to visit people's apartments to help them with computers can now have the people come to us. That makes better use of my time and lets me help more people.
The blogger has been working to bridge the digital divide for 20 years in the Washington DC-area. He loves Macs, adores Linux and likes Windows. Reader responses welcome in the comments below or at philshapiroblogger@gmail.com
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