The founder of the ambitious “US$100 laptop” project, Nicholas Negroponte announced that the machine is now available at US$175 and it would be able to run Windows in addition to its homegrown, open-source interface.
He announced that now the OLPC machine will be able to run Windows as well as Linux. Seven nations, including Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil, Pakistan, Thailand, Nigeria and Libya have expressed their interest to buy the little green-and-white “XO” computers. Quanta Computer Inc., the world's leading manufacturer of portable computers will develop the XO machines. Quanta agreed to take a profit of about US$3 per machine, less than what it gets from mainstream PC companies. Citigroup Inc.'s Citibank division has agreed to facilitate a payment system on a pro bono basis. The machine , which boasts extremely low electricity consumption, a pulley for hand-generated power, built-in wireless networking and a screen with indoor and outdoor reading modes is now available at US$175.
