Linux-Powered Endless Computer Raises $100k+ In A Few Days

[phoronix]

Phoronix: Linux-Powered Endless Computer Raises $100k+ In A Few Days

Launched this week on Kickstarters was Endless Computers, a $169 Linux PC for the developing world. Quite quickly the project has already surpassed its $100k USD goal...

http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=Endless-Computers-100k

[YoungManKlaus]

... because 500GB hard drives and blutooth is what kids in the developing world need ... or so ... Srsly, gimme a RasPi-based laptop with a hand crank (EDIT: or solar cells in the lid) any time over that.

[kalin]

+ 20 from me

[RahulSundaram]

... because 500GB hard drives and blutooth is what kids in the developing world need ... or so ... Srsly, gimme a RasPi-based laptop with a hand crank (EDIT: or solar cells in the lid) any time over that.

Who said it is exclusively for kids? People in the developing world DON'T want a hand crank at all and can't rely on solar either. They use bluetooth all the time. If you have spend time in any of the popular developing countries, you would have a better idea.

[NatTuck]

Reinventing the OS into something useless, again.

Every one of these projects has the same basic idea: People who want cheap computers are dumb, and so they can't handle a fully functional software stack. OLPC subverted this a bit by trying to design something legitimately new, but this just looks like another bad "easy to use" Linux distro. See Caldera, Corel Linux, Linpus, etc. Chrome OS is the modern version of this, but at least it's completely transparent about not being a real OS.

The right way to do this is pretty simple: Just ship Ubuntu. If you want to get complicated, re-invent Ubuntu: Ship Debian with a lame desktop environment and a package manager that hides anything not relatively user-proof until you explicitly go looking for it. Computers are useful because you can install and use a variety of software.

[chimpy]

Sounds a lot like a Chromebook. Don't get me wrong I like Chromebooks, but that price needs to be a bit lower.

BTW why make another distro with it's own DE? That I don't get.

[asdfblah]

Nice, but...
I've been thinking about this for a long while, and I'm pretty sure you can build similar spec'd computers for less $$, even in my country, where taxes are 20% (their prices don't include taxes).
- Is the eye-candy really needed?
- Why an Intel CPU, when you have lots of cheap, powerful ARM alternatives (or even AMD), and lots of software for it (Android/Debian ARM)? (OTOH, ARM HW is less flexible than x86, IMO...).
- Why not just sell cheap x86 PHONES that have HDMI outputs and can run android AND a Linux distro, or modded chromebooks instead?
- Which TVs have VGA inputs these days, that don't have HDMI inputs?
If they really want to sell computers in poor countries... every single dollar counts, and the more versatility, the better. Computers are powerful enough these days for simple tasks, so few people really need powerful computers.
Anyway, all my best wishes to them. Hopefully they will talk to vendors and buy the parts for even cheaper...
EDIT: they may be including transport and other things in the costs, though...

[justmy2cents]

... because 500GB hard drives and blutooth is what kids in the developing world need ... or so ... Srsly, gimme a RasPi-based laptop with a hand crank (EDIT: or solar cells in the lid) any time over that.

i think you mistook it with OLPC which was for kids. this is cheap computer for anyone and hdd is mostly to solve the problem of unreliable connections so they don't depend on inaccessible data

[justmy2cents]

Sounds a lot like a Chromebook. Don't get me wrong I like Chromebooks, but that price needs to be a bit lower.

BTW why make another distro with it's own DE? That I don't get.

it is not new DE. it is gnome shell with custom extensions. same as OzonOS and few other distros that went doing it the right way

[asdfblah]

There are also some other factors that would make smartphones/laptops much better options than desktop computers:
- Power usage,
- LTE + WiFi already bundled,
- Resistance to voltage instability,
- Alternative uses, say, in emergencies (who hasn't used their phone/laptop lantern?),
- Etc.
Granted, batteries don't last for long, and after some years, phones would become useless... laptops can run directly from AC, so they could still be useful. Also, batteries have other risks, and you'd have to educate the user.