Strife Centers on Laptops for Third World

Chip giant makes peace with One Laptop Per Child

(NEWSER) - Intel and the One Laptop per Child initiative are making peace and embracing the notion of synergy. The chip maker and the pioneer of the $100 laptop concept will stop competing for deals with governments in the developing world and team up, the AP reports. The partnership is a big step on the road to the elusive $100 goal. More»

(NEWSER) - Almost half of American women would be willing to go without sex for 2 weeks in order to keep their Internet access, a new survey says. Of 2,119 adults surveyed last month, only 30% of men agreed, but that number rose to 39% in the younger 18-to-34 range. The survey was commissioned by Intel to demonstrate the importance of computers in modern life. More»

Before the iMac, there were mega machines

(NEWSER) - Convenience is a given when it comes to today's PCs, but the machine you're reading this on has come a long way. Major transformations date as far back as the early 19th century. Live Science gives the back-story on 10 revolutionary computers.

1. The Difference Engine, 1822: Designed by Charles Babbage but not built until decades later, today's replicas show this math-table-generating machine to work flawlessly.
2. ENIAC, 1946: This US Army computer weighed 30 tons, used 17,478 vacuum tubes, and consumed 150 kilowatts.

Move gives new life to seemingly immortal operating system

(NEWSER) - Now that Microsoft has signed on to the One Laptop Per Child initiative—aimed at getting low-cost PCs to kids in poor countries—its Windows XP operating system is again getting a new jolt of life, reports InternetNews.com. The project originally used only free, open-source software such as Linux, but sales were slow because of little enthusiasm from government clients over the system, the New York Times notes. More»

Using light, not wires, to connect chips could make computers 1,000 times faster

(NEWSER) - Sun Microsystems is moving toward connecting computer chips using lasers instead of wires, a move that could make computers 1,000 times faster. The company snagged a $44 million Pentagon contract to continue work that could also mean smaller, more energy-efficient machines. It won’t be easy, though: A Sun researcher told the New York Times the chance of success is 50%. More»