| Free laptops bridge digital divide |
| Posted by: Susan Einhorn |
| In many regional and rural areas, access to the internet and affordable computer technology is a chimera on the horizon. But an ambitious program backed by a blend of subscriptions, federal government funds and corporate sponsorship, aims to supply 50,000 laptops free to school children by next June. It could help close the digital divide that runs deep in certain regions of Australia. Eight years ago Nicholas Negroponte, founder of the Media Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and author of the bestseller Being Digital, launched the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) program, with an aim of empowering the world’s poorest children with rugged, low-cost, web-connected laptops. That vision is now being replicated here but with an Australian twist that brings business solutions to this area of social need. |
| Source: The Sydney Morning Herald (Australia) | Published: November 20th, 2013 |
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