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Power Scheme for OLPC Project Falling Into Place

Posted by timothy on Mon Jul 24, 2006 12:19 PM
from the pulling-for-pleasure-says-george-carlin dept.
Power Education Portables Hardware IT Technology
robotrachel writes "According to Technology Review, the $100 laptop intended for children in the developing world will be powered in much the same way that you might start an outboard motor on a boat. The new power system will 'make the laptop much easier to power than it would be with a hand crank, in part, because the users will be able to operate the generator in a variety of ways, including holding the device (the size of two hockey pucks) in one hand and pulling the string with the other, or clamping the generator to a desk, attaching the string to one foot, and using leg power.'" There are plenty of sewing machine treadles in the world, too -- I hope someone can figure out a way to combine them with the new design.
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  • Great (Score:5, Funny)

    by tweek (18111) on Monday July 24 2006, @12:23PM (#15770820) Homepage Journal

    There are plenty of sewing machine treadles in the world, too -- I hope someone can figure out a way to combine them with the new design.


    The next generation of geek will have massive calfs and thighs instead of a single massive forearm ;)

    • Re:Great (Score:5, Funny)

      by tktk (540564) on Monday July 24 2006, @12:25PM (#15770840)
      You underestimate the power of porn.

      Geeks will always have one massive forearm.

    • Now just imagine a beowulf cluster of porn addicts powering everyone else's laptops!
    • RSI 2.0 for the WEB 2.0
    • Plus, a massive PR boon to the US offshore garment industry.

      "Oh, those -- those aren't sewing machines; they're OLPC trainers."
    • ... for any computer, laptop, desktop, whatever,... is a hand-crank not to generate power but to marginally increase the voltage given to the CPU (or whatever exact component) to give the same effect as overclocking it. This would be SO satisfying (at those times I'm waiting and waiting and wishing LotusNotes would Hurry. The. F*ck. Up. and Launch! Awready!) to be able to put some muscle into a crank and actually make the machine run faster.
      • > I'm pretty sure that they'll still jerk off as their main source of sexual interaction. - Make that huge calfs, thighs AND a single massive forearm.

        Huge calfs? Explains a lot about my cow-orkers.

        Meanwhile, this Homsy guy sounds like a real perv. From TFA:

        With a hand-crank system, if you're gung-ho about it, you can get about five watts out of it. But you get tired after about a minute or so," says Geo Homsy, a partner and designer at Squid Labs. With the new system, generating 20 watts is comf

  • I want one! (Score:5, Interesting)

    by QuantumFTL (197300) * <justin.wick@EEEg ... inus threevowels> on Monday July 24 2006, @12:26PM (#15770843) Homepage
    These machines are actually starting to sound like something some people in the US might even like. I can imagine sitting outside in some remote area, working as much as I like without even worrying about running out of batteries (and getting exercise at the same time).

    What'd I'd really like to see is an inexpensive laptop which has a screen that's highly visible, even outdoors. I could get a lot of work done that way, and work on my tan at the same time. Does anyone know of any? I'd assume it'd work best with grayscale.

    • Re:I want one! (Score:5, Informative)

      by Fusione (980444) on Monday July 24 2006, @12:33PM (#15770903)
      What you're asking about is transflective lcd displays. Basically, a semi transparent mirror is placed right behind the lcd panel, with the backlight and backlight substrate behind it. So the traditional ccfl backlight shines through (at reduced efficiency) AND ambient light is reflected back out through the screen by the mirror. Look at any decent pocket pc, and you'll see this technology at work. So screens that can be read without any backlight do exist, and there are some notebooks that incorperate the tech.. but you won't find them at the local electronics depot. I haven't looked into them in a long while, but check out the panasonic toughbooks. I remember they used to have transflective options for this series of notebooks!
    • I've seen the "view-anywhere" screens on the motion computing tablets, and it's quite impressive. If you ever have a chance to play with one, definitely check it out. http://www.motioncomputing.com/products/promotions _view_anywhere.asp#vad [motioncomputing.com]
    • The OLPC laptops have exactly that kind of screen.
    • Well, I'm not sure if it's been dropped from the OLPC at this point, but early prototypes were supposed to have a screen that either worked in color (with a backlight, I think) in dim/indoor light, or as passive high-contrast monochrome displays (with higher resolution and longer battery life) when in direct/bright light. I'm not sure where I read this; I think it was in a Wired Magazine article.

      Sounded pretty neat to me. Until a while back, I had a monochrome-display Apple laptop that I still used for basi

  • Solar Cells? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by digitaldc (879047) * on Monday July 24 2006, @12:28PM (#15770856)
    I am not sure if something like this [21st-century-goods.com] is powerful enough or even cost-effective, but what about solar cell technology to power these laptops?
    Was this even considered?
    • I'm going to guess that it was considered, but since you are looking at 1/4 of the total laptop cost for a power source that is unusable after dark, it simply isn't in line with what they are trying to accomplish here.
    • Ok, $30 for something that can temporely power a cell phone. Assume 4X for the power requirements of the $100PC, giving a $120 to power the PC.

      Ok, after spening $120 for the solar cells, how much is left over for the $100 PC?

      Or, if you decide to only use 3 of these cells (for $90), you have $10 for the rest of the PC. I'm sure that can make a useful PC for less than the cost of a cheap calculator.

      Heck, 1 of these is almost 1/3 the price of the entire $100 PC. And then it will only work during clear daylight

    • Re:Solar Cells? (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Surt (22457) on Monday July 24 2006, @01:09PM (#15771158) Homepage Journal
      Probably not ...

      1) Doesn't work in the dark.
      2) Expensive (that little one, only powerful enough to charge a cell phone battery, $30 ... this is the $100 laptop).

    • but what about solar cell technology to power these laptops?

      Aside from the reality that have of the time is night, enough solar cells to power this properly might well remove the concept of rugged, portable, laptop from the existing idea.

    • Was this even considered?

      I'm sure it was. But tacking on another $30 to a project with a $100 limit starts limiting your options, whereas a $5 generator has far less impact. And the generator will probably last longer.
  • That sounds awesome. Literally, since they say it's much quieter than your usual hand-cranked generators. And 'generating 20 watts is comfortable, and it's possible to generate 10 watts for "as long as you want," the developers say."

    Free energy and a little exercise in the process. I like it. Watch it cost $250 for just the generator in the US.
    • Target price (IIRC) is 300 bucks for private buyers - you get a free laptop with every PSU. That's cost plus 200% which buys two laptops for kids that can't afford them.

      Nicholas Negroponte has also said that he does't think many adults will want one after they've seen one. A combination of the colour scheme, the size of the keyboard, and the fact that they've been designed to be appealing to kids, but not to adults. I think what it comes down to is that they don't want adults to want them.

      Me, I still t

      • The human body does better than 50% conversion efficiency, so 20 watt hours would cost about 30 kcalories. That's a pretty small amount, even on an extremely low-calorie diet. The kids might use less calories with the computer, since they might be running around playing otherwise.

        For those who thought about using this as a pleasant form of exercise, here is a handy guide: 8 hours of cranking at maximum speed will burn off a third of a dry bagel. Keep it up all day and night and you'll burn off an entire

  • OLPC = One Leg PC?
  • Make the string the power coord and you could have a yo-yo.

    Fun and power.

  • Open Popular Mechanics (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Doc Ruby (173196) on Monday July 24 2006, @12:36PM (#15770936) Homepage Journal
    The best mechanical coupling design would have a open interface. A rotating bolt that can take the pullcord attachment, or a sewing machine pedal cam, or a bicycle tire clip, or a homemade windmill/waterwheel/goatwheel, or any mechanical rotation.

    Then include in its desktop a link to a blog for new powerup inventions worldwide. Necessity is the mother of invention, and local materials the father. Give these kids a way to improve and share, and we'll all get the benefits of their unique insights. What better way to harness the power of global kids?

  • Profit? (Score:4, Funny)

    by Red Flayer (890720) on Monday July 24 2006, @12:38PM (#15770953) Journal
    There are plenty of sewing machine treadles in the world, too -- I hope someone can figure out a way to combine them with the new design.
    That gives me an idea -- I'm going to ride the technology wave by converting all the 8-year-old sewing-machine-treadle-operators in my sweatshops into 8-year-old server-farm-power-treadle-treadlers.

    To anyone who objects, please note that this is a carbon-neutral technology and therefore won't contribute to global warming except for the hot air from 'activists.' The Free Market -- gotta love it!

  • Power... POWER! (Score:3, Funny)

    by mobby_6kl (668092) on Monday July 24 2006, @12:38PM (#15770954)
    [..] or clamping the generator to a desk, attaching the string to one foot, and using leg power."

    Why not just attach the string to an electric motor? That way the legs/feet would be free to operate the rudder pedals.

  • Aha! At least the get-rich scheme is revealed... hook them on pull-string laptops and then sell them replacement strings when the string breaks... ingenious! My hat's off to you Nicholas Negroponte!!! :)

  • But you can own your very own... (Score:5, Informative)

    by 4solarisinfo (941037) on Monday July 24 2006, @12:51PM (#15771034)
    Don't forget boys and girls, You too can own what is sure to become the ultimate geek accessory and make a charitable donation all in one fell swoop. Sign up now to donate $300, recieve one computer, and know you've sent two where they are needed.

    http://www.pledgebank.com/100laptop [pledgebank.com]

    Well, maybe you can own one, but your only chance of getting one in the US is probably to sign the pledge to convince everyone it's a viable solution.

    • Well, maybe you can own one, but your only chance of getting one in the US is probably to sign the pledge to convince everyone it's a viable solution.

      I think I speak for the majority of people when I say I'll just wait until they show up on ebay.

      Seriously though, I've had this conversation before, but I'd pay $200 and bankroll one for a kid in another nation, but I'm not buying three and only getting one. I simply don't feel that charitable.

        • But then you wouldn't get the cool OLPC, that they aren't supposed to sell in the US commercially.

          Well, I think that is stupid. Sell them for $150, and reinvest the profits into the project. Just as I think you'd have an order of magnitude more orders at $200, you'd probably have ANOTHER significant jump at $150. I wouldn't mind paying $150 for one, although that's about the limit I'd pay; But I WOULD donate $100 to buy one for some kid somewhere if I could also buy one for $100 at the same time. I am N

    • That pledge seems doomed to failure. Having 97000 more people sign up before the end of October is inconceivable - it would require around 3 people signing up every 4 minutes for the next 90 days. The petition is worded in a way such that if there are not 100000 signatures, none of the pledges are valid: nothing less than a fully successful drive can be submitted for consideration. Even then, it would only be a suggestion. Articles on the laptops have repeatedly stressed that these will not be for sale, and
  • A machine that combines exercise for the body at the same time it's providing exercise for the mind. Boy, those 3rd world countries are really getting a deal here.

    Of course, they could put in a modern Pentium and heat the house at the same time that they train for the Olympic team.

  • the old ways are sometimes the best (Score:3, Interesting)

    by pilgrim23 (716938) on Monday July 24 2006, @01:19PM (#15771241)
    In World War II in the War in the Pacific, American planes were outfitted with a special emergency device. This was a hand crank generator coupled to a Morse Code transmiter on a spindle much like a music box. As you turned the crank it would power the trasnmiter and the spindle would key the correct di di di dah dah dah di di dit (SOS) and some other information so a search plane or ships with direction finding equipment could find you.
    The slang name for this box was a "Gibson Girl".
    • RAAF not US... It was a kite with the line being an aerial for the broadcast...
    • It was called a "Gibson Girl" because of its mandatory shape. You see you needed one hand to operate the morse code key, the other hand to crank the generator, which left nothing obvious to hold the transmitter with. You HAD to have somethign to hold it as you're probably in a flimsy rubber life rafs, so you can't set it down, and all that cranking requires some way of holding the transmitter to keep it from spinning on you. Some bright enginner figure you could hold it between your legs if it was shaped
  • So it's going to be a "laptop". With a pull-start power source. So your laptop is going to require:
    • Somebody to operate the computer.
    • Somebody else to HOLD DOWN the laptop.
    • A third party to do the pulling.
    • A fourth party to explain to the gathering crowd why the third party is huffing and puffing.
    • A fifth person to go find some nylon rope. To replace the pull-rope that will break about every 288 pulls.
    • A sixth person to go grow some food and earn some money, to feed #4 and #5.

    Sheesh!

  • wouldn't that have been a more appropriate/identifiable analogy than an Outboard Motor? Most people don't live on the water, you insensitive clod.
  • "imagine Beowulf of those"? Is slashdot going down the tubes?
  • I'm pretty sure that there's a lot of computer users (including myself) who could really use the exercise. Hell, just hook up a treadle to an alternator, and run that to trickle charge a UPS, so if you stop pedaling, your computer switches to hibernate mode.

    • Re:Do they really need a computer (Score:4, Insightful)

      by Ksevio (865461) on Monday July 24 2006, @01:09PM (#15771154) Homepage
      Well you know the old saying about the man and the fish.

      Sure you can give them food and water, but if you also try and get them computers to learn then they might be able to pull future generations out of poverty and improve the overall living conditions of everyone in the area.

    • Re:Do they really need a computer (Score:2, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Why is it that people who troll this subject can't get it through their thick skulls that these laptops aren't intended for children who don't already have food, and water.
       
      There's one of you every damn time this subject comes up on /. Go read about the OLPC project and look at the list of countries they are going to provide computers for. Then read about those countries if you don't know what their economies/lifestyles are like.
    • "Also, what real use can you glean from a PC these days, without a network connection?"

      The laptops will have network capabilities. Didn't you read about them?

      Whether or not there's Internet for these children doesn't matter anyways - there's no Internet without computers, and they need the computers before they can have Internet. Maybe later someone can give them Internet.

      "So does anyone out there have a non-connected PC hooked up performing some life-changing work, or are they just useless when dis

      • I agree its not the computers but whats on the computers that matter.

        My Apple ][ GS can still give some of those poor kids a hellva education with all the software i have for it. Thats what I learnt on ..fraction munchers.. number munchers.. puzzletanks.. math blaster.. logo.. that was the stuff. No internet there.
    • They have WiFi and mesh capabilities, so you only need one net connection in a village and all laptops in the area will be able to access the one connection. I'm not saying it's going to work well, but they did at least think of this problem. :)
    • did they even talk to any potential end users of this device?

      Yeah, they tried asking a user who had never seen a computer before to type up a set of requirements, and make some simple OS choices. Those ingrates were totally unhelpful.

    • "I'm not convinced that you can jump-start a country's development by skipping important steps like industrialization and infrastructure."

      I'll take you at your word that you're not trolling, and in fairness, your scepticism is phrased a lot more gently than many others'.

      I think your misunderstanding stems from the assumption that we'd be skipping an essential step, when in fact what's happening is that we're moving straight to a point that other (developed) nations had to reach in small increments.

      Wir

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