Linux and the $100 Notebook

The news that MIT and Negroponte are one step away from achieving the $100 notebook should give Microsoft some thinking.

The notebook, whose specifications were revealed last week, is designed to support Linux, and RedHat is one of the companies involved in the project. Although the notebook is designed for underdeveloped countries, where users cannot afford to pay more for computing systems, the device can become an interesting alternative for mature markets as well.

After all, it's cheaper than a smartphone and it seems that it will have a higher processing capacity than such a mobile device. Having a price tag of only $100, it might have all the prerequisites to become the ideal promoting device for Linux; given the specifications, it's unlikely that it will support any Windows (except perhaps Windows 95).

In conclusion, there is good chance that users, "mesmerized" by this affordable piece of equipment, will also choose Linux on more powerful computing systems. After all, the computers running the first Windows editions had similar processing capacities.