Two laptops per child

You probably heard a year ago about a global initiative called One Laptop Per Child. Well, it's arrived, and David Pogue says the $100 laptop, meant to boost tech literacy among children in developing nations, is a brilliant piece of machinery. It's dirt-proof. Water-proof. Has a $12 solar panel. It runs Wi-Fi, and if no wireless is available, it syncs with other laptops in a "mesh network" so kids in a classroom can work together. The six-hour battery can take 2,000 recharge cycles -- a bit better than your iPhone, eh?

It's amazing -- even if the price came in at $188 -- and illustrates that all computer hardware is becoming a commodity. As software moves online and screens get smaller, content and viewers will eventually outweigh Seattle-based licensing fees.

U.S. consumers get a brief window to buy this cool green thing for two weeks starting Nov. 12. You'll have to spend $400, because the deal is, you buy one, you also give one to a poor child somewhere in the world who is waiting for technology. Nice. Visit One Laptop Per Child at www.laptop.org.