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OLPC designer starts her own company

by on14 January 2008

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Aiming for a $75 laptop


Mary Lou Jepsen
, former OLPC Foundation CTO and one of the designers of the OLPC, has started her own company and set an even higher goal for the new ultra low priced laptop that should cost just $75. You'll agree that this figure sounds obscenely low, but we also must say that we're a bit skeptical.

The new company is called Pixel Qi and it will most likely use some technologies developed for the OLPC by Jepsen, such as the low power screen and power management system. On the Pixel Qi Website, the company describes itself as a "spin off" of the troubled OLPC, and who could blame the team for trying to cash in following their contribution to the OLPC initiative?

Apart from the new laptop, the company plans to market the unique display technology used for the OLPC. The low power, hi-res display invented by Jepsen can switch from from color to monochrome mode when in direct sunlight.

In any case, it will be very interesting to see what becomes of this start-up. If they manage to develop a laptop priced anywhere near $75, they might end up grabbing quite a few headlines and, of course, customers.

If you were wondering what the "Qi" stands for, here it is:

Qi [noun] [pronounciation : chee]:  the circulating life energy that in Asian philosophy is thought to be inherent in all things.

For more information visit the company Website, here.

Last modified on 15 January 2008
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