by Jeremy Allen
LIFT conference, Geneva - 08 February 2008 | 15:30
The green and white laptop that is famous for its low production cost was being shown off by its proud owner, Michael Vorburger, at a digital technology conference in Geneva. Vorburger works in private banking but also wants to raise awareness about this hardware in Switzerland.
The "100-dollar laptop" made an appearance at the 2008 LIFT technology conference. Although its actual cost is 180 US dollars (and not 100), Michael Vorburger is proud of his toy. "I made the most of the 'buy one for donation and keep the other' scheme, which was part of the opening promotion of the product.

The laptop, which was developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), aims at giving every child a laptop - worldwide. This hardware is petite - smaller than a normal laptop - and contains a series of software applications that enable children to listen to sounds, learn languages and do their schoolwork.

Vorburger aims to promote the laptop by visiting schools around Switzerland. He hopes that underprivileged children one day might each have such a laptop. But he also wants parents in this country to know that they have a cheap alternative when looking for a computer for their children.