Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Friday received a version of a US$100 laptop to be distributed nationwide, and 50 were expected to be tested in Brazilian schools beginning next week.
The low-cost computer was delivered to Silva by Nicholas Negroponte, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and founder of the One Laptop Per Child nonprofit organization which aims to develop the machines for children worldwide.
"I can affirm to you that we are very close to producing a US$100 laptop," Silva said. "We are building together the dream of giving each school student a laptop like this to study and work."
The first 50 low-cost computers were expected to arrive in Brazil tomorrow for testing in schools nationwide, the official government news service Agencia Brasil said.
Negroponte said that all computer servers will be built in Brazil, and that about 1,000 laptops should be available for distribution as early as January.
"We are working on this project in at least three continents," Negroponte said.
"Our goal is to eliminate poverty with learning," he added.
Negroponte has also planned to begin distributing the laptops in Argentina, Nigeria and Thailand by early next year.
The project dovetails with Brazil's plan to launch a program to help millions of low-income families buy their first computer. The program would offer a 1,400 real (US$647) desktop model that could be paid for over 24 months.
NATIONAL SECURITY: The Chinese influencer shared multiple videos on social media in which she claimed Taiwan is a part of China and supported its annexation Freedom of speech does not allow comments by Chinese residents in Taiwan that compromise national security or social stability, the nation’s top officials said yesterday, after the National Immigration Agency (NIA) revoked the residency permit of a Chinese influencer who published videos advocating China annexing Taiwan by force. Taiwan welcomes all foreigners to settle here and make families so long as they “love the land and people of Taiwan,” Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) told lawmakers during a plenary session at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei. The public power of the government must be asserted when necessary and the Ministry of
CROSSED A LINE: While entertainers working in China have made pro-China statements before, this time it seriously affected the nation’s security and interests, a source said The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) late on Saturday night condemned the comments of Taiwanese entertainers who reposted Chinese statements denigrating Taiwan’s sovereignty. The nation’s cross-strait affairs authority issued the statement after several Taiwanese entertainers, including Patty Hou (侯佩岑), Ouyang Nana (歐陽娜娜) and Michelle Chen (陳妍希), on Friday and Saturday shared on their respective Sina Weibo (微博) accounts a post by state broadcaster China Central Television. The post showed an image of a map of Taiwan along with the five stars of the Chinese flag, and the message: “Taiwan is never a country. It never was and never will be.” The post followed remarks
Proposed amendments would forbid the use of all personal electronic devices during school hours in high schools and below, starting from the next school year in August, the Ministry of Education said on Monday. The Regulations on the Use of Mobile Devices at Educational Facilities up to High Schools (高級中等以下學校校園行動載具使用原則) state that mobile devices — defined as mobile phones, laptops, tablets, smartwatches or other wearables — should be turned off at school. The changes would stipulate that use of such devices during class is forbidden, and the devices should be handed to a teacher or the school for safekeeping. The amendments also say
CONSISTENT COMMITMENT: The American Institute in Taiwan director said that the US would expand investment and trade relationships to make both nations more prosperous The US would not abandon its commitment to Taiwan, and would make Taiwan safer, stronger and more prosperous, American Institute in Taiwan Director Raymond Greene said. “The US’ commitment to Taiwan has been consistent over many administrations and over many years, and we will not abandon our commitment to Taiwan, including our opposition to any attempt to use force or coercion to change Taiwan’s status,” he said in an exclusive interview with the Liberty Times (the sister newspaper of the Taipei Times) on Friday last week, which was published in the Chinese-language newspaper yesterday. The US would double down on its efforts
RSS