OLPC's modular hybrid laptop could last schools for years
The One Laptop Per Child project is going modular. The non-profit's Australian partner, One Education, is gearing up to launch a new hybrid laptop in a few weeks that will let you swap out components similar to Google's Project Ara. There aren't any official details yet, but Ink, Bits, and Pixels has managed to dig up several images that give us a basic sense of what's going on. Dubbed the XO-Infinity, it can be used as both a laptop and tablet; it shares the colorful aesthetic from current OLPC devices (XO-4 tablet and laptop); and it looks like even kids will be able to easily change its different modules. And, if it works as we expect, it could end up serving as a platform for an infinitely upgradeable machine that will last you for years, making it ideal for schools and international markets. One Education has confirmed that the XO-Infinity will be officially announced soon, but for now it's not revealing much else.
From the looks of it, there will be separate modules for the XO-Infinity's battery, camera, networking, and core processing (which likely includes the CPU, memory, and storage). Making its devices easy to repair was one of the core ideas behind OLPC, which initially began as a project meant to bring cheap laptops to schools all over the world. By going modular, it'll be even easier for kids to replace specific parts when something goes wrong. And you might even be able to make your XO-Infinity more powerful as new hardware gets released.
