Researchers have developed a solar-powered, WiFi, stylus-controlled tablet PC called I-Slate, which makes use of the probabilistic CMOS technology designed by Dr. Krishna Palem and his team at Rice University. Introduced to the world this week at the IEEE's 125th Anniversary event, the machine is designed to replace the old chalk slates apparently still used in some parts of the world (and on re-runs of Little House On The Prairie) with something that can download lesson plans and help children with their math, among other things. But this is just the beginning -- Dr. Palem and the gang are looking forward to the day when the chips find a home in all sorts of gadgets, from cellphones to televisions and beyond. Prototype slates should start making the rounds in India this spring.

According to an interview in PC World, the OLPC crew are looking to adopt ARM processors for the next iteration of their feel good laptop. Its extremely low power draw and the system on chip possibilities make this move a no-brainer, until you consider the fact that plans for the XO-2 call for a dual-boot Linux / Windows machine -- as of yet, Microsoft has declined to make a full-blown Windows OS for ARM. Then again, as Nicholas Negroponte states, the newest OLPC machine is still 18 months away, and "a lot can change with regard to Microsoft and ARM" in that time. We hope it does -- we would hate to see the Third World's computing needs left to those $10 laptop guys. You know what a disaster that turned out to be!

[Via OLPC News]

OLPC may be facing some tough times as of late, but there's no denying that the little-laptop-that-could has made an impact where it's been distributed, as evidenced by this latest indication of the project's reach in Rwanda. Apparently, in addition to helping students with their schoolwork, the laptop is also teaching them the fine art of finding free WiFi, and this particular group seems to have quickly discovered that the Kigali International Airport is one of the best spots in town. And just what are they using the laptops to look up in their time outside the classroom? Bruce Lee and Jean-Claude Van Damme, who, coincidentally, also brings the world together in his own special way.

[Image courtesy Anna Koblanck / DN.se, thanks Jonas]

Well, our interest was certainly piqued by that OLPC XO-2 mockup that surfaced yesterday, and now the Guardian is saying that the hardware development will take place open source. This is certainly fitting with the company's idealistic ethos, and it'll be interesting to see what other companies bring to the table as the reportedly $75 dual-screen device gets closer to real reality. "The XO-1 was really designed as if we were Apple," Nicholas Negroponte says in the interview. "The XO-2 will be designed as if we were Google - we'll want people to copy it. We'll make the constituent parts available. We'll try and get it out there using the exact opposite approach that we did with the XO-1." He let a few details slip too, saying that it will be dual touchscreen, with one of the displays featuring a touch-sensitive, force-feedback, haptic keyboard. When asked how he feels about the possibility that other companies might profit from all this hard work developing the laptop of tomorrow? "I wouldn't complain." Class act, that one. Bravo.

[Via Make]

We've already seen quite a few shakeups at OLPC, but it looks like things have taken a considerably more drastic turn today, with Nicholas Negroponte himself announcing that the organization is "refocusing its mission" by cutting its staff by about 50% and giving the remaining 32 folks a cut in pay. But that's not all, OLPC will also apparently be "passing on the development" of the Sugar OS to the community, and it'll be increasingly shifting its focus toward the Middle East, Afghanistan, and Northwestern Pakistan as it spins off its operations in Latin America and Africa. Negroponte does say, however, that OLPC will continue to focus on the development of its second generation platform, and it apparently even hopes to bring the cost of the laptop down to zero for the least developed countries. Hit up the link below for the complete announcement.

[Via OLPC News]