Negroponte announces OLPC for eBay, shows off pull-string

For half the people we talk to, it seems like they could care less if the OLPC project ends world hunger or raises up a new generation of computer-savvy children in third world countries -- they just want to talk about how totally awesome the pull-string generator is. We admit, the idea of having a younger sibling revving up your battery while you try to install Doom is a truly confident leap into the 21st century, and now we've finally got an idea of what the pull-string unit will look like, thanks to a recent presentation by Negroponte. In other, possibly more relevant news, it looks like the 2B1 laptop will be available for sale to the western world, via eBay of all places. The laptops are expected to go for $450, with a $350 tax deduction, and the surplus would go towards buying a machine for needy children. All we ask is that they include the generator with that package, 'cause it's really half the fun.

[Via OLPC News]