India’s $ 10 laptop – One Laptop Per Gullible Fool!

What can I say? We have been pwned by the Indian government!

At least, this time, almost the entire world – every news outlet, online and offline – got pranked. We are not alone.

For the better part of three days, tech news sites and bloggers were in a tizzy. The Indian government had announced a $ 10 laptop which would be made available to students in India. It had the potential to change education in India for the poor, providing them with access to the internet, information and lessons.

This is the only photo, a day after the storm.

Well, guess what – the $ 10 laptop (which is not even a laptop, or priced at $ 10) has been unveiled. And it is an embarrassment to anyone who bothered to write an article about it.

See this little picture over here? That is all we have by way of a photo of this ‘revolutionary’ product. It is a simple data storage and internet access device, which can connect to the internet (probably to just one site or service), download data, store it, and can display it on a computer or laptop.

Yes sir. No LCD, no keyboard. The global computer hardware industry can breathe a sigh of relief. They are not the scammers we thought they were.

Apparently, this has its uses – but a laptop it is not. 

This is what we were told earlier:

The technology for the $ 10 laptop was jointly developed by IIT Madras, IISC and Vellore Institute of technology. This ultra cheap laptop is well-equipped with features such as a 2 GB of memory,  Wi-Fi, fixed Ethernet, expandable memory, and will consume just 2 watts of power.

Not just us; everyone fell for it. After all, who would expect the famous IITs and the ministry of education to pull such a prank on us?

Deliberate or not, a prank is what it turned out to be. India’s newspapers and websites which enthused about how after the ultra cheap car Tata Nano, India has pulled off another miracle are curiously silent a day after the official unveiling.

To all the doubters who said that it was impossible to manufacture a $ 10 laptop, give it 2 GB of RAM, an LCD screen however small, a processer, Wi-Fi and other connectivity options – here is a heartfelt apology from India. You guys were right. 

Our goverment may not be the best in the world when it comes to innovation, but this OLPGF project – One Laptop Per Gullible Fool – proves nobody can beat them when it comes to a bit of fun, and pulling the entire world along for the ride!