I fully expect you to correct this, interweb

I’ve tried and tried, but I cannot find a way to be cynical about the $100 laptop initiative.

Update 1348 hrs: But the interweb can, in “Problems with the $100 laptop” and the reaction from MetaFilter (both via Henry McEuen).

The arguments in the Fonly paper don’t change my stance, though. High saturation would lead to a pretty pathetic gray market, especially when you can eBay an old Compaq laptop (but not a million) for twelve bucks. And no, the requirements haven’t been met yet, and we don’t know what the consequences will be. Of course we don’t know what the consequences will be. That’s called the Law of Unintended Consequences. But we know what the consequences of broadening gaps in education and communication will be, and in this case I’m eager to let the proverbial street find its own uses.