New PC Based On Apple II Tech: $12
Some optimistic souls at the MIT International Development Design Summit are hoping to build a $12 computer for the developing world, based on Apple II technology. Good luck, guys! Personally, I still think the Apple IIc is the perfect form factor for a home PC.
Mine, circa 1988, had a ‘composite’ color monitor that I could toggle to black and white to make 80 column text more readable. Sweet.
The guys at the MIT summit got the idea for a $12 computer from cheap “TV Computers” available in India for under $15. That product, as is, would probably sell well in the U.S. as a kid’s toy and hacker’s play thing. Of course, most of the built in games would have to go — or be licensed.
UPDATE: The technology in the TV Computer is actually based on the Nintendo NES rather than the Apple II. There’s still the potential there for lots of old-school fun — I wish there was a US source for these devices.
