Over at TechDigest I spotted a post by Al that says the One Laptop Per Child project is taking on an exciting new dimension:
The new model is also raising eyebrows thanks to an interesting new design strategy: it’s ditching the keyboard entirely. The new machine will also be smaller and lighter then original XO model and the lack of keyboard will be replaced by a touchscreen display.
I can see this being great for a number of reasons, especially for the developing world - touchscreens are easier to keep clean than regular keyboards (good in dusty or polluted environments), they can adapt to display different languages or alphabets (essential for many parts of Asia) or even non-textual interface entirely (making it easier for those learning to read). As Al points out in the article, some form of tactile feedback might be necessary - but incorporating haptics into touchscreens isn’t that difficult these days. Overall it seems a really great idea.










