MIT has created a $100 Laptop that is “crankable” – hmm pretty interesting.. hehe.. Above is a pic of my project “Crank The Web” (2001) which could easily be integrated into their Sesame Street-esque design, although of course their crank only works for power generating, not bandwidth pumping like my project. Apparently, “the lime-green machines, which are about the size of a text book, will offer wireless connectivity via a mesh network of their own creation allowing peer-to-peer communication and operate in areas without a reliable electricity supply. ” Cool about the seemingly useful integration of ad-hoc networking into this device, but I’m a bit curious as to if it will really be used as I’m sure that most people who use this will just want to get access to the commercial Internet. Time will tell!
Hi Jonah,
Does your project actually increase/expand bandwidth on an already available connection?
If these laptops are using a crank to generate basic power, my guess would be that the availability of satelite or phone port for any sort of internet connection would either be seriously restricted if exsiting at all.
I am not sure that your comment about the intergration of your device with this new laptop scheme was tongue in cheek or serious.
Amy.
no – Crank The Web takes the maximum amount of speed you have available and allows you to manually crank from no connection to a modem speed to your “max” amount, etc… My point was that with a crank already connected to the machine, you could simply use it as a peripheral and connect it via software/hardware to your net connection – which is what I’m doing with CTW.