Hugo Chavez Shopping: A Million Classmate Laptops for Venezuela
As the International Herald Tribune reports in an Associated Press news article, Venezuela has ordered a million Magellan laptops that are based on Intel's Classmate PC design.
Whether the blue and white laptops are intended only for Venezuelan children in the mission to "connect children to a promising future" is not yet certain. Venezuela maintains aid agreements with many other countries. The technical specifications for the laptop are on Intel's Classmate website.
Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez ordered the laptops in a bilateral deal with Portugal valued at more than $3 billion that also included delivering a million barrels of oil to Portugal. The exact cost to consumers of the laptop is not known, but is said to be a few hundred dollars each. Earlier the Portuguese government had provided 500,000 Classmate PCs to the country's school children through an education initiative. Thanks to government subsidies a PC cost a mere 50 Euro; the normal street price would be about 285 Euro, which is $412.
The laptops are manufactured in Portugal; whether they will be installed with Windows XP or Linux is yet to be determined. Chavez may lean toward Linux due to his U.S. relations, but in Portugal it will be the parents of school children who decide which platform to install. In the case of Linux, a commercial Portuguese distribution called Caixa Mágica (Magic Box) would be the choice.
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Framework Laptop 13 Pro Competes with the Best
Framework has released what might be considered the MacBook of Linux devices.
-
The Latest CachyOS Features Supercharged Kernel
The latest release of CachyOS brings with it an enhanced version of the latest Linux kernel.
-
Kernel 7.0 Is a Bit More Rusty
Linux kernel 7.0 has been released for general availability, with Rust finally getting its due.
-
France Says "Au Revoir" to Microsoft
In a move that should surprise no one, France announced plans to reduce its reliance on US technology, and Microsoft Windows is the first to get the boot.
-
CIQ Releases Compatibility Catalog for Rocky Linux
The company behind Rocky Linux is making an open catalog available to developers, hobbyists, and other contributors, so they can verify and publish compatibility with the CIQ lineup.
-
KDE Gets Some Resuscitation
KDE is bringing back two themes that vanished a few years ago, putting a bit more air under its wings.
-
Ubuntu 26.04 Beta Arrives with Some Surprises
Ubuntu 26.04 is almost here, but the beta version has been released, and it might surprise some people.
-
Ubuntu MATE Dev Leaving After 12 years
Martin Wimpress, the maintainer of Ubuntu MATE, is now searching for his successor. Are you the next in line?
-
Kali Linux Waxes Nostalgic with BackTrack Mode
For those who've used Kali Linux since its inception, the changes with the new release are sure to put a smile on your face.
-
Gnome 50 Smooths Out NVIDIA GPU Issues
Gamers rejoice, your favorite pastime just got better with Gnome 50 and NVIDIA GPUs.