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A thief stole a laptop computer belonging to a professor at Umeå University in Sweden. The computer contained 10 years of research which he had not bothered to back up. A few days later, he received a USB flash drive in an envelope containing his data:
About a week after the theft, the professor returned home to find an envelope containing a USB memory stick which had been taken along with the computer.
The professor was shocked to discover the thief had copied all the documents and personal files from his laptop to the memory storage device, a process which likely took hours.
All things considered, the professor is delighted at the outcome, despite the loss of his computer. He hopes, however, that other thieves can learn to be as compassionate.
Link via Glenn Reynolds | Photo by Flickr user Ambuj Saxena used under Creative Commons license
The One Laptop Per Child project (OLPC) hopes to distribute a simple but useful laptop computer to impoverished children in developing nations at a very low cost per unit. One recurring problem in the project has been power supply. So the Afghan IT company Paiwastoon has developed this prototype pedalling machine that allows the user to crank electricity into the computer.
Link via CrunchGear | Paiwastoon
The One Laptop Per Child Foundation (OLPC) has designed an inexpensive laptop computer that it hopes to distribute to children in developing nations. To promote the project, artist Kenny Irwin took one OLPC computer, microwaved it, and sculpted it into the OLPCSlug. It’s currently on sale at eBay. Video of the microwaving process at the link.
