Gizmodo: developing countries

DIY Egg Beater Centrifuge Can Save Lives

Sean Fallon — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 14:50:00 EDT

Apparently, egg beaters are more than just a tool for making tasty omelets—these cheap contraptions can also be used as a quick and dirty centrifuge in developing countries. According to the Royal Society of Chemistry, taping a bit of plastic tubing to the end of a standard egg beater and a little elbow grease is all that is needed to separate plasma from blood. According to George Whitesides and colleagues at Harvard University, the plasma obtained in the procedure is perfectly fine for conducting tests for diseases like Hepatitis B and cysticercosis. I can't believe it took chemists and Harvard-educated doctors all this time to figure that out. [Eurekalert via Crunchgear]

$100 PC Now Costs $130, Due in April, 2007

Charlie White — Fri, 02 Jun 2006 09:31:40 EDT

Nicholas Negroponte of MIT's Media Lab showed off the latest version of his $100 OLPC (One Laptop Per Child), the Linux-based laptop that will begin shipping to developing countries starting in April, 2007. The 2-pound laptop won't cost $100, though. Its price will actually be between $130 and $140 not including shipping, but Negroponte expects that $100 price point to be reached by the end of 2008 when manufacturing has scaled up to 5 to 6 million units.

Negroponte added that pricing depends on how much RAM is installed in the low-cost PCs, but another key element in the unit's pricing is its sunlight-readable display, which he said won't be done until August or September. Seven countries are showing interest in the PC, with Nigeria, Brazil, Thailand and Argentina most interested in the concept. How does the cheap laptop run? According to Negroponte, "Like a bat out of hell." In that case, we want one, too. – Charlie White

Negroponte's now $130 PC due in April 2007 [ZD Net]

Crank Calls: Motorola PVOT

Charlie White — Fri, 05 May 2006 14:08:31 EDT

Designer Andre Minoli has created the hand-cranked Motorola PVOT phone, aimed at developing countries. It gives up a minute of talk time for every 25 turns of the crank, giving new meaning to the term "crank calls." All that cranking charges up a AA battery inside, powering a 125x125 dot matrix LCD controlled by a futuristic-looking "Eraser Shield" keypad.

Minoli's Motorola PVOT is a great design not only for developing nations, but it could come in handy for us developed countries, too, as we wind our way through Peak Oil and into World War III. If the phone's durable enough, it might even last until World War IV, which will no doubt be fought with sticks and clubs.

Motorola PVOT [Andre Minoli, via Yanko Design]