This sounds expensive. With MiniFrame Softxpand you get a fully functioning XP Workstation for £165

I think Roger is missing the point of the news story.

This is a cheap laptop and windows XP.

Not a piece of software for £165 which still needs a PC, monitor(s), keyboard(s), mice and probably some XP licences and then software to run on that XP unless you really enjoy all that built in functionality of Freecell and Notepad.

I think what Roger Rabbit is missing is the fact that the the SoftXpand solution means that you only need 1 PC per 6 users. Therefore less power consumption, less disposal costs at the end of its life, only 1 network connection needed per 6 PCs, less heat generated - therefore less air-con, etc, etc. Also lets face it the classmate solution is ugly (in my opinion). Also SoftXpand is available to businesses too!

The comment about "Not a piece of software for £165 which still needs a PC, monitor(s), keyboard(s), mice and probably some XP licences and then software to run on that XP unless you really enjoy all that built in functionality of Freecell and Notepad." is also very mis-leading... the classmate is just an XP box with "Freecell and Notepad" - so you still need other software. Also if you have 6 x classmates you also need 6 x XP licences... so I dont see any benefit and will always side with SoftXpand.
(Just my tuppence worth!)

Sorry - I meant "Reader Rabbit 2" - not Roger Rabbit!!

Reader Rabbit needs to do some more research. Using MiniFrame SoftXpand £165 gives you a PC with Intel Core2 Duo processor, software, keyboard and mouse plus an external 4 port usb hub thrown in. The only piece missing is a monitor which can be any size. This has to be the greenest as well as the cheapest route.

As a user of the miniframe system, i have to say that this is the best thing I've ever used in the i.t. world. even with 6 users "banging" away at their workstation, the CPU's usage still only fluctuated between 15 and 20% - so performance is not compromised at all.

Yes, but you're all missing the point.

MiniFrame SoftXpand isn't portable where as the Classmate is. It is also aimed at children. Hell, if you can find a child that could set up MiniFrame SoftXpand with hitting at least one problem or without having to worry about licensing issues then I'll give them a job the second they leave school.

Our local paper wanted some photos of a green IT solution so went to a primary school that has SoftXpand installed. I noticed that it was the children, not the teacher that turned it all on and demonstrated how it worked. Unfortunately Value Adder will have to wait to employ them as they are only 9 years old.

How on earth is Miniframe softXpand a competing product to this? This is an ultra portable laptop, it's got a 7" screen and has a kid friendly drop proof design. The miniframe is a static desktop solution that needs an IT professional to set up.

The only thing equivalent to this is the Eee PC from Asus and that is £220 retail with Linux on it, the classmate has a full XP licence included. Plus the Eee PC isn't really designed for kids whereas this is.

Does one of you work for softXpand or something and did you bother reading the article or did you just see "£200 PC" and start typing?

Don't twist my words Rodger. You knew full well I meant install and configure it...it doesn't come installed on PC out the box.

Whereas, aside from the fact that the Classmate is an ultraportable PC, it does come set up out the box.

Don't try and compare chalk and cheese because you are biased against one and are trying to put across your false anti-Microsoft crap.

Having seen this in person it looks a lot nicer in real life than it does in the picture IMO. Bear in mind that the CMPC is ruggedised and designed for kids so it is not as fragile as some of its competitors may be. The SSD actually makes it quite performant and responsive with XP too, even with such limited RAM.

CMPC comes with a student focused software package, and further value-add software on the way.

Of course these things dont mean its not ideal as a 2nd PC for surfing the web around the house/garden, or whilst away on holiday etc. Its a lot more compact to transport around than a budget notebook.

MiniFrame SoftExpand is an entirely different product altogether and whilst I think its good it is not really competing with CMPC. With CMPC kids are not tied to a desk and can carry their work with them to whichever class or home they are at.

I need to invite Value Adder to actually see and use a MiniFrame SoftXpand system. Where are you getting your "false anti-Microsoft crap" from? A SoftXpand system only runs on a Microsoft OS.The system also ships pre-configured with software already loaded. I have no bias against sub-notebooks, indeed I sell a lot of them. My initial comment was only that I cannot get excited about a sub £200 computer when you can get a much more powerful one for £165. The difference is that one is portable and one is fixed. If you want to use a 7" screen, go ahead, but that reminds me of the Apple notebook I bought 20 years ago.

I have seen the SoftXpand solution and agree that it is a very promising solution. I think we should be considering the environmental issues and also the Safety points of view;

SoftXpand means that there will be less waste at the end of its life.
SoftXpand is cheaper to run
Kids wont be mugged on the way to school for their laptops
Etc

I think that PCs for children should remain in the school so the staff can have control. By getting kids to bring laptops in with them you are open to excuses like;

Sorry Miss - I left my laptop at home!

Or

Sorry - my batteries flat

Knowing kids, you only have to multiply this a few times per class to make the laptops a nightmare.

Most homes have a PC, so get the kids to do their work and bring it in on a USB memory key (you wont get mugged for one of these now!) and plug it in to their SoftXpand workstation.

The comment from Lee is very true we have problems with mobile phones. Kids and laptops carried around disaster.
Why put our kids under more harm keep the lapies at home and if there is a more EARTH friendly system like MINIFRAME lets use it and hopefully we can have snow at Christmas like it was many years ago

Not sure where the arguments/ comments are going. If you are looking at providing a portable solution then the Laptop surely wins. However, it appears to me to be being advertised/ sold as a wonderful deal for £200, therefore price potentially being the biggest factor. If getting the best value for money is what it is about then SoftXpand wins hands down and provides lots of other benefits for the environment.
If these are to be used in classrooms you can hear all the comments mentioned above; forgot it Miss, Battery flat, Dropped it, left it on the bus, got it nicked from me as i was beaten up this morning on the way to school etc etc.
Also I would worry about the possible attitude of , oh its only £200 so get another one!!! We do tend to become a throw away/ and replace it nation.
Kids at school are used to going to particular classes for particular lessons. I dont imagine many of them carrying their bunsen burner around !!!!!!!
If you were to argue that every child should have the £200 Laptop and carry it around to their various classrooms then surely the cheaper option would be for every classroom to have computers with the Softxpand solution and every child have their unique login?
Cheaper, safer, more robust, faster and higher performing IMHO.

We sell to alot of schools in Derbyshire, and almost all think having laptops around the school / on the kids is an accident waiting to happen for many good reasons. In terms of providing usable, cost effective, scalable, accessible PC solutions to schools, that even help the environment, SoftXpand by MiniFrameUK is a pretty powerful solution. I can't fault Intel's enthusiasm but also cannot help thinking that their laptop program is a global publicity stunt rather than an effective solution for western world schools.

All this talk of softxpand misses the point here. These laptops will sell in their thousands to parents of school age children to use at home. After all, would you let your 7 year old loose on your shiny new £800 laptop? This tough little laptop has a half decent CPU, motherboard and ram so it really would run windows XP quite nicely. I know there are others using a similar Atom CPU such as the Asus EEE 901 but these are a lot more expensive and they are not designed to be as tough.

Children can use these to do their homework, surf the web, use MSN and play some basic games. It must be worth £200 to keep them quiet?

I think most of you have read into this a bit much.... I dont remember reading anywhere that this was aimed at schools...

This is a laptop designed with kids in mind. My 3 year old can already load our laptop and find the cbeebies website, but i dont really like giving her our laptops to play wiht. THAT is an accident waiting to happen. Where as, giving her a ruggid cheap laptop that she can play with, drop, throw in a paddy, sounds like a briliant idea. I think we have established that a Miniframe is the best option for schools, BTU THAT WASNT THE TOPIC. Do you think we can descuss the laptop now?

OLPC!

How dare Intel steal that moniker!

This is nothing to do with Negroponte, how much did Intel pay to have this article published and have their own money maker associated with OLPC?

THIS IS IN NO WAY ASSOCIATED WITH THE OLPC PROJECT.

Intel left the OLPC project because the XO laptop did not use an Intel CPU.

Read abou the real OLPC here
http://laptop.org/laptop/

I notice that Argos now have these listed on their website but they are £279. The spec does look like it has improved though. They are selling an 8.9" version with 30GB disk and 1GB RAM. It comes with XP Home, Ability Office, MS Onecare and some Edalive educational titles.

I guess they are going for the christmas present market with this one but it doesn't look like they have them in store just yet.

This is the link: http://www.argos.c...ZBOOK