Microsoft chief Bill Gates mocks the $100 PC

WASHINGTON: Microsoft Chairman and Chief Software Architect Bill Gates on Wednesday mocked a $100 laptop computer for developing countries being developed with the backing of rival Google at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The $100 laptop project seeks to provide inexpensive computers to people in developing countries. The computers lack many features found on a typical personal computer, such as a hard disk and software.

“The last thing you want to do for a shared use computer is have it be something without a disk ... and with a tiny little screen,” Gates said at the Microsoft Government Leaders Forum in suburban Washington.

“Hardware is a small part of the cost” of providing computing capabilities, he said. “The big costs come from network connectivity, applications and support.” Google founder Larry Page has publicly supported the $100 laptop saying it is a boon for poor nations.