Activity Description: A Chinese company has developed an inexpensive Linux-based computer as a way to close the "digital divide." YellowSheepRiver's $150 "Municator" is available now and claims to have performance akin to Pentium III-quality; it is also compared to MIPS's four-way superscalar R10000 processor, which shipped in 1995.
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Whereas the MIT One Laptop Per Child models offer an LCD display and no harddrive, the Chinese model offers an external 40GB USB drive and an S-video cable to support television hook-ups.
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The CPU, RAM, and other key chips are sourced from Chinese companies, including a 64-bit Godson-2 CPU from BLX Semiconductor, which are clocked at 400MHz or 600MHz. YellowSheepRiver says it hopes one day to use an "SoC" (system-on-chip) version of the Godson-2 chipset that will integrate the processor and northbridge into a single chip, and save additional cost and power.