Robert Lang on TV

I had a chance to watch CBS Sunday Morning today. It is a program that I really enjoy but rarely find the time to actually sit and watch an episode. Today they had a wonderful story about Robert Lang. He is trained as a physist who used to do origami as a hobby. He has become so good at it that he has written several books about the art and makes genuine sculpture out of origami. He has written a computer program to help with the design work and one of the most practical uses for his "art" has been the design work he is doing for NASA. He is helping to design the solar panals for the space telescope that will replace the Hubald.

One Laptop Per Child

This is one of the most amazing programs I have heard of recently. It was started by Nicholas Negroponte of the Media Lab at MIT. The goal as reported on their website is: To provide children around the world with new opportunities to explore, experiment and express themselves. This laptop costs $100 and it is a ruggedized laptop/tablet pc that can be charged using a solar panal or a pull cord charger (it does not require wall power). It has Wi-Fi capability and is designed to create a mesh network between the laptops to connect to the internet. The idea is to provide this equipment to very poor and underprivlaged countries around the world. It is also starting to change the way that laptops are designed in general. It is a great project and I encourage you to check it out.