I don't know if you guys saw it but there was a good 60 Minutes piece on Nicholas Negroponte and his One Laptop per Child program about a year or so ago. A lot of the cost is susidized by the parts manufacturers and he was having trouble getting enough parts because Intel was actually competing with him directly for the impoverished country's education contracts. In the end I think they worked something out but those machines, while not particularily powerful, are nearly indestructable because they're exposed to shock, dust, water, etc., etc..