The notion that improvements in technology normally
lead to lower costs for consumers is taken to an extreme with some of the new
devices hitting the market, such as the CHIP computer.
The CHIP website calls the device the world’s first $9 computer. It’s about the size of a credit
card and has WiFi and Bluetooth capabilities built in, a 1GHz processor, four
gigabytes of storage, and 512 MB of RAM. Keyboard, screen, and mouse are not
part of the package, but CHIP can connect to any Bluetooth device and has a USB
port to plug into older accessories.
Next Thing Co. created CHIP through a Kickstarter campaign
that got the backing of nearly 40,000 people and raised $2 million, according
to a report by National Public Radio. A teacher from the Nelson County Area Technology
Center, Bardstown, KY, contributed $150 to the campaign and was selected to
test the device in the classroom. Students at the school have used CHIP to rewire
Star Wars toys with LED lights.
“This is one way to do it, by intriguing their interest
and seeing what’s on the cutting edge of technology,’” said Jeremy Booher,
principal of the school. “If we were still using typewriters and using Microsoft
DOS, then obviously people come in and fall asleep.”
The
CHIP is just one of a number of low-cost basic computers now on the market or coming
soon. They have been made possible because the price of microprocessors and
computer components has fallen so dramatically.