Bill, Bill, Bill... M$ vs the sub $100 laptop

This story has been out there for a while today, but here is my take, and likely it's shared by many others. Bill (Moneybags) Gates was quoted (rightly or wrongly) as saying: "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," "If you are going to go have people share the computer, get a broadband connection and have somebody there who can help support the user, geez, get a decent computer where you can actually read the text and you're not sitting there cranking the thing while you're trying to type," Is Gates really comparing the UMPC to the $100 laptop? A device that is made for the upper middle class of the US to a device that is made for the middle lower class of the rest of the planet? Comparing Bugattis to Pintos? This just strikes me odd. The two are not designed to compete and even though there is interest in bringing the devices to North Atlantic schools, the choice of UMPC vs the "kinderlappy" will boil down to needs and certainly what the parents are able to support. It seems that Bill went off the page a bit there, but it does suggest that there is a bit of a snooty attitude over at MS to any solution that doesn't fit into their direct domination business plan. I'm also sure that he's getting it from the wife - after all the great work with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, this just sits the wrong way. Technorati Tags: kinderlappy, sub $100 laptop, Bill Gates