The "$100 laptop," which created some buzz last year when it was first announced, was officially unveiled this week. (Here are a few photos of the computer--cute, isn't it?) Technically speaking, it's about as lean as you can get while still being functional, and runs Linux and other free/open-source software.

The laptop is part of the One Laptop per Child project, and is intended to provide computer access to children in poor or undeveloped areas. It's hard to imagine that the communication and education potential of a device like this wouldn't also be useful to missionaries, church outreach programs, and world health initiatives.

Thinking closer to home, however, I think this project can serve as inspiration for churches and ministries that don't have a big technology budget. Granted, the OLPC laptop was heavily engineered to get it into the $100 price-range, but it shows that you can still accomplish an awful lot with "obsolete" computer hardware and freely available software. Next time you're trying to free up $1000 in the budget for a fancy new computer and software for the church office, a bit of creativity and ingenuity might let you save money and still get the job done.