In an age when tech companies are encouraging consumers to constantly buy newer, more-expensive gadgets, one Peruvian company has just a launched a sustainable wooden laptop designed to last at least 10 to 15 years.
In an attempt to bring new and affordable technology to the most remote areas of Peru, the Carrascos —a family made up of computer specialists and marketing experts – created the Wawalaptop, an SBC (Single Board Computer) with a wooden casing that can easily be taken apart for repairs and upgrading. The 0.1-inch (25.65-centimeter) laptop is lightweigh, ultra-portable and very affordable. A Wawalaptop costs 799 Peruvian Sol ($235), and an upgrade, which basically means a better circuit board, can be bought with about $35 on the free market.
“We felt the need to give a little something back to society. So we began with these SBCs and started working to create the first prototype,” computer engineer Javier Carrasco, Wawalaptop’s technology manager, told Spanish news agency EFE.
The original Wawalaptop was unveiled in 2015, but the 2.0 version, featuring a recyclable medium-density fiberboard (an engineered wood product) casing, and powered by the free Linux operating system, is finally ready to hit the market.
The Wawalaptop supports both regular and solar charging, but its most distinctive feature is the ease with which it can be taken apart. The Carrascos say that that’s by design, to encourage users to explore and tinker with the electronic components, allowing them to upgrade when they deem it necessary. Instead of having the throw away the device, they can just replace its obsolete board, and thus use the same device for 15 years or more.
“We want them to be able to be creative with their Wawalaptop, to be able to carry out all the product upgrades. Of course, after having undergone the training so they can do it themselves,” Carrasco said. “The idea is that the student in third or fourth grade of elementary school can have this laptop over time. Enter high school with the Wawalaptop 3.0 or 4.0 and then continue to have it in university by simply doing an upgrade.”
Apart from affordability and ease of access to technology for children in remote areas, the Wawalaptop, named after the Quechua word for child (wawa), also has a positive impact on the environment, by lowering the amount of technological waste.
No word yet on whether the Carrascos have any plans to launch their wooden laptop outside of Peru.
Chase Jones
*mimicking Anne Sullivan* that's right user, WaWa, WaaaWaaa!
>"designed to last forever" >designed to last 10-15 years" >made of fucking WOOD Yeah ok
Aaron Thomas
it was a mistake.
Connor Cooper
I guess by "last forever" they mean components are easy and cheap to replace, including the wooden frame
Austin Fisher
What do they mean upgrade? Does it have a dektop mother board?
Elijah Parker
dont you see a fucking raspberry sticking his 4 usb port on the side newfag?
Juan Peterson
If it has a raspberry pi it realy isn't upgradable, since the upgrade would mean throwing all the old computer away
Jace White
*breaks after 4 months*
Eli Jenkins
>raspberry pi laptop >lats 15 years lmao
Alexander Morales
If you still need to find components for it then why not just get a proper frame for it? Why not just get a thinkpad where dropping it won't shatter the entire box? Repairing a thinkpad isn't exactly difficult either, or at least won't be more difficult than this thing.
Joshua Ramirez
It's just a wooden case with (I'm assuming) a raspberry pi inside, since it says it's using a sbc. There are much cheaper sbc laptops, for like $100. Though, the solar panel charging would be useful for "remote Peruvian areas" like it described, though could probably just get a solar charger, power supply, or whatever, combined with the laptops using raspberry pis, can probably get the same thing cheaper still, which seems to be the point for the target demographic. Though, a wooden case seems dope. Like said, a custom wooden replacement shell for us thinkpad Chad's would be cool as fuck.
Jack Carter
because old = baaad and new = guuud
Christian Sullivan
NEVER OBSOLETE
Gabriel Williams
I wonder how they got away with that, legally. Like theoretically if you bought that, still have it, and still have the receipt, could you sue for being misled/lied?! It's clearly obsolete, can't handle today's operating system nor do anything productive really, so it has become obsolete.
Jordan Campbell
Pretty based. Jow Forums hates it of course because they have never build anything with their own hands.
It clearly says that every year for a fee they would give you an up to spec computer. Clearly stated on the machines case. But you know, Jow Forums fags are some of the lowest iq toddlers on the planet.
Christian Roberts
>peru of all places You mean a place that can benefit from this because all of the poor fucks especially for students who were using shit like the OLPC
