Following in the footsteps of Nicholas Negroponte's efforts to build a $100 laptop for students, a team from Massachusetts Institute of Technology is working to build a $12 computer based on Apple II. Boston Herald reported that the MIT team, comprising of Derek Lomas, Jesse Austin-Breneman (MIT graduate), Anuj Nanavati (from India) and other designers, were attempting to build an Apple II-based economical computer for students in developing countries.Lomas said, "If you just know how to type, that can be the difference between earning $1 an hour instead of $1 a day." The idea was inspired when Lomas stumbled across similar computers in Bangalore, India, during his summer internship. A system similar to the $12 computer, with a cheap keyboard and Nintendo-like console, already exists in India.
The MIT team's version would be loosely based on the Apple II, intended for web browsing and other tasks. "My generation all had Apple IIs that we learned to type and play games on," the 27-year-old said. "If we can get buy-in from programmers, we can develop these devices and give schools (in developing countries) Apple II computer labs like the ones I grew up with."

The six-member team has already recruited Apple II enthusiasts for programming help. Besides that, group aims to add a memory chip for coding and storing of user-written programs.