Nicholas Negroponte's dream to outfit children in the developing world with their very own, low-cost, open-source, brightly colored laptops took a big hit yesterday when the Indian government decided its money would be better spent elsewhere. According to The Register, the Indian Ministry of Education found the project "pedagogically suspect," with one official telling the Indian newspaper The Hindu, "We do not think that the idea of Professor Negroponte is mature enough to be taken seriously at this stage and no major country is presently following this."

India is not alone in its skepticism. CNET readers last month worked themselves into a lather pointing out that Negroponte had "never brought a product to market," and that the One Laptop Per Child project was all "feel good." But the dream is not over yet. There are still plenty of laptopless children in Africa and the rest of Asia.

And if all those governments agree with India? There are always the underprivileged children in Negroponte's own backyard.

Photo: One Laptop Per Child