The Best Inventions Of The Year

From the phone that has changed phones forever, to futuristic cars, to a building made of water, to a remote-controlled dragonfly—a dazzling display of ingenuity

By Maryanne Murray Buechner, Kristina Dell, Andrea Dorfman, Lev Grossman, Anita Hamilton, Rebecca Winters Keegan, Jeffrey Kluger, Michael D. Lemonick, Coco Masters, Lisa McLaughlin, Alice Park, Julie Rawe and Deirdre van Dyk

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It's not the most powerful computer you'll ever buy, but it just might help save the world. That's the idea behind the XO Laptop, developed by Nicholas Negroponte of the MIT Media Lab. The stripped-down machine with its sunlight-friendly screen is perfect for kids in the developing world, and the low price encourages governments to buy in bulk.
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