Two laptops per child
The One Laptop Per Child project has just done what I was hoping they’d do: opened up to us buying two laptops at a time – one for ourselves and one for a child someone who needs one. I’ll order when the program starts on Nov. 12.
Tags: olpc
September 24th, 2007 at 10:26 am
Jeff:
I think the intentions of Negroponte are well meaning, but these simplified laptops run the risk of being viewed as 2nd-rate technology. The Times article brings up this issue. It’s naive to believe that any person on this planet doesn’t want the latest, greatest, most stylish, most popular gadget available. It also could lend itself to the balkanization of technology by artificially defining a third world standard for needs and expectations.
Believe me, I’m not working against this effort, I’m just raising a point that should be discussed.
When I first heard about this project, I thought that a cell phone or small internet pad device would work better. It would solve the ubiquity problem. (I don’t know if these green laptops will run on WiMax networks.) There would have to be some negotiation with the carriers in these countries.
September 24th, 2007 at 10:31 am
How come the $100 laptop costs $200?
September 24th, 2007 at 10:31 am
I think the fact that these have been designed with kids specifically in mind gives them an edge. Also, it’s great that they have been created using open source operating system and software. Keeps them out of Microsoft’s clutches and lets them get in and tinker. If nothing else, this will spur other computer makers to start cranking out low cost computers for the 5/6 of the world that doesn’t have them.
September 24th, 2007 at 3:38 pm
“It’s naive to believe that any person on this planet doesn’t want the latest, greatest, most stylish, most popular gadget available.”
I cannot disagree more with you. I can show you more than a hundred places in the Andes where kids could not care less whether it is 2nd- or 5th-rate technology as long as they can learn how to read, write and interact creatively with the rest of the world.
September 25th, 2007 at 7:53 am
“It’s naive to believe that any person on this planet doesn’t want the latest, greatest, most stylish, most popular gadget available.â€
Yeah, you are so wrong, it’s not even funny. Have you ever been outside the US? You sound like you have lived your life in a suburban american bubble…
September 25th, 2007 at 8:53 am
Jeff - for Tom and me
do you have a concept of the extraction of wealth for the green machine company and execs and investors?
break even at the current price point at say 100K units? or where?
September 26th, 2007 at 7:00 am
Below this statement is some info I retrieved from WIKI with its link. My question is unanswered, but I understand more. I’m abit abashed for implying its a get rich scheme. Some day I pray balance & equality will abound. But in this age I’m greatfull that legions of consumers enable corporations to be philanthropic.
WIKIpedia
The project originally aimed for a price of 100 United States dollars. In May 2006, Negroponte told the Red Hat’s annual user summit: It is a floating price. We are a nonprofit organization. We have a target of $100 by 2008, but probably it will be $135, maybe $140. That is a start price, but what we have to do is with every release make it cheaper and cheaper we are promising that the price will go down.
OLPC is funded by a number of sponsor organizations, including AMD, Brightstar Corporation, eBay, Google, Marvell, News Corporation, SES, Nortel Networks, Red Hat, and most recently Intel. Each company has donated two million dollars.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XO-1_%28laptop%29
November 27th, 2007 at 12:26 pm
Jeff - did you order?
Or did you perhaps read Saturday’s WSJ & think better of it?
January 2nd, 2008 at 9:20 am
I wonder how long these laptops will last in the long run? I mean, with one major moving part….