olpc

Where's one laptop per child?

For all the digital ink we've spilled over the One Laptop Per Child initiative (basically a cheap, rugged laptop for kids in developing countries), you'd think the devices would be sitting in every classroom by now.

Starting as a $100 laptop that governments, corporations, or charitable groups were going to sponsor, the OLPC group recently adjusted its strategy (and price). At closer to $200 dollars, the latest plan was for the general public to buy one for themselves and sponsor one for a child in a developing nation. After what seems like years of waiting for hardware to … Read more

One Laptop Per Child looking to scale, chafing at competition

The One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project is not having an easy time of its efforts to bring low-cost computing to the masses. Costs are up and it is struggling to get the scale necessary to lower costs and improve its momentum. OLPC is therefore offering a new program to bring in dollars and pump out laptops (and remove shortages).

Like the Give 1 Get 1 initiative, the Foundation's new philanthropic initiative appears to be aimed at building scale for the program. Originally envisioned to cost $100 each, the OLPC's manufacturing costs have since climbed to $188, and the project is having a hard time getting countries to commit to buying the laptops.

The OLPC Project is also looking at more competition than was envisioned when the project first got off the ground. Last week, Asus officially launched its 7", Linux-running Eee laptop at a $299 price point, and Intel's Classmate PC project offers another alternative to the OLPC XO.… Read more

What we can learn from the OLPC project

Depending on whom you listen to, the One Laptop Per Child project has either produced the world's greatest monstrosity or the world's most innovative laptop (for the developing world, anyway). But as Geek.com notes, there is plenty to learn from OLPC, whether one likes it or not.

Where OLPC becomes really interesting for me, however, is what it may do to the machines that I use on a daily basis. I'm unlikely to crank up power for my machine anytime soon (though I wouldn't mind having a laptop with me when I go backpacking in the Wind River Mountains each year). But that's not the point. OLPC is paving the way to all sorts of new thinking in computer design.

One area is in simplicity:

People don't need a lot of power. The average user only needs a notebook for surfing the Internet, e-mailing, storing/transporting files, and viewing the occasional presentation. There is a place for high power notebooks, but most people just want something simple to take to the coffee shop or on a business trip. This means that considerable costs can be cut by using components that are less than cutting edge and by keeping memory and storage at relatively low levels.… Read more

Pogue hearts the XO

The $100, er, $200 laptop just got a glowing review from The New York Times' top tech reviewer.

Nicholas Negroponte's project to bring laptop computing to developing nations has been plagued by delays, price hikes and bad publicity. But according to David Pogue, the XO is "a wonder" to behold and a "technological breakthrough."

Writes Pogue:

"The truth is, the XO laptop, now in final testing, is absolutely amazing, and in my limited tests, a total kid magnet. Both the hardware and the software exhibit breakthrough after breakthrough--some of them not available on any … Read more

Uruguay to buy 150,000 One-Laptop-Per-Child machines

This just in from the One Laptop Per Child project: Uruguay is set to order 100,000 machines, with another 50,000 to follow (at $199/machine).

LATU Uruguay, the government entity testing both Intel's Classmate PC and One Laptop Per Child's XO computer has rated the XO-1 the better option for the children of Uruguay's Florida province, 56.84 points to 53.06 points. Now the findings are not official yet, as all the bidders have five days to contest the process, but this is a stunning upset for Intel and a resounding confirmation for OLPC. … Read more

Another low-cost Linux laptop gets a price hike

I wrote recently (here) about the One Laptop Per Child project's plan to begin selling the XO laptop in a special one-for-two deal: buyers pay $400 for two, receive one, and get a tax deduction for the other, which is then delivered to a child in a developing nation.

As I said, I think that's a good deal--the XO is likely to be a pretty interesting machine, even though its price is twice its original $100 target, and battery life isn't likely to live up to OLPC's original projections (I covered that issue here and here).… Read more

Cheap laptops still MIA

Every story that crosses our desk about ultra-cheap laptops--from the $100 OLPC schoolkid special, to the $150 Medison Celebrity from Sweden, to the $200 Asus Eee (for that price, you only get one letter)--generates a tremendous amount of buzz, not to mention more than its fair share of blog posts.

Of course, getting any of these systems actually in our greedy little hands is another matter entirely. The One Laptop Per Child project is still struggling to get (now $200) OLPC systems into the hands of kids, turning to a new plan--instead of getting governments, corporations or charitable … Read more

The OLPC laptop: Cheap at twice the price

The XO laptop from the One Laptop Per Child project is finally going on sale, with a special deal: buy two, get one. That's "get one," not "get one free." You'll buy two, and you'll only get one. But it's still a good deal because the other one will go to a good cause: children in developing nations.

Starting November 12, you'll be able to place an order on a new XO Giving Web site. In the meantime, you can sign up there for an e-mail reminder or send a… Read more

XO laptop: Better to give, receive or both?

I woke up Monday to the announcement that starting September 24, the XO laptop (famous as the little laptop that could) will be made available to buyers in so-called first-world countries, in quantities less than 100,000 units. In fact, for less than $400 you can give one and receive another--an excellent solution to an age-old moral dilemma.… Read more

How much was that $100 laptop again?

We've looked at the OLPC project before--the One Laptop Per Child Foundation wants to give schoolkids around the world access to inexpensive laptops, and has long touted its prototype "$100 laptop," an open-source-based, low-power system built for the rigors of third-world life. We've also seen other companies interested in this space, most notably Intel's Classmate PC, a similar low-cost laptop we got a hands-on preview of recently.

A laptop that costs $100 is still a ways off, and the OLPC XO-1 device was up to around $176 as of earlier this year (although in contrast, … Read more