New OLPC design looks way too cool for school kids
(Credit:
OLPC)
With all the attention we lavish on Netbook-style laptops such as the Asus Eee PC and the HP 2133 Mini-note, it's easy to forget that all these systems owe some of their DNA to the One Laptop Per Child project and founder Nick Negroponte's dream of getting a low-cost XO laptop into the hands of any student who needs one.
The original XO ended up having more impact as an influence than an actual product, as it was plagued by delays, price increases, and lowered expectations. But even if there are more Intel Classmate PCs and Eee PCs in the wild, don't count OLPC out just yet.
The group has said it is working on the next generation of XO laptops, and has released a few very intriguing photos and details for the XO 2.0. The most interesting part is clearly the dual touch-screens in place of a traditional keyboard and monitor. The publicity photos look a bit too sci-fi, and the final product (much like the original XO's early design mockups), will probably be somewhat more pedestrian.
The official press release points out four different areas where the new OLPC laptop will improve on the original:
Cost reduction - Set in early 2005, the original target price of the XO laptop was $100. Although that target has not yet been met (it is now at $188), it is clear that OLPC must aim for an even lower target price of $75. New developments in display, processor, and other hardware and software technologies will make it possible to achieve the $75 target in the future.
Lower power consumption - While the first generation XO laptop already requires just one-tenth (2-4 watts versus 20-40 watts) of the electrical power necessary to run a standard laptop, the XO-2 will reduce power consumption even further to 1 watt. This is particularly important for children in remote and rural environments where electricity is scarce or nonexistent. Lowering the power consumption will reduce the amount of time required for children to generate power themselves via a hand crank or other manual mechanisms.
Smaller footprint - The XO-2 laptop will be about half the size of the first generation device and will approximate the size of a book. The new design will make the XO laptop lighter and easier for children to carry with them to and from school or wherever they go. The XO-2 will continue to be in a green and white case and sport the XO logo in a multitude of colors that allow children to personalize the laptop as their own possession.
Enhanced book experience - Dual touch-sensitive displays will be used to enhance the e-book experience, with a dual-mode display similar to the current XO laptop. The design provides a right and left page in vertical format, a hinged laptop in horizontal format, and a flat two-screen wide continuous surface that can be used in tablet mode. Younger children will be able to use simple keyboards to get going, and older children will be able to switch between keyboards customized for applications as well as for multiple languages. The dual touch-display is being designed by Pixel Qi, which was founded in early 2008 by Mary Lou Jepsen, former chief technology officer of One Laptop per Children and a leading expert on display technology.
New York native Dan Ackerman, a former radio DJ turned journalist, has written about technology and music for publications including Spin, Blender, The Hollywood Reporter, and USA Today. He hosts the weekly Digital City podcast and the New York edition of Editors' Office Hours. Dan's new album, Tales Out of Night School, is available now. E-mail Dan. 
This design is *EXACTLY* what all those eBook Readers failed to accomplish. All current eBook Readers are way too ugly -- way too bulky -- way too cumbersome -- and way too unlike, you know, a book!
This is the perfect design for the application that's intended. Take a look at that photo of the kid holding the XO-2 prototype like a book! It is a thing of beauty. As I already explicitly noted, this design should have been at the forefront of all those eBook manufacturers.
Nicholas Negroponte and his crew went totally Apple and totally got it! This should not be limited to underprivileged kids in third world countries. This is a fantastic idea for American schools. The only bad news would be for text book resellers. Ah well. That's the nature of capitalism. Seen any typewriter salesman lately? (Does any young person know what a typewriter is?) Anyway, I strayed from my point -- KUDOS to the OLPC project!
Steve Jobs: See an opening here?
Full disclosure: I'm a PC.
I think you are missing the point here. This is the future of computing. Notice how this bugger can be a laptop or an e-book? There is really no limit to what this device can be.
It pleases me that this tech is not coming from Apple; but from a company that cares about people and their interaction with technology.
- by cyberDJ-2038765336053745013836 May 24, 2008 2:05 PM PDT
- This dual touch-screen computer proves what I have always known about Apple:
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(4 Comments)Super Steve never looks far enough down the road.
When you spend ALL of your time looking cool instead of looking at the Big Picture, you get schooled by the most unlikely of sources.
Apple should have been working a computer like this [their version of the MS Surface] instead of updating the iPhone with features it should had in the FIRST place.
Yes, I am always hard on companies that I know can do better.