David Pogue on the OLPC
New York Times columnist (and O'Reilly author) David Pogue) has a good column about the device variously called the "$100 laptop," the "one laptop per child", (the OLPC), and now the XO. Entitled Laptop with a Mission, it includes an exhortation to try one of the machines for yourself, as part of a one-time promotion during the month of November:
The program is called “Give 1, Get 1,” and it works like this. You pay $400 (www.xogiving.org). One XO laptop (and a tax deduction) comes to you by Christmas, and a second is sent to a student in a poor country.
David continues:
The group does worry that people might compare the XO with $1,000 Windows or Mac laptops. They might blog about their disappointment, thereby imperiling O.L.P.C.’s continuing talks with third world governments....And sure enough, the bloggers and the ignorant have already begun to spit on the XO laptop. “Dude, for $400, I can buy a real Windows laptop,” they say.
Clearly, the XO’s mission has sailed over these people’s heads like a 747.
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....
David does a great job of outlining just what those breakthroughs are. Lightweight construction. Low power consumption and innovative battery plus optional solar and pull-string power supplies. Great screen. Simple, integrated applications. Integrated programming environment that makes it easy to learn how to program. Mesh networking that allows a whole group to share an internet connection. But more than that, fresh thinking on just what kind of computer might help millions of people in poor countries to get online.
Read his article and consider signing up for the one-time promotion during the month of November.
Disclosure: Potenco, the company that makes the innovative pull-string power supply for the XO, is a spinoff of Squid Labs, my future son-in-law Saul Griffith's company.
tags: laptop, olpc, pogue, potenco, xo
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[10.04.07 06:27 PM]
What a great idea this is. I am sure people will complain b/c that is what they do, but i think there is enough goodwill out there to make it work.
Plus, it plays on our selfishness too. I think with the give one, get one offer you can purchase one and write off the expense as a donation for charity. What could be better than that?
[10.04.07 07:19 PM]
Under "Give 1, Get 1", a random individual in a "first world" country probably isn't going to have much use for their machine. After they've taken a while to play with it and get familiar with its apparently revolutionary design and operation, perhaps it would go to their kids.
But wouldn't it be nicer if the program could be extended to "Give 1, Get 1, Give the second one away"? The OLPC team could send a return shipping label along with the tax deduction paperwork. It becomes a no-pressure suggestion to put the machine back into its box and ship it back to the manufacturers, who then send it out to another student in a poor country.
[10.05.07 08:55 AM]
I heard Dave Pouge's brother call into this week's episode of The Tuesday Night Tech show. I feel bad for Frank Pouge because Dave gets all the attention. Frank works for the Massepequa Pennysaver so he just doesn't command the same respect as Dave. Pouge OVER!
[10.05.07 02:01 PM]
Of course it will go to our kids, that's why I'm planning on getting one. Since it has some nice collaboration features I'm already canvassing other local parents.
If this really lives up to Negroponte’s "enable learning" vision, it's the best $400 I'll ever spend, plus an excellent way to perhaps make a small difference in the developing world.
[10.05.07 11:40 PM]
I was in Nigeria a few weeks back following the first "real" study of how the XO is empowering village kids, and I was amazed. These kids are moving from a pen and paper school culture straight into a world of video blogging, photo sharing and collaboration. It was amazing to watch this unfold.
I also got a chance to meet the people involved in the OLPNC (one laptop per Nigerian child) initiative. These guys are committed, visionary and highly professional people.
I uploaded a small video of my findings: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hjqb0ZNjKl0 if you would like to see the computer in action.
[10.10.07 10:18 AM]
This sounds like a great project. However, I have one concern.
The Share button allows any pervert or hate-monger to instantly 'share' their pornographic or hate-filled materials with every kid on the mesh-network. It also allows strangers to view anything that a kid shares.
I'd like to learn more about security and filtering capabilities added to address these issues.
[10.10.07 10:38 AM]
Oct. 10th, 2007
Hi, My day job is teaching technology and business in rural Alaska. I live in Alaska. My volunteering however, takes me to Africa and Afghanistan, teaching in schools, orphanages, and micro-credit work. When I reached on destination, I was advised that if I give a child so much as a pencil, to do so out of view. The child would have to hid it or be robbed and possibly harmed. This was the Manyatta slums of Kisumu, Kenya. I have been MANY places where a bright shiny green laptop would put the child or whole family at grave risk, harm, and would not wish it on any of those families.
When I go in, I install an internet cafe that is then run by the orphanage or school. They now have a business with a profit and pay the internet with their own profits. They hire their own staff, from the older orphans, in their late teens or twenties. Now that brings in job training, and of course, computer and internet training. It adds value to the local community, has a printer and digital camera for all sorts of other uses. Plus, now the orphans have free internet! All supported locally by internet business itself. This makes it sustainable.
Lastly, it has a guard, heavy iron doors, a wall around it, 24 hour protection (the orphanage always had a guard anyway.). How are these laptops going to be kept safe? More importantly, how are the students going to be kept safe?
Things become their own opposite so easily. The mosquito netting donated by WHO to reduce malaria in Mangochi area of Malawi is now being used by the locals to go fishing! As they have no boats they walk among the shallow reedy water and catch the small baby fry. In six months the adult fish population will not be there! What will they eat?
I would think very carefully about security for the laptops and the students and teachers using them. Our internet classrooms have not many computers comparatively, but great safety. And, color printers, digital cameras, high speed internet, MSOffice, Photoshop, and me. I continue over the internet to teach in these schools.
How are these XO kids going to be safe?
Joseph
[10.10.07 10:46 AM]
Pat,
I have that same problem with photocopiers. Any pervert or hate monger can easily make copies of their pornographic or hate filled materials.
For that matter, I have that same problem with cameras, computers in general, and even pens and paper.
We clearly need some filtering!
In case you can't tell, I'm dying of irony here. Why does new technology always bring out this recurrent idea that we need new methods of control?
Every medium has its dark side, its potential for misuse. It's not a characteristic of the technology. It's a characteristic of the human spirit.
Neither the problem nor the solution is technical.
[10.11.07 07:06 AM]
"Every medium has its dark side, its potential for misuse. It's not a characteristic of the technology. It's a characteristic of the human spirit."
Good point Tim. This often needs to be repeated.
Still internet censorship is an interesting topic to discuss. :)
In Dubai recently I received a warning when accessing a website. Here the warning said that the content was inconsistent with the religious, cultural, political and moral values of the United Arab Emirates. http://www.hyperflame.com/toby/pn/proxynew.html
In Denmark i received a warning stating that my service provider had blocked access to http://www.allofmp3.com/ as a ruling had judged this service as operating illegaly.
An in Nigeria the team handling the XO implementation are going to add a filter to avoid the kids from accessing porn?
Get my point?
We have different value sets in different parts of the world, some are cultural/religious determined, other are financially determined. Censorship is not only an issues in developing countries but also a reality in our democratic states.
For a village community like the one in Galadima, to suddenly see kids accessing porn is a shock, and what are they supposed to do. Sit down and tell these kids that porn is bad and not a proper representation of the values of society, beg them to stop viewing the sites? Or should they use traditional and culturally accepted physical punishment? I understand the difficulties that they face, and I guess they looked at what schools in the west are doing - and chose the same solution - and started filtering their access.
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Mark [10.04.07 05:46 PM]
It would be great to get those out into the hands of those who will appreciate it.