NotebookForums.com › Forums › General Notebook Discussions › Notebook Forums - General › One Laptop Per Child, now is the time to help
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

One Laptop Per Child, now is the time to help

post #1 of 6
11/12/07 at 11:00pm
Thread Starter 
For the next two weeks the One Laptop Per Child project is offering its Give 1 Get 1 program to people in the USA.

In order to help the project get off the ground Americans can either donate a laptop by contributing $200, or buy a laptop for themselves for $400, and one will be donated on their behalf to a child in an impoverished nation. The OLPC XO-1 computers are not powerful from a hardware perspective. But are built to be rugged, easy to use, and offer unique software geared toward the education of children.

I myself have donated a computer today (and bought one for my kids... ok maybe for myself too). And I plan on contributing software assistance to the OLPC project.

If you think you might be interested helping them help others please check them out at www.laptop.org, or www.laptopgiving.org.


Derek

P.S. The OLPC project is not without critics, some absolutely hate and despise the whole concept. If you come across these types of people, please make an effort to consider both the pros and the cons of what the project is trying to accomplish, it is not just about the hardware.
Reply
Reply
post #2 of 6
11/12/07 at 11:33pm
yea, that dont sound like a scam
Reply
Reply
post #3 of 6
11/13/07 at 11:21pm
I don't know about this one, but there was a legit project to develop sub $100 notebooks that look similar (though with much simpler tech.- two touchpads? why? 1200x900 screen? overkill?) for children in third world countries. this project was led by MIT. The notebooks were self sufficient in that the batteries could be charged through a handcrank. This project doesn't seem to push far enough in comparison imo.
Reply
Reply
post #4 of 6
11/14/07 at 1:15am
Thread Starter 
This is exactly the same project you're thinking of. Its led by Nicholas Negrponte of MIT. There is a pull crank available for it, along with a solar blanket and some other human powered source. The project has just evolved some since you last read about it. And come to the realization that they can't get down to the cost of $100 until greater economies of scale have been reached. The goal is to get the cost down to $100 by 2009.
Reply
Reply
post #5 of 6
11/14/07 at 3:02am
I'm curious about why the team chose to implement so many different physical interfaces. I understand they want it to be as versatile as possible and to suit different needs across the spectrum, but that greatly contradicts the goal of affordability. Do students really need two stylus pads in addition to a touchpad? A gaming, recording, wifi, word processor in one? I think it would be a more feasible project if they kept it simple and able to perform a basic and necessary task well- word processing and ebooks, and developed it from there as more capital is reached and expenses come down. Plus, an overly complex system is difficult for a userbase that is not well exposed to technology to adopt. The project is overambitious and needs to lower the costs by about 75% to be successful. Donations at $200 per helping is not hopeful in covering the sheer number of disadvantaged children that exist. A $50 notebook distributed across a wider range of recipients would be a far more efficient investment of charity.

One thing to add: A concern with any type of charity is that the goods are not being delivered to where it is intended- ie. money is passed into the wrong hands along the way. A more expensive item is more likely to be pawned off or sold by the same people they were designed for, for food or other more urgent goods, if their financial situations are desperate- common case. A cheaper product that can still help is more likely to stay in the hands of the recipients and serve their purpose.
Reply
Reply
post #6 of 6
11/14/07 at 11:55pm
chances are its gonna get stolen to broken the first 3 days anyway, i feel sorry for those people in those countries but i have my own problems to worry about.
Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Notebook Forums - General
NotebookForums.com › Forums › General Notebook Discussions › Notebook Forums - General › One Laptop Per Child, now is the time to help