Vision behind One Laptop Per Child

Check this out...incredible vision for providing education to children in Third World Countries...worth watching the video - by the way, the project is now underway:

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/41?gclid=CJb7jty81I8CFQ8nawodPAbu-Q

More info:
http://leighbureau.com/speaker.asp?id=5

 

A friend told me about this.. the $100 laptop where you have a crank on the side where u have to manually power it up haha
how is the internet provided? its prob in the video but i cant view it on this comp

 

That was what I was talking about on this thread...

http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=142829


From what I read the Asus design was inspired by $100 (now $188) laptop, although they didn't say it directly.

I still think they should sell the units at an inflated price, it would do better, and they might be able to get costs down by starting the production pipeline. The Buy One Donate One likely won't work IMO. If I have to spend $400 on hardware I'll buy the one with the most features, whereas $288 competes very well.

The thing I find funny is M/S basically wasn't interested, after all they want $200 for their typical OS. Now it is becoming a reality they have decided to write a custom Windows OS to compete with the Linux. Probably the only free version of Windows that will ever be created. From their (M/S) point of view it is a simple investment in the future, when these kids move up (assuming they do) what OS are they going to be comfortable with).

Projected specs:

X84 Processor (I've heard from other sources they settled on a 486)
128 Meg DRAM
512 Meg Flash (This is the replacement for the HD).
2 Watts nominal power consumption
3 or 4 USB ports
WiFi mesh network.
Rugged (underline this one 2 or 3 times)
Dual Mode Display.

One of the points the video made is instant boot up, much like the early computers used to do. His comparison was to a Mac 512.

Like I said, I want one, but not for his stated price. It is a device I think that has been needed for a long time. This idea that we have to improve electronics and specs year after year, more memory, faster processor, bigger and faster hard disks, is a trap that, as he points out, has actually reduced specs like power up time and battery life. It is a like an old engineering saying, good enough beats the best.

 

Oh, okay...gotcha. I actually saw the guy's TV interview which impressed me with what he was working towards achieving in third world countries.

Pretty cool stuff.

 

I also saw the interview. Having lived and worked in third world countries, I recognise the value of the concept.

Some capital cities in third world countries don't have electricity, or a reliable supply, so a wind up crank to provide the power is a good alternative.

The laptops connect to Satellite Broadband in the respective village, town or cities, and it is powered by a mobile generator.

Apparently Intel who were actively trying to sink the laptop offered to third world countries (because it was AMD powered CPU) have now joined in the concept.

There are possible sales of millions, maybe billions of these laptops, if hatchets can be buried, major cash sponsors found and governments with enough vision to open their borders to uncensored Internet access.

We can only hope for our third world friends. Bazza

 

EEK! PORNO for all third world kids

Only a rich guy would think of giving a starving third world kid a laptop instead of a corn dog.
A lot of if's & we'll work it out's
A laptop with no software..
A laptop build for $100, ya right

I smell scam

 

Have you really researched it? I have, MIT doesn't generally lend themselves to scams.

 

I've been following this project for several years, they are out of the prototype phase, which is why it is now the $188 laptop. They are trying to pay for it with a buy one donate one project.

When I come across the articles again I'll post this links here.

 

These links may help change your mind.

http://www.google.com.au/search?as_...as_dt=i&as_sitesearch=&as_rights=&safe=images

Bazza

===

 

This definitely comes under the category of teaching someone to fish vs. giving them fish. That corn dog (which most wouldn't eat due to religious considerations) wouldn't last a day. $200 of corn dogs might last a month. The laptop could help them pull themselves out of poverty. I especially liked the part about it being an eBook too, since books are very expensive indeed over the long haul.

I notice they haven't mentioned sound. If it has not been included it seems a pretty basic oversite.

 

I was going to quote this analogy, but thought it too "corny"

Bazza

 

Latest article that I've come across.

http://www.consumersavvytips.org/one_laptop_per_child_olpc_is_really_letting_you_get_as_much.html

Pay for 2. (one for a child, get one for yourself). Offer closes very soon.

Bazza

 

If I'm going to help this movement I'd do it by buying one (and only one) of these units, there bye increasing their production and helping costs to go down. Otherwise I'll spend the same amount of money and get a eeePC, that has most of the same features (and probably more).

Academia has left their mark on this project, unfortunately. Sad part is, I do want one, but I would have trouble paying the $200 right now.

 

Full specs at http://www.laptop.org/laptop/hardware/specs.shtml

Nicholas Negroponte was interviewed on Newshour with Jim Lehrer on OZ TV last night. He sure is dedicated to getting this project into more third world homes.

Another link at http://laptopgiving.org/en/index.php

The offer of buy 2, donate 1, get 1 for yourself has been extended to December 31st. :cool

Call to give: 1-877-70-LAPTOP (1-877-705-2786) Bazza

 

i read about this project awhile back, its a great idea, but I believe that other humanitarian efforts should take priority over it.

I personally wouldn't buy one, I have no use for it, but I think I may decide to donate one.

 

Microsoft originally derided the effort. Now it seems they want to write an OS for it...

http://www.techtree.com/India/News/100_Laptop_to_Get_Windows_XP/551-84123-615.html

 

Quote from Bill's link. No more need be said, I guess, about the MS reasons why.

Who's afraid of Linux? Bazza

 

A victim of their own success (sort of)?

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/Extra/Wny$100LaptopProjectIsUnderSiege.aspx

There may a silver lining to all this, in that it could eventually get the costs down, and offer everyone a cheaper alternative to getting a computer. I've always felt that the latest and greatest hardware and software was a trap of a sort, that good enough is the enemy of the best. Long term, it might even make high end equipment come down in price.

 

Unfortunately, as in lots of ideas, the inventor/instigator/dreamer isn't always the benefitter. Greed enters into the idea and the original idea may be steamrolled by others. :cry Bazza

 

Even MS has to evolve...

http://www.physorg.com/news116184640.html

 

Sam Kinison said about the starving...."MOVE TO WHERE THE FOOD IS!!!!"

I'm kind of wondering when our own (U.S.) wages will allow for the proverbial chicken in every pot.... supposed richest nation on Earth, and if my hard and long working Brother's kids are to have a computer and internet access, I must provide because his physical appearance alone keeps him out of higher paying jobs.
I'm a charitable person - but I'd rather "feed my neighbor's kids" so to speak, i.e. charity begins closer to home for me.
Blessings All,
Port-O-San

 

That's a fair comment and your thoughts and actions are widely and commonly accepted and done...that's what charity is all about.

I believe (and I'm sure I'll be corrected if I'm wrong by others here), that this "vision" is mainly run on a corporate/business level, through participating/contributing companies and generated sales which enables it to happen.

Any form of good work is a silent prayer answered.

 

Legal Suit said,"Any form of good work is a silent prayer answered." and I agree with that wholeheartedly.
But even if it is at corporate level........ why overseas when most corporations refuse to provide or subsidise healthcare for their own employees here in the States and many keep us on subsistence wages? Even at this level, charity (or even human decency) should still begin @ home in my opinion.
@ corporate level........ what's the corporate grinch up to now, developing even more drones, now in underdeveloped nations?
I'd like to suggest two songs...... Bruce Cockburn's "Call it democracy" and Ben Harper's "Excuse me, Mr."....... give them a listen and I'll hush up on the subject.
I just get a bit fired up when the corporates want to play Santy Clawz elsewhere - it's analogous to my taking care of other's children and leaving my own to want in my mind. End rant (if that's what this was).
Still, Blessings All,
Port-O-San

 

I still believe children in Third World countries are entitled to education and this vision will provide it for those regions that don't even have electricity.

Re your comment "developing even more drones", Bill_Marsden summed up a response neatly in this thread when he stated the benefits of this vision:

Port-O-San you also said:

If you look around "your own backyard", you'll probably find some corporations and/or small businesses who are community minded and also "look at home".

For example:

There is a gentleman in Seattle who is "starting a program called "Computers for Kids." He is getting all his business licensing and "non-profit" status in order...His objection is "why give away all the excess to everyone (funneling all our resources to other countries etc.) when we have all our children here in this country that can use them.

He is currently accepting computers and sponsors to get the computers stored-upgraded-and delivered FREE starting locally. The program is just getting off the ground and the person doing this is just "a guy" that knows the innards to make the computers go.

He has a vision bigger brighter and better than this, and he's not looking for a profit."

Port-O-San, you also noted:

This is a political and community minded question for your part of the world that needs to be addressed.

 

Legalsuit - we're making alot of the same points, only from differing points of view.
Kids elsewhere are, indeed, entitled to the opportunity of an education... but @ who's expense? Meaning not that I don't want to contribute, but that there are kids right here (and there) who aren't getting benefit of what you and I got a few (or more, in my case!) years back due to budget cuts killing off the arts and religious fanatics killing the sciences. Oops, inflammatory remark - sorry, fanatics - oh, caught myself in an Imus moment - no, not sorry at all.
I revive several (8 to 12)older computers each year on my own and give them to familys that cannot afford one - thank God for people who design software that uses little memory or processor, or it couldn't be done on my meagre budget!
I agree that corporations could do this on a much larger, therefore more effective level - I just wish that the big ones were more homefolks minded - it's always some little guy, like the one you mentioned in Seattle, who struggle to work close to home. Also, are there no public minded people of consequence and wealth in these other parts of the world? What of personal initiative? We seem to prosper despite our "warlords" and "despots" though we started from dirt level and dirt floors.
Still, it's a caring, loving, sweet idea - and I mean that in it's truest sense.
This is an "each to his own world", so I guess I'll keep doing as I do but I do, in principle, support the project = it's the very idealism that our WWII era ancestors believed they were "saving the world" with - and it's beautiful in it's simplicity and innocence.
Remember to hunt up those two tunes!
Blessings,
Port-O-San

 

I think you are missing one key point here, the $188 laptop can be as easily used in the USA as Africa. The laptop was designed for teaching, doesn't really matter where.

Having said that, while charity begins at home, it would be a sad world indeed if that was where it ended too.

Another key advantage is its standardized to a degree that is highly unusual for modern computers. The old C64, the most popular brand ever made, came out of the box and booted in seconds (we'll ignore the program load time for the moment). A person could begin programming immediately after powering up, and there were no system requirements listed on any software made for it.

This computer promises to return to that simplicity, with fairly modern hardware.

To my mind, there isn't much to argue against.

 

Its really is a great project

And now the kids have computers with Internet access they wont be hungry again they can simply order some food from pizza hut and have it delivered.

 

Port-O-San, I think it is wonderful that you are so community minded, and thankfully there are many more people such as yourself in the world in general.

As for corporations, there are many out there just as community minded "in their own backyard". Albeit, some investigations and research would prove my point, (had I the time, I would do some and post here to prove my point).

However, I can name one large corporation, IBM Australia (in "my own backyard"). They have numerous community projects, which have included, recycling of computers and software for donation and community use; "Computer Camps" (initiation and training of computers to children) to name just a couple that are computer related.

Many such projects were put to/approved by IBMA management, and there are many awards of recognition as acknowledgement. I reckon there are many other large community minded corporations out there, simply because it is made up of people, many of whom are also community minded.

As for your comment of: "Also, are there no public minded people of consequence and wealth in these other parts of the world? What of personal initiative?..." One that immediately springs to mind is Nelson Mandela...he is a person of consequence. Check out his Foundation.

As for "people of...wealth in these other parts of the world?"...bet there is someone out there...not got the time to research it to back this up though.

 

Hi, legalsuit. Burning the "midnight oil" again. Bazza

 

This link came from another post - "Another scammer gets ownt" posted by FredG

This is what our poor third world friends do when we send them computers....
Keep reading well into this = it's worth the time!!!

http://419eater.com/html/okorie.htm

Blessings,
P.O.S.

 

So maybe we shouldn't teach them to read either, lest they do something evil with it. Not a winning arguement IMO.

Not everyone is a crook.

 

Agreed, I wouldn't teach them anything - let their own teach them - we don't seem to be getting through to the ones we have here on a very consistent basis, so who are we to teach the world? (or police the world, or feed the world, or anything else?).
No, not everyone is a crook and even crooks can change for the better, but I haven't heard of a "Palau e mail scam, or a "Belgium e mail scam"........ but we sure hear about certain African countries being rife with such things - newspapers, exposes on telly, etc., have all reported on it, not to mention the major e mail carriers and online auction and sales sites warning their users of "Nigerian Scams, "South African Scams", etc.
I've got friends - actual, physical friends rather than e friends, from almost every continent - it's not like I'm anti - anyone = but when the evidence supports caution or maybe more........... and it does - irrefutably.
Bless Y'all's hearts,
P.O.S.

 

Port-O-San I'm inclined to agree with Bill_Marsden line of thinking on this count.

In simple logical terms, such Third World countries wouldn't need this type of "vision" assistance if they were already technically on par with those countries offering support. In all fairness, those offering a hand do so as Bill also said earlier: "This definitely comes under the category of teaching someone to fish v.s. giving them fish...". And like Bill said in an earlier post, look a little deeper at what the vision is offering and to whom.

Also in line with Bill_Marsden: "not everyone is a crook", those places and people are incapable of protecting themselves against incidents of genicide brought about by evil internal forces (as an extreme example)...simply because they are villagers living off the land while raising their family as best they can within their means. Why shouldn't their children be entitled to a better opportunity in life which in turn can later help their own people.

In my simple and honest opinion, such people deserve some assistance. In a way, we are all "brothers" and need to show some compassion by offering a hand to those in need, whether in our own backyard or in other countries.

 

This brings up another side benefit. We take instant communications for granted, many of these people depend on runners, which doesn't work if there are hostilities. This will give people a voice that had none before, it might even help stop some of the worst of the abuses occurring.

It is not a given this laptop will offer this feature, but it is a possibility.

 

Well, I'm going to put my money and myself where my sentiments lie = am going to start a not for profit corp. and solicit funds/donations to provide computers to local/state kids and people who could not otherwise afford them. Have already found some significant promises of support in the corporate sector and am told that there are many federal programs that will help as well.
Am looking into legalities/formalities now, have at least part of the infrastructure needed, have secured training assistance from a major open source supplier and have experience with N.F.P. corp.s and management of same.
I have enough smarts to learn tech support and also have a techie friend who is college trained with several years experience in same field who is coming in with me.
This will be a fulltime gig for 4 or 5 people, the way I see it, to begin with.
Everything I see so far (after six weeks' work and consultations) tells me that this can work, if well managed.
I've done this on a very small, very local basis for some years now and my experience with it makes me want to do more.
Not tootin' my own horn here - just making notice that this will be happening and will keep y'all posted on progress in case anyone wishes to help with experience, support, time, or money. Legalities will take from six to eight months to set up before we make any move towards action other than buildup of our personal resources here in terms of knowledge and contacts.
Please wish us luck!
Blessings,
Port-O-San

 

Good luck. You might even be able to get someone to donate some of the laptops!

 

Very noble good luck

 

Excellent!! Bravo! Wonderful plans!

If I may add a couple of simple suggestions:

• re legal aspect - see if you can have some corporate bodies (preferably those in IT arenas) with legal departments who can provide pro bono legal advice (ie free legal advice).
  
• perhaps you can look at joining forces with those already offering what you are working towards(?)...or at least communicating with them to get ideas/contacts - it's all about networking in more ways than one

 

We've got an attorney online with us but he has no E experience, only corporate law (but 22 years of that, so he's no noob) but we'd sure appreciate some e experienced legal advice relevant to our location (Florida, U.S.).
We've been in contact with two who tried and failed, and another who is trying and is maintaining so long as she doesn't try to expand beyond the ludicrously smalltime (which I've already been doing for several years.). We're really not interested in combining and thereby losing some control over our vision for this but we'd welcome any and all who are there or have been there to talks - we think we've got some novel approaches and ideas that haven't yet been tried - of course, we also understand that means unproven, too = which is why we wouldn't mind running some of it past more experienced people in this particular arena.
We're wanting to stay with desktop pc's for obvious reasons of costs and a desktop being harder to "lose" or "misplace" in our particular market - also a tower is so much easier to build and parts can be had forcheap or sometimes for freebies if you find a good closeout source that needs a tax deduction (in negotiations presently with two).
As for the "nobility" of this, well, I'd like to accept the compliment, but I'm primarily a merc. = meaning that I want to be useful to my fellowman despite my physical limitations (something for ME) and I want to make a living at it and will happily pay myself a salary out of the budget(also something for me)
so maybe I'm not so very noble, just want a win/win - and I have always done that - when I win, others do, too by osmosis.
Am thankful for your comments and interest!
Blessings,
Port-O-San

 

Good to see you have some legal guidance (which should be relevant to your State and if going interstate, then ensure legal coverage there also). I'm sure the lawyer you have would also ensure proper legal guidance, (even if he/she needs to get legal info from some source before communicating to you...it is a legal obligation even if providing professional advice in a pro bono capacity).

I'm sure whatever tact you take will eventually prove successful or as you say be a "win/win situation. Wonderful that you're taking this challenge. I hope you get much support in every manner possible to realise your quest.

 

Found a follow up review of the OLPC and it's competitors. Sounds like there is some work left to do here.

http://www.physorg.com/news120416346.html

 

Thanks for that link, Bill. :cool Bazza

 

Modern day kids, used to technology would probably get frustrated with the limitations such a laptop presents...in any case, it should cater sufficiently for those children in Third World countries, for whose use these particular laptops were designed.

What say you?!

 

Perhaps, but they definately need to fix the bugs. That could be a real killer all by itself.

 

There should be a write up on this at - http://www.pbs.org/ - They have just about everything a person could want in a laptop. Wireless connection, webcam, dirt/water proof, The flip up thing someone spoke of is like an antenna, No electric is needed. And they were supposed to be 100 ea. It looks like someone got greedy or someone is drop-shipping and making 200 per sale.

 

Expanded pbs.org link at http://www.pbs.org/search/search_results.html?q=OLPC&btnG=GO

Bazza