OLPC Developers Boost Security

eldavojohn writes "The developers of software for the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) initiative are redefining security for the personal PC. Since the laptops have the potential of communicating with any other laptop, the developers have a unique opportunity to implement both virus protection on the kernel, master boot record and also the way in which the laptops deal with security and 'code-sharing.' The developers are currently seeking outside counsel from security experts and if you're worried about these security schemes posing only problems to the children, 'these security measures can be turned off by the PCs' owners. To protect against that leading to disaster, the laptops will automatically back up their data up on a server whenever the machines get in wireless range of the children's school. If a child loses data, the files can be restored by bringing the laptop within wireless range of the server.'"

Comments

Technology

[Anonymous Coward]

The concept that computer technology will improve the lives of children if they only could get access to it strikes me as inane. How does access to a computer help anything if poverty and social instability are rampant? The idea that you can shove a computer in their face and make it all better astounds me. I think there are much better initiatives out there.

And I am a software guy who loves technology and computers in general!

Re:Technology

[symes]

I agree with your sentiments. But one thig that can help is communication, access to the net. Giving kids these computer skills early on will mean that when it comes to later life choices they won't just look around at the local area and think, "well that's that then"... they might well look further afield and explore opportunities for education and employment which they may never have been exposed to otherwise. It's not a cure-all, but it might help make a difference.

Re:Technology

[singularity]

Definitely! These computer scientists, electrical engineers, and information technologies guys should be designing better crops so that the third world can produce more and better crops. Or coming up with economic packages that help develop their infrastructures to better distribute the crops and foodstuffs to the people that need it. Or do medical research to help design cheaper medicines to help with common diseases in developing countries.

Oh...

Wait...

They are not specialists in genetic engineering.
Oh, and they are not economists, and do not have a lot of political affairs experience.
Come to think of it, they also do not have the skills needed to do pharmaceutical research either.

Well, then, what are they good for? I suppose they should just sign over a portion of their paycheck to a non-profit group that might one day help. That is the American way, right? Donating money to resolve guilt about all of the world's problems?

Or maybe... Just maybe... They could volunteer their own time and expertise to do something in their own field to help, and then ignore anonymous people who criticize them for no other reason than the fact that the genetic engineers, the economists, the pharmaceutical companies and, most of all, the politicians are not doing anything in the meantime in their own respective fields.

Ehh, that would never work...

Re:Technology

[dapsychous]

John Fitzgerald published an interesting article a few years ago about some people's belief that because others are using computers successfully, that merely introducing a computer into a given situation will make the participants more productive, comparing it to the cargo cults in Melanesia many years ago.

Merely shoving a laptop in a child's face will not make them better, brighter, etc. If anything the laptop will server to function as a distraction, much as my TI-83 was in calculus class (all I ever did was play games on it). If you want to make your children more productive, limit their access to technology: computer an tv only after all classwork is done unless said classwork requires the computer or tv.

Granted, computers are useful for research, typing, cataloging, etc; and should definitely remain an integral part of the education system, I think that simply saying, "Here's your computer," will only be to the detriment of said student

Re:Technology

[holistah]

Also they won't feel intimidated by all the technology in the rest of the world and start feeling that it is beyond them, feeling like there is too much to learn to be a part of that society and give up.

Re:Technology

[gdek]

There are much better initiatives out there. Like the Millenium Project to end global poverty, or the Global Fund to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. Are you contributing to them? I am.

But I'm a supporter of the OLPC project too -- because saving people from extreme poverty and disease is only part of the battle. The other part of the battle is giving them the tools to be competitive in a global marketplace. In a globalized capitalist world, every economy needs to figure out what their comparative advantage is. Many of the poorest nations in the world have limited natural resources, and little critical infrastructure (roads, power grid, etc.) to leverage the natural resources they do have. OLPC stands an outside chance of making *people* the comparative advantage.

It's not an either/or proposition. It's *and*. It has to be.

And I'm a software guy who loves technology and computers in general. :)

Re:Technology

[evilviper]

How does access to a computer help anything if poverty and social instability are rampant?

The same way books, education, and printing-presses do.

Re:Technology

[Anonymous Coward]

Why is this FUD still coming up? Give a man a fish, he eats for one day... teach a man to fish, he can feed himself and his family, not to mention teach others how, etc... We need to find things to create a ripple effect, to foster a self-sufficient society...

Re:Technology

[mcrbids]

The concept that computer technology will improve the lives of children if they only could get access to it strikes me as inane.

You think it's about the Technology??!?!?

OLPC isn't about exposing po' folks to kernels, compilers and binary code. It's about bringing the tremendous wealth of knowledge accessable on the Internet to everybody. In my household, (Myself, Wife, 5 children and usually a couple of their friends) the computers and Internet are a great combination of entertainment, news, and information resource.

"Some things are just not meant to be known. For everything else, there's Google!" is something I've said for years. Whether you're looking to buy a plane, learn Spanish, Latin, or Esperanto, or pick up a song on the guitar, the Internet is an invaluable resource.

Want to make a pump to get water out of the well so that you can water your crops? An Internet search can help you. Want to figure out how come your tomatoes aren't growing like they should? Literacy (and the Internet) can help you discover the proper PH of the soil, and what you could do about it.

Knowledge is power, and the Internet is the largest, most extensive, and most easily distributed form of knowledge mankind has yet invented. It's not a replacement for clean water or sanitation - it's an enabler for clean water, and a communicator of the value of good sanitation.

It's a political force, too. Never doubt the power that fax machines (cheap, rapidly communicated, written communication) had, for example, in the fall of the oppressive Soviet empire. Why else would the Chinese be so paranoid about its use and deployment?

virus protection?

[joe 155]

These are running fedora which has very few viruses for it anyway, moreover it is a special form of fedora, which might not be vulnerable to all the viruses which linux anyway (and whose going to write viruses for these kids computers anyway, there is no money nor respect in it). So I worry about sticking virus protection in the MBR and kernel for fear that it itself might cause more issues and problems than if it was just left "open".

I'm curious how it will turn out

[OeLeWaPpErKe]

And I'll defineately buy one of the $300 versions, donating 2 others to people in the third world. Let's hope they can join the rest of the world faster using these laptops, or perhaps even, the internet.

Re:A simple solution to the wrong problem.

[rbarreira]

As many people will surely say, many of the countries targeted by this initiative don't have as many problems as you think they do. Of course the people aren't going to eat the laptops, but access to them and faster ways of spreading and accessing information helps with virtually everything... At the very least, it will make them more educated and capable of solving their country's problems...

Not all the poor countries are a mass of hungering people...

Re:A simple solution to the wrong problem.

[Anonymous Coward]

Giving someone a laptop so they have an incentive to educate themselves and a bit of an outlet is probably a better long term solution to a problem of social instability than feeding everyone in the area whatever government surplus food is cheapest.

Short term, yes, people need to be fed. Long term, they need to understand how to build effective social systems. Computers are the basis of most of our effective modern social systems. Ergo, computers are as important as food in the long run.

Finally, I hate to be ruthless, but the entire "save the children" movement will eventually lead to extreme overpopulation with a low level of education. Famine is one of those things that reduces the number of people on the planet. Give the third world access to the medicine and food that modern societies use, and everyone doesn't stop having four or five kids. In fact, it's often a religious or cultural tradition to have that many children at a comparatively early age, which means that the population explodes as soon as you have everyone living beyond the age of fourty five. Thus the society must change at an extremely rapid rate to not become an enormous burden on the world around it.

So yes, computers are necessary. Almost as necessary as food. In fact, no computers might even lead to terrorism. Making you a terrorist for suggesting their omission.

Re:Good Idea

[Simon80]

I understood the FA to be saying that they'd be backing up data, as in docs and homework and stuff, and that they would be able to restore the data while connected to their school, not that the data would get involuntarily pushed to their computers. Some (or all) of the people designing and implementing this stuff are Linux enthusiasts, I don't think any of them are going to want to implement features that take away the user's control of the machine. In fact, the context for that backup feature was that they would like children to be able to take an interest and start tinkering with their systems, which is the opposite of taking away control, they want to put control in their hands, giving them with a real computer they can mess with, rather than some locked down education appliance. The FUD from MS and Intel calling these devices "gadgets" especially disgusts me, because it couldn't possibly be further from the truth, and they're deriding a good cause out of their own selfishness.