$100 Laptop Repriced at $175

I'm just waiting... by therufus · 2007-04-26 13:20 · Score: 3, Funny

...for the first person to complain that it doesn't run Vista.

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Re:I'm just waiting... by fermion · 2007-04-26 13:49 · Score: 5, Funny

Or simply call it the £100 laptop.

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"She's a scientist and a lesbian. She's not going to let it slide." Orphan Black
Re:I'm just waiting... by heptapod · 2007-04-26 14:28 · Score: 5, Funny

A hundred pound laptop? I thought these were for kids not weightlifters.
Re:I'm just waiting... by Cutie+Pi · 2007-04-26 14:46 · Score: 4, Informative

As of today, one Euro = $1.36

It takes 36% more dollars to equal one Euro. The Franc doesn't exist any more. Your math abilities and world knowledge should seriously concern people.
Re:I'm just waiting... by renegadesx · 2007-04-26 14:59 · Score: 0

In China they are both

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Re:I'm just waiting... by NonSequor · 2007-04-26 15:07 · Score: 1

The poster you were replying to may have meant that the Euro/Dollar exchange rate has increased about 50% over what it was in the early 2000s. I'm not sure why he mentioned Francs though.

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My only political goal is to see to it that no political party achieves its goals.
Re:I'm just waiting... by Anonymous Coward · 2007-04-26 15:08 · Score: 3, Funny

100 U.S. dollars = 120.25 Swiss francs

Not sure what that proves.
Re:I'm just waiting... by networkBoy · 2007-04-26 15:19 · Score: 1

At this point it wouldn't surprise me if they had to do that to avoid the huge exchange rate difference between the US dollar and...everything else. The fact that it takes well over 50% more US dollars to equal an amount in euros or francs, should seriously concern people.
francs, francs . . . let me see, Ah yes! that old outmoded currency of France. I have some right here. They're collectors items now. 1 franc to the dollar if you ask me.
(I have one of each denom up to 500 if you're dumb^W interested enough to pay a 1:! exchange BTW.)
-nB

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Re:I'm just waiting... by Anonymous Coward · 2007-04-26 15:21 · Score: 0

"...for the first person to complain that it doesn't run Vista."

Didn't Apple offer to give them OS X for free, but the zealot running the program insisted on OSS?
Re:I'm just waiting... by mrsteveman1 · 2007-04-26 15:30 · Score: 1

I stand corrected, laughing :D
Re:I'm just waiting... by Snarkhunter · 2007-04-26 16:05 · Score: 0

"Sir, could I interest you in one of our new 100 pound laptops?" They'll sell like HOTCAKES I tells ya!
Re:I'm just waiting... by iamacat · 2007-04-26 18:05 · Score: 2, Interesting

The fact that it takes well over 50% more US dollars to equal an amount in euros or francs, should seriously concern people.

Yeah, Europeans should be very worried. Their stores are getting flooded by cheap american imports that local companies can not compete with under a 50% premium. Their jobs are getting outsourced to US. They are losing their import market to US companies that are able to offer a much better price. European tourists go and spend money abroad rather than investing it back into local economy.
Re:I'm just waiting... by Rakshasa+Taisab · 2007-04-26 19:39 · Score: 0, Troll

Yeah, we europeans shold be fucking worried for having actual _money to spend_ compared to USians. Well, what did _you_ think rising exchange rates really meant?

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Re:I'm just waiting... by jrumney · 2007-04-26 20:36 · Score: 1

The Franc doesn't exist any more.

When did the Swiss Franc cease to exist?
Re:I'm just waiting... by carpe_noctem · 2007-04-26 20:40 · Score: 1

Actually, switzerland is still using the franc. I have a feeling that the GP is unaware of this, however...

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Re:I'm just waiting... by mike2R · 2007-04-26 21:26 · Score: 1

True - although there is another side to it. Many commodities (oil for example) are traded in USD, so input costs fall with a weak dollar.

I can never work out whether a strong pound is good or bad for Britain - whichever sector is hurt by the current situation always screams about it so loudly you'd think the world was coming to an end.

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This sig all sigs devours
Re:I'm just waiting... by rgravina · 2007-04-26 22:00 · Score: 1

Many of the applications, and some of the OS itself, is written in Python and the kids can select a "view source" menu option so they can see how it works. Sure, not all of them will use it, but an an educational tool for those interested in programming this is a great idea and wouldn't be possible if they used OSX. Also, they need to modify the OS to get decent performance on resource limited hardware and using an open source OS allows them to do this. Otherwise they'd have to rely on Apple to do it, and it would no longer be their project anymore!
Re:I'm just waiting... by EsbenMoseHansen · 2007-04-26 22:17 · Score: 3, Funny

I can never work out whether a strong pound is good or bad for Britain - whichever sector is hurt by the current situation always screams about it so loudly you'd think the world was coming to an end.
When I went to school, a strong currency was bad for the business living off exports and local sale, and good the business doing imports. Mind you, that was long ago :)
Personally, I wish Denmark would just join the Euro. Our money is so ugly now that my eyes wants to cry every time I see them. I think this is a conspiracy to make the Danish want to join the Euro. (It works on me, too!)

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Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by rulers as useful.
Re:I'm just waiting... by JPeMu · 2007-04-26 22:23 · Score: 1

Well, I guess that would be why Adobe Flash (Design Standard) is to cost $1199 (+ tax where applicable?) and £895 (excl tax). That's $1793 at current rates - Some 50% more than the US price. ;)
Re:I'm just waiting... by Hal_Porter · 2007-04-26 22:51 · Score: 2, Funny

Actually, switzerland is still using the franc.

Yeah, but they pronounce it "fronk"

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echo -e 'global _start\n _start:\n mov eax, 2\n int 80h\n jmp _start' > a.asm; nasm a.asm -f elf; ld a.o -o a;
Re:I'm just waiting... by rbanffy · 2007-04-26 22:55 · Score: 2, Insightful

The difference in face value is not a reason for concern.

A fast change in the exchange rate is.

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http://www.dieblinkenlights.com
Re:I'm just waiting... by Hal_Porter · 2007-04-26 22:57 · Score: 1

Yeah, Europeans should be very worried. Their stores are getting flooded by cheap american imports that local companies can not compete with under a 50% premium

A weak currency is a good move if you're China. I'm not sure it works that well for the US. It won't even help the US trade deficit, since most imports come from countrys with central banks that buy dollar denominated securities to make their currencies stay weak.

Which is a weird state of affairs actually - the dollar hasn't dropped even further only because China, Japan and so on are propping it up.

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echo -e 'global _start\n _start:\n mov eax, 2\n int 80h\n jmp _start' > a.asm; nasm a.asm -f elf; ld a.o -o a;
Re:I'm just waiting... by Hal_Porter · 2007-04-26 23:00 · Score: 1

Personally, I wish Denmark would just join the Euro. Our money is so ugly now that my eyes wants to cry every time I see them. I think this is a conspiracy to make the Danish want to join the Euro. (It works on me, too!)

Yeah, because having pretty notes makes up for the fact that you have interest rates set over the whole eurozone by the somewhat inscrutable ECB, rather than set by (I guess) an independant central bank in Denmark.

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echo -e 'global _start\n _start:\n mov eax, 2\n int 80h\n jmp _start' > a.asm; nasm a.asm -f elf; ld a.o -o a;
Re:I'm just waiting... by anticypher · 2007-04-26 23:16 · Score: 3, Informative

Many commodities (oil for example) are traded in USD

This is one reason why gasoline/petrol prices in Europe have remained relatively stable, even as the political situation in oil producing regions has caused crude prices to increase. Most oil producing nations trade in U.S. Dollars, so the price in Euros is now 40% cheaper than 2 years ago. Traveling back and forth between the U.S. and Europe, it is quite obvious at the price differential of Dollar based international commodities. Gas prices, at least on both coasts of the U.S., are now about equal to what we pay in Europe, where 6 years ago we paid around 4 times what Americans were paying.

There are a few oil producing nations that have switched from petrodollars to petroeuros, which has seen their income stabilise as the dollar slips. What makes currency traders, central bank managers, and others who work with the U.S. Dollar lose sleep is the fear that some day soon, the rest of the OPEC countries will announce a switch from selling crude oil in Dollars to Euros. That would be a major blow to the stability of the Dollar, and if it were to happen, Americans would see gas prices from $10 to $25 per gallon at the pumps. It would also be a bad thing for Europe, because we would see our pump prices jump by at least 40%, and more likely the increase would be close to 100% as the world economies adjusted to the new "base" currency.

If you are ever in a bar in Brussels full of Eurocrats, and you want to completely derail all the conversations along the lines of a "mac vs. pc" flamefest on /., mention PetroEuros, duck, and run far, far away.

the AC

ObOnTopic post I've managed to use an OLPC XO machine for a while, they are truly innovative little wonders. Even at $175 a piece, that means we'll soon be training up a whole new generation of bitter, jaded sysadmins ;-)

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Hemos is like...sci-fi fans;he thinks technology is cool, but he hasn't bothered to understand the science it's based on
Re:I'm just waiting... by Anonymous Coward · 2007-04-27 00:02 · Score: 0

"Your math abilities and world knowledge should seriously concern people."

No, just your knowledge of recent current exchange rates suck.

There was a time when shopping on ebay, it was easier to approximate the exchange rate to british pounds from dollars by multiplying the UK auction's price by 2 to get (roughly) the dollar. It never actually got that high from what I saw (and I don't check these often, just that the Brits often have some rarer items that I look for, i.e. UK anime mags), but I recall it was close to 1.9 at one point.

It's sad that /. has gotten this bad, where people are ridiculed for knowing more. That's the true issue with moderatin; everything comes down to the "average" intellect and opinion of those that are really just dumbing things down.
Re:I'm just waiting... by Anonymous Coward · 2007-04-27 00:06 · Score: 0

On the other hand, if OPEC suddenly switched to petroeuros, EMU would get an interest free trillion dollar loan.
Re:I'm just waiting... by Anonymous Coward · 2007-04-27 00:22 · Score: 0

As of today, one Pound (£) = $1.9999

Therefore you could well call it the £87 laptop
Re:I'm just waiting... by EsbenMoseHansen · 2007-04-27 01:10 · Score: 2, Informative

Personally, I wish Denmark would just join the Euro. Our money is so ugly now that my eyes wants to cry every time I see them. I think this is a conspiracy to make the Danish want to join the Euro. (It works on me, too!)

Yeah, because having pretty notes makes up for the fact that you have interest rates set over the whole eurozone by the somewhat inscrutable ECB, rather than set by (I guess) an independant central bank in Denmark.
Yep. Very independent. Sometimes, it takes hours before it mirrors every ECB decision ;)
The trouble is that DK finance is just too interwoven with (especially) the Swedish, Norwegian, UK and German economy to just go our own way. Since Euro would nail 3 out of 4, I think it would be better.
At least, traveling abroad would be much easier :) (well, unless going out of EU, or going to any of the pockets'o'resistance within, but still).

--
Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by rulers as useful.
Re:I'm just waiting... by Colin+Smith · 2007-04-27 01:15 · Score: 1

I can never work out whether a strong pound is good or bad for Britain - whichever sector is hurt by the current situation always screams about it so loudly you'd think the world was coming to an end. As you surmised, it's good for some people, bad for others. It's neither good nor bad overall for Britain. The main problem is that industry has strong lobby groups who shout loudest at the government to drive the currency in one direction or another to further their own personal interest at the expense of the rest of the population within the country.

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Re:I'm just waiting... by Colin+Smith · 2007-04-27 01:27 · Score: 1

What makes currency traders, central bank managers, and others who work with the U.S. Dollar lose sleep is the fear that some day soon, the rest of the OPEC countries will announce a switch from selling crude oil in Dollars to Euros. They're already dumping their reserve of US debt, hence the falling dollar and increasing interest rates. What would happen is that euros would become the reserve currency. Now, this means that the Euro would be in great demand, the central banks would need to hold trillions worth of the stuff and the value of a Euro would increase dramatically.
It would also be a bad thing for Europe, because we would see our pump prices jump by at least 40%, and more likely the increase would be close to 100% as the world economies adjusted to the new "base" currency. In fact the reverse would happen. Everything would start to become cheaper, including gas. The Euro would gain huge amounts of buying power. Given 30 years the Euro and europeans would be in the same position as the dollar is now. The politicians would be printing them with abandon to finance their pet war and europeans would be fat and lazy because of the flood of cheap imports, jobs would be flooding abroad even faster because the europeans are too expensive.

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Re:I'm just waiting... by Anonymous Coward · 2007-04-27 01:59 · Score: 0

Actually, the Euro was initial set around $1.20. So it
takes about 13% more, not 36% more. You are off by
only a factor almost 3. It's amazing how mis-information
just gets spewed and spewed and spewed. That's why
America is in Iraq you know, and that is probably
the entire 13% right there.
Re:I'm just waiting... by e2d2 · 2007-04-27 02:16 · Score: 1

Actually the Swiss Franc still exists.

Also, just curious - why should someone's stupidity "seriously concern" me?
Re:I'm just waiting... by kidcharles · 2007-04-27 04:54 · Score: 1

Also, just curious - why should someone's stupidity "seriously concern" me? It depends, are we talking about some random poster on Slashdot or the President of the United States?

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Ceci n'est pas une sig.
Re:I'm just waiting... by museumpeace · 2007-04-27 05:18 · Score: 1

funny but insightful too. the temptation to mock this project because of its optimistic name is shortchanging a lot of other good hopes. In the time elapsed since this was first proposed, the dollar has fallen drastically against most other currencies. The full inflation effects of that will be a while catching up to us but most of the parts in that computer are not made in countries where workers are paid dollars.

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Re:I'm just waiting... by ponos · 2007-04-27 05:29 · Score: 1

Yeah, Europeans should be very worried. Their stores are getting flooded by cheap american imports that local companies can not compete with under a 50% premium. Their jobs are getting outsourced to US. They are losing their import market to US companies that are able to offer a much better price. European tourists go and spend money abroad rather than investing it back into local economy.

On the other hand, the buying power of the average American worker steadily decreases. Take gold, for example. And europeans are not THAT eager to spend money on American products: cheap stuff comes from the east, not from the US. Also, consider the fact that many European companies provide "luxury" products and services (e.g. Porsche cars or Italian clothes) which compete in their own market segment.

I am not really an expert, but I have to assume that the guys at the central European bank have taken all these factors into account and are not being total idiots (the same could be said, of course, about the American federal bank, but the context is different).
P.
Re:I'm just waiting... by westlake · 2007-04-27 16:20 · Score: 1

..for the first person to complain that it doesn't run Vista
But it will be running Windows. OLPC: Now $175 and Windows XP Ready

Why not....? by cyberbob2351 · 2007-04-26 13:22 · Score: 2, Interesting

Instead of:
"one laptop per child"
which are devices that hardly fit the description of "rugged"..

why aren't we going for:
"One desktop per family"?

Much easier to repair when broken, and that lends itself better to donations of old equipment.

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for sale
I'm a self-modifying sig virus

Re:Why not....? by fractoid · 2007-04-26 13:29 · Score: 5, Insightful

Desktops are only more repairable if you have a geek-type house with a stash of spare parts. Try troubleshooting a desktop on a dirt floor in a mud hut and you'll find that it's a lot more delicate than a sealed unit. It looks to me like the OLPC is aiming at the sweet spot between 'rugged' and 'cheap', which will let the units get the maximum use per dollar in their target environment. Kind of like those kiddie computers you can buy (sealed unit, membrane keyboard, small LCD) but with enough grunt to be useful as an actual work or learning tool.

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Rampant carbon sequestration destroyed the Dinosaurs' tropical paradise. I'm here to help repair the damage.
Re:Why not....? by yoprst · 2007-04-26 13:30 · Score: 0, Troll

It seems that OLPC designed to be used by people living in caves (no energy source at all, no communications at all) . Desktop isn't. Besides, the cheapest way to get a desktop is to get an outdated desktop from local source (You don't want to ship a pc that costs $50 over Atlantic)
Re:Why not....? by QuantumG · 2007-04-26 13:30 · Score: 1

Why are you not reading the FAQ?

Alternatively, if you're so smart - you obviously have all the answers - where's your program to help the uneducated poor of the world? Oh, right, it's easy to bag someone else's project than do something yourself.

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How we know is more important than what we know.
Re:Why not....? by Anonymous Coward · 2007-04-26 13:32 · Score: 0

nyeer, lack of a stable power supply to drive your wasteful desktop processor and 17" fishbowl monitor?

"Dad! I want to use the computer!"

"Sure son, once Haliburton sort out the 'lectric and stop shooting people in the face".
Re:Why not....? by Anonymous Coward · 2007-04-26 13:37 · Score: 1, Insightful

Not everybody with a valid complaint about something know the immediate solution.
Re:Why not....? by cyberbob2351 · 2007-04-26 13:39 · Score: 0, Offtopic

Wow, I'd say you should quit being so confrontational and insulting before making a reply.

Aside from this, did you ever consider perhaps a modular power system that could potentially supply power to a myriad of devices?

AAAANNNNDDD - as it turns out, I DO have two skunkworks projects to help the poor uneducated people of the world.(One a centralized free repository to host free lecture material). Of course you wouldn't know that, because you jump to conclusions about people you have never met.

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for sale
I'm a self-modifying sig virus
Re:Why not....? by Bryan+Ischo · 2007-04-26 13:43 · Score: 2, Insightful

I think that likely the reason the GP was so harsh was that they're tired of reading dismissive comments posted without even the most basic research into the problem, which happens all the time whenever OLPC is brought up. I am tired of such comments too.
Re:Why not....? by QuantumG · 2007-04-26 13:48 · Score: 1, Flamebait

No, I rightfully went off at you for not even bothering to read the FAQ before asking a question.

That's what a FAQ is for.

If you don't like it, go hang out on a non-geek website where people don't mind rehashing the same questions over and over again.

This is why we have netiquette.

In fact, I think you know that you did the wrong thing and now you're trying to be indignant about it to save face.

Suck it up, take your lumps, read the FAQ and get behind this great project.

If we're lucky they'll get this out the door before their pandering to Microsoft turns it into a way to exploit the poor instead of helping educate them.

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How we know is more important than what we know.
Re:Why not....? by burns210 · 2007-04-26 14:07 · Score: 4, Informative

which are devices that hardly fit the description of "rugged"..
Have you actually used one? Like, at all? The machines are quite "rugged". Or were you just making a baseless claim?
As for why not desktop machines? Power requirements and portability are two of the reasons.
Re:Why not....? by Anonymous Coward · 2007-04-26 14:19 · Score: 0

Wow, if those children have people like you across the world trying to help them, who needs dictators?
Re:Why not....? by Trogre · 2007-04-26 14:20 · Score: 2, Funny

Because "family" is an anti-socialist term and is no longer politically correct.

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"Nine times out of ten, starting a fire is not the best way to solve the problem." - my wife
Re:Why not....? by Anonymous Coward · 2007-04-26 15:10 · Score: 0

"+3, Funny"?

That's actually quite sad.

So, so sad.
Re:Why not....? by sumdumass · 2007-04-26 15:14 · Score: 1

This is slashdot. It is a staple around here. I would suggest not marketing their material if they aren't ready to accept this. Most likely if the "rude one" wouldn't have ignored the post, Someone else would have set him straight or a discussion might have ensued that could have made some difference.

At least you, had the civility to maintain your cool when posting your reply. If you are tired of such comments too, then you are proof that your don't need to be an ass to get a point across. Anyways, Thank you for not being an ass.
Re:Why not....? by sumdumass · 2007-04-26 15:17 · Score: 1

Well, because of your tyrate, the FAQ pages have been slashdoted and I cannot read. Could you at least give us a hint at what the almighty FAQ says? Or maybe give us a link to the FAG page?
Re:Why not....? by Jeff+DeMaagd · 2007-04-26 15:27 · Score: 1

One problem is power. There isn't consistent power in many places. The OLPC unit has a wind-up crank for situations there is no power.

One advantage is part of Jet Blue's maintenance model. Standardizing on one design means that parts are probably easier to manage and inventory, and training and documentation can be simplified. And if you had to, you can part out one device and possibly make five other broken units, assuming the broken part in each unit is different. Working with donated computers means that there will probably be different generations of parts, different drivers (bigger drive images or more images), different CPU types, different types of memory, and the part you need might not be available.
Re:Why not....? by Anonymous Coward · 2007-04-26 15:31 · Score: 0

No, I'm pretty sure it was supposed to be a joke.

The word "family" is quite politically correct, although it generally translates to "sex politics" in a political context (e.g. Focus on the Family).

Not sure what this has to do with socialism though. I guess families are communes, which are anti-socialist? I never said it was a good joke...
Re:Why not....? by DeadChobi · 2007-04-26 15:39 · Score: 1

And furthermore we shouldn't require that one have a solution in order to be allowed to complain. Should I stop complaining about the world's energy crisis since I don't have a solution to the problem? What about poverty, or global warming, or world war, or anything else that people would/are complain(ing) about?

You should never use the lack of an immediate solution be the reason you don't point out a problem. /OT

Doesn't that defeat the whole purpose of calling it the $100 laptop in the first place? It's supposed to be ultra-affordable but then you jack up the price.

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SRSLY.
Re:Why not....? by DeadChobi · 2007-04-26 15:44 · Score: 1

Remember Comrades, with every thrust and sigh remember that you're doing her for Big Brother! Down with Emmanuel Goldstein! Ingsoc Up! BB! BB! BB! BB! BB! ...and I'm spent.

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SRSLY.
Re:Why not....? by cyberbob2351 · 2007-04-26 16:12 · Score: 0, Flamebait
- For what it's worth, I read the FAQ, but it still does not invalidate my claim. I do not AGREE with the argument the faq sets forth. I do not agree with the fact that portability should be the biggest concern. Many would even agree that providing food to the starving would be a more important expenditure given the efficiencies involved of raising the quality of life per capita. Arguments like these are not destructive: they NEED to be considered.
- Furthermore, I still get the impression you are resorting to "you think you are so smart" arguments, so if you would like to play that game, fine. Take my word for it that I'm fairly well educated. 3 degrees in physics, math, and astronomy. I work for NASA and I've likely got far more humanitarian goals AND accomplishments then you will ever surmount to. (But of course, Im not ass-uming here. Im sure your lovely writeups on cygwin fixes and gtk wrappers are doing the whole world a lot of good. Why dont YOU engage in helping out with the issue of education of the poor? As I mentioned before, I am engaged in similar projects, I just have nothing to show for them yet since they are still in planning phase.)
- Next, take a gander at this article. Try doing the mathematics and work out for yourself the amount of time and resources it would cost to redistribute these old computer peripherals to the poor. It shouldn't take long to realize that although the technology isn't as well suited for wireless low power consuming portable bahavior, that the important thing is getting the technology to people who need it regardless of how new it is.
- If you are reading this, and you haven't pulled out a 4-function calculator to find the computer donation rate achievable, given adequate volunteer manpower to repair and reinstall, then you lack an open mind.
- Still not convinced? Then you must also not give a damn about the shitload of toxic wastes found in computer monitors that is being incinerated or buried as a result of this upgrade cycle most gamers feel comfortable with.
- Lastly, get off the fucking anti-microsoft bullshit you idiot. I may not microsoft either, but at least I am mature enough to recognize that he at least has a philanthropic bone in his body. In fact, he rises to the pinnacle of giving money to charity.
In fact, I think you know that you did the wrong thing and now you're trying to be indignant about it to save face.
I have't done anything wrong or insulting. Until now that is. You are a fucking asshole. YOU need to read up on appropriate netiquette. People like you, who start flame wars over casual criticisms (whether they be sensible or not), are the kinds of fucks that make honest scientific inquiry and intellectual debate impossible. I don't care how humanitarian an organization is, I have every right to suggest possible improvements and attempt to win over more people to make life better on this pathetic world of ours.

And, for what it's worth, I think I will start by ignoring trolls such as yourself, who do nothing but bring down what could otherwise be nice intellectual conversations.
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for sale
I'm a self-modifying sig virus
Re:Why not....? by Anonymous Coward · 2007-04-26 16:22 · Score: 0

where's your program to help the uneducated poor of the world? Well, according to your personal website, it seems that this is the way you spend YOUR time.

fucking hypocrite, you're one of those snotty CS freshman or something aren't you?
Re:Why not....? by QuantumG · 2007-04-26 17:43 · Score: 1

I don't know if you're stupid or just bigoted, but the best technology we have is still not good enough for the poorest people in the world. It is too expensive, uses too much power, breaks too easily and is unable to be repaired in the field. These are real challenges that the OLPC project has solved.. but you wouldn't know that, cause you can't even set aside an hour to do some basic research. Just shut the fuck up ok? You don't know what you're talking about. You're just confusing people. You're a spectator. If you want to get involved, then your opinion might count for shit. But you don't. You just wanna pull other people down, who are actually doing something, unlike you.

You're not capable of intellectual conversation.

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How we know is more important than what we know.
Re:Why not....? by stephanruby · 2007-04-26 17:48 · Score: 1

why aren't we going for: "One desktop per family"?

Because children are pure. After all, you couldn't have teenagers or adults get their grubby little hands on laptops.
Re:Why not....? by Anonymous Coward · 2007-04-26 18:02 · Score: 0

Try troubleshooting a desktop on a dirt floor in a mud hut...

Duh, it is a "desk"top, not a "dirtfloor"top.

And where, pray tell, is this mud hut of which you speak? I'd think a shack in a shantytown would be more common, albeit more depressing.
Re:Why not....? by youthoftoday · 2007-04-26 19:36 · Score: 4, Informative

I was doing tech support to a school network in Uganda a couple of years ago. They had a room full of machines. This was a concrete building with a good roof, but even so the 'mud hut' effect still happened. The amount of dirt that got inside EVERYTHING was frankly astounding. I'll never forget the day I spent removing bat droppings from all the mice.
So in hot, dusty under-developed countries, it is a problem. And the OLPC's membrane keyboard and sealed widgets are certainly welcome.

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-1 not first post
Re:Why not....? by jsoderba · 2007-04-26 22:32 · Score: 1

The OLPC unit does not have a wind-up crank. It uses an ordinary battery. There is a cranked generator available as an accessory, but it was unfeasible to integrate. Most kids will be charging their machines from the grid (at school, if they don't have power at home.) (Technology Review)
Re:Why not....? by Dogtanian · 2007-04-26 23:04 · Score: 1

If Jesus Jesus likely wasn't the pretty blonde-haired, blue-eyed guy you'd like to believe. He was born in the middle-east, and I'm willing to bet that if he'd looked notably different from the darkish-skinned, dark-haired semitic/Arab/whatever appearance it'd have been a big deal and mentioned in the Bible. It wasn't. Thus, Jesus probably looked more like one of those turrurists than an all-American. So there!
had wanted them to amount to anything He would have had them born among reputable White people He didn't do that because he couldn't find any reputable white people :-P

--
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Re:Why not....? by Goaway · 2007-04-27 00:33 · Score: 1

Because you can't bring a desktop with you into the classroom.
Re:Why not....? by Anonymous Coward · 2007-04-27 00:43 · Score: 0

So basically we can meet the need by simply getting our hands on several thousand Toughbook CF-25 laptops, install edubuntu and call it done?

I can get that old of the toughbook for less than $140.00 each on ebay intact and without much wear and will more than likely be far more rugged than the green toy. I am betting if you looked you can find a wearhouse full of them somewhere that will seel less with a bulk buy.
another advantage that series of toughbooks can stop bullets, are big enough to kill a tiger with and look damn cool.
Re:Why not....? by dour+power · 2007-04-27 01:29 · Score: 1

but even so the 'mud hut' effect still happened. The amount of dirt that got inside EVERYTHING was frankly astounding. I'll never forget the day I spent removing bat droppings from all the mice. Man, did I read that wrong the first time. I thought the poster was some kind of neat freak who tried to clean bat droppings off of the furry-four-legged type of mice.
Re:Why not....? by arth1 · 2007-04-27 01:52 · Score: 1

The OLPC unit has a wind-up crank for situations there is no power.

Had a crank. Now it may be an optional accessory for some models, but that's far from certain.
As of the latest design, they'll have NiMH batteries, which have to be charged from a wall outlet. With the problems inherent to NiMH, like high self-discharge, dead batteries if discharged too fully, and severely shortened life in high temperatures, or if maintenance cycles aren't run. IOW, regular plugging in to the wall is not just a good idea, but a MUST for NiMH batteries, and air conditioning is a plus too. For us rich laptop users, that's never been a problem, but for the poorest people who this is allegedly intended for?

Features drop and the price goes up. One could almost be tempted to think it an Art Lebedev product...
Re:Why not....? by geek2k5 · 2007-04-27 02:50 · Score: 1

Desktops assume that you have a reliable source of power, which many areas lack.

You also need to consider what happens when you have a large family, or perhaps an extended family. If all children have their own machine, they can spend more time learning.

Another thing to consider is how to deal with a nomadic or semi-nomadic population. A laptop is much easier to handle when you are moving sheep or goats from one grazing are to another.
Re:Why not....? by harrkev · 2007-04-27 03:06 · Score: 2, Interesting

It isn't just spare parts.

If we go for desktop machines, there are two approaches:

** Custom-built **
All machines would be the same. Yes, you can swap parts, but the system as a whole will be more expensive. Pluggable cards means a bigger case (more money), more connectors (more money), more board space (more money), more mounting hardware (more money), and more complex assembly (more money).

** Ad-hoc systems **
This uses hardware "cast-offs," such as outdated technology (would be great for the environment, since you could recycle old computer systems). This also presents problems, since each system would be, in effect, unique. Some would have sound card A, some would have sound card B. Others would have graphics card X and even more would have graphics card Y. Same goes for mobo chipsets.

Just ask a big business how well this works. This greatly complicates administration when you have to include different drivers. Businesses tend to buy a lot of computers that look alike just to make the job of maintaining them easier.

Another thing to keep in mind is that outdated technology was once top-of-the-line bleed-edge power-hungry technology. Even a Pentium 133MHz system still probably required a 150 Watt power supply. That is a LOT of hand-cranking on a generator if the village does not have electricity.

*** OLPC approach ***
Also, keep in mind that the OLPC has no moving parts. The hard drive has been replaced with flash memory. Everything runs cool so there are no fans and no posibility of overheating. These things should be VERY reliable, assuming the kids don't use them for footballs. Hardware is uniform. If the software works on one system, it will work on them all (the only thing that won't be uniform is the local language).

I want one...

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Re:Why not....? by dubbreak · 2007-04-27 03:20 · Score: 1

Happened to me too. I read it as:

"I'll never forget the day I spent removing bat droppings from all the little rodents"

I'll never forget the day I spent removing bat droppings from all the human input devices"

Good example of why to use mouses instead of mice when talking about the computer periprial.

--
"If you are going through hell, keep going." - Winston Churchill
Re:Why not....? by SCO+STINKS · 2007-04-27 03:29 · Score: 0

Much easier to repair when broken, and that lends itself better to donations of old equipment.

Most of these families do not have a power source in their home. These laptops can be charged by hand.
Also, I believe internet access is supposed to be supplied via wireless so the old equipment would have to be outfitted for wireless.

--
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Re:Why not....? by DrgnDancer · 2007-04-27 03:40 · Score: 3, Informative

Yeah, I was the info systems officer for a National Guard unit in Iraq. We had a mix of hardened laptops and off the shelf desktops. Lemme tell you which ones did better. We lost on average a desktop a month, and all told I had the hard drive on one of the hardened laptops die. This was over a one year period, and we were in decently built climate controlled wood structures. This program will do MUCH better with the laptops assuming they're as well built as claimed.

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Re:Why not....? by Scrameustache · 2007-04-27 04:49 · Score: 1

why aren't we going for:
"One desktop per family"? [...] lends itself better to donations of old equipment. Because they're going to people without desks.
Because they're going to people without a power grid.
Because a child can't lug a desktop to school.

The point is to provide for their computing needs, not to pander to your desire for a tax write off for a donation of your old junker desktop.

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You can't take the sky from me...
Re:Why not....? by Acer500 · 2007-04-27 05:07 · Score: 1

I was doing tech support to a school network in Uganda a couple of years ago.(snipped)
So in hot, dusty under-developed countries, it is a problem. And the OLPC's membrane keyboard and sealed widgets are certainly welcome. I'm from Uruguay, and while the OLPCs will certainly be welcome, the "mud hut" stereotype certainly doesn't apply, and I'd worry more about humidity than dust over here.

Here's a photo of a better than average, but still representative, school over here (I work in the next-door building btw):

http://www.infanciaenred.org.ar/margarita/Uruguay2 /escuela_urug2.asp

--
There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.
Re:Why not....? by youthoftoday · 2007-04-27 05:15 · Score: 1

The German word for bat is something like flying mouse. Perhaps wireless mouse would be the modern day equivalent.

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-1 not first post
Re:Why not....? by youthoftoday · 2007-04-27 05:20 · Score: 1

In fact, computers in general were designed to be used in clean, western business offices. It's a wonder they've come as far as they have. I think it's an interesting point how the use of computers has evolved from big old VAXes to the powerbook I type on and take eeverywhere with me, driven both by technolgy and the way we wantto use them.
The growth of OLPC (and rugged machines in general) is only an extension of that usage trend -- into unknown territory, granted -- but an extension none the less.

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-1 not first post
Re:Why not....? by Aliriza · 2007-04-28 03:50 · Score: 1

Do you believe this people living mud huts , will have these laptops.Of course not cause people living ivory towers can not understand poor people. Imo I agree that a desktop (portable desktop maybe smaller) would be cheaper and faster. These laptops are jokes.

The price will go down when they get more volume. by QuantumG · 2007-04-26 13:22 · Score: 5, Insightful

and thanks to Moore's law.

This isn't news, they've been saying this for over a year now.

--
How we know is more important than what we know.

Expressed interest by jamesl · 2007-04-26 13:24 · Score: 3, Insightful

Expressed interest. Expressed interest. Expressed interest. That's all we hear. Expressed interest. When's someone going to express a little cash?

Re:Expressed interest by davmoo · 2007-04-26 13:35 · Score: 0

And in addition, if this were a Microsoft product, everyone would be yelling "vaporware!" and bitching about the price increase.

--
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Re:Expressed interest by jd · 2007-04-26 13:54 · Score: 2, Funny

Why cash? Shouldn't it be American Expressed?

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It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
Re:Expressed interest by sukotto · 2007-04-26 14:44 · Score: 1

I'd buy 2 or 3 of these right now if they were available.

--
Come play free flash games on Kongregate!
Re:Expressed interest by Anonymous Coward · 2007-04-26 14:47 · Score: 0

Let me express this.

I've two benjamins with their name on them. Come on already - get it out to the market. People spends 500 bucks for iPhone, that fashion accessory. FFS put it out there.
Re:Expressed interest by grcumb · 2007-04-26 14:55 · Score: 4, Informative
And in addition, if this were a Microsoft product, everyone would be yelling "vaporware!" and bitching about the price increase.

OLPC would qualify as vapourware if:
- The first production run weren't already going ahead.
- There weren't already programmes in place to deploy this laptop, and lots more in the works.
- The company producing them hadn't already stated their desire to market them into the consumer supply chain as well.
For those of you keeping score, India's attempt at this died on the vine, Microsoft's $600-cell-phone-attached-to-keyboard-and-TV alternative does meet the criteria for vapourware. Intel's ClassmatePC is barely out of the gate. And AMD's offering seems to have been shelved (wisely, perhaps) in favour of OLPC.

Near as I can tell, OLPC is the one project that least resembles vapourware of all the announced projects out there.
--
Crumb's Corollary: Never bring a knife to a bun fight.
Re:Expressed interest by griffjon · 2007-04-26 15:58 · Score: 1

Yes, developing countries should be lining up to take out loans to pay for a totally new piece of hardare with a new software interface as well in hopes that without any pilot projects or proven track records.

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Returned Peace Corps IT Volunteer
Re:Expressed interest by Orlando · 2007-04-26 17:16 · Score: 1

According to this article - The governments that have committed to buy laptops for their schoolchildren include Argentina, Brazil, Libya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Thailand and Uruguay.

So it sounds like governments are starting to put their money on the table.

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Re:Expressed interest by Acer500 · 2007-04-27 05:55 · Score: 1

The government of Uruguay (my country) has commited 50 million dollars to the project, if it survives next year's budget assignment (aka political slugfest) it's a done deal.

And it will, the government is making this a high-profile part of their campaign, and the "think-of-the-children" part will make it political suicide to cancel.

http://www.presidencia.gub.uy/_Web/noticias/2006/1 2/2006121402.htm

--
There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.
Re:Expressed interest by rtechie · 2007-05-02 17:27 · Score: 1

Near as I can tell, OLPC is the one project that least resembles vapourware of all the announced projects out there. The ClassmatePC is shipping, the OLPC isn't. Why does it more closely resemble vaporware?

Needs a new name by wmwilson01 · 2007-04-26 13:24 · Score: 5, Funny

I think they should rename this to One Laptop per 0.57 Child

Re:Needs a new name by Anonymous Coward · 2007-04-26 13:43 · Score: 1, Informative

you meant one laptop every 1.75 child or 0.57 laptop per child
Re:Needs a new name by El_Isma · 2007-04-26 14:03 · Score: 0, Redundant

You meant "One Laptop per 1.75 Child".
Re:Needs a new name by edwardaux · 2007-04-26 16:34 · Score: 1

Naw... they just need better marketing (like those responsible for the "unlimited" ISP plans). How about:
For a limited time only, get your $100 laptop *
(*) For sufficiently small values of $175

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edwardaux

Re:DAMN IT, SLASHDOT!!! by Anonymous Coward · 2007-04-26 13:25 · Score: 1, Funny

Exactly,rRot in hell you rich bastard. Made a million a year in the 60's. Fuck You, I hope it hurt on the way out.

175 != 100 by Anonymous Coward · 2007-04-26 13:25 · Score: 0

175 is well above 100... like 75%. I would say that misses the target a bit. What gives?

No story here. by Anonymous Coward · 2007-04-26 13:25 · Score: 1, Interesting

It's $175 now but will hopefully cost $100 by the time it's up for sale, so AP don't really have a story.

Re:No story here. by Lumpy · 2007-04-26 13:33 · Score: 0, Troll

not if the US dollar keeps spiraling out of control.

It's still less than 100 pounds or euros.

Just because our government has completely tanked out economy does not mean this project failed.

They still have the same costs, the US dollar is simply worth 1/2 as much as it was 2 years ago.

--
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
Re:No story here. by Dara+Hazeghi · 2007-04-26 13:53 · Score: 5, Informative

Either you're a crazed hippie completely out of touch with reality, or you're a troll:

Euro value 4/26/05 = $1.29
Euro value 4/26/07 = $1.36

Not exactly spiraling out of control. Total loss of value in two years = 5.2%, not half.

--
Left 404: Why the RIGHT is WRONG
Re:No story here. by Anonymous Coward · 2007-04-26 13:59 · Score: 0

I hope you get more stuff stolen from your house.
Re:No story here. by hax0r_this · 2007-04-26 14:00 · Score: 1

Thats not total loss, thats the change in value relative to the Euro.
Re:No story here. by maxume · 2007-04-26 14:00 · Score: 1

Not 1/2 in any meaningful way. Let me know when food prices double.

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Nerd rage is the funniest rage.
Re:No story here. by Anonymous Coward · 2007-04-26 14:03 · Score: 0

"Instead of $175, let's load Windows on it, sell them for $500, and then sell them a subscription to OneCare! And we could always get add-on sales of MS Office from the little buggars." -S. Ballmer
Re:No story here. by N8F8 · 2007-04-26 14:09 · Score: 1

Uh, wake up call. The US economy is arguably the best economy in the history of the world. In fact, it's probably down hill from here. Record unemployment. Low interest rates. DJIA highest ever. Dude, let go the crackpipe and look around.

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"God fights on the side with the best artillery." - Napoleon, Marshal of France - speaking truth to power
Re:No story here. by Cutie+Pi · 2007-04-26 14:40 · Score: 1

Since you're such an authority on the subject, why don't you put some real numbers behind your statement like the GP? What is the "total loss"?
Re:No story here. by The+One+and+Only · 2007-04-26 14:40 · Score: 1

So the Euro lost value as well? As did every other currency you could make the same comparison to? I suppose this also means that all US prices doubled?

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Re:No story here. by TheSeer2 · 2007-04-26 14:42 · Score: 1

Low interest rates means a struggling economy, normal interest rates at the indicator of a good economy. (The reason you have low interest rates is because the reserve bank reduced them significantly after 9/11 due to the economic impact).
Re:No story here. by Coryoth · 2007-04-26 14:49 · Score: 3, Informative

Picking a couple of points isn't the most robust measure, especially with things as potentially volaile as currency. If you look at the five year trend, it doesn't look so good. The US dollar rallied a little in late 05, early 06, but generally it's steadily sinking down. The Grandparent post is radically overstating things, but the picture isn't as rosy as you want to make out either.

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Craft Beer Programming T-shirts
Re:No story here. by robinvanleeuwen · 2007-04-26 15:55 · Score: 1

Yes but the hardware costs of the laptop will go down with $65.9,
in a year, which in techland is more than possible, you'll end up
with:

$175 - 5.2% - $65.9 = $100

So by the time these things will become available for the masses
they'll cost $100.

--
If you don't like my sig then don't read it.
Re:No story here. by Lost+Engineer · 2007-04-26 16:58 · Score: 1

How many times do I have to tell people. Money that sits still is next to worthless. You can't stash it all under your mattress and then get pissed when it's not worth anything any more. If you'd put it in an international index fund in early-to-mid '06 (I won't advertise any, but they're not hard to find) you'd be 20% richer right now.

If you have no faith in the dollar, then invest in Euros or gold. You don't even have to leave the country. If you can't handle that then, well... Wal-Mart will always keep rolling back prices for you.
Re:No story here. by Anonymous Coward · 2007-04-27 00:13 · Score: 0

I'd not put one US dollar into the bastardization of a currency system known as the Euro. I'd rather pour French wine down the gutter. It would accomplish about the same thing. No my investments will stay right here where it benefits the US thanks...
Re:No story here. by adrianbaugh · 2007-04-27 02:02 · Score: 1

Compared with the dollar it might not be, but the dollar hasn't exactly been excelling itself recently either. A couple of years ago 1 GBP was worth about 1.40 USD; now it's within spitting distance of $2.

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- JRR Tolkien.
Re:No story here. by sumdumass · 2007-04-27 02:46 · Score: 1

It must be getting close to election season. It is the only reason why someone would repeat this nonsense in a forum were people are able to use computers, the Internet, and generally verify claims that seem to rash like this.

The dollar is within 10 cents of were it was 2 years ago and 15 cents of were it was a year and a half ago. And it would be 128 or so EUROs and around 100 pounds. But the pounds have always been relatively this much higher then the dollar (withing 20 cents or so)

And the economy isn't tanked or anything such. The same things that made Clinton's economy the best ever are the same markers today that are breaking records. Unemployment is at an all time low, the stock markets are at an all time high, more people then ever are buying this own home. More minorities then ever are now homeowners. Tax revenue it increasing beyond the expectations of congress. Even with the tax cuts, In 2006 the US government took in almost 580 billion more then it did in 1999 when we had the balanced budget. And this is even considering the recession and the problem after 9/11. You cannot say the economy is tanked and realistically mean it.

me thinks kids in inner city schoos ... by porky_pig_jr · 2007-04-26 13:27 · Score: 1

are sufficiently poor to warrant OLTP in USA.

Re:me thinks kids in inner city schoos ... by sumdumass · 2007-04-26 13:38 · Score: 1

The only thing they want to help the USA out with is taking their money.

Do you remember a while back were they were saying buy a OLPC for a kid for $200 or so? I'm wondering how long they have known about this price and sat on it?
Re:me thinks kids in inner city schoos ... by Kohath · 2007-04-26 13:58 · Score: 1

No. The "inner city schools" get about $10,000 per child per year in tax money. Quite a bit more than that in many places.
Re:me thinks kids in inner city schoos ... by photomonkey · 2007-04-26 14:15 · Score: 2, Interesting

Fuckin' a, buddy. I'm all in favor of helping humanity, that is other humans, in any way possible, but every time someone looks to take on a humanitarian aid project they look to do it overseas.

Our schools here in the US are total shitboxes (most of them, and not as bad as those in some other countries), we have starving people just like everywhere else, homelessness is on the rise, New Orleans is still somewhere between the stone age and the 21st century, etc., etc., etc.

Keeping stuff like this out of the hands of American kids who need a little help, just to watch it all go overseas is kinda stupid. What's the worst that's going to happen? Kids will benefit from having the technology and people will realize that they don't need $2,000 laptops (with expensive operating systems and productivity suites) to look at porn and read emails, or maybe do a little homework?

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Re:me thinks kids in inner city schoos ... by QuantumG · 2007-04-26 14:21 · Score: 2, Insightful

You don't need a low power rugged laptop in a society with ample power and concrete floors.

On the other hand, if you're interested in starting a project to help inner city schools, why don't you?

--
How we know is more important than what we know.
Re:me thinks kids in inner city schoos ... by bjorniac · 2007-04-26 15:03 · Score: 1

Ah, but we can help humans here in the USA. Stop voting in far right governments that don't fund social welfare programs. Vote for someone who'd put money into schools, health care and training for the unemployed. Just think how good a school system we could have gotten for the cost of the Iraq war, and how much it would have positively benefited the economy in the long run.

But then again, Diebold isn't a teachers union, and politicians don't get big bucks from the education sector, so I guess nothing will change.
Re:me thinks kids in inner city schoos ... by griffjon · 2007-04-26 15:54 · Score: 1

There are lots of programs aimed at expanding access in the US also, and Quanta, the OLPC manufacturer, is planning to sell OLPC-like computers for $200 next year

--
Returned Peace Corps IT Volunteer
Re:me thinks kids in inner city schoos ... by DeadChobi · 2007-04-26 15:58 · Score: 4, Insightful

The best thing the federal government could possibly ever do for the public schools is actually put some funding behind the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and No Child Left Behind. They make a fuckton of demands on the public schools, but then they don't back it up with funding. It's been like that since the 70's. Frankly if you're going to place strict requirements on the schools that they educate *everyone* even at significant expense, you should put your money where your mouth is.

Would you be upset if your boss told you "Okay bub, do this, this, and this. But I'm not gonna pay you for it since you're doing such a good job already."

And as for our schools being shitboxes I've got a questionnaire I'd like to ask you:

1.) Can you read?
2.) Can you write coherently?
3.) Can you do mathematics?
4.) Do you have a job that is not simply menial in nature?
5.) Do you have a decent understanding that there is a world outside your state?
6.) Were your parents able to work while you were growing up?

If you answered yes to any of the questions above, you may have benefited from a free public education.

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SRSLY.
Re:me thinks kids in inner city schoos ... by Reality+Master+101 · 2007-04-26 16:29 · Score: 0, Troll

They make a fuckton of demands on the public schools, but then they don't back it up with funding.

The kids are already there, the teacher's already there, the school's already there. What, exactly, is more money going to accomplish? Why can't they simply do their job?

Pardon my bluntness, but screw the whining teachers, and administrators and unions! MY demand is that they do their job, and every student better leave their classroom educated to the best of their abilities. The fact that the feds have to demand high standards is an absolutely shameful reflection of public schools.

--
Sometimes it's best to just let stupid people be stupid.
Re:me thinks kids in inner city schoos ... by Bryan+Ischo · 2007-04-26 16:56 · Score: 4, Insightful

The problem is endemic to a society that does not value education, and does not place personable responsibility above entitlement. In this case, the knife cuts both ways: stingy and selfish people do not want to fund schools; and apathetic and irresponsible parents do not enforce proper behavior in their children either at school or at home.

I guess that some people believe that other places have the opposite problem of the USA; whereas the USA has too many resources and not enough personal responsibility, there is a belief that other places, especially third world countries, have personal responsibility but not enough resources. So the goal of projects like this is to try to help people who, it is believed, would actually make something out of themselves given the chance, instead of squander whatever resources are spent to attempt to help them better themselves.

My personal opinion is that, the difference between the uneducated in the USA and the uneducated in a third world country is likely to be alot less than what other people may believe. I have been to a decent number of places in the world and the thing which strikes me most is that people everywhere are pretty much the same. The only real difference is the larger circumstances, usually beyond their control, that they find themselves living in. I think that more children in a third world country would benefit from something like OLPC than would children in the USA, but more because of their circumstances than anything else. In both cases, I think the number of actual children who will benefit from being given a free laptop with educational tools on it is not as high as philanthropists would like to believe.

That being said, I am a 100% supporter of OLPC because, first I think it's a cool project from a technical standpoint, and second, I think it *will* provide some benefit to today's generation of third-world children, and that this benefit will be multiplied as these children grow up and can help to educate even more of the next generation of third-world children. Also I like to hope that I am wrong in my assessment of humanity, and that things will go much better than I would have predicted.
Re:me thinks kids in inner city schoos ... by photomonkey · 2007-04-26 17:34 · Score: 2, Informative

I did benefit from my education. I went to a shithole schools all the way up to my university years. There I learned that the system wouldn't teach me anything other than the fact that my education and my future were entirely up to me because most of the teachers, other kids and parents simply didn't give a shit.

I spent much of my formative years outside of the classroom in the local library. Sure I played sports and videogames. I was a pretty well-rounded kid. No thanks to the schools I went to.

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Re:me thinks kids in inner city schoos ... by Anonymous Coward · 2007-04-26 20:05 · Score: 0

Amen. The monkey-boy in the White House should be supporting our schoolteachers and pulling the troops out of Iraq.
Re:me thinks kids in inner city schoos ... by 0123456 · 2007-04-26 22:44 · Score: 1

"stingy and selfish people do not want to fund schools"

People who value education oppose schooling, because schooling does very little education. Modern schools are indoctrination and daycare centers which keep kids out of the way for fifteen years while their parents are working... any actual education is an unwanted side-product.
Re:me thinks kids in inner city schoos ... by Anonymous Coward · 2007-04-27 00:11 · Score: 0

> And as for our schools being shitboxes I've got a questionnaire I'd like to ask you:

Great! I love talking about myself!

> 1.) Can you read?

No, not one bit.

> 2.) Can you write coherently?

Yep. I credit that to having to hand in 3 reports a week while in college.

> 3.) Can you do mathematics?

Sure.

> 4.) Do you have a job that is not simply menial in nature?

Trick question. I work in IT/Tech/... .

> 5.) Do you have a decent understanding that there is a world outside your state?

Yes. History and anthropology. In college.

> 6.) Were your parents able to work while you were growing up?

[scratches head in puzzlement] OH! You wanted an answer that would get a YES from nearly everyone!

> If you answered yes to any of the questions above, you may have benefited from a free public education.

Minimally. Almost everything I learned before college was outside of class and based on my own curiosity. I can count on one hand -- the one with 3 fingers -- how many teachers before college were worth listening to. In college, I can think of only _2_ professors who were substandard. The rest were good to excellent.

Good thing I can read! You used the weasel word 'may'...so you're always right.

I may end up being President of the USA or I may have some ice cream on a Tuesday in June. Wonderful weasel word!
Re:me thinks kids in inner city schoos ... by marcosdumay · 2007-04-27 00:22 · Score: 1

Well, you can always lobby into your governent buying some of those for your children too. (Or do you think we are getting them for free?)

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Rethinking email
Re:me thinks kids in inner city schoos ... by smchris · 2007-04-27 01:03 · Score: 1

Lots of luck. Schools are locked into Microsoft.

For so many reasons, state departments of education are not likely to be hotbeds of daring creativity. It's the old "best tertiary education in the world/funky primary and secondary education" dichotomy.
Re:me thinks kids in inner city schoos ... by Anonymous Coward · 2007-04-27 01:18 · Score: 0

Yes. I'm over 40 and English.

- Anonymous Coward, MA Cantab.
Re:me thinks kids in inner city schoos ... by Anivair · 2007-04-27 01:50 · Score: 1

The fact that I can read doesn't mean that most people in America can read well. Most read poorly if at all and a good lot can't read. The fact that I can write doesn't mean most people can. In fact, I find that most other people write like grade schoolers only with more spelling and grammar errors. The fact that I can do mathematics doesn't mean most people can. Hell, most Americans can add and sometimes subtract. They have to stop and think hard about basic multiplication and could not even perform division without a calculator if they had to. I have a job that is not menial in nature. Most people do not. However, that's not a valid point because statistically speaking, most jobs are menial in nature because we need bodies to fill the positions. Demand creates those jobs, so the state of our education has zero to do with it. Most people will always have menial jobs period. I have a decent understanding of the world outside my state. Most americans really don't. Most americans can't point out more than ten states on an unlabeled map and could point out maybe 4 other nations. Compare that to any other civilized country. My parents were able to work while I was growing up, but that qualifier is irrelevant because it relegated public education to free babysitting. The fact is that most americans are less educated than the average citizen of many other useful and productive companies. The fact that we can get some benefit from our educational system doesn't mean it's good enough. It just means that it's not totally worthless. Not exactly a ringing endorsement.
Re:me thinks kids in inner city schoos ... by Scrameustache · 2007-04-27 04:58 · Score: 1

Fuckin' a, buddy. I'm all in favor of helping humanity, that is other humans, in any way possible, but every time someone looks to take on a humanitarian aid project they look to do it overseas.

Our schools here in the US are total shitboxes (most of them, and not as bad as those in some other countries), we have starving people just like everywhere else,
Poor people in the US are too fat.
Poor people "overseas" die hungry.

I strongly encourage you to help those less fortunate than you who live close to you: Act locally, but please, think globally.

--
You can't take the sky from me...
Re:me thinks kids in inner city schoos ... by Anonymous Coward · 2007-04-27 05:10 · Score: 0

Maybe you should capitalize American. That way you wouldnt show your own ignorance. In addition, I wasn't aware that companies had citizens. I guess the kettle can't really call the pot black in this case.
Re:me thinks kids in inner city schoos ... by petermgreen · 2007-04-27 05:17 · Score: 1

People who value education oppose schooling, because schooling does very little education. Modern schools are indoctrination and daycare centers which keep kids out of the way for fifteen years while their parents are working... any actual education is an unwanted side-product.
And what do you propose instead?

Schools may have problems but far far more people can read and write to a reasonable level and have at least some maths knowlage than in the days before compulsory schooling. If children didn't spend that time in school they'd spend in hanging arround doing little of consequence and most likely getting into trouble.

or they'd be working in a dead end job in a factory where they wouldn't really be mature enough to work safely.

--
note: i'm known as plugwash most places but i screwd up registering that here somehow in the past and now can't register
Re:me thinks kids in inner city schoos ... by Anonymous Coward · 2007-04-27 05:36 · Score: 0

1.) Can you read?

Duh.

2.) Can you write coherently?

I think so. What's that c-word?

3.) Can you do mathematics?

Didn't you skip a number there?

4.) Do you have a job that is not simply menial in nature?

Floor-mopping at McD's is *not* menial! Stop saying that!

5.) Do you have a decent understanding that there is a world outside your state?

Sure, I've got this guy over in Minnesota that hooks me up with my weed.

6.) Were your parents able to work while you were growing up?

I'll have you know I come from a long, proud tradition of floor-moppers...

Re:The price will go down when they get more volum by Anonymous Coward · 2007-04-26 13:27 · Score: 0

It's Slashdot, it's news!

Re:DAMN IT, SLASHDOT!!! by Anonymous Coward · 2007-04-26 13:27 · Score: 0

Wow, I thought this was a troll for sure, but it's true

My favorite picture of Valenti. Can you find him?

Cheaper Next Year by vertigoCiel · 2007-04-26 13:28 · Score: 1

The good thing is, with the economics of scale and the ever decreasing price of computer hardware, the OLPC will finally be a $100 laptop in a year or two.

Re:Cheaper Next Year by Anonymous Coward · 2007-04-26 14:05 · Score: 0

Really? When has the price of computers ever dropped 43% in a year or two.
Re:Cheaper Next Year by zcat_NZ · 2007-04-26 15:18 · Score: 1

Every year for as long as home computers have existed. Try selling a year-old computer on ebay and you'll be lucky to get half what you paid for it, even if it's still in new condition.

--
455fe10422ca29c4933f95052b792ab2

Re:DAMN IT, SLASHDOT!!! by Upaut · 2007-04-26 13:28 · Score: 4, Funny

Jack Valenti just fucking DIED of a stroke and all you can think about are $175 laptops?????

Alright, I'll get it over with: *ahem* Ding, dong, the witch is dead

Now thats over with, onto the more notable laptop. Got to say, still excited about this project. Last time I held a computer class in the DR, a massive power surge nearly killed me when the computer in question was powered up... These little things should be able to take the abuse, and the unstable power grids of many of these developing countries. Still cannot wait until a consumer model is released, so I can prepair a few classes on them for next time I go down.

--
3 degrees of separation from Vladimir Putin

Re:DAMN IT, SLASHDOT!!! by Anonymous Coward · 2007-04-26 13:28 · Score: 0

Troll Party!!

I'm not just thing about $175 laptops, I'm thinking about giant sea bass well.

wait for it.... by Anonymous Coward · 2007-04-26 13:29 · Score: 0

In Soviet OLPC, price of laptop increases YOU!!!

Governments? by XanC · 2007-04-26 13:29 · Score: 1

If there's really a market for these things, and if this is really the right price, why do they need these governments to sign on? Can't they just, you know, sell them to people? Why force them (via their governments) to buy one?

Re:Governments? by Anonymous Coward · 2007-04-26 13:35 · Score: 0

Gosh, you're right. We should just open up One-laptop-per-child stores in villages across Nigeria, right next to the Dell Outlet.
Re:Governments? by QuantumG · 2007-04-26 13:43 · Score: 0, Redundant

Wow, you should get some kind of "biggest Slashdot retard" award for that comment.

--
How we know is more important than what we know.
Re:Governments? by Original+Replica · 2007-04-26 13:43 · Score: 3, Informative

why do they need these governments to sign on? Can't they just, you know, sell them to people? Why force them (via their governments) to buy one?

I was under the impression that either the governments in question would be buying them or they would be paid for by charities. The families getting these laptops sure as hell don't have the funds to pay for them, so to the end user they will be free. That means you need some way (on site administration) for the "right" people to get the laptops, and you need a request for the charities to respond to. These two requirements are the job of the governments of the people in need.

--
We are all just people.
Re:Governments? by mysticgoat · 2007-04-27 01:55 · Score: 1

If there's really a market for these things, and if this is really the right price, why do they need these governments to sign on?
Nobody said that there is an existing market for OLPCs. There is a dire need, which creates a potential market, but a bunch of other things have to come together before the market actually comes into existence. It will take government resources to set up the infrastructures that will make OLPCs usable in the way they are intended to be used.
Part of the reason the expected cost is so low is the expectation of having orders for 3 million units in hand on the first day of production.
Outside of governments, the Bill & Melida Gates Foundation could mobilize the necessary resources, but that organization doesn't appear to be interested.
Re:Governments? by TheNicestGuy · 2007-04-27 02:19 · Score: 1

why do they need these governments to sign on? Can't they just, you know, sell them to people?
Because the laptops are intended for the education of children. For the vast majority of the world's nations, that's a government responsibility, not a personal responsibility.

That's the simple, pat answer, but there's more to it. That the laptops would be put into large-scale (preferably unanimous) use from the top down has been a core concept of the project from the beginning, and it's influenced some of the design considerations. The methods of collaboration (which is fundamental), and the networking model itself, are based on the assumption that there will be multiple XO machines in a small area. If you try to sell these things piecemeal at $175 each (at first) to private citizens who both have heard of it and can afford it, in a dozen different countries, you'll be lucky to ever have more than a couple of them in the same location. On the other hand, if you're Nicholas Negroponte and you leverage your and your family's schmooze points with various national officials, you can persuade the ministries of education to purchase and deploy them as an official program. Then you'll always have multiple machines in a classroom.

In fact, you might even have—wait for it—one laptop per child.

Re:DAMN IT, SLASHDOT!!! by Anonymous Coward · 2007-04-26 13:31 · Score: 0

I have priorities, I am booking a flight right now to go and piss on his grave!

I'll buy one... by fazookus · 2007-04-26 13:31 · Score: 1

...actually i'll buy two, they can keep one, and then I'll give the first one back after I've played with it a little. I'll bet that's a deal that any hardened geek would find reasonable.

€100 laptop? by Ranger · 2007-04-26 13:31 · Score: 3, Interesting

The dollar has lost so much value it's no suprise that it's going to start at $175. I think they should have called it the €100 euro laptop. I heard they expected after mass production for it go from $100 down to $50. It'll get their eventually.

--
"You'll get nothing, and you'll like it!"

Re:€100 laptop? by zanderredux · 2007-04-26 14:37 · Score: 1

The dollar has devalued so much, indeed. Why not call it the 100 sterling pound laptop and make a profit?
Re:€100 laptop? by sumdumass · 2007-04-26 15:07 · Score: 2, Interesting

Err, you mean the 128 Euro laptop. Or maybe the 100 British Pound laptop. This would place it more into realistic perspective. And I don't think the dollar slipping has much to do with it. There has been then 5 cents difference from the conversion rate in 2005 with the EURO when the OLPC started. To be frank, we are less then 10 cents off from the EURO coming into 2004 and IF you want to compare to the yen where some of the part will come from, we are less then 10 cents difference there too. However, we are about 12-15 cents down on the Japanese note. In case your wondering where I'm going with this, the $100 laptop would only be $110 if it were due to the currency slipping.
I heard they expected after mass production for it go from $100 down to $50. It'll get their eventually.
I think this is just wishful thinking more then a real expectation. There were signs of the laptop going to cost more then $100 a long time ago. In February, the price was supposed to be $150. In October of last year, it was around $208 per laptop. They averaged the Brazilian market at around $235 And the donation page has had $150 for a while now.

And finally, lets not forget the pledge bank were we were asked to donate/buy and never receive, a OLPC laptop for $300. I don't think they ever hit the $100 mark outside of marketing and know full well they wouldn't. It is a decent goal though.
Re:€100 laptop? by RealGrouchy · 2007-04-26 15:57 · Score: 1

The Euro is a dollar too, isn't it?

- RG>

--
Hey pal, this isn't a pleasantforest, so don't waste my time with pleasantries!
Re:€100 laptop? by muyuubyou · 2007-04-26 17:51 · Score: 1

100 British pound = 200.34 U.S. dollars as of today. 175$ would be 87.35 quid.
Re:€100 laptop? by TeknoHog · 2007-04-27 01:27 · Score: 1

As spelling and grammar evolve, 'their' will get 'there' eventually.

--
Escher was the first MC and Giger invented the HR department.
Re:€100 laptop? by sumdumass · 2007-04-27 02:49 · Score: 1

Yea, thats about right.

Not enough by Ep0xi · 2007-04-26 13:33 · Score: 2, Informative

I am on argentina and the Laptop is going to cost 175 dollars which here means 550 pesos which with the costs of translation (oil) and the taxes it will be at 900 pesos which is something like 300 dollars and 900 pesos is the cost of a Pentium 3 600Mhz with 128 mb ram and 20Gb hard drive. What is the relation Cost-Power of this Laptops? Either way if it is intended to be for poor people thats not the way to do it, and the worst i can tell is that poor people does not have credit cards like in other countries. I am not telling just that my country is like India, but just that this is the first country to invest in technology, so you might to justify what is the thing we might buy. Buy it by CASH? think twice, just in case you not want to hear how difficult is for me to sell a damn 100 hundred dollars CPU.

--
?

Re:Not enough by JeffAMcGee · 2007-04-26 13:43 · Score: 2, Informative

"and the taxes" ... They are selling these in bulk to national governments. I doubt that any government is worried about paying sales taxes to itself.

--
This sig cannot be proven true.
Re:Not enough by Ep0xi · 2007-04-26 13:59 · Score: 1

What i mean is transport taxes, and import taxes which actually exists because we cannot afford a competition so huge. Of course this Laptops are the door-in to the ALCA TLC or whatever.

--
?
Re:Not enough by xubu_caapn · 2007-04-26 14:18 · Score: 1

According to the FAQ, the laptops will be deployed to governments rather than to individuals, and who knows how the government is going to deploy them? I think the sensible thing to do is to give them to every child to assist in their schooling.

--
FYI: I don't know what you guys are talking about half the time.
Re:Not enough by Ep0xi · 2007-04-26 14:29 · Score: 1

Yes but the crisis made in my country by the end of 2001 is so difficult to forget in terms of buypower that the laptops are not going to the hands of kids but to the families that are earning this "plan" for families which supported this pressident. That would be the target of a goverment based solution to the technological breach. i still think is very hard to apply a massive deployment of laptops in countries like mine, because there is not the necessity of computers for children but just the joy that would bring. The necessity of computers is made by the love for technology, and that is not working by the moment.

--
?
Re:Not enough by QuantumG · 2007-04-26 15:51 · Score: 1

I'm not going to say it again.

Do a basic amount of research before you post.

For. Fuck. Sake.

--
How we know is more important than what we know.
Re:Not enough by Ep0xi · 2007-04-26 16:45 · Score: 1

you are a stupid fuck not allowed by your own idiocy to discuss with me.

--
?
Re:Not enough by fferreres · 2007-04-26 17:23 · Score: 2, Insightful

Suppose they way just a little bit and they buy them at USD$150. Suppose you could buy 1,000,000 Pentiums...wow, no wait, better have another million kids close to technology for free! And the functionality is different. These are rugged notebook computers with low consumption tailored specifically at kids. I don't get your point.

--
unfinished: (adj.)
Re:Not enough by Ep0xi · 2007-04-26 19:48 · Score: 1

My point is that if i had to choose a laptop for my son i can choose some powerful one for the same price. The only thing that differs in this new laptops is that there is no standard hardware involved. Maybe this is an intent to make child-proof computers what do you think. There will not be any free technology for kids nor for anybody sir i just dont take that.

--
?
Re:Not enough by fferreres · 2007-04-27 19:35 · Score: 1

Either you can afford a normal (though cheap) notebook, or the goverment can provide your kind with a toold aimed at children (that's 1/3 of the price). There is really no problem at all.

--
unfinished: (adj.)

Axis of OLPC by Anonymous Coward · 2007-04-26 13:42 · Score: 0

Interesting to see the Axis of One laptop per child enumerated.

Sugar GUI by Anonymous Coward · 2007-04-26 13:42 · Score: 0

i would like to see the Sugar GUI extracted from the rest if possible and see if it will compile & run on Linux like any other Window Manager...

Re:Sugar GUI by LnxAddct · 2007-04-26 13:48 · Score: 1

You can run sugar just fine under linux. Go to laptop.org for more info.
Regards,
Steve
Re:Sugar GUI by Eideewt · 2007-04-26 14:01 · Score: 1

Would it have killed you to do five minutes of research before posting this?
Re:Sugar GUI by kegon · 2007-04-26 14:28 · Score: 0

Why would you want to run Sugar ?

It's designed for kids and people who have never used a computer before. How did you come to post on Slashdot if you want to run Sugar (apart from inquisitiveness) ?
Re:Sugar GUI by tepples · 2007-04-26 15:59 · Score: 1

Why would you want to run Sugar ? To develop apps^W activities for kids and people who have never used a computer before.
Re:Sugar GUI by stoborrobots · 2007-04-26 16:33 · Score: 2, Interesting

Why would you want to run Sugar ?

It's designed for kids and people who have never used a computer before. Umm, because I build computers for people who have never used computers before? Because a simple, easy-to-use UI would be useful for kiosk-type applications? Because I want a nongeek-friendly interface for the box hooked up to my TV?

Just because you can only see one use for a particular application, doesn't mean that that's all it's good for.

--
"Go to CNN [for a] spell-checked, fact-checked summary" -- CmdrTaco
Re:Sugar GUI by Anonymous Coward · 2007-04-27 01:57 · Score: 0

It's got mandatory access controls, novel UI ideas, novel language ideas, that's enough to make it interesting to me. Plus, my son will probably appreciate the kid-sized keyboard.

Getting that first 3 million orders. by pschmied · 2007-04-26 13:44 · Score: 4, Insightful

It seems to me that they could probably get the first batch paid for by us geeks who have been drooling over the OLPC hardware for a while.

Hell, I'd pony up ~$400-$500 for a unit. I wonder how many orders at that price point would be enough to get manufacturing cranking.

Plus, from my way of thinking, the OLPC project could use some more content creators doing homebrew design on the OLPC hardware.

--
. Penguins Surely Ca

Re:Getting that first 3 million orders. by QuantumG · 2007-04-26 14:17 · Score: 1

Short answer: the logistics of distribution make this impossible.

Long answer: you would need some form of "pre-order" organisation that collects all the money and takes care of distribution. They would need to collect 3 million orders, secure the funds, then place the order with the manufacturer, get the units, box them, label them for delivery, arrange 3 million pickups.. pay for those pickups. Refund anyone who changed their mind. Locate others to take the unsold merchandise off their hands. Then, finally, contribute whatever funds are left over to the OLPC.

Oh, and the whole time that they're handling $1.2 billion to $1.5 billion dollars, we've gotta trust them, and they've gotta ensure none of the employees are embezelling. It's just not doable.

About the only way it would be at all possible is if someone with $525 million dollars was to place an order for 3 million units, the manufacturers could deliver it to that one person's warehouse(s), then they could sell to retailers, who could sell to the public. The markups in that supply chain would be enormous.. just to make it economically viable for everyone involved.. and the price per unit would go far above $400 to $500. Maybe there'd be a few dollars left over for the OLPC.

Even if you were just trying to get 3 million people to donate enough to each supply one laptop to an aide organisation you'd have to ask for more than $175.. you'd probably have to ask for $300.

--
How we know is more important than what we know.
Re:Getting that first 3 million orders. by kegon · 2007-04-26 14:43 · Score: 1, Insightful

Quote (my emphasis):
It seems to me that they could probably get the first batch paid for by us geeks who have been drooling over the OLPC hardware for a while.

Pray tell, which aspect of the OLPC hardware have you been drooling over ?

The 7.5 inch pseudo-color screen, the lack of hard disk, low memory, etc ? I'm confused.

As an example of what can be done with a low cost computing platform, I'm as interested as the next geek but it's a bit of a stretch to say it's spittle producing stuff, isn't it ?
Re:Getting that first 3 million orders. by KillerCow · 2007-04-26 14:54 · Score: 1

Hell, I'd pony up ~$400-$500 for a unit.

Ummm... you can buy a real laptop for that price.
Re:Getting that first 3 million orders. by Anonymous Coward · 2007-04-26 16:14 · Score: 0

Id pay $350 for one if I knew I was buying one for myself and one for some poor kid in Africa! Its not exactly a powerhouse, but I'm sure I could get some experimental value out of it for myself.

It could be kinda like that "product red" thing, except with computers... and buying products you wouldn't really otherwise buy... and kinda blow... well it was a thought anyways.
Re:Getting that first 3 million orders. by Anonymous Coward · 2007-04-26 16:16 · Score: 0

The machine is very energy efficient. If the power goes out, you can crank-start it and run for hours. It is also very rugged. It would make a good field tool for geologists, biologists, surveyors, etc.
Re:Getting that first 3 million orders. by kegon · 2007-04-26 16:50 · Score: 2, Informative

> If the power goes out, you can crank-start it

No you can't, "The yellow crank, while cute, in the end proved impractical; it migrated to the AC adapter as it also morphed into one or more other types of human-power devices."

No crank.
Re:Getting that first 3 million orders. by suv4x4 · 2007-04-26 22:04 · Score: 1

It seems to me that they could probably get the first batch paid for by us geeks who have been drooling over the OLPC hardware for a while.

Hell, I'd pony up ~$400-$500 for a unit. I wonder how many orders at that price point would be enough to get manufacturing cranking.

You're welcome to do so, early adopter!

I'll buy one of the $80 units as prices drop down with mass production, and if the units begins to show any promise of delivering what their promised.

Those machines aren't charity-ware, governments pay a modest sum (even for poor governments, $175 per machine isn't a lot, in fact poor governments are known to not spend their money quite efficiently, judging from the country I myself live in) and invest in their medium to long term future.

Whether OLPC turns a success or a failure, your willingness to donate would go in vain, the company producing the OLPC will surely pocket the difference for the commercial units itself, as any good company would.
Re:Getting that first 3 million orders. by Anonymous Coward · 2007-04-27 01:54 · Score: 0

the company producing the OLPC will surely pocket the difference for the commercial units itself, as any good company would.

Good company? Normally they pay the shareholders, not pocket the money. Anyway, it's a non-profit organaization you cynical bastard. ;)
OLPC is a U.S. based, non-profit organization created by faculty members of the MIT Media Lab to design, manufacture, and distribute the laptops.
Re:Getting that first 3 million orders. by suv4x4 · 2007-04-27 02:10 · Score: 1

Good company? Normally they pay the shareholders, not pocket the money. Anyway, it's a non-profit organaization you cynical bastard. ;)

The company producing the actual laptop (same one that makes half the laptops in the world for other companies anyway), is very far from being non-profit, and this company is the one to sell the commercial version.
Re:Getting that first 3 million orders. by iabervon · 2007-04-27 04:20 · Score: 1

It's a neat system, but you don't really want to use one. It's a laptop designed for kids, which means that the keyboard is uncomfortably small for adult hands, and the screen is too small to look at from an adult's typing distance and torso length. It's hard to tell from the photos, because it's got the normal laptop proportions, but it's actually scaled down to kid size.

And if Microsoft or Sony did this? by dpbsmith · 2007-04-26 13:47 · Score: 1

...If Microsoft talked for years about a "$100 .mp3 player" they were working on, making a big point about its price itself being a breakthrough, and then said as the introduction approached that it was really going to cost $175, what would Slashdot's reaction be?

Shrug and say "it doesn't really matter, it's still cheap and the price will come down as economies of scale kick in?"

--

"How to Do Nothing," kids activities, back in print!

Re:And if Microsoft or Sony did this? by QuantumG · 2007-04-26 14:02 · Score: 3, Insightful

Neither Microsoft nor Sony are charities trying to bring free education to the poor of the world.

Why should we judge the OLPC project by the same standards that we judge multinational profit machines?

Why do I even have to ask this question?

What is wrong with you?

Jesus H. Christ.

--
How we know is more important than what we know.
Re:And if Microsoft or Sony did this? by BenSnyder · 2007-04-26 14:07 · Score: 4, Interesting

I get your point. It's fun to try to kick a little Slashdot ass. But I'll take your question seriously and try to answer it.

The idea of putting a laptop in the hands of somebody who can't afford the technology is very appealing. We like it. It makes us feel good. It makes us feel like we want to be part of that. Look at the other posts that say they'd spend $500 to buy one for themselves if they'd also send one to the originally intended recipients. That's a very strong statement of support. If the price goes to $175... well, who can really fault us for not willing to take back that we like the idea that low cost computers are being given to people who could really really could use them.

It wouldn't matter who made the mp3 player. Nobody wants to hear about a significant price increase on a plentiful commodity like an mp3 player. There's too much competition and Microsoft, explicitly, has a long history of credibility problems with delivering on their marketing claims in their product in the first place.

Aren't there a host of things missing from Vista? Aren't we all aware that the "revolutionary" new file structure got cut and that DRM was a priority? For Microsoft, you reap what you sow.

So I reject your comparison. We're not assholes (as your suggest - or at least, not for this reason), we just want to see the OLPC thing succeed.
Re:And if Microsoft or Sony did this? by JeffAMcGee · 2007-04-26 14:51 · Score: 4, Insightful

"I might get modded off-topic for saying this, but ..." on slashdot people regularly post the question "How would slashdot react if Microsoft did this?" This post is usually modded insightful because the mods see it as thinking outside the box—it looks like you are breaking away from the herd mentality when you post this question. The only problem is that people regularly post this question, or a paraphrase of this question, so it really isn't too insightful.

This post usually gets one of two responses: "It would not be the same because..." or "Slashdot is not one person, the members of the slashdot community can disagree with each other."

--
This sig cannot be proven true.
Re:And if Microsoft or Sony did this? by Bryan+Ischo · 2007-04-26 17:00 · Score: 1

My friend, that was a truly awesome post. Where are the mod points when you need them?!?! Can we do some kind of global query-replace on this topic and get some of these good comments on the top page in place of the lame "Soviet Union" joke rehashes??! Please?
Re:And if Microsoft or Sony did this? by cyberbob2351 · 2007-04-26 19:55 · Score: 1

Microsoft gave $73.2 million to charities in 1995. Bill gates himself has continued this practice personally and is one of the greatest philanthropists of all times in terms of raw dollar amount.

Can I see your donation figures?

I don't like microsoft, I don't like windows, and frankly, as a part time computer forensics specialist, I sure as hell do not like their security practices.

Now, you may tell me that somehow they are exploiting the poor by getting people hooked on windows, or maybe even requiring contracts from schools, but you know I discovered linux and bsd and the whole opensource world one day as a teenager whilst browsing on a windows 98 machine with IE in my schools computer lab.

Jesus H Christ indeed.

--
for sale
I'm a self-modifying sig virus
Re:And if Microsoft or Sony did this? by Anonymous Coward · 2007-04-26 20:12 · Score: 0

Wrong again

What is wrong with YOU? Idiot.
Re:And if Microsoft or Sony did this? by kumarm_arun · 2007-04-27 00:03 · Score: 1

Microsoft is a company which sits over a planet of cash collected by selling products monopolistically at a profit margin of 70% or more. For them donating software to poor children would have cost nothing more than a few cents per unit (the large scale cost of burning cds with the software). Also, they exert absolute control over their markets through their massive marketing machinery. OLPC project doesn't compare in any of those ways. I believe they are operating at the limits of the hardware and manufacturing costs. Their ability to create mass market not to mention control it, is rather limited. So in such a scenario, the slashdot reaction may be what you expect.
Re:And if Microsoft or Sony did this? by marcosdumay · 2007-04-27 00:33 · Score: 1

It depends. Is $175 still cheap, and is it aready taking advantage of economy of scale? If the normal price for the product is near $400, and that was the price for the first, and small batch, people would probably say the same.

But if it was Microsot, they'd only belive the $175 figure when they see it on a store.

--
Rethinking email

Re:DAMN IT, SLASHDOT!!! by Anonymous Coward · 2007-04-26 13:58 · Score: 0

who is this Valenti guy anyway?

Kind of cool but is this really worth it? by AaronPSU777 · 2007-04-26 14:02 · Score: 3, Interesting

I can understand the desire to get low cost computers into the hands of the underprivileged, really I do, it's an awesome goal. But I always have these nagging doubts if neutering the technology to get it to a cost they deem reasonable defeats the whole purpose. Remember when they tried to make those cheap internet appliances that grandma could use to check her email and surf the web? They had a dumbed down OS and scaled back hardware to make them cheap and simple to use, they also bombed horribly because they couldn't run any of the standard apps that a full on pc could. Same deal with webtv. So while this computer is cool how will it's usefullness fare long term when people discover they can't do all the stuff people are doing with their normal computers in the developed world?

Best Buy is currently selling a laptop, retail!, for $399. $399 laptop
And the specs on it are actually not half bad, not as bad as you might think:

15.4" screen
1.5 ghz Via C7-M
512 ram
128 meg shared video
DVD +/- DL burner
60 GB HDD
802.11 b/g
10/100 ethernet
v.92 modem
Vista Basic

Drop Vista and install Linux and you can save a few bucks, scale down the screen size and maybe eliminate a few usb ports and some other stuff, mass produce it and you could have a full on pc capable of running even windows vista for probably under 300 bucks. I have to think that something like that would be much more useful, even if you bought half as many it would still be better in the long run with it's upgradeability and standards compliance. Thoughts?

Re:Kind of cool but is this really worth it? by mishagam · 2007-04-26 14:20 · Score: 1

I agree such $300 computer is much better for consumer, is he is in India or Brasilia or anywhere else. Used computers are even cheaper and still more standard than OLPC (and of course have much more useful programs and games).
They would win competition for consumer dollars over Negroponte OLPC every time. So Negroponte doesn't try to compete on the market, he pushes his 'computers' through governments and schools on powerless students.
Re:Kind of cool but is this really worth it? by QuantumG · 2007-04-26 14:38 · Score: 2, Insightful

pushes his 'computers' through governments and schools on powerless students. And you just said why a $300 computer designed for the first world is useless to the poor of the third world.

--
How we know is more important than what we know.
Re:Kind of cool but is this really worth it? by grcumb · 2007-04-26 15:01 · Score: 3, Insightful

Best Buy is currently selling a laptop, retail!, for $399. $399 laptop
And the specs on it are actually not half bad, not as bad as you might think:

15.4" screen
1.5 ghz Via C7-M
512 ram
128 meg shared video
DVD +/- DL burner
60 GB HDD
802.11 b/g
10/100 ethernet
v.92 modem
Vista Basic
... Thoughts?
Just one question: Where would you plug it in? Most of the people destined to use these have no mains power.

--
Crumb's Corollary: Never bring a knife to a bun fight.
Re:Kind of cool but is this really worth it? by Anonymous Coward · 2007-04-26 15:46 · Score: 0

Stop using logic against slashdot groupthink! Governments are always evil!
Re:Kind of cool but is this really worth it? by RealGrouchy · 2007-04-26 15:59 · Score: 1

Drop Vista and install Linux and you can save a few bucks, scale down the screen size and maybe eliminate a few usb ports and some other stuff, mass produce it and you could have a full on pc capable of running even windows vista for probably under 300 bucks.

Unfortunately, that also includes the full power consumption and the full fragility of a hi-tech environment laptop, neither of which are features useful in the OLPC's target market.

- RG>

--
Hey pal, this isn't a pleasantforest, so don't waste my time with pleasantries!
Re:Kind of cool but is this really worth it? by fireboy1919 · 2007-04-26 17:21 · Score: 4, Insightful

Drop Vista and install Linux and you can save a few bucks

You mean add a few bucks. There's a price break for crapware. It pays for the cost of Windows and then some.

neutering the technology

No harddrive less memory, but better LCD, more efficient and flexible OS. Not to mention wireless meshing capability. It's specifically designed to interact with other devices of its kind and to display information - only allowing for simple mechanisms, crude mechanisms for data input.

Its exactly like a high-end PDA.

Is a PDA a neutered PC? Is a golf cart a neutered car? Is a housecat a neutered lion?

It's a different beast.

So while this computer is cool how will it's usefulness fare long term when people discover they can't do all the stuff people are doing with their normal computers in the developed world?

"S'ils n'ont plus de pain, qu'ils mangent de la brioche."
Assuming that they could get PCs, about as well as PDAs fare in the developed world. Really, though, the point is that every single dollar counts.

--
Mod me down and I will become more powerful than you can possibly imagine!
Re:Kind of cool but is this really worth it? by Ian+Bicking · 2007-04-26 17:55 · Score: 4, Informative
Here's the features I can think of that the XO has that the listed laptop does not:
- Screen is readable in full sunlight
- Power consumption is targeted at 2 Watts
- Laptop can sleep while the screen stays on (e.g., when reading a book)
- No moving parts
- A minimal number of wires and connections (for instance, the motherboard is right next to the screen)
- Water-resistant design -- you can pour a cup of water right over the keyboard without damage
- 802.11s wireless, allowing connections with peers and connections to the internet via peers
- The wireless routing stays on even when the rest of the laptop is off
- Built-in camera/video
- NiMH (or LiFeP) battery, to avoid the safety issues of Li-ion batteries; generally toxic components are being avoided
- Targeting 2000 cycles of the battery (typical batteries are 500-1000)
- You can use a stylus on the touchpad
- Monitor revolves into tablet configuration
If you want a scaled-down version of a normal laptop, the Classmate PC is basically designed like that. You can see a direct comparison in this table. Frankly it looks clunky and lacking in creativity when compared to the XO.
Generally the XO is designed for durability and low power consumption, not speed. It also takes into account its very specific target audience in many small ways. It's not a general-purpose machine, it doesn't have any commercial aspirations, it's purely a laptop for children, particularly those in developing nations.
Unlike WebTV this has a very good screen -- it's small, but it's completely usable. It runs normal Linux applications (they don't fit into the environment that well unless you make some modifications, but they do run). The processor is x86. It has a reasonable amount of memory and disk -- small by today's standards, but still reasonable even by today's standards. 256Mb of memory is really quite good. Also, unlike those products, this is not a niche product. This is intended to be deployed in considerable scale, and so it's a viable target platform all on its own.
Re:Kind of cool but is this really worth it? by SolitaryMan · 2007-04-26 18:42 · Score: 2, Insightful

Best Buy is currently selling a laptop, retail!, for $399. And the specs on it are actually not half bad, not as bad as you might think
Do you think it will cost $400, if demand for it will be the same as for OLPC? Besides, $400 is still too much

--
May Peace Prevail On Earth
Re:Kind of cool but is this really worth it? by Bert+the+Turtle · 2007-04-26 19:14 · Score: 1

great post. Also, don't forget the low voltage screen and parts so that a child can safely take it apart in the field.
Re:Kind of cool but is this really worth it? by carpe_noctem · 2007-04-26 20:44 · Score: 1

You mean add a few bucks. There's a price break for crapware. It pays for the cost of Windows and then some.

My, my, aren't we feeling a bit feisty this morning? I don't suppose that netcraft has confirmed the above claim, have they?

--
"Quoting famous computer scientists out of context is the root of all evil (or at least most of it) in programming." - K
Re:Kind of cool but is this really worth it? by chris_sawtell · 2007-04-26 21:18 · Score: 1
This is not even in the same league as the OLPC machine:-
1. It's over twice the price.
2. Screen not viewable in sunshine.
3. No wireless mesh facilities.
4. Unknown battery life.
5. It runs Windowsx86 entertainment crapware.
IOW It doesn't even begin to match what's needed, and costs twice as much.
Re:Kind of cool but is this really worth it? by suv4x4 · 2007-04-26 22:09 · Score: 1

Drop Vista and install Linux and you can save a few bucks

Actually that'll increase the price quite a few bucks. If current experience amounts to anything, the bottom line is that Vista license costs are offset significantly by the "craplets" (demo programs and adware) preinstalled on today's average Windows machine.

On Linux you don't have a lot of commercial software, so no craplets. And due to the nature of Linux, and how friendly it is to your average Joe consumer, expect companies to factor in much higher support costs.
Re:Kind of cool but is this really worth it? by Anonymous Coward · 2007-04-26 22:22 · Score: 0

Just one question: Where would you plug it in? Most of the people destined to use these have no mains power. they're going use it till the battery's dead and then send it back for replacement.
Re:Kind of cool but is this really worth it? by Dogtanian · 2007-04-26 23:43 · Score: 1

Used computers are even cheaper and still more standard than OLPC Standard is relative. Unless there's a plentiful and consistent supply of a given laptop design for a given (large) area or country, there are problems with (for example) differing capabilities between each child's laptop.

Also, used laptops generally have a shorter life and are more prone to breaking than desktops, and they're also much harder to repair. This is partly due to the case design, but also because components are much less standardised in laptops.

Thus, unless you can guarantee a large supply of similar or identical laptops for use and for parts, having people maintaining and fixing many different nonstandard designs, and finding parts for them, is going to be a logistical PITA given the lack of infrastructure in many of those countries.

--
"Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
Re:Kind of cool but is this really worth it? by Nappa48 · 2007-04-26 23:54 · Score: 0

Exactly!
Those kinds of specs would be pretty hard to power with a hand crank...
Re:Kind of cool but is this really worth it? by hughk · 2007-04-27 00:02 · Score: 1

For me the biggest thing is 'crap' resistant. In the less developed countries, the closer you are to the villages, the more general dirt and dust there is around. Buildings often lack glazed windows, it is usually just a hole in the wall with maybe some bars for security. Everything gets dirty and modern electronics with lots of delicate connectors is especially vulnerable. Even in towns a lot of dust gets brought in from the streets.

The funny thing is that being rugged, I can see it being interesting for a lot of people who are on the road or outside in countries like that, even commercial users, i.e., farmers, construction. Proper ruggedised equipment is extremely expensive. Heck, I could even see the military in those countries being interested (gunnery calculations, logistics).

--
See my journal, I write things there
Re:Kind of cool but is this really worth it? by marcosdumay · 2007-04-27 00:17 · Score: 1

Most people OLPC is intended to do have power supply.

But SOME don't, that's why there is a cranck.

--
Rethinking email
Re:Kind of cool but is this really worth it? by bean123456789 · 2007-04-27 07:07 · Score: 1

It also takes into account its very specific target audience

it's purely a laptop for children, particularly those in developing nations.

Also, unlike those products, this is not a niche product.

Confused? Me too.
niche: "A special area of demand for a product or service"
Re:Kind of cool but is this really worth it? by Acer500 · 2007-04-27 07:26 · Score: 1

Remember when they tried to make those cheap internet appliances that grandma could use to check her email and surf the web? They had a dumbed down OS and scaled back hardware to make them cheap and simple to use, they also bombed horribly because they couldn't run any of the standard apps that a full on pc could.(snipped) Thoughts? Well, an appliance just like that which our local monopoly telco/ISP is promoting has been selling well, it's just for chat and e-mail. The advantage is that they are selling it as "always-on" (through the cellular network I presume), so there could conceivably be a market, I guess the particular implementations weren't that well thought out, and they don't have monopoly power like our local telco (Antel in Uruguay).

--
There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.
Re:Kind of cool but is this really worth it? by mishagam · 2007-04-28 15:04 · Score: 1

OLPC also will be difficult to repair - may be replacing power unit will be possible. It is possible to have contract for for example 1000 laptops and then you can have parts or warranties for them. In my opinion, this possible drawback will be compensated by relative abundance of software, and by proven utility of PC's.
Re:Kind of cool but is this really worth it? by Dogtanian · 2007-04-28 22:49 · Score: 1

OLPC also will be difficult to repair - may be replacing power unit will be possible. Well, for one thing, the OLPCs will be new, not secondhand.

Laptops aren't impossible to repair once you know what you're doing. I know the inside of my own laptop a lot better now, but it took me a while to figure it out, and I'd have to relearn a very large proportion of that knowledge *every* time I came across a different laptop design.

If you have one (or very few) standard designs, it makes it plausible for some people to gain knowledge and expertise in repairing them quickly and efficiently, and there's a ready supply of new or secondhand parts.

With arbitrary laptops, they're all put together differently, and the repairer either has to know them all or (more likely) waste *lots* of time figuring out and researching how the laptop is put together.

Then you have to track down parts. If it's an obscure and/or long-discontinued laptop, this could prove difficult; you'll probably have to resort to faffing about with ebay auctions to get the parts. Does this sound like a good idea when you're trying to build a reliable infrastructure, especially in a third-world country? It sounds appalling to me.

In short, simply relying on a supply of random makes and models of used laptops is a logistical nightmare. Your viewpoint is that of the individual computer hobbyist who doesn't mind doing this sort of stuff for their own laptop. If your job was to repair *and* maintain many laptops being used for the OLPC's intended purpose in the third world, this job would be far more complicated, and you'd waste a lot of time learning how different designs were put together and tracking down parts.

In addition, as I mentioned, from the point-of-view of software, the myriad different specifications and capabilities of the varying laptops would be hard to keep track of, and would almost certainly fall to the lowest-common-denominator, negating much of the advantage of the "higher spec" laptops.

--
"Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).

the fine print by binarybum · 2007-04-26 14:03 · Score: 1

RAM upgrades will continue to be sold at dollar-stores everywhere, but will cost $1.75.

The original marketing strategy to nickle-and-dime buyers to death with tantalizing upgrades has been revamped to a dime-and-quarter schema.

--
ôó

Re:DAMN IT, SLASHDOT!!! by Captain+Splendid · 2007-04-26 14:07 · Score: 1

Um, they're hand-cranked, no?

--
Linux, you magnificent bastard, I read the fucking manual!

Re:DAMN IT, SLASHDOT!!! by mrchaotica · 2007-04-26 14:16 · Score: 1

No. They were, but not anymore (unless I'm mistaken, the current human-power plan involves a foot pump).

--

"[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz

€128 laptop by Anonymous Coward · 2007-04-26 14:22 · Score: 0

No, $175 USD is 128.

Nigeria? by curecollector · 2007-04-26 14:24 · Score: 1

Please tell me that these laptops don't come with e-mail clients or web browsers. Or networking of any kind. Please.

Re:Nigeria? by jalvear · 2007-04-26 16:03 · Score: 0

I'm pretty sure that they come with AOL pre-installed.
Re:Nigeria? by GrigorPDX · 2007-05-01 07:11 · Score: 1

I've been fortunate to have a 2nd-gen beta OLPC in my hands for a short time. They have wireless networking, a web browser, and I believe an e-mail client is being written.

More importanly, though, why don't you think the laptops should have networking, e-mail, and web browsers? The mesh networking especially is integral in the OLPC's ability to share content (and textbooks) and enable the students to collaborate and share. I would argue that the OLPC would be far less likely to succeed without these tools and I find it difficult to find a good reason why *not* to include them.

These are astoundingly-good machines designed for 6-12 year old children. The post that referred to them as similar to PDAs is correct. They are *not* general purpose desktop computers that an adult would find very useful. They're cheap, reasonably rugged, simple machines that put a plethora of educational tools in the hands of children. Period.

From TFA by MonkeyINAbaG · 2007-04-26 14:31 · Score: 4, Informative

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) - The founder of the ambitious "$100 laptop" project, which plans to give inexpensive computers to schoolchildren in developing countries, revealed Thursday that the machine for now costs $175

AND

Negroponte's team has always stressed that $100 was a long-term target for the machines, but recently publicized figures had put it in the $150 range. Negroponte says the cost should drop about 25 percent per year as the project unfolds. He added that Citigroup Inc. (C)'s Citibank division has agreed to facilitate a payment system on a pro bono basis; Citibank will float payments to Quanta and other laptop suppliers, and governments will repay the bank.

The project is still on track to its price target of $100, it is still in BETA FFS!

Quit with the FUD already! Theres nothing like working on something high profile to make you grow a bit of a distaste for /. hype!

Re:From TFA by MonkeyINAbaG · 2007-04-26 14:50 · Score: 3, Insightful

Also, please remember, there is a NPO behind all this with the goal of decreasing the price as much as possible per unit, not a large company with the goal of trying to charge as much as possible to increase profits. It is a primary goal to make these things cheap, and maaaan THEY ARE COOL!

Is it just me or... by Anonymous Coward · 2007-04-26 14:45 · Score: 0

...does anyone else think that while the OLPC goals are admirable, that the nations at which these products are aimed need much more than a laptop per child? I mean, how about basic services, social reforms, etc.? Wouldn't the $100, er, $175 be better spent on education, basic needs, etc.? $100 or whatever is a hell of a lot of money to spend on a laptop per child when basic needs aren't being met.

Wait over by renegadesx · 2007-04-26 14:46 · Score: 0

^ ^ ^

Parent thread: I think your wait is over

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Make SELinux enforcing again!

Unfortunately by Anonymous Coward · 2007-04-26 14:46 · Score: 0

These things are going to become another part of the gigantic pile of tech junk...like ipods.

Re:DAMN IT, SLASHDOT!!! by renegadesx · 2007-04-26 14:51 · Score: 0

No Joke hey! Party at my house!! (B.Y.O.B) Bring champers too

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Make SELinux enforcing again!

My two cents by kitzilla · 2007-04-26 14:55 · Score: 4, Funny

I'd toss in my two cents worth on this issue. But with opinions hovering near three cents, I think I'll just save up for a better topic.

--
This is my post. There are many others like it. If you don't like what you read here, go try one of the others.

Re:DAMN IT, SLASHDOT!!! by Architect_sasyr · 2007-04-26 14:56 · Score: 2, Funny

So for the geekier side of the community we'll get a penis pump to do the same job? ;) Probably generate more power... whole new reason for porn on the internet "YOU CAN'T STOP ME MUM I'M POWERING THE INTERNET"

Yeah ok, bad joke, it's been a long day...

I was thinking these people could afford $100. Now its $175, I think, gentlemen and (gentlemen dressed as) ladies that we have found our proverbial 3rd step:

1. Create Idea for $100 laptop
2. Market Laptop
3. Raise Price by 75%
4. Profit.

No more 3. ??? jokes are necessary, repricing is the key!

--
Me failed English...
FreeBSD over Linux. If my comments seem odd, this may explain...

Make that 6 countries by WrongMonkey · 2007-04-26 14:56 · Score: 1

Funny that they are still listing Thailand as interested. Has something changed since this?
To summarize progress:
durable => something that Kofi Annan breaks during the demo
7 countries interested => 6 countries interested
$100 => $175
Keep up the good work! At this rate you'll have $300 Dell laptop that no one wants.

Re:Make that 6 countries by FRiC · 2007-04-26 16:00 · Score: 1

Unfortunately, Thailand is such a small country that few people outside of Thailand (or even in Thailand) pay attention to its government controlled computing policies. Thailand has more Internet censorship than anywhere else in the world, but no one can do anything about it.
Re:Make that 6 countries by GrigorPDX · 2007-05-01 07:23 · Score: 1

durable => something that Kofi Annan breaks during the demo Oh come on! That was the initial prototype hardware. The beta 2 OLPCs have completely changed. The hand crank that broke has been removed and the charging is done through a totally different mechanism. I've had my hands on a B2 OLPC that had a cup of coffee poured over it and was working perfectly. Try that with a $300 Dell.
$100 => $175 $100 is the production target price. Of course the initial runs are going to cost a bit more. And, as previous posters have pointed out, the OLPC has quite a few features you won't be finding on that $300 Dell.

Don't throw stones until you've actually had your hands on one. They're more impressive in person than what you see in print.

Re:DAMN IT, SLASHDOT!!! by jumperboy · 2007-04-26 15:01 · Score: 1

unless I'm mistaken, the current human-power plan involves a foot pump

Yes, that's to make it easier to move the kids between sewing machines, looms, and computers, to more flexibly meet the demands of outsourcing. Human-power!

May be able to soon. by Kadin2048 · 2007-04-26 15:04 · Score: 1

I posted an article about this a few days ago but it got rejected -- the company that's actually doing the manufacturing says that they're considering selling a few on the side to private individuals.

Since the specifications are all open, there's nothing to stop them from just running off a few thousand on speculation when they're done with the ones they're making on contract for OLPC, if they think there's a demand.

Since they're an OEM (a real OEM, not "we buy stuff and stamp our name on it" OEM) the big thing for them is finding a good retail channel and seeing if there's a demand in the West for a computer that doesn't run Windows.

Anyway, the focus of the article that I read was how badly OLPC may be missing the boat. Negroponte has pretty much insisted from Day 1 that they wouldn't sell it in the West, even at an inflated price to subsidize cheaper ones for students -- the way it's looking, if they don't, and there really is a market, the OEM is just going to end run them and sell it direct.

So anyway, long story short -- be patient, and you may be able to buy one, and you might not even have to pay 2 or 3x the BOM cost for it, like you would in some of the OLPC subsidization proposals.

--
"Ladies and gentlemen, my killbot features Lotus Notes and a machine gun. It is the finest available."

Re:May be able to soon. by nuzak · 2007-04-27 06:58 · Score: 1

> Negroponte has pretty much insisted from Day 1 that they wouldn't sell it in the West

No, he has insisted that the OLPC foundation would not be selling them, and that the OLPC model would not be available in the west. Quanta, however, has the right to produce their own models for sale in other markets, and they have said they'll be doing precisely that. Quanta isn't some nickel-and-dime company either: they make most of the laptops in the world.

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Done with slashdot, done with nerds, getting a life.
Re:May be able to soon. by nuzak · 2007-04-27 07:03 · Score: 1

Sorry, I kind of glossed over the part where you said exactly what I did. :)

Anyway, OLPC has pretty good reasons to limit public sales. I suspect that a successful launch will give Quanta plenty of interest in spinning out more of the public model. I suspect it'll be a more classic design though, and probably more like $300 at least. Personally I just want an ebook reader with the high-contrast screen, that runs on a Nokia battery. That would be nice.

--
Done with slashdot, done with nerds, getting a life.

Re:DAMN IT, SLASHDOT!!! by zcat_NZ · 2007-04-26 15:04 · Score: 0, Offtopic

Jack Valenti just died and I'm thinking about buying a DVD burner to celebrate.

Fuck you too.

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455fe10422ca29c4933f95052b792ab2

Re:DAMN IT, SLASHDOT!!! by forkazoo · 2007-04-26 15:11 · Score: 4, Insightful

Jack Valenti just fucking DIED of a stroke and all you can think about are $175 laptops?????

GET SOME PRIORITIES!!!

A million school children with an ability to appreciate freedom of information, and the open source ideals that are the antithesis of Valenti's anti-copying propaganda... I just think of it as Jack's ideas being dead along with him.

On a more serious note, as for the priorities, should I stock up on beer or snacks for the Jack Valenti is Dead party?

I'm doing volunteer math tutoring ... by porky_pig_jr · 2007-04-26 15:13 · Score: 1

in one of such schools (CRLS, Cambridge, MA). How 'bout you?

Re:I'm doing volunteer math tutoring ... by QuantumG · 2007-04-26 15:24 · Score: 0, Troll

Why do you bother teaching them math skills? Why don't you teach them language skills? Language skills are so much more important than math skills.

How does it feel?

--
How we know is more important than what we know.
Re:I'm doing volunteer math tutoring ... by tepples · 2007-04-26 15:55 · Score: 2, Insightful

Language skills are so much more important than math skills.
Prove it.

No wait, if you're proving something, you're using logic, which is a math skill.
Re:I'm doing volunteer math tutoring ... by zippthorne · 2007-04-26 18:29 · Score: 1

Math is a kind of language. A language for communicating some intuitive, and some rather non-intuitive ideas, all of which can be helpful. What are you teaching them?

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Can you be Even More Awesome?!
Re:I'm doing volunteer math tutoring ... by QuantumG · 2007-04-26 18:34 · Score: 2, Funny

Right now I'm trying to teach retards about how unproductive it is to cast dispersions on a non-profit organisation that is trying to drag a generation of children out of poverty, but unfortunately they don't understand satire.

--
How we know is more important than what we know.
Re:I'm doing volunteer math tutoring ... by zippthorne · 2007-04-26 18:42 · Score: 1

And you do that by casting dispersions on a guy that is actually donating his time to teach math to the underprivileged?

I guess I'm missing something. Perhaps some tonal quality that doesn't translate very well to a text-only medium.

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Can you be Even More Awesome?!
Re:I'm doing volunteer math tutoring ... by Anonymous Coward · 2007-04-26 19:36 · Score: 0

Yeah, Ive read most of GP's posts this evening on this particular thread. This kind of hypocritical nonsense seems to be a pattern with him.....
Re:I'm doing volunteer math tutoring ... by zmollusc · 2007-04-26 20:39 · Score: 1

Wtf does 'cast dispersions' mean? Is it like casting aspersions?

--
They whose government reduces their essential liberties for temporary security, receive neither liberty nor security.
Re:I'm doing volunteer math tutoring ... by ohearn · 2007-04-27 03:32 · Score: 1

Just look at politicians, they are proof that being able to sweet talk people into blindly following you gets you much further than math, intelligence, or logic ever will.

Not to Nigeria? by Anonymous Coward · 2007-04-26 15:13 · Score: 0

Here comes another wave of 419 letters "MY UNCLE, THE LATE MINISTER UBUNTU, LEFT 15 MILLION DOLLARS ...

Economic Reality Knocking by EEPROMS · 2007-04-26 15:25 · Score: 2, Interesting

The concept and the product is actually very good but the project takes very little notice of economic realities. They should have designed two units, one slightly larger in plain black and the other in bright colours and smaller (as it is now). Sell the black unit at a premium price to raise capital and leverage the good will aspect of the product to make it a very enticing option. The internals of both laptops would be the same so it would mean they would reach a larger production scales faster thus saving a small fortune plus increasing the return on the premium unit.

Re:Economic Reality Knocking by fferreres · 2007-04-26 17:31 · Score: 2, Insightful

They want part manufacturers to cooperate, and they don't want enter into a messy war with OEMs, and they do not do it for a profit, and couldn't do it for a profit (a retail/logistics organizations add a lots of costs, the same notebook could end up costing $400 or more to end users, without any benefit for the OLPC).

--
unfinished: (adj.)
Re:Economic Reality Knocking by Anonymous Coward · 2007-04-27 01:19 · Score: 0

Idiotic reasoning. The XO can be deactivated if stolen, that's built-in and if done right (didn't read up on that) (make THAT a tube sealed at both ends with epoxy) then the market for non-OLPC XOs is inexistent.

Obviously by ilsa · 2007-04-26 15:43 · Score: 1

Yet another technology initiative that has come in late and over-budget.

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-- I Am Not A Terrorist.

Incidentally by tepples · 2007-04-26 15:50 · Score: 1

Should I stop complaining about the world's energy crisis since I don't have a solution to the problem? Incidentally, I have a partial solution to the developed world's energy crisis: decriminalize low-THC strains of hemp. But then the synthetic fiber industry would bitch about having to compete with hemp fiber, and the oil industry would bitch about having to compete with hemp oil, and these big industries bitch with their dollars.

Doesn't that defeat the whole purpose of calling it the $100 laptop in the first place? As I understand it, it hasn't been officially the "$100 laptop" for a while. The laptop developed by OLPC is called XO-1.

Re:Incidentally by rtb61 · 2007-04-26 18:59 · Score: 1

The $100 dollar laptop project is still the hundred dollar laptop project. The first version just has not reached the price target and is being released at a higher price (in part attributed to the falling value of the US dollar).
So the goal of a $100 laptop is still there and I am sure it will be achieved (assuming the democrats manage to fix the failing US dollar). There is really no point in holding up delivery of the first versions until the final price goal is achieved.

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Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen
Re:Incidentally by nuzak · 2007-04-27 06:54 · Score: 1

> Incidentally, I have a partial solution to the developed world's energy crisis: decriminalize low-THC strains of hemp.

Already been done in many countries. By your reasoning, those fellas should be shoving OPEC's corpse over by now. Wonder why that hasn't happened, hmm? Oh, international conspiracy, right? Hemp's useful stuff, but it's hardly a miracle plant.

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Done with slashdot, done with nerds, getting a life.

Re:The price will go down when they get more volum by griffjon · 2007-04-26 15:51 · Score: 1

How much volume do they need? Intel's ClassMate and AMD's PIC are approaching the $200 mark, and you don't have to buy a minimum order of one million to get to that price

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Returned Peace Corps IT Volunteer

Re:DAMN IT, SLASHDOT!!! by Anonymous Coward · 2007-04-26 16:11 · Score: 0

America is stuck in a hopeless war, costing billions of dollars and thousands of lives and all you can think of is Jack Valenti??????

GET SOME PRIORITIES!!!!

Bigger story: It now can run Windows by Anonymous Coward · 2007-04-26 16:11 · Score: 1, Informative

Not mentioned anywhere in the summary, or in the modded up comments, is the bigger story for /.:

"However, Negroponte disclosed that XO's developers have been working with Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) so a version of Windows can run on the machines as well. It could be the $3 software package that Microsoft announced last week for governments that subsidize student computers. It includes Windows XP Starter Edition and some of Microsoft's "productivity" software.

Word of Microsoft's involvement was somewhat striking given that the software company and its closest corporate partner, Intel Corp. (INTC), have questioned whether the One Laptop Per Child's computers will do much to stimulate educational gains. Bill Gates once denigrated the machine as not being a "decent computer." And Intel is pushing its own inexpensive computer for developing countries, the $400 Classmate PC.

The ever-optimistic Negroponte turned those criticisms around on Thursday, arguing that Microsoft wouldn't have bothered with its $3 international software package and Intel wouldn't be pushing Classmate unless they had something to fear from One Laptop Per Child's innovations."

Re:Bigger story: It now can run Windows by Nappa48 · 2007-04-27 00:06 · Score: 0

Hmmm, thats slightly scary to hear. (haven't even read the article yet to be honest)
Last i heard, they were turned down, now MS have done this student pack, its all "heyy, lets work together!"
Hell i agree with Negroponte, Microsoft are only doing this since they now see this as a threat and the growing uptake of open-source outside their usual markets.

I'd honestly prefer they not have Windows CE (crap edition, oh wait, theres already been Windows CE...uh...) unless Microsoft can actually make the thing secure in an always-connected mesh that this project boasts about.
God FORBID if a virus got lose in that...oh wait.

Re:DAMN IT, SLASHDOT!!! by l810c · 2007-04-26 16:16 · Score: 0, Offtopic

Where do you live?!?

I know Jack is a capitalist and has vigorously defended the rights of the MPAA, but to call a person that was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his actions in WWII a witch is just plain insane. Fucking shame on you(and the Mods)!

The trivial problems we have today. 'On No, dammit, I can't share this movie with my friends'

He helped free the world from tyranny; 60+ years ago.

I didn't agree with a lot of his arguments, but that is just wrong.

L8

Re:The price will go down when they get more volum by QuantumG · 2007-04-26 16:17 · Score: 2, Insightful

They're useless because they are not designed for the lower power, rugged environment where they will be used.

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How we know is more important than what we know.

5000 rupee laptop by ghoul · 2007-04-26 16:18 · Score: 2, Interesting

India is one of the big targets for the OLPC and when it was proposed the USD was 49.something Rupees so almost 5000 rupees. Now the Dollar is 40 Rupees so the price could go upto 125 dollars and still stay under 5000 rupees. Now 5000 rupees is a very crtical psychological barrier in India and any laptop able to stay below 5000 is going to have a good chance. BTW desktops are available for 10000 rupees right now in India.

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**Life is too short to be serious**

Cheops' Law by Chas · 2007-04-26 16:26 · Score: 5, Informative

Everything takes longer and costs more.

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Chas - The one, the only.
THANK GOD!!!

The real reason why Argentina is not buying by Guillermito · 2007-04-26 16:30 · Score: 1

The *real* reason why Argentina is not buying: they are too cheap. They should be $200 instead of $175, that is, $175 for the manufacturer, and $25 for De Vido (*)

(*) De Vido: Current argentine minister of infrastructure, accused of collecting some "extra" money in every government contract (for more info please google "argentina skanska scandal").

mistake by Ep0xi · 2007-04-26 16:58 · Score: 1

sorry wrong thread... its my first post on \. i hate people who cannot discuss

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Re:DAMN IT, SLASHDOT!!! by cHiphead · 2007-04-26 17:28 · Score: 2, Interesting

For a person who was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his actions in WWII to become a witch and sell his soul to corporate America is an absolute fucking shame.

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This is my sig. There are many like it, but this one is mine.

or just give them fisher-price laptops like we had by Anonymous Coward · 2007-04-26 17:43 · Score: 0

Fisher-Price Laughtop Learning Laptop - $29.99 - SHOP.COM Kids Fisher-Price Barney Learning Fun Laptop - $19.99 - specialevents@boscovs.com Fisher-Price Barney Learning Fun Laptop - $23.99 - JovialKids.com

writing this on a beta unit by Anonymous Coward · 2007-04-26 17:50 · Score: 0

i am drafting this on an xo.... that is the name for the olpc (doing some testing for a country)

i let my daughter try it yesterday, she grabbed it and loved it. this is absolutely the most kid-friendly and "cute" full on computer you can imagine. the screen is brilliant... within 5 minutes my daughter was making music using the music software. (2 years old), she was walking around the house and wouldnt give it up. she fell asleep last night and tonight at the keyboard playing.

the software is different, the concept is different than a business machine. but once you see it in person, and once you see the way a child responds to it, you will absolutely want it.

we also have leapfrog, bought 2 weeks earlier, my daughter had no interest in it.

if you are a parent you will want to start learning "sugar" programming

Re:DAMN IT, SLASHDOT!!! by iamacat · 2007-04-26 18:22 · Score: 0, Offtopic

You do realize that most dictators started out as military heros? They show up in United Nations decorated with dozens of medals, and many of them were earned fairly. Jack couldn't resist the draw of money and, by the time he died, he abandoned all the values he fought for, including capitalism. He advocated policy in which all the money will go to his little junta rather than individual artists, smaller music companies and entrepreneurs seeking to enter online music distribution business. Great soldiers don't make great leaders.

Still half the price of the competition. by chris_sawtell · 2007-04-26 19:12 · Score: 1

At $175 it's still less than half the price of an Intel Classmate, and the fact that the OLPC machine won't play all the x86 based entertainment software is a _huge_ advantage in a school setting.

There is no desktop. by forgotten_my_nick · 2007-04-26 19:21 · Score: 2, Interesting

I recommend you check out the site on the Laptop. They have done away with the desktop. The whole notion of Desktop doesn't apply, as people move between communities (sometimes to travel for goods). Also some places will effectively have only one laptop per family, or multiple families.

The laptops *desktop* is in fact a load of icons which show your position within the community of laptops. It is a very cool idea.

As for Rugged. The laptops are extremely rugged and are designed to be very portable, work without an electric power source (hand generator) and works as its own router for other laptops.

Except by Colin+Smith · 2007-04-26 19:37 · Score: 2, Informative

American products and Americans are still overpriced relative to their European counterparts even with that drop in the dollar. Just goes to show how distorted an economy can become when it's based on the currency being the oil reserve currency.

Course. There's also the quality problem as well.

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Deleted

Yeah, except it's still vapourware by Colin+Smith · 2007-04-26 19:44 · Score: 1

Till I can order a dozen on Ebay.

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MOD Parent up (also) by forgotten_my_nick · 2007-04-26 19:50 · Score: 1

Excellent post. Just to add to that. You can test out the OS yourself with VMWare Player, EasyVMX and getting the ISO of the Operating system.

No, it *isn't* useless at all by Colin+Smith · 2007-04-26 20:06 · Score: 1

They could sell it on to a distributor in exactly the same way they will with the $100 OLPC laptop. They'd just get a little more for it. They'll then go spend the money on things they really need instead.

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Deleted

Re:No, it *isn't* useless at all by Anonymous Coward · 2007-04-27 07:58 · Score: 0

He was refering to the "powerless" part of the comment. That is, most people in third world countries don't have a reliable power source if they have one at all. That is why they'd be useless.

Re: Europeans should be very worried by giafly · 2007-04-26 20:11 · Score: 1

Their stores are getting flooded by cheap american imports

Their stores are getting flooded by cheap Chinese imports

Fixed it for you. The Chinese Yuan has changed about 8% vs USD over 5 years - graph - and Chinese prices are way lower.

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Reduce, reuse, cycle

This is going to go on as the dollar tanks by Anonymous Coward · 2007-04-26 20:49 · Score: 0

Price it in euros, pounds sterling, renmimbi - anything but the dollar

Very few people live in mud huts by emj · 2007-04-26 22:34 · Score: 2, Interesting

It's very hard to find mud huts in Argentina and I don't think there is a big fraction of the population living in huts in either Brazil, Libya, Nigeria, Uruguay nor Rwanda. And I can promise you that if they were fixable in the field, there would be an cottage industry growing in a mattar of months.

People don't want to be locked into something, so they fix things themselves.

Re:Very few people live in mud huts by geek2k5 · 2007-04-27 03:04 · Score: 1

When you are at the poor end of the economic spectrum, you build with whatever materials are available, with an eye toward weather conditions.

In some places, that may mean houses made of adobe or equivalent, covered over with some sort of waterproof substance. Not very stable in an earthquake though. That's one of the reasons some places have high death counts for relatively moderate earthquakes.

Other places may use a combination of wood/bamboo and sheet metal, especially if it is a tropical area. It is not fancy but it keeps most of the weather out.

In places where there are decent sized populations of moderately well off people, and large trash dumps, housing materials for the really poor can consist of cardboard, scrap plywood, hammered out metal cans, scrap plastic and anything that can work as a support or water resistant cover. They may not be mud huts, but they are likely to have mud floors.

Re:DAMN IT, SLASHDOT!!! by Hal_Porter · 2007-04-26 23:02 · Score: 1

I hope you asked his estate before you used his trademarked name like that.

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echo -e 'global _start\n _start:\n mov eax, 2\n int 80h\n jmp _start' > a.asm; nasm a.asm -f elf; ld a.o -o a;

Your reasoning is flawed by Dogtanian · 2007-04-26 23:28 · Score: 1

Really? When has the price of computers ever dropped 43% in a year or two.

Every year for as long as home computers have existed. Try selling a year-old computer on ebay and you'll be lucky to get half what you paid for it, even if it's still in new condition. Well, that's flawed for a start. Let's ignore that it's going to lose some value simply because it's not new and out of guarantee, even if the spec was up-to-date.

We're talking about new computers here, not secondhand ones. Just because a secondhand computer of given spec is *now* worth £X, doesn't mean that it could be economically manufactured new at anything like that price (even with a minor premium for the newness and guarantee). You've mistaken value for cost of manufacture; that's why no-one is making and selling brand new 486s and Pentium 1s for $30-40.

Let's look at a specific example. I have an ancient P1-233 (with CD-ROM, ISA soundcard and 96MB RAM) that is worth maybe US$40 to $50(?). Would anyone be willing to manufacture a new one with identical spec for even $65? I doubt it.

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"Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).

Re:The price will go down when they get more volum by Anonymous Coward · 2007-04-27 00:00 · Score: 0

It's also worth noting that the machine's specs have increased since its initial inception: its memory and flash drive space have doubled, so although it costs more than was originally projected, it's also plain better than was originally projected.

$100 to $175 by dmnic · 2007-04-27 00:16 · Score: 1

NPR ran a story about OLPC this morning and from the report, the price increase was due to hardware changes that Libya, Uraguay and at least another country had requested, not due to the "dollars" worth, exchange rates or being over budget.

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the history of the world

The Franc doesn't exist anymore? by nephridium · 2007-04-27 00:33 · Score: 1

I beg to differ. They may not be worth very much, but there are Congolese Francs, or Franc Congolais as we snobs like to call them. Due to the 9% inflation rate in Congo I'd go for the Djiboutian Franc though, it's pegged to the US dollar, which means that laptop will only cost 31100 Djiboutian Francs - a real bargain! :)

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And when you gaze long enough into the code, the code will also gaze into you.

Re:The Franc doesn't exist anymore? by R2.0 · 2007-04-27 05:10 · Score: 1

"Djiboutian Franc"

Are they issued under the authority of Sheik Yerboutie?

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"As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly." A. Carlson

Re:DAMN IT, SLASHDOT!!! by SharpFang · 2007-04-27 00:37 · Score: 1

Oh well, release the laptop for $250 to nerds, and each unit sold to a nerd will reballance the price of the unit for a kid.

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45 5F E1 04 22 CA 29 C4 93 3F 95 05 2B 79 2A B2

oblig. python by Anonymous Coward · 2007-04-27 00:45 · Score: 0

"the members of the slashdot community can disagree with each other."

You're telling me that we are all individuals?? Well, I for one am not, you insensitive clod!

I Want One! by Anonymous Coward · 2007-04-27 01:03 · Score: 0

Okay. Why don't they sell XOs for, say, $400? So that when someone buys one, half the price buys a 2nd for a third-world child? I never give money away for charity, ever. But I want that, and I'm ready to pay twice the price.
(A relatively unbreakable laptop for $175? Really, we're getting violently ass-raped when buying laptops here. And don't you dare to try and tell me that the components in our boxen do cost five to ten times more.)

(Posting as AC because I don't want to open a window, log in to several webmails, remember which has my /. password and copy/paste it.)

In other news by adam.skinner · 2007-04-27 01:18 · Score: 1

My $40 cable internet connection repriced to $70.

Re:DAMN IT, SLASHDOT!!! by indifferent+children · 2007-04-27 01:20 · Score: 1

Alright, I'll get it over with: *ahem* Ding, dong, the witch is dead

That comment is untrue and unkind. All of the witches that I know are really nice (if slightly dotty) people. This guy was an asshole, who would probably have benefitted from a scoop of dottyness.

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Censorship is telling a man he can't have a steak just because a baby can't chew it. --Mark Twain

No Child left behind = worse education by Anonymous Coward · 2007-04-27 01:35 · Score: 0

The mandate requires that kids pass, which means kids are being moved up grades whether they have the grades or not... Which just fails them in the end. Many problems kids know this, so they don't even TRY to learn. Thank you Mr Bush!

I personally know a couple school teachers who have changed careers because of that BS. They are on the receiving end of all the shit, required to work extra, without any extra reward.

Shipping costs by grahamsz · 2007-04-27 01:38 · Score: 1

Ultimately they've got to get a large number of these from China to countries that don't have the best infrastructure.

A desktop would surely end up being more expensive unless they went for a CRT monitor, and the CRT would make it difficult to get into its final location.

OPEC *Aren't* going to use the Euro... by Colin+Smith · 2007-04-27 02:01 · Score: 1

At least, not in the longer term...

They are right now creating their own currency for trading oil. What this means is that we will all have to buy their currency in order to pay them for their oil. Essentially they'll get paid twice for the oil.

e.g.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/10/30/business/gu lf.php

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Deleted

cheapest laptop slowly becoming expensive.. by tirnacopu · 2007-04-27 02:05 · Score: 1

I am looking right now at a laptop offer on a local web site: a brand new Pentium M Dell (pre-centrino) can be bought for 500USD and a (really tempting!) factory refurbished IBM T23 costs ~400USD. These are fully-fledged systems, with fast CPUs, lots of RAM, good displays etc. and can perform better than 3-4 OLPC toys stacked together. Give it six months, and those configurations will cost 300USD. Nicholas Negroponte's idea sounded really good, and I was tempted to pay 300USD for one of his laptops, three years ago when a system equivalent to the T23 was 2000-2500 USD. Right now I would suggest him to give up and find other uses for the otherwise interesting technology developed during the OLPC project.

Re:The price will go down when they get more volum by griffjon · 2007-04-27 02:11 · Score: 1

The classmate isn't, but again, the OLPC is launching in mid-level countries which have reasonably extensive electrical grids and off-grid generation services (photovoltaics, mini-grids around diesel generators, and so on). You win on the rugged argument, the classmate is definitely designed for gentler usage.

The AMD PIC though is a fricking brick. Almost entirely sealed and rubberized case, and all the peripherals are swappable (USB keyboard, ethernet, mouse, standard monitor). Now, I'll diss the AMD because they've been surprisingly anti-Linux, the thing runs WinCE, and has an annoying bios lockout that has been causing the LinuxDevices types hassles, though newer models seem to be more flexible.

The cool thing about both of these is I can buy a handful to test them out and see just exactly what I can/can't do with them before committing to a huge order

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Returned Peace Corps IT Volunteer

is not a feature or price war ... by lgalindo · 2007-04-27 02:13 · Score: 2, Insightful

The Sinclair Spectrum changed my life and was less featured and same priced as this machine, I could not found a reason to be against this OLPC program ...

100$ laptop? Not really useful... by ponos · 2007-04-27 02:29 · Score: 1

The vast majority of people who are actually interested in owning this laptop (and who can afford 100$!) would be far better off if they bought a REAL $400 laptop. The people who should get this laptop are the ones that have a 30 year life expectancy and who, frankly, couldn't care less about teh internet or online pr0n. In that sense, I don't think this is actually going to be useful.

Let me give two specific examples: poor people in Africa probably need drugs, water, sex education and peace. On the other hand, "poor" people in countries like Argentina would probably prefer to get a "real" laptop that can do real work (yes, and run Windows) with a mass discount (at a final price of, say ~300-400$).

My impression is that this laptop tries to fill a non-existent (or very small) gap between those that are so poor they die of hunger and those that are rich enough to afford a real computer. It makes much more sense, in the second case to reduce taxes or offer refunds as an incentive, than to force people to use a crappy computer.

That being said, I'm sure many of us would appreciate the "geek" factor (or hack value) of that little machine.

P.

Re:100$ laptop? Not really useful... by geek2k5 · 2007-04-27 03:20 · Score: 1

If the laptop allows you to access information on ways of obtaining clean water, improving your health, keeping the population down and promoting peace, then it has the potential of being useful. Content, and accessibility, are the key benefits of the laptop.

If people act upon the information they get via the laptop, improving their quality of life, then the laptop IS useful.

Now children could get the same information from books and other traditional media. But a laptop, with networking, can be a substitute for a whole building full of books. Furthermore, with the right programs, the laptop can serve as a surrogate teacher, allowing children, and even their parents, to bootstrap themselves to better conditions.
Re:100$ laptop? Not really useful... by ponos · 2007-04-27 05:09 · Score: 1

If the laptop allows you to access information on ways of obtaining clean water, improving your health, keeping the population down and promoting peace, then it has the potential of being useful. Content, and accessibility, are the key benefits of the laptop.

I sincerely believe that you can't just skip an evolutionary step and employ "modern technology" when the social infrastructure is lacking in many other ways. It's like using racing tires for your consumer car: even if they work, they won't work as expected. For example, children may be tempted to sell the unit for some food, or they may actually benefit more by learning to herd cattle or grow crops instead of learning "powerpoint" and the internet. Using a computer may appear to be a trivial skill to us, but when basic literacy (as in reading books) is a rare privilege, then one has to wonder whether the laptop will actually be used in practice.

After all, you will need proper software localization, maybe wireless internet, someone to fix it when (not "if") it breaks and someone to provide useful content (in the local language---sorry, the english wikipedia doesn't count). These are major projects even for a moderately organized government and they probably represent a very significant effort that far surpasses the ~100-200$ cost per unit. Hell, software localization and development alone is a huge project! Which brings us to my original point: if a country and its people can afford such an extensive "computerization" effort, they are much better off buying COMMODITY hardware and software.

I am not against the idea of introducing cheap laptops or PCs in poor countries. It's just that I can't imagine a significant niche where this product would actually matter or be preferable to a real computer. Really poor countries are too poor to care about computers (and are probably unable to provide infrastructure) while relatively richer countries (the kind where someone will live to see their fifties or sixties) should not invest on a severely handicapped unit just to save a few percent of the overall cost.

P.

inflation by k1e0x · 2007-04-27 02:44 · Score: 1

inflation is a bitch ehh.. soon they will cost $200

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Bringing liberty to the masses. - http://freetalklive.com/

Corresponding change in project name... by MS-06FZ · 2007-04-27 03:56 · Score: 2, Funny

"One Laptop Per Child" will change its name to reflect this change, it will know be known as "Four Laptops Per Seven Children"

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---GEC
I'm but the humble pupil, seeking to snatch the scratchbuilt pebble from the master's fully articulated hand

They could get the price down to $100 by Organic+Brain+Damage · 2007-04-27 04:14 · Score: 1

if they'd pre-install a few trial offers from AOL, MSN, Adobe and Symantec and maybe Nestle and Teen Beat and Mattel and....

But what I really want to know is, if this takes off and a billion kids get laptops in the developing world how will the Runescape servers keep up?

If the for-profits do it better... by paladinwannabe2 · 2007-04-27 04:48 · Score: 1

Because if the souless, for profit corporations offer a better product for a lower price than the nice, happy non-profit organizations, that means the corporations are doing more to help the public good than the charities are. How could that not be an important question? Non-profits that don't provide better services than corporations are a waste of time and money.

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You are reading a copy of my copyrighted post.

Free market support for charity by Anonymous Coward · 2007-04-27 05:07 · Score: 0

Has anyone thought of selling it for say $300-400 (or the equivalent in local currency) to individuals through a not for profit whose aim is to funnel that money into the project to donate them to the technologically and economically deprived? Seems win-win to me. People who want one and can afford it can get one and the project gets off the ground...

Communist China by youthoftoday · 2007-04-27 05:22 · Score: 1

In communist China, computer pound YOU.

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-1 not first post

A FOSS First! by Anonymous Coward · 2007-04-27 05:33 · Score: 0

This is the biggest vaporware project the FOSS community has EVER created! It's even bigger than Linux on the Desktop!

Congratulations! Your l337 vaporware skillz are truly big-time now!

Re:DAMN IT, SLASHDOT!!! by bean123456789 · 2007-04-27 07:18 · Score: 1

3-A. Change marketing currency to British pounds 4-A. Profit More

Re: me thinks kids in inner city schoos ...[SIC] by Anonymous Coward · 2007-04-27 15:16 · Score: 0

"If you answered yes to any of the questions above, you may have benefited from a free public education."

First, public schools may charge no tuition per se, but public education is far from free. It's funded through taxation and numerous "fees" for everything from text books to gym lockers.

Second, I answered "yes" to all those questions. That has nothing to do with public schools, and everything to do with surving twelve years of Catholic schools. There were no social promotions. There was meaningful discipline. There was copious homework. There were genuine standards. You met the standards or you flunked. No excuses were accepted. All the graduates were prepared for adult life in the "real world", regardless of race, color, or social status. Creed? Well, that's another story...

Freakin' Windoze? by pubwvj · 2007-04-28 04:59 · Score: 1

Windows? Window??? What a Waste.

323 comments