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OLPC Announces Buy-2-Get-1 XO Laptop Sale
theodp writes "Starting November 12, The One Laptop Per Child Project will sell its affordable XO laptop to Americans for a brief period of time, but there's a slight catch: U.S. buyers must purchase two computers — one for their own child and one for a child in the developing world — for a total cost of $399. 'Staff members of the laptop project were concerned that American children might try the pared-down machines and find them lacking compared to their Apple, Hewlett-Packard or Dell laptops. Then, in this era of immediate global communications, they might post their criticisms on Web sites and blogs read around the world, damaging the reputation of the XO Laptop, the project staff worried. So the laptop project sponsored focus-group research with American children, ages 7 to 11, at the end of August. The results were reassuringly positive.'"
I thought this was the $100 laptop?
If so, how is it buying two costs $399?
Or are they Canadian dollars?
Is your next kid going to be named '95'?
http://twitter.com/onion2k
Look at it this way. You're buying one for your kid. And also for some strangers kid. Its a selfless act.
.. this would be an astoundingly peaceful action. What modern child wouldn't want to communicate with another kid around the world using their new laptops?
IMO, Americans could do with far more such selflessness these days.
What would be really great in my opinion is if the two laptops were somehow registered such that the kids can get to know each other
; -- the corruption of government starts with its secrets. a truly free people keep no secrets. --
"Buy a Laptop for a Child, Get Another Laptop Free"
We're getting a $100 laptop for free when we pay $399 for two?!
Luckily both weren't for free, or we would have to pay $799!
--- "To pee or not to pee, that is the question." ---
Why do children need to code anyway? And why do they need to use a computer? Isn't it better to teach them to think, and other basics such as reading, writing, and maths?
www.itjerk.com
Despite your first comment, you really do miss the point.
You are not buying a $399 laptop. You are buying a $188 laptop and donating $211 to a charitable cause.
I am not kidding. Look, I happen to know that learning calculus as a ninth grader is no big deal. I taught myself Calculus, because it wasn't even offered by my school. It was not typical then for kids in the ninth grade to be ready for Calculus then, any more it is now. More importantly, it is not a particularly impressive or important accomplishment to learn calculus in the ninth grade. Any sufficiently motivated parent can transform a moderately talented child into a "prodigy" capable of doing all kinds of mathematical parlor tricks above his age level. I've seen it happen, and by in large these "prodigies" don't grow into a population of adults that contribute more to society than others of their general talent level.
It is not so important that kids learn things early so much as they learn them well.
The Achilles' heel of ed reform in math is that it often addresses the wrong question. The most important question is not how much math kids can do, so much as the amount of math they understand. It's one thing to be able to perform in an integration bee, it's another thing to be able to think in terms of applied math. In my state, kids in middle school are way ahead of where most high schoolers were in my day in being able to translate everyday problems into mathematical terms. Of course, your state may be different than mine. Remember: ed reform is state based. The Republican educational reform model is broken: it demands "tough standards" but it's quasi "states rights" ideology means those standards cannot have any Federally mandated (or apparently even recommended) content. Thus "education reform" might mean teaching creationism in Kansas or keeping maps of the Soviet Union in place in Colorado (so far as I know).
With respect to 486s -- I'd rather have kids with 486s, the Logo language, and a good teacher than the latest quad core processor, electronic flash cards and an apathetic teacher. Of course this is a false dichotomy, but the point I'm making is that of all the factors involved, the quality of the curriculum and its implementation far outweigh the level of tech.
Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
In november 2005, when it was first announced by Carlo Negroponte and Kofi Annan, it was hoped that it would cost around $100. Currently it is going to cost $188. That's an increase of +88%.
Quanta, the maker, is Taiwan-based. The local currency is the New Taiwan Dollar (NT$, TWD).
The initial $100 was at that time 3'358 NT$, and is currently 6'214 NT$, which is a ~ +85% increase.
Some may argue that the, because the NT$ isn't a strong currency, the $ may had repercussion that pulled it down allong. Given the fact that there's a lot of international collaboration going on behing the OLPC project, it won't be too far fetched to compare to other international currency for reference.
In Euro, the initial $100 corresponded in 2005 to 85.50 , and the current price of $188 is 136.25, which is only ~ +60% increase.
In Swiss francs (CHF), the price jumped from 131.10 SFrs to 223.70 SFrs, which is only ~ +70%.
In Japanese Yen (JPY), the price jumped from 11'844 Y to 21'619 Y, which is only ~ +82%.
So depending of who we take as a reference point, results do vary, BUT indeed we see that part of the prise increase may come from the dollar itself loosing its value.
What would be most interesting is to see potential buyers :
Brazil (BRL) : 221.00 to 345.28 thus ~ +56% (only)
(The only country from the OLPC's list whose currency history I managed to find... )
Or country that might be targeted (although not currently interested) :
India (INR) : 4'563 Rs to 7'588 Rs thus ~ +66% (only)
Thailand (THB) : 4'110 B to 6'048 B thus ~ +47% (only)
We definitely see a trend there : the price of the OLPC hasn't risen as much in developing countries as it had in the USA.
Thanks to Wikipedia and Google for the DATA.
Not that I am not an economist. Also I only calculated currency. Factoring the Purchasing power, or the duration of work given salaries in those countries, would be interesting too.
"Sufficiently advanced satire is indistinguishable from reality." - [Tips: 1DrYakQDKCQ6y52z6QbnkxHXAocMZJE61o ]
It's true here too, for example the 1 Euro coins from Belgium, Germany and France are amazingly similar...
May contain traces of nut.
Made from the freshest electrons.
This differs from the greenback how? Cash isn't money, it has no intrinsic value - confidence in the cash is the money. All paper currency is "money stamps".