Lessons To Learn From The OLPC Project

FixedSpelling writes "Whether you're impressed with it or not, the XO-1 could have a major impact on notebook design. The concept behind the OLPC's development brings outside-the-box thinking and cost-consciousness to a level that we rarely see in portable computing. There are a number of lessons that can be learned the from its unique design and we can already see that some of these concepts have been noticed by manufacturers. 'The biggest attraction to the OLPC project has always been the price of the system. You don't have to be a cynic to understand that the impact of a $100 notebook could be huge and the price has generated the majority of the interest in the project. Notebooks break, they get lost, and they are replaced frequently, so the cheaper, the better. The low price was originally important so that the XO-1 could be produced in large quantities without putting too much of a burden on the buyer but the low cost appeals to everyone.'"

Comments

Cynic...?

[barl0w]

> You don't have to be a cynic to understand that the impact of a $100 notebook could be huge and the price has generated the majority of the interest in the project.

_If_ the notebook was really $100 then maybe I wouldn't be so cynical.

The only way to get one of these in the US is to participate in the Give One Get One program, where you buy 2 and give one away to help a child that would otherwise not receive an XO. It's a noble cause, but now you've upped the price for one (to the general public) from $100 to $400. We're still very far away from the realization of a $100 notebook, in my opinion.

See one of these XO notebooks next to a common Dell laptop. They are extremely smaller in size:

http://flickr.com/photos/barl0w/1101266148/