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Mass OLPC Production Begins
eldavojohn writes to tell us that mass production of the first XO laptops has officially started. "The commencement of mass production means children in developing nations could have the rugged, open-source laptops in hand starting this month. The OLPC has already announced orders for kids in Uruguay and Mongolia. (Residents of the U.S. and Canada participating in the Give 1 Get 1 program--which donates an XO to a child in a developing nation for every machine sold online--are expected to start getting laptops in December.)"
...I'll still be around to get mine!
Give 2, get 0. Why would anyone want one of these other than for novelty? It'll sit in your closet after you mess around with it for an hour.
Do they come with free internet? Or a low cost internet option?
^(oo)^pig~
OLPC is a thinly-veiled attempt by corporations to create the next generation of IT "professionals" they can ship in to work for a third of what you charge. They're really laughing it up that they can do this is under the guise of a humanitarian gesture and get all the tax breaks to boot. There will be no Americans in IT in 20 years.
It seems to hottest product right now is the ASUS EEE PC, a Linux based subnotebook, yet I've hardly seen a peep about it on slashdot.
Slashdot editors are been slurping the OLPC from day one, and now its ignoring something that's better and actually available to people in developed countries. It's sad how behind the times this site is.
After following it's development from concept through revised designs and explanation of the rational for it's features.
Frankly I feel like it's already part mine. Baring unavailability or some weird sales structure, I plan to get one. Or a few.
What choice do I have when my 15 Month old is monopolizing the main desktop at home?
--= Isn't it surprising how badly I spell ?
What fucking racist white ass crackers modded this crap up?
What gives you the precious ability to hold these people away from IT?
Why SHOULDN'T they be given a chance to learn? You are a fucking racist white ass!
Please go die, you fucking American.
I hate Americans. God save the Queen!
You can't blame Slashdot for this one, there was a post about it last week, see the link at http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/10/27/1935223 for details.
These are the good old days you'll be telling your children about. Make them worthwhile.
That's unfair. The problem with the lead in the paint was due to the standards being changed during production. As such, toys that were made prior to the change in standards could not be magically "unmade" and had already reached the retail shelves. Admittedly, some factories in China were using the inferior paint but for those that weren't, they got a raw deal.
Mattel simply wanted a scapegoat.
Excellent. I was getting tired of scam email from people in Nigeria. I look forward to the scams that will be coming to me from Uruguay and Mongolia.
Intron: the portion of DNA which expresses nothing useful.
Or is anyone else amused that the name for this laptop, the XO, is an emoticon for a frustrated person yelling? Seems like Microsoft would have nailed that name down. I keed, I keed.
1. The last 5 road construction crews you saw?
2. The SA's desk when the network drops.
Has anyone aside from me looked at TFA. The from picture is several children at the assembly. Just makes me thing of armies of child laborers in underdeveloped countries making laptops for children in other underdeveloped countries.
But if you go with the "buy 1 get 1", you are helping Nick Negroponte prove that his "stupid Lunix vaporware bundled with cripled and lame hardware" idea can actually... well, not succeed, but at least get out the door so he can move on to his next high profile failure.
Now we see how when Teh FOSS Community puts there mind to something, there truly is nothing they can do!
Even worse, the majority of the recalls were due to design flaws rather than the paint.
"Chinese manufacturers have taken plenty of heat in the U.S. over recent widespread toy recalls, but U.S. toy maker Mattel says it's mostly to blame. The company says there were flaws in some of the toys' designs."
"A top Mattel executive took the opportunity to apologize to his Chinese colleagues, saying they were being blamed for simply following flawed design plans."
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2007/09/mattel_recall4.html
The apology from Mattel was too late and too little publicized to change the truthiness of blaming the Chinese.
I, myself, will be getting one so I can remain competitive with the next generation of outsourcing going around.
We are going to see a huge boom in downloads of bittorrent clients. Seriously, what are these kids in developing countries going to do with these laptops besides host pirated files and do "research" on wikipedia?
There are a lot of arguments relating to this in the book Guns, Germs and Steel.
...)
I'd recommend checking it out if you haven't. According to the author it comes
down to geography and (related to geography) the availability of native domesticable
plant and animal species -- which is the one resource that matters most. The Eurasian
continent had them, the Americas, Africa and Australia did not.
It's a fascinating book with loads of information. I understand the difficulty
people have with the question you pose -- it's not at all obvious. While treating
these peoples (Native American, South American, Native Australians, Africans
as inferiors for so long was/is not justified, it's understandable why
so many people assumed they were an inferior subspecies -- it in fact takes a lot
of analysis to figure out why their societies are so behind Eurasian based societies.
Now, I agree the OLPC may not do anything. I think it depends on what is included a lot.
I worked as a mathematics and physics teacher for a few years in West Africa. In my opinion
if the OLPC can serve as a substitute for the relatively expensive school books students
are expected to purchase today it would be a massive help -- and in fact cheaper, OLPC and
co wouldn't need to give these machines away if they could show the value of them. That's
all of course beyond the IT educational component of the thing, which seems to be the focus
at OLPC. From what I've seen on the wiki it looks like the ebooks component of the project
is pretty undeveloped.
If the thing was packed full of 12 years of well made interactive textbooks, it would be
a Godsend. I'm a bit worried though that it's going to be more of a toy that kids play
around with -- IM, WWW, email, etc.
Just my 2 cents.
"Orthodoxy means not thinking--not needing to think. Orthodoxy is unconsciousness." --Eric Blair
to be able to designate where the 1 goes. In particular, I would like to see my freebie one go to a school in America. We have plenty of under and un educated kids here. We desperately need laptops like this. No more of the silly games like reader rabbit.
I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
as they both are on the same playing field, doing business with the same laws, economy, and regulations.
A better comparison would be if Target was able to employ slaves paid 12 cents per day to run its cash registers, and started selling only stolen merchandise. Obviously Target would be able to sell its products far cheaper, soon putting Walmart out of business.
In this analogy you are Walmart and Target (3rd world programmers) will be soon putting you out of business.
I am sure that many of you believe that children in 3rd world countries will get one of the laptops. Reality is that they can't even use the laptop, don't have the knowledge or understanding to use it. It will probably end up in the hands of some tyrant dictator, where he will probably sell it to put $25 in his pocket for each one. The third world is a hard place to live, where fairness and honest just don't exist. Great idea, just like food for third world countries, unfortunately the people there still starve.
It's got a nice processor, the Geode LX-700.
That's a lot of oomph actually. I know we're all used to our 3ghz desktops, but think about how nice 700mhz(equiv) actually is. I've got a refurbished eMachines 650 in my basement. It plays divx video with no problems.
You could use one of these as a portable entertainment center easy. Or how about a router? The thing is designed for minimum power draw. Use one in your basement as a router that works the way you want it to work.
A sub $200 x86 with that kind of horsepower and power specs has hundreds of uses.
Weaselmancer
rediculous.
If the thing was packed full of 12 years of well made interactive textbooks, it would be a Godsend. I'm a bit worried though that it's going to be more of a toy that kids play around with -- IM, WWW, email, etc.
And the smart developer will start creating an API for doing nice text books. This is how you get around all the publishing houses. Right now, they have a strangle hold on text books and because of their prices, it causes books to be used as long a decade. Worse, the authors do not get that much (but most are college profs and this is a feather in the hat). The situation with primary education text books is actually worse than the music world; only the labels really make out.
I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
We have become a nation enslaved to our government through entitlements. The politicians daily spout that YOU deserve this and this, these people over here deserve this, and those over there get to pay for it because their too rich. When jobs are lost overseas the politicians trot out declaring evil corporations are to blame and that these entities need to be penalized; taxed more; to set the balances right.
We are encouraged to run up debt and then disclaim responsibility for our actions. We can engage in risk behavior and blame does who don't stop us (bartenders, smoking, riding without helmets, etc). We are told constantly that so and so wasn't at fault for murdering people because society, movies, video games, Iraq, etc, made them do it.
We are bombarded by the very people we elect to believe "It's okay, the government will make it all right" and people buy into this. Its easy to do when your not footing the bill for your actions. Unemployed because you won't learn a viable trade? Its okay, we got help for that. As such we see business practically driven overseas or the jobs go there.
An entitlement state only exists for as long as the people stuck paying have the means to do so. We won't run out of people to vilify soon, but it is still wrong.
No, we don't deserve jobs just because we live here, we don't deserve health care, we don't deserve cell phones, we don't deserve fancy cars, we don't deserve high speed net, we don't deserve a lot of things but it never ceases to amaze me what order people put their priorities.
* Winners compare their achievements to their goals, losers compare theirs to that of others.
Since you have to buy two to get one...
I can easily get a "real" laptop for $400 and it's not even black friday. Heck, given that i actually live in a house with a roof (and running water and electricity!) I could buy a desktop. Those can be had for $300 without a big fuss.
Remind me again why I should care? I mean other than as an excuse for some big company to get a tax write off and free press. Something that would actually help me keep up with the price of gas and heating oil and electricity.
You can get rich if you own a politician, but you have to be rich to buy one in the first place.
Comment removed based on user account deletion
I'm tired of people saying that good ideas are an attempt at taking away jobs from ignorant people. This is a blatant troll, but I'm biting anyway. If it's really good enough that it'll revolutionize computing, let it happen, and let the best, not most monopolized, system win.
With 10's of thousands of these being ordered and shipped to third world countries, has anyone actually thought about how they are going to be distributed? It's kind of like the food programs for poor countries...it is not that there isn't enough money or food, it just nearly impossible to get the resources to the people that actually need it.
I envision thousands of these laptops sitting in warehouses across the global, with only a handful of "showcase" schools actually receiving and using the laptops.
Maybe I'm just cynical, but I don't think real problem here is technology or the cost of it.
ÕÕ
It's a matter of people in the 8-figure-plus end of the income scale selling out America to make a buck. The middle class is rapidly, rapidly being eliminated in this country. If something doesn't change, in the near future we will be a country of lords and peasants. And guess what: you won't be one of the lords.
A specious argument that sells books. African and Asian elephants put horses and bulls to shame. America had Buffalo, which would later be domesticated by european settlers, until they became rare, but are still used in less developed countries. The author even mentions Zebras with some bullcrap claim that because they are a bit more aggressive than horses, they can't be restrained (see: bridle and bit) and eventually tamed.
As for Australia... Now, I don't know if kangaroos can be made to pull a plow, but I'd sure like to see it!
Slashdot gets worse every day... Pipedot: News for nerds, without the corporate slant
Oh my - that's interesting, in a weird fantasy sort of way. First of all, they're BISON, not buffalo - and yes, there's a difference. I'd love to know which American settlers domesticated these bison prior to shooting down millions of them and nearly wiping them out. Bison are a heckuva lot larger and stronger than European cows, and it is only recently that anyone has been interested in raising them for slaughter. Let me know when you see one hitched to a plow! Finally, no, they are not used in less developed countries, because they *don't exist* in less developed countries.
Or were you making a joke it just went whoosh over my head?
A post a day keeps productivity at bay.
A specious argument that sells books.
... ?
And the title of the book you wrote that attempts to justify that statement is
African and Asian elephants put horses and bulls to shame.
You might have had an interesting argument brewing here, but with only your second sentence you've shown that you're writing about something you know nothing about. African elephants are damn hard to domesticate, even today. Asian elephants on the other hand are easier to domesticate, and that's why there's been some success in doing so for centuries -- and not just by visiting (a.k.a. conquering) Europeans, but by a host of peoples throughout southeast Asia.
America had Buffalo, which would later be domesticated by european settlers, until they became rare, but are still used in less developed countries.
Yeah, domesticated by European settlers WHO INTRODUCED HORSES TO NORTH AMERICA. Prior to that, no horses. (Go on, tell me I'm wrong -- show us all again how clueless you are.) I'd like to see you domesticate a buffalo on foot, chumpy.
The author even mentions Zebras with some bullcrap claim that because they are a bit more aggressive than horses, they can't be restrained (see: bridle and bit) and eventually tamed.
Piece of cake again, huh? With no horse to help you, right?
As for Australia... Now, I don't know if kangaroos can be made to pull a plow, but I'd sure like to see it!
Personally I'd like to see more jackasses pulling plows. Did you hear that? A job opening for you!
I've been wiggling back and forth on it ... the $400 (buy 2 get 1) OLPC costs nearly as much (really!) as I've made in a semester of TAing for two law-school classes, but I do plan to get one with that money.
Are you planning to get one? Why / Why not?
timothy
jrnl: http://tinyurl.com/c2l8yr / foes: http://tinyurl.com/ckjno5
You can get a soekris board with the same processor and 4 network ports if you want to make a router.
I'm from Uruguay (the country that has actually gone out and bought the XOs), and... it's not at all like you imagine it.
:)
We have electricity and running water everywhere, better literacy than the US and public education for everyone (better than that of the US if Slashdot whining is to be believed !)
On the other hand, average wages are about U$ 300/month, and so a computer is a luxury item for most, and very especially for parents of school-age children like the ones which will be the recipient of the XO.
You can read at the unofficial Proyecto Ceibal blog (the Uruguayan OLPC initiative) about how this has the potential to be a nice step forward
http://olpc-ceibal.blogspot.com/
There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.
Difference species, same family. Not that big a difference. And they certainly exist in developing countries.
http://www.travelblog.org/Photos/698125.html
Go troll elsewhere.
Slashdot gets worse every day... Pipedot: News for nerds, without the corporate slant
s. These people don't need silicon, they need morals, ethical institutions and just governments. Especially Africa. People there are still engaged in animal worship. There problem is largely spiritual.
QQQ baby!
Looks to me like the buffalo's pulling a person carrying a plow. I'm not sure that counts. ;)
I am not worried for OLPC used as a toy, as this is how children learn. Some will be used as toys by grown children, yes, but many will be used by adults to educate themselves to their full potential, which is expensive (in books) and much more difficult (special scools) today. Go OPLC!
accept no limits but time
Why is lead pain so prevalent in China? They've been having lead paint recalls for years. Eventually the Chinese government is going to have to get it together with respect to environmental controls and product safety. They are going to get a black eye on a regular basis until they get serious about this type of thing.
Your picture is of an Asian water buffalo, not an American Bison. Like you said, different species. You seem to be under the impression that if two animals of different species are roughly the shape and size, then they're basically the same thing. Zebra = horse, bison = buffalo. Chimpanzee = human?
A post a day keeps productivity at bay.
The peoples of the Americas were far better fed with far fewer incidences of famine than the Europeans were before their arrival. Look at your current diet, and think about how much of that food actually existed in Europe before 1492. Wheat, barley, beef, mutton, cabbage, turnips, a few herbs, that was about it. Asia also had rice, onions, pork, some limited aquaculture, cotton and silk.
From the Americas we have corn, potatoes, tomatoes, squashes, beans, peanuts, peppers, quinoa, llama, alpaca, guinea pig, large scale aquaculture, and scores of foods that the Europeans still don't know about like oca, kaniwa, kanihuaco, tayacha, etc. They also had the world's finest fibers from alpaca, vicuña, and chinchilla, and regularly wove fabrics of over 200 thread count. Their ceramic and gold work far exceeded the level of anything found on the Eurasian continent.
What the Americas didn't have were smallpox and influenza, both of which apparently arose from the squalid living conditions of the European peasants, who slept with their livestock to keep warm in winter. Seventy to ninety percent of all people from Tierra del Fuego to Point Barrow died, leaving a small, weak, disorganized, easily dominated population living amongst the shattered ruins of the highest civilizations on the planet.
"Think about how stupid the average person is. Now, realise that half of them are dumber than that." - George Carlin
I find it amazing that people could laud the OLPC "initiative" for wasting millions of dollars in order to . . . get a cheaper laptop. Funny, I thought that's what the market does, year after year after year. I live in a world in which consumer electronics get cheaper every year without any work from Nick Negroponte, but maybe that's different from the world most of the posters at this blog live in.
Funnily enough, while OLPC has worked hard to produce a laptop that finally costs about $175 plus shipping -- and that so few developing countries actually want to buy that now they want US to pay for it -- you can buy a nice Fedora Linux laptop, the Madison Celebrity, from Sweden for $150 including free shipping in the US.
The point is that OLPC could have spent the last few years developing kick-ass SOFTWARE to run on the $100 linux boxes that we'll have by next year ANYWAY instead of wasting money and time promoting themselves and performing the magic act of creating a laptop that costs $25 more than the market created without them.
Seems like a very good place to post this.
I'm currently in possession of an XO-1 that was lost somewhere in New York City. If you are a rightful owner, and can accurately describe any special markings, accessories that it came with, place where you lost it, etc., I'll be happy to return it to you.
I'll respond ONLY to legitimate claims.
Yeah, I'm sure having to crank up your OLPC web server every two hours isn't going to be tedious. Or stupidly annoying.
Good luck with that one, Lunix d00d!
A quick search showed most to be much more expensive. Only this one, for $270 - without a hard drive, operating system, or AC adapter. (Probably stolen, too, since the last part is one usually overlooked by thieves.)
- enter first batch model number here
without securing it. The OLPC is designed with security so that the child (i.e. designated owner) types in a password to activate it. The purpose is to minimize any incentive toward theif of the device. Isn't it ironic? Only those who work inside the OLPC project could have access to this device. Some one forget to use the most important feature? Wouldn't he/she know better?Will Rogers quote "If Stupidity got us into this mess, then why can't it get us out?"