OLPC To Be Distributed To US Students

eldavojohn writes "The One Laptop Per Child Project plans to launch OLPC America in 2008 , to distribute the low-cost laptop computers originally intended for developing nations to needy students here in the United States. Nicholas Negroponte is quoted as saying, 'We are doing something patriotic, if you will, after all we are and there are poor children in America. The second thing we're doing is building a critical mass. The numbers are going to go up, people will make more software, it will steer a larger development community.'"

Comments

Re:US loves wasting money

[rbrander]

Many reviewers unconnected with the OLPC project would take issue with the notion that any other product has a better cost/value ratio. The review by WIRED contrasting the XO (OLPC's laptop) with the competitor "Intel Classmate" had the headline "One Looks Like a Toy, the Other Acts Like One":

http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2007/04/intel_olpc_smac.html

A few reviews have found the opposite, but a common criterion is self-fulfilling: that running Windows and Office is a killer feature because it instructs the kids in the "software standards" of business. That's relevant for teaching "computers for business" but not relevant for using the computer to teach reading, arithmetic, history, geometry, etc.

Especially for primary-school levels, the target market.

Bottom line: the XO has half the horsepower and Flash drive, the same RAM, comparable screen, except in sunlight where it has the unique, power-saving, read-by-reflection trick that'll be a killer app in some locations. It has a long list of recharge options, for the Classmate only standard power will do. It has a a wider WiFi range and the network-extending "mesh" trick; the sealed-membrane keyboard makes it less typeable but more rugged. And the XO is at least $75 cheaper. And greener, when you're producing a billion of them. Whoops, forgot to mention the youtube video of an 8 and 10-year-old replacing the motherboard using only a screwdriver:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Pus_fA1Tv9w

Particularly for primary grades, the XO has a lot of value-for-money to offer.

And it's the opposition that has the money to hire lobbyists. OLPC is the non-profit, so not much motivation to push them where they don't work or aren't wanted.

Study: U.S. mobility low for a developed country

[Geof]

America has possibly the greatest social mobility

Unfortunately this is not the case. The recent Pew study on income mobility found that:

in America, about half of the advantages of having a parent with a high income are passed on to the next generation. This means that one of the biggest predictors of an American child's future economic success . . . is predetermined and outside that child's control. . . .

There is little available evidence that the United States has more relative mobility than other advanced nations. . . . a number of countries, including Denmark, Norway, Canada, Sweden, Germany, and France have more relative mobility than does the United States. . . . Compared to the same peer group, Germany is 1.5 times more mobile than the United States, Canada nearly 2.5 times more mobile, and Denmark 3 times more mobile.

This in turn implies that the society is not making the best economic use of its citizens, for in many cases their potential is not being fulfilled and their contributions are not being rewarded (or encouraged).

Re:Patriotic???

[Monsuco]

When Halliburton sells to the government they make noise about how "patriotic" it is that they are selling to them.

Just something I would like to mention, there are really only two major companies in the world that are able to do all of the jobs we hire Halliburton for particular field. Schlumberger and Halliburton. Since Schlumberger mostly is based in the Netherlands and France, and since Halliburton is an American company (though it also has a headquarters in the United Arab Emirates) there was little question of who the contract would go to. There are other companies that do some of what these two do, but these are the only ones who do all of what we hire Halliburton to do. Also for several years, Halliburton was losing money in Iraq, only recently did they finally manage to make a profit. Just thought I would mention that.