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

Patriotic???

[iamacat]

A patriotic thing would be to offer OLPC in US before elsewhere in the world. I am not saying it would be the most practical thing to do, but turning home only after selling everywhere else and some may say after failing to realize the volume is certainly not patriotic.

Re:Patriotic???

[jorghis]

Every time someone tries to sell something to the government they spin it as "patriotic". When Halliburton sells to the government they make noise about how "patriotic" it is that they are selling to them. The same is true of everyone who builds anything from roads to aircraft carriers to now laptops. Maybe I am being cynical, but I do get tired of seeing the word "patriotic" used so many different ways for so many different reasons that it really doesnt seem to have the meaning that it used to.

Re:Patriotic???

[fictionpuss]

I grew up on an 8bit Z80 128k Spectrum (+2). I learned more from that and its single instruction book (no internet) than I would have from an 'industry standard' computer of the time - because I could poke and peek inside it, because it was designed to be explored and played with - the ROM/OS even had little messages inside to reward the curious.

The point is, that these kids will be able to learn more about computers and technology with the OLPC because it comes from the same sort of heritage, than they could with a box which has any other existing commercial OS (or even just plain Linux) shoved inside.

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.

The SW experimenter's kit

[zazenation]

Hurray for OLPC team!

Maybe we might begin to develop a generation of students who haven't been mesmerized by the MICROSOFT logo. Tweaking around with the OS for fun will sprout a new generation of "garage" hackers. I'll never forget my first erector set. Now it will be virtual. Go kiddies GO !

Re:The SW experimenter's kit

[jd]

Garage developers are an essential step to producing inventors. Inventors are an essential step to producing genuinely new ideas and new products. (Generally, "innovation" - as opposed to invention - seems to involve stepwise improvements at best, more often just slightly better eye candy and a thicker manual.) The same mindset that produces inventors also produces "deep science" (radically new work, as opposed to filling in the gaps) and other important original work. Originality is the key element, here, because it is both rare and potent. A lot can come from original work. As originality declines, the return on invested effort declines, but the return will always decline faster.

US loves wasting money

[jorghis]

It actually is a good strategy, US State/municipal/national governments are notorious for wasting money. There is a chance they will actually be able to push their laptops over commercial products which give a better cost/value ratio. They could never sell it to a commercial enterprise because they actually have to answer to investors/shareholders who dont like to see money being wasted unnecessarily. As long as he hires some good lobbyists he has a shot.

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.

America's education system

[HandsOnFire]

...to distribute the low-cost laptop computers originally intended for developing nations to needy students here in the United States.

Wouldn't it have made sense for him to have started in America, seeing as the education system is similar to that in quality of the systems in the developing nations? :p

Re: America's education system

[aktzin]

I can confirm this from personal experience. I was born in Mexico and when I was 13 my family moved to the US. I was halfway through the equivalent of 7th grade (Jr. High in the US). At that point I had learned the following as part of my education (note - this was in public school, no advanced placement / gifted program or anything):

Math - Had basic geometry covered and was starting on algebra. I already knew some basic number theory, sets, square roots, and how to read numbers in the trillions and beyond. I could convert from decimals to fractions and back.

Science - I memorized the periodic table of elements and had to recite them all to the teacher as part of our test. We had been introduced to astronomy, physics, biology and of course chemistry as I mentioned.

Geography - Learned the name of every country in the world. For our tests the teacher put up a poster of each continent with national boundaries but no labels. As she pointed to each country we had to give its name and capital.

Literature - We had read and discussed excerpted versions of the Iliad and the Odyssey, among other classics.

History - In addition to excruciatingly detailed Mexican history we learned about the history of the world starting with ancient civilizations like Sumeria and Egypt. We worked our way through Greece, Rome, Persia, China and the more recent empires (Renaissance nation-states, European colonial powers, etc.). We covered the world wars in great detail and even discussed world events from that time, like the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

So when I got to the U.S.A. I was looking forward to an amazing education in the world's richest, most technologically advanced country. What did I get? For math, they started with fractions. For history they covered the US war of independence in the most incredibly dumbed-down way and hardly mentioned any world history. For science, my biology textbook said that all information referring to evolution should be considered a theory and not a scientific fact... shall I go on?

Don't get me wrong. I love this country and I'm eternally grateful for the opportunities I've had (bachelor's degree in computer science, great career working for a fortune 100 technology company, etc.). It just disappointed me that the educational system was such a lazy affair, where many teachers appeared to be barely competent and most of them didn't take the time and effort to inspire and push the students to do better. Fortunately my family instilled in me the value of education so I made the extra effort to learn more than what the schools offered to teach me. I have heard similar stories from friends who immigrated from other countries, in particular India and other parts of Asia. I have hoped for years that things would improve but I'm not holding my breath anymore. And we dare to be surprised by the outsourcing situation?

One fact folks around the globe do not know

[bogaboga]

'We are doing something patriotic, if you will, after all we are and there are poor children in America.

That's one fact I did not know about America and specifically the USA. I thought America was a place where everybody was rich. Its government was always funding a significant portion of my country's budget and building schools and hospitals.

That's what I believed till I came here. I saw what capitalism can be. The rich get richer and the poor have almost no chance of escaping poverty's grip! All in America.

I also saw something: America is rich in what I call material prosperity...that is, infrastructure and all supporting services; but beyond that, people (most of them) are really hurting and living from hand to mouth. Sadly, our politicians are doing us no good at all. Corruption is rife in America and incompetence is reaching terrible levels.

The other sad fact is that the situation will get worse before it gets better.

what the hell...

[diewlasing]

...is with the messed up tag: "onelaptopperblackchild"? Am I the only one who thinks that's slightly wrong?

zigactly

[mckwant]

Someone will have to explain how artificially limiting your market to those least able to pay makes ANY sense whatsoever.

Sell them in the US for $250, and let that drive your product for the first year. Asus shipped hundreds of thousands of the eee pc last quarter, so the market is there. Buy one get one was just a little more altruism than the market could bear.

OLPC is a terrific idea, but the implementation is an unmitigated mess.

Re:zigactly

[fictionpuss]

It's about market share - which educational computing system will become the successful standard for children in developing nations? Intel have demonstrated that they are very interested in this market and will happily use underhanded tactics to claim it.

In this light it would make absolutely no sense to service the wealthy geek niche while Intel/Microsoft maximise profits at the expense of education, because by the time the OLPC had done whatever else it would take to satisfy you, the contest would be over.

This isn't an anti-capitalist hippie parade either, but quite simply that all profit which is extracted from these developing nations represents lost opportunity for education. Intel/Microsoft can either help or hinder, but they have no sympathy from me if they continue to choose the latter.

Re:Cue the OLPC griefers

[s_p_oneil]

Version 1.0 is never the best, but you have to start somewhere. The OLPC has already driven development for a number of other ultra-cheap computers, which is not a bad thing. And perhaps the next version of it really will be $100. As far as people not using it in the way it's promoted, it'll take time to find the best uses to put it to.

Re:Negroponte

[Gideon Fubar]

Someone hasn't been paying attention

*now* he thinks of the economics?

[theantix]

If the project had offered these laptops for sale to the general public from day 1, they would have sold quite a few (look at how the EEE did at twice the price). This would have helped get towards the production economies of scale they wanted and they'd be able to sell these things to their target market.

Now I think it's too little, too late.

Re:*now* he thinks of the economics?

[|deity|]

I agree they should have offered the laptop to the general public from day one. I don't agree that it's to late to do so now though. There is an untapped market of people that would like to use these as cheap ebook readers. Since they have low power usage and are usable in the sunlight, they could be used as a decent book readers.

I do wish they would offer them in a different color scheme, say basic black. I don't see a whole lot of non-geeks carrying around a white and lime green laptop that looks like a childs toy.

Explain why exactly?

[VValdo]

Well, now I feel like an idiot... ...for buying one for my 2nd grader last November with the Give One Get One program.

So wait-- you spend $400 for one computer given to a kid in Afghanistan and one for your 2nd grader- who up until this announcement would have had almost no chance of finding anyone in his school to communicate/collaborate/share with (a major feature of the Sugar UI).

Now that some OTHER American kids will also have the opportunity to use an XO... how do you lose out exactly? How does your kid?

I don't get it. What are you complaining about?

W

OLPC XOs are instanely entertaining

[christian.einfeldt]

We had our first meeting of the San Francisco Bay Area OLPC user group. Not sure if we even have a name. At any rate, a bunch of us got together at the Linux lab in the San Francisco State University to just goof around with these machines. It is really funny to hear them hiss at each other as they try to figure out how close the nearest XOs are. Yep, they talk to each other. They emit a brief hissing sound when you ask them to calculate the distance between XOs. They listen for the hissing sound (or so I was told, dunno, didn't check into it) and then they calculate how long it took for the sound to reach each other, and then they all report back to each other, and they determine how far apart their fellow XOs are. Hilarious.

They also have built in video, which two of the resident children were really enjoying by making monkey faces, much to the embarrassment of their parents. Insanity, you know, is inherited from your children. heh. One kid composed music on his XO. He is 5. As in less than 6 years old. You can add eyes to the screen, and the screen will talk to you to tell you how many eyes it has. Very entertaining for a 3 year-old. Did I mention that these computers are called One Laptop Per *Child*? They really figured out how to make these computers entertaining *for kids*. This is really a kid-centric device.

The amazing thing is that it brings out the kid in adults.

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).