Widespread Keyboard Failures on OLPC's XO-1

otakuj462 writes "Many participants in OLPC's 'Give 1 Get 1' program of last November are now encountering what has come to be known as the 'stuck key' problem, in which one or more of the keys on their XO-1 laptop's built-in keyboard become stuck in an activated position, or are activated when adjacent keys are pressed. As of January 30th, the official word from OLPC is that the root cause of this problem is unknown because '[t]here are several manufacturers of the keyboards.' ('So far we don't know of any _reliable_ method of fixing the keyboard or the exact root cause.') It is unknown just how widespread this problem currently is, as the 30-day manufacturer's warranty has already expired for most G1G1 participants. However, the OLPC forums are full of reports. OLPC is currently deploying the XO-1 to children in Mongolia and Peru, as well as other developing nations. If OLPC is actively deploying units with known, critical hardware bugs, without a dedicated support infrastructure in place, to children who have never seen a computer before, should they still be considered to be a responsible organization? Did OLPC deploy their hardware too soon?"

Comments

At least as responsible as Microsoft

[Mathinker]

Frankly, I'd guess that the OLPC organization signs contracts with their customers (or customer nations, anyway) which resemble Microsoft's EULA's. In other words, the customer agrees to the fact that there is nothing resembling the support infrastructure which commercial companies supply.

Last time I read an EULA from Microsoft, it said that Microsoft had no obligation to patch any particular bugs which would be found in its software. Very similar to this situation.

The first takers for the OLPC are, in reality, beta testers, even if they are not officially. I don't find it particularly scandalous that there would be some problems with the hardware which only large scale use would uncover. I would think it unscrupulous if no action would be taken to fix the (major) problems which are discovered (that is, just as I would look at Microsoft leaving major known security vulnerabilities unpatched).

Re:Some people are simply delusional

[FishWithAHammer]

In no way, shape, or form is it a "donation" to purchase a fucking piece of hardware. The fact that you wouldn't expect them to provide proper support to paying customers doesn't mean that normal people wouldn't expect it.

The way you "see" it is idiotic.