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Venezuela Purchases a Million Intel Classmates

Posted by timothy on from the olpc-opened-the-way dept.

An anonymous reader submits news of the million-laptop order from Venezuela of Intel's version of the kid-friendly laptop. The computers are produced in Portugal. "The machines, rebranded 'Magellan,' will also come with Linux pre-installed as opposed to Windows XP. This order alone is 50% bigger than the entire OLPC project has managed to sell worldwide."

10 of 275 comments (clear)

  1. Made up or unsourced quotes? by 1u3hr · · Score: 4, Informative
    This paragraph in the submission:

    "The machines, rebranded 'Magellan,' will also come with Linux pre-installed as opposed to Windows XP. This order alone is 50% bigger than the entire OLPC project has managed to sell worldwide."

    But despite the quotemarks, this is NOT in TFA. No mention of Linux, or the name "Magellan". Hopefully the anonymous submitter didn't just make it up, it would be nice the source was cited. We all know how carefully Slashdot is in vetting its articles, after all, so I'm sure it's all verifiable.

    1. Re:Made up or unsourced quotes? by zeraeiro · · Score: 5, Informative

      Part is true. I'm from Portugal and all over the media you hear everyday everywhere "The first Portuguese computer ever made (...)". They don't even mention it's a Intel Classmate. http://ww1.rtp.pt/noticias/index.php?headline=98&visual=25&article=356756&tema=29 Not sure about the scale of the order in comparison to OLPC.

    2. Re:Made up or unsourced quotes? by The+Dotmeister · · Score: 5, Informative

      Actually the name isn't "Magellan" but "Magalhães", and it dual boots (at least in Portugal) Windows XP and Linux CaixaMágica (a portuguese distro) as you can see here http://www.eescolinha.gov.pt/equipamento.html.
      It's being sold to kids in primary school for 50 euros and it comes with an option for mobile internet, which you can buy from mobile carriers. If you're not a primary school student, well you've got to pay 285 euros for one.

    3. Re:Made up or unsourced quotes? by Chemicalscum · · Score: 5, Informative
      Here we are in Portugese from a Portugese IT site is says that Magellan will be sold to Venezuela with Canaimo Linux installed:

      "na Venezuela o sistema operativo Canaima (baseado em Linux)"

      http://ciberia.aeiou.pt/?st=10098

      Linux is the operating system of the Bolivarian Revolution.

      "Canaima is a GNU / Linux distribution based on Debian which is emerging as a solution to meet the needs of end users office of the Venezuelan National Public Administration (APN) and to comply with the presidential decree no. 3.390 sobre el uso de TecnologÃas Libres en la APN. 3390 on the use of Open Technologies in APN."

      http://canaima.softwarelibre.gob.ve/

    4. Re:Made up or unsourced quotes? by blind+biker · · Score: 4, Informative

      I think it's you who is naive, if you think it's just as likely to happen in Sweden or Finland. Your naivity can be explained with lack of knowledge. I have lived in various parts of Europe, and have lived for almost 40 years. And I have seen the level of corruption in southern and eastern europe. I have learned the various cultural traits of the people of Europe. Each has its pros and cons. I just prefer living in Finland, after seeing the rest. A culture that leads to corruption also leads to a weaker economy (which may or may not be important for you) and a general lack of order and accountability. It's really stupid to say that there are no cultural differences between countries, and that those cultural differences don't contribute to certain behavioural patterns - like, for example, gaming the system. I was born in a country where everyone tries to game the system, to screw up his/her fellow. I have seen other countries, seen shades of grey. One can see a lot of stuff, if he/she travels and lives in various places in his/her lifetime, like I did.

      But you know what: your kind of delusion is popular around here. A lot of people who are just as naive as you are. So, you're preaching to the choir and perhaps you get kicks out of that. You're still wrong, though. There are differences between cultures, differences conducive to behavioural patterns, whether that fits into your worldview or not.

      --
      "The agriculture ministry is not in charge of Gundam" - Japanese ministry official.
  2. OLPC by Eukariote · · Score: 4, Informative

    This order alone is 50% bigger than the entire OLPC project has managed to sell worldwide.

    And guess who is to blame for OLPC failing to gain much traction? http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article4472654.ece Yes, Intel mostly. Can't allow there to be so many AMD chips out there...

  3. Classmate, Magellan, Venezuela and Portugal by lejerdemayn · · Score: 5, Informative

    Even though TFA doesn't mention it, it's true that the computer being sold is called Magellan. It's basically a rename of Intel Classmate, with 1/3 of it being produced in Portugal. It was launched a few days ago over here (Portugal). The computer is being given (almost free) to kids in the 5th grade, and sold to the public for ~285 euros. Imo, it's just sad to see what I believe is a waste of public funds! First, the government is pouring cash into Intel's pocket for a sub-product, when it could've allied itself with the OLPC. Second, they think that by throwing fishing sticks at people, they'll learn how to fish. The computers will most likely be used for IM (MSN), social network (hi5) and warez. As for this deal with Venezuela, Chavez and Socrates (portuguese prime minister) are having some deals, and this is just another one. Portugal also has a huge community in Venezuela (around 1 million iirc).

  4. Re:quick, bomb them by KGIII · · Score: 3, Informative

    I'm not sure what country you are hailing from but it is IUD. Intra-uterine device.

    --
    "So long and thanks for all the fish."
  5. Re:lolwut by DrSkwid · · Score: 5, Informative

    > The machines, rebranded 'Magellan,' will also come with Linux

    I tracked down an attribution - with pictures of the device

    "This is effectively a second-generation Classmate PC, and integrates a Celeron ULV part and uses Linux, although down the line it is expected to migrate to a fully Atom-based system with a "lighter version of Windows" (whatever that is)."

    The Portuguese have also bought 500,000 of the same devices.

    --
    There are places where the networks are not touching,and there are places where they are-Boeing's Lori Gunter
  6. Re:The benefits of not ordering with Windows by puto · · Score: 3, Informative

    As someone who has relatives in Venezuela, and who has been there before and after the Chavez regime. He is hardly a good leader. Crowd control with rubber bullets and Cuban interregators for those who choose to protest, again that makes a good leader? I was born in the US but have lived in several south american countries. I hold citizen ship in Colombia and Panama due to family ties. Venezuela is much worse for the wear than it was 10 years ago. Chavez funds Farc in Colombia, and as someone who has been on his knees, assault rifle at his head, explaing why he spoke spanish with an american accent, I cannot say anything good about the man, or his peers. Colombia is taking a stand against the guerillas, they are bringing themselves up, and Chavez does not want to have his people see prosperity in democracy when it is right next door. Go to both countries, and tell who is better off.

    --
    The Revolution Will Not Be Televised