Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

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."

9 of 275 comments (clear)

  1. Do the laptops come with cameras? by Centurix · · Score: 5, Funny

    If so, maybe give one to Miss Venezuela? I'd guess her IM nick would be WorldPeace69...

    --
    Task Mangler
  2. lolwut by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    So now OLPC comes with windoze and classmates come with Linux? o_O

    Tables have turned I gather!

    1. 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
  3. 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.

  4. Magellan computers make me sick by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    As a Portuguese concerned about the education of the young and concerned about the economy, I must that these Magellan computers (named after Ferdinand Magellan, a very famous portuguese maritime explorer) are nothing but a huge scam based on portuguese tax holders. We are talking about a 900 MHz refurbished Intel Classmate PC that is both ugly, heavy, and marketed as "built in Portugal", which is _not_! And the choice of operating systems is appalling! We can either stick with Window XP or Caixa Mágica, a portuguese GNU/Linux distribution that is horribly produced, horrible to use, horrible to maintain, but thrown around at every state sponsored GNU/Linux deployment. No wonder people dislike GNU/Linux after using Caixa Mágica...

  5. 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.

  6. 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).

  7. 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/

  8. Re:Made up or unsourced quotes? by lysergic.acid · · Score: 5, Insightful

    oh c'mon. you don't think if the same deal were offered in the U.S., U.K., or any other western nation that you wouldn't also have people abusing the system?

    i mean, 285 euros is pretty affordable for most Americans, but i still see people going into stores to buy these for their "kids" and then just keeping the laptop for themselves. consumers want the best deal possible as well. that's the flip side of capitalism.