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OLPC's "Give 1 Get 1" Comes To Europe
Christoph Derndorfer writes "Last year OLPC's XO-laptop was among the hottest Christmas gadgets thanks to the organization's G1G1 program, where you could donate $399 to give one XO-laptop to a child in the developing world and receive one yourself in return. However in 2007 the program was only available for US and Canadian citizens. This year's program, which takes off November 17, is also available to citizens in the EU member states, Switzerland, Russia, and Turkey. This is certainly awesome news for all the OLPC / Linux / gadget enthusiasts here in Europe! P.S. Before anyone asks, these XOs will come equipped with the child-friendly Sugar platform, which is based on Fedora 9, and not Windows XP."
Hi,
I don't mean to troll.
I am not sure how well the device has aged with all the new netbooks that are available.
A few features that remain unmatched:
- screen that works in sunlight
- ebook mode (although I can read a PDF on my EEE and it looks great)
- more rugged than other computers
- battery life (?)
- hand crank (did they provide it this time?)
- wifi mesh
Also, is there a guarantee that the OLPC you donate will not be running XP? I would not be too happy about sponsoring Microsoft...
I am not shopping this year but I am afraid I would not choose the OLPC. Maybe I would get it for my kid though, I wonder.
Don't worry. The OLPC computer gives you the tools to overcome your low social class, enabling you to pull yourself up by your own bootstraps and find myriad possibilities in today's globalized, technological market.
I am based in the UK but ordered an XO in the initial G1G1 programme and had it delivered to a friend in the US who then sent it on to me here in London. All I can say is that the experience was an absolute debacle. If you check the forums of OLPC News you can see just how bad it was - repeated broken promises as to delivery dates, support staff who couldn't provide any answers and an end product less than what was initially promised (e.g. no separate power generating devices).
I was and still am a supporter of the OLPC; whilst the product itself is not aimed at me, even still I think it is a great computer and a lot of fun to use. I give them full credit as well for creating the "netbook" market from nothing. However, the G1G1 experience turned a lot of people off the OLPC organisation. It is hard to have confidence that they can execute their mission when they couldn't even get the logistics right for a first world country. I just hope we don't have a repeat of that this time around.
Microsoft
Few years ago the OLPC was my wet dream, but it took soo long for it, to be available for buy, that it's plain crazy. The Eee and ASUS stuff appeared. But they are all plain junk - very heavy, and very short battery life. OLPC at least is rechargeable...
But, oh well, fortunately now there is Pandora, I have ordered one and got to wait until december to receive it. I think that Pandora is revolutionary to Portable / Personal Micro Computers as Sinclair ZX Spectrum was at its own time. I may be wrong, but there's something in it. So it might be true. Time will tell.
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#\ @ ? Colonize Mars
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Don't worry. The OLPC computer gives you the tools to overcome your low social class, enabling you to pull yourself up by your own bootstraps and find myriad possibilities in today's globalized, technological market.
Yes with the OLPC's help it will only be a matter of time before the wealth from the world's top 1% trickles down to you! Then with the crumbs that drop from their mouths you can feed your family!
On the Oregon Cost born and raised, On the beach is where I spent most of my days
I'm still waiting for the Buy One, Taunt One program. Where you buy a laptop loaded with Linux, and another is sent to a Microsoft employee. Complete with the Firefox home page set to the last Slashdot story bashing Microsoft.
Naturally the packages will be addressed to:
Micro$oft,
One Micro$oft Way,
Redmond, WA 98052-6399 U.$
Starting November 17 Amazon.com will off the OLPC http://www.amazon.com/gp/browse.html?ie=UTF8&marketplaceID=ATVPDKIKX0DER&me=A34NLXJLC88VVS. Quite appropriate since it was Jeff Bezos that came up with the buy-two-get-one program.
Rich people are eccentric. Poor people are strange. Me, I'd be happy with odd.
I've never understood the coy attitude of the OLPC. Why do they go to such lengths to make it difficult for the average Joe to buy one of these things? A couple of years ago this would have been the ideal stocking filler for kid with nerd parents. Actually getting these devices into the hands of the geeks who were clamouring for one would have benefited the project in so many ways. For one thing, by allowing such a group to buy the things, they could have begun to cultivate a hobbyist development scene for the platform.
What possible harm could it have done to make it available to anyone who wanted one?
It's probably too late for the project now anyway. It's lasting legacy might be some awareness of the importance of IT to developing nations in addition to helping kickstart consumer interest in netbooks.
From now on this should be referred to as "pulling an Amiga". I.e. killing off a good idea by restricting access.
Michael Reed, freelance tech writer.
To make the OLPC laptop possible, they had to get help from big manufacturers. These manufacturers probably made it a condition that the market in high income countries won't be ruined by extremely cheap laptops. So you can get one of these laptops, but only if you pay a first world price for it. It doesn't matter that they have to build two for that price, as long as you pay the higher price and only get one.
Don't worry. The OLPC computer gives you the tools to overcome your low social class, enabling you to pull yourself up by your own bootstraps and find myriad possibilities in today's globalized, technological market.
Yes with the OLPC's help it will only be a matter of time before the wealth from the world's top 1% trickles down to you! Then with the crumbs that drop from their mouths you can feed your family!
Honestly? This is funny to you? Here we have a project operating in the wealthiest nation on Earth which attempts to balance out the logarithmic income discrepancy between the first and third worlds, and you're reframing its ideal outcome - competing in a global information economy - as 'feasting on crumbs'? What the fuck is funny about this?
You're a sad person.
Funny story,
I got laid off at the beginning of the year and took the time to come up with this, with my now-copious amounts of spare time:
www.gentooxo.org
I don't know the meaning of the word 'don't' - J
-I have managed to upgrade the software exactly twice - a complex, virtual dance of death if the upgrade doesn't take.
-The machine is DOG slow.
- The keyboard is useless for high school kids.
- There is not enough memory for much A/V.
- Connecting to WiFi is counter-intuitive if security is involved.
- There is no native printer support.
Quite frankly, I'm sceptical that this thing can fly long-term because other, full-fledged products are catching up (ASUS) to the OLPC price-point will fully loaded Linux on a better machine.
Now, the positives - battery life has been amazing. The screen is truly a wonder and great as a reader flipped over and turned sideways.
One issue troubles me: In this and other projects, no-one has solved the problem of supplying internet connectivity in remote areas. I know that Google is launching a constellation of Ka band satellites - but they will be commercial. One idea that I saw was to use a WiFi server on either buses or motorcycles. Local servers pump email etc. to the mobile servers which then dump the data when they get to a hot-spot - and visa-versa. Sort of a sneakernet for the back woods.
I'm concerned about the entire support infrastructure. Further to that, why don't these things come pre-loaded with regional Wikis and the full slate of curriculae as set out by the country involved?
*** Don't be dull.***
repeated broken promises as to delivery dates, support staff who couldn't provide any answers and an end product less than what was initially promised (e.g. no separate power generating devices).
No shit. A client of mine ordered *TWO* G1G1 packages, and they never showed up. Repeated calls to the company resulted in: "we lost your order", but they couldn't even figure out how to refund his money. He ended up having to do a chargeback.
Given that loads of people never got theirs, what do you think the chances are that the *other* party in the whole "G1G1" scam*cough*, I mean, "program", got theirs?
Please help metamoderate.
He was talking about the fact that this 'trickle-down' bullshit is completely bunk. And, frankly, we have bad enough income discrepancy in the first world. We need to fix our own problems - however, I have no problem with solving both concurrently.