Give One Get One Redux, OLPC XO-1 Now On Amazon

404 Clue Not Found writes "The One Laptop Per Child project's XO-1 laptop is once again available to the general public via its Give One Get One promotion, where $400 will buy two laptops, one for the purchaser and one for 'a child in the emerging world.' Having learned from their delivery and fulfillment headaches the first time around, this time they partnered with Amazon.com to handle shipping. But a year after its initial release, the market has become saturated with Eee-wannabe netbooks from every major manufacturer. Can the XO-1's charitable appeal, unique chassis and dual-mode screen compete with the superior performance and standard operating systems of its newer peers?"

Comments

the problem was fraud, not shipping

[SuperBanana]

Having learned from their delivery and fulfillment headaches the first time around, this time they partnered with Amazon.com to handle shipping.

You mean the cases like one of my clients, who ordered two, and received none?

When he called and asked WTF was going on, they couldn't "find" his order, and refused to refund his credit card, despite proof they'd charged him. He ended up having to do a chargeback.

If OLPC couldn't ship 'em to donors, what makes anyone think they're shipping them to kids in the '2nd world'?

Re:It doesn't matter if it can't compete with an E

[Mr. Slippery]

Not one that'd be great in your living room. The only reason to get one has always been the uniqueness of it, not it's specs.

Its specs make it attractive not for the living room, but for the camp site. I took mine to Starwood and Free Spirit Gathering and Playa Del Fuego, and it was great - easy to recharge off of a 12 volt battery, capable of picking up wifi from one campground's office, resistant to the elements. Hooked it up to my cell phone as a modem, and I could handle any work emergencies that popped up.

For some of us who want a simple, rugged, portable box, it fits the bill nicely. Load XFCE on it rather than (shudder) Sugar, though.

I don't think this is a good idea

[quadelirus]

I'm typing this from Kagando Village, Uganda. I've been touring the local primary and secondary schools here and I can tell you that these children don't need laptops. Forget about the fact that the adults would probably use them instead of the kids if they were brought here. The reason they don't need laptops is because they much more desperately need good textbooks for every year of school. No amount of educational software is going to make up for the fact that the kids don't have good (or usually even enough) textbooks. $200 a kid could EASILY buy every kid here textbooks for every year of their schooling and would be money MUCH better spent. Maybe this isn't the case in other developing countries but here I really don't think that laptops are the answer. It's a nice gimmick and a nice thought but not the right answer.