Negroponte Hints At Paper-Like Design For XO-3

waderoush writes "In May 2008, Nicholas Negroponte, chairman of the One Laptop Per Child Foundation, unveiled an e-book like design for the second-generation XO Laptop, consisting of a pair of facing touchscreens. In a new e-mail interview, Negroponte says that design has been thrown out, and that instead the foundation is working on version '1.75' of the existing green-and-white laptop with a more powerful processor, as well as a '3.0' version that would look 'more like a sheet of paper.' Negroponte also addressed a range of other questions about the OLPC project, including the significance of the project to make 1.6 million e-books readable on the XO laptop and the organization's push to reach more children in Latin America, Africa, Afghanistan, and Pakistan."

Comments

It makes sense

[Chrisq]

I think that in any third-world country access to "open source" text books on any subject at zero extra cost would be more important than the actual "educational computer" functionality. It makes sense that the primary design goal should be that it is a good ebook reader. It looks neat and at $75 it is a fraction of the cost of current readers ... I want one!

Great vision, but is technology the answer?

[BadAnalogyGuy]

From the OLPC website:

Mission Statement: To create educational opportunities for the world's poorest children by providing each child with a rugged, low-cost, low-power, connected laptop with content and software designed for collaborative, joyful, self-empowered learning. When children have access to this type of tool they get engaged in their own education. They learn, share, create, and collaborate. They become connected to each other, to the world and to a brighter future.

They even go on to say that this is about education, not laptops. So why are they working on building these devices when if all they want is a cheap Panasonic Toughbook? It seems that instead of trying to build cheaper devices, they could partner with a company (like Panasonic) to provide this kind of technology on the cheap.

By focusing so much on the technology, we are forgetting that the purpose of these devices is to enable kids around the world to become more connected. This can be done with an old Toshiba Satellite laptop from 2001, you don't need the latest and greatest software to access the Internet.

Re:Great vision, but is technology the answer?

[eln]

Oh come on, how are they going to get a good education on a Toshiba laptop from 2001? YouTube will barely render on one of those things, and will be really choppy, to say nothing of the fact that they'll only be able to see the lowest quality porn. I mean really, haven't these people suffered enough?

Sorry what?

[Nursie]

Dual screens? E-paper? Touchable displays?

Surely what you really need to make it cheap is cheap components and low R&D costs. Toughen up a netbook for god's sake! At the time the last OLPC came to everyone's attention, it was a fairly revolutionary idea. Then Asus released the Eee range and others quickly followed suit. Nearly all of them make the OLPC look like last year's trash and for not much price difference.

Re:Sorry what?

[eln]

At the time the last OLPC came to everyone's attention, it was a fairly revolutionary idea. Then Asus released the Eee range and others quickly followed suit. Nearly all of them make the OLPC look like last year's trash and for not much price difference.

Exactly. The lesson here is that if you really want private enterprise to do something, you have to set up a nonprofit to do it first and give it away to poor people. That way, the for-profit companies will think you're threatening their turf (even if they had no intention of doing whatever it is you're doing in the first place), and they'll go out of their way to compete with you (and crush you).

So, I suggest we form a non-profit company called "one trip to Mars for every child" and announce we're going to be designing a spacecraft to take poor children on trips to Mars. I predict Boeing and Lockheed will have competing Martian colonies with twice-daily commuter service within a year.

Re:Sorry what?

[acklenx]

Without the OLPC driving, the industry had no interest in net books. And they still don't have much interest in durable netbooks. And, well, the cost does matter. And since the cost does matter I would question the dual screens on the device (assuming added a second screen makes it more expensive). It doesn't need to look and feel like a book - certainly not for people that haven't ever held a book. And even for those that have - let go of the past.

Re:Sorry what?

[c]

> I suggest we form a non-profit company called "one trip to Mars for every child"
> and announce we're going to be designing a spacecraft to take poor children on trips
> to Mars. I predict Boeing and Lockheed will have competing Martian colonies with
> twice-daily commuter service within a year.

As a counter-example, I'd point out that your scheme hasn't been a huge success for the plethora of "three square meals a day, clean water and some clothing for every child" non-profits. It could just be they need a snappier name...

c.

Epic Sales 101 failure. EPIC.

[Rogerborg]

What's that you say? You have a better version coming next year? Well, thanks for being so honest - we'll put our checkbook back in our pocket rather than giving you money for the obsolescent model now.

Oh, what? There'll be an another new version soon after that? Well, that's just great! Give us a call back if and when it's ever available - we'll do lunch.

Re:Priorities

[znu]

Seriously? I thought the world had gotten past the notion that computers were frivolous toys or first-world luxuries.

The truth is, food aid doesn't really work, at least by itself. You feed the current population, don't solve any of the systemic problems that led to the hunger, and you end up with another generation of hungry people.

What the developing world needs is development and mass empowerment. And that means, among other things, education. If you know of a tool that packs more educational potential into a less expensive package than a $100 networked computer system that's resistant to the elements, requires little or no supporting infrastructure, and can be preloaded with large quantities of information relevant to the populations it's given to, please name it.

Re:Priorities

[Dragonslicer]

I just can't help thinking that sorting out such basic problems as hunger and poverty...

The only real solution to these problems is education. Everything else is just a temporary fix.

Re:Priorities

[pwfffff]

"I just can't help thinking that sorting out such basic problems as hunger and poverty should be slightly higher on the list than whether they can play Facebook and post on Twitter."

Shouldn't it also be more important than you posting on /. then? How many orphans have YOU fed today?

Re:Priorities

[cusco]

Paruro, Peru, is a beautiful town of about 5,000, high in the Andes. It's the sort of place that hasn't existed in in the US for a century, where there are more horses than cars, everyone cooks with firewood, and children and dogs run loose in the streets. They have an Internet cafe there, all of a dozen PCs sharing a satellite link. While stopping in occasionally to check my work email I saw kids enrolling in classes in the University in Arequipa (otherwise two day's travel each way to enroll), a grandma in Lima met her first grandbaby on webcam, farmers checking prices to see whether it was better to sell in Cusco or Abancay, merchants checking on the status of goods they had ordered, THE mechanic looking up a manual for a backhoe, a mother chatting with her daughter in the university in Paris, and a lady looking for patterns for wedding dresses. If you think the Internet's just good for porn you have no imagination at all.

The attention whore problem

[Animats]

The trouble with the OLPC is that it's mostly a vehicle so that Negroponte can hang out with heads of state and such. Actually shipping product is secondary. It's all about national-level deals. Remember when OLPC had a "buy 2, get 1, give 1" program, and they botched basic order fulfillment?

Those things should be in bubble-packs alongside the graphing calculators, with the price down to the original $99 by now. They don't need a fancier model. They need a cheaper model. They're being run over by the netbook industry. Netbooks are down to $100 if you buy in bulk from China. Look on Alibaba.