From OLPC

Ask OLPC a Question is a set of pages dedicated to general questions about the project.

Questions about how to learn and use the XO can be posted to New Users.

[edit] Before asking a question...

• Read the "Official OLPC FAQ";
• If you own an XO laptop and have technical questions, read the "Support FAQ";
• Search the wiki for an answer to your questions (using the search field in the column on the left, or Google), and add a targeted question or comment to the discussion associated with that page;
• Aside from the sections below (each of which can be viewed in expanded form using the links provided), there are several other pages which contain Frequently Asked Questions. Check them to see if your question is covered there.
• Some classes of questions have their own forums:
  • To get a laptop for yourself, your young relatives, your NGO, etc., see this section;
  • To submit ideas, see the OLPC Idea Pool.
  • To answer a question, feel free to reply below. Sign your response (using the wiki convention of -- ~~~~) and put it in the Answered Question Section of its subpage (that is, above the line with </noinclude> which is near the end). The community can discuss and revise your answer.
  • To make general comments and suggestions, see the main talk page or the "discussion" tab at the top of each page;
• There is a discussion page to dispel various rumors about the project.
• There is a new developers FAQ at http://aaa.opensourcehost.com/~thoughts/faq/.

[edit] Ask a new question

Choose a category from the table of contents that should appear somewhere at the top of this page (usually on the upper right hand side). Under the targeted heading, click the appropriate link to add a new question. Your new question will initially appear on this page. However, when it is answered, editors may decide to show it only in the subpage for the category you put it in. Therefore, if you do not see your question here, use the links below to see the full list of questions for your category.

[edit] --User support--

Ask OLPC a Question about User Support

[edit] --Project and Goals--

[edit] Our Mission

The argument for one laptop per child is simple: many children—especially those in rural parts of developing countries—have so little access to school—in some cases just a tree—that building schools and training teachers is only one way—perhaps the slowest way—to alleviate the situation. While such building programs and teacher education must not stop, another and parallel method is to leverage children themselves by engaging them more directly in their own learning. It may sound implausible to equip the poorest children with connected laptops when rich children may not have them, but it is not. Laptops can be affordable and children are more capable than they are given credit for.

Once upon a time only the very adventurous could travel and only a few privileged individuals had access to knowledge. Technologies like the compass, paper, and printing changed the world by expanding these limits. Today there is the opportunity for Ethiopia to revolutionize knowledge once more, by participating in a revolutionary use of digital technology that will empower school children to explore the most distant places and to access knowledge on an unprecedented scale.

Throughout the world, computing and communications technologies are sparking a new entrepreneurial spirit, the creation of innovative products and services, and increased productivity. The importance of a well-educated, creative citizenry has never been greater.

Most people see a natural connection between computers and education. Computers enable us to transmit, access, represent, and manipulate information in many new ways. But they can do much more than that. They can move beyond static information-centric views of computing and learning by taking full advantage of new computational technologies, such as those in the One Laptop per Child (olpc) program. These will enable students and their teachers to become better learners and thinkers.

[edit] Other mission questions

[edit] Evidence for OLPC's educational theory?

In response to some of Lee Felsenstein's issues with the OLPC program, he cites your lack of evidence that your theory of how children learn (esp. in developing worlds) is flawed. While he is no expert, as I read through this wiki, you say things like "we have 50 years of research", and that a lot of your board members are steeped in child-technology education, but you don't seem to give any definitive evidence that your idea is any better than anyone else's. The best I can find is the wikipedia article on inquirty-based science, citing two sources.[1] Anyhow, while I'm no expert on the subject, peer-reviewed publications supporting your educational theory would be helpful for laypeople to understand the science behind your logic, besides your organization just saying "it's right because we think so." It also would give more creedance to your values, which would be nice to deflect the critics. Thanks. Rhetth 17:20, 5 January 2008 (EST)

[edit] Laptops for under privileged children in Pakistan

Please let me know how I can get a few laptops for children from poor areas in Pakistan. In your Give 1-Get 1 option, I would like to Get and Give to the kids in Pakistan in the area I am helping. I am currently concentrating in an area where most children are on the streets trying to make a living and help their families. These children are very young. As of now, I have about 19 whom I am putting through school.

I am very keen on getting them these laptops, as I believe it will motivate them to attend school and develop a love for learning. I believe it will have a tremendous impact on their lives and will make it better all around. It will also encourage those, who are not currently in schools, to join a school.

If I can get a couple of laptops to start with, so I can introduce it to them, I would greatly appreciate it. I sincerely pray that the OLPC can help me.

Thank You

[edit] Internet connection

We have wireless network connection at our house (Comcast & Apple Extreme Airport). The connection is a secure one - but not a closed network. However, the XO laptop can’t locate our network. How can we fix this problem? Thanks.

[edit] where is the computer?

I bought the XO back in December, knowing at the time it would be a bit before I recieve it. But it is now March and I have not heard from anyone since I recieved the email thanking me for the give one get one program. I would also like to know if I use that letter for my taxes or is there a more proffessional reciept that I need? Please respond as I have been feeling that this was just a large hoax and I was sucked in by wanting to help. Kelly Coltas kcoltas@pasty.com

You might want to read some of the questions in the Donor Inquiries section of the Support FAQ; there is a donor services phone number and e-mail address there, as well as some tax info. —Joe 12:18, 3 March 2008 (EST)

[edit] help me help

I am an internationally recoginized scientist with teaching experience on three continents. I am infatuated with what you are trying to accomplish and wish to contribute actively and often. While I am a well educated user of utilities,I am not a programmer and feel I need a mentor to help me learns the system and find useful ways to contibute. Is there anyone out there willing to assist me? I don't even know where to look for a reply. I can be reached in the windows world at JFKearns@gmail.com. Please help me find my way in.

John Kearns Frederick, MD USA

[edit] Music Makers on the OLPC

Hello -

I am trying to connect to those out there that use the OLPC as a creative music sound making device...

Thank you! michelle king san francisco

please email me at missmmking@gmail.com

[edit] I know this is an old issue on WPA but I have exhausted all options

WPA2 connection through Apple Airport Extreme, build #656

ran the Wpa.sh script manually and could see my AP but it asks me again and again the 'Wireless Key Required'. No matter how many times I entered my network password, it wont help. Had gone and deleted the networks.cfg file and rebooted but that didn't help either.

How do we connect to another user of olpc in another country, make friends, to have friends in a chat area? How can we connect to a classroom in another country? My daughter loves her computer but is having difficulty connecting to other users

[edit] lern programing

is it able to prosed an computer language like as c++,c+,java etc.

[edit] Will magnetic case latch harm XO?

I purchased a small bag for my daughter's XO. The bag latch stays closed by using small magnets.

From my reading, I know the XO itself uses magnets in the hard case.

Is there any risk of magnets in a soft laptop case harming the XO over time?

Thanks!

[edit] Can I return this XO for refund?

If so many people are waiting to get one they can have mine. I am proboly going to send it back. It is usless to me. My kid doesn't hang out at Starbucks much and it is just very NON USER FRIENDLY! Andrea

[edit] Bridging the Digital Divide

I am a digital media instructor in San Francisco. We teach underpriviledged youth in the Bayview/Hunters Point and surrounding districts. I am curious to know if you donate to students who are in the U.S.? Thanks!

Will Hammond www.baycat.org email: willhammond@baycat.org

[edit] Uploading m3u files to listen to.

How do I upload and listen to a m3u file from an online book? thank you, Buddy

[edit] money

exactly how much money is the video chat laptop?

[edit] how do you copy and paste

i don't know how

[edit] non-profit schools in Sierra Leone, Malawi, Uganda and the Dominican Republic

I am part of the non-profit Children of the Nations (www.cotni.org). We run several schools for underprivileged children in Sierra Leone, Malawi, Uganda and the Dominican Republic. We are interested in adding computer curriculum to help the students learn the skills that they will need to be successful after graduation. How can i get a hundred OLPC computers for my schools in these countries?

Thank you for your consideration stuart.scott@hotmail.com

[edit] Display has faded away

The display of my G1G1 OLPC all of a sudden faded away, i.e. there is almost no contrast left. What I can see with full brightness are the colored items (but also the colors are like washed out). The activities symbols are almost not visible.

The mouse cursor is not visible anymore while moving. This makes it almost impossible to navigate with the mouse.

I have just installed the OS 656.

I appreciate any help take care Markus

[edit] Why Use the Constructivist Approach?

Why is OLPC supporting the Constructivist approach to education, instead of the standard "instructivist" one? Why not just use standard educational software, instead of going to the great effort involved in developing a whole new ecosystem of Constructivist software? There seems to be an implication in the Mission Statement that with Constructivism children can learn on their own, or at least with much less teacher input, than under the traditional method. Is that the reason? And if so, why do think that Constructivism makes it possible for children to do this?

hi. we are wondering if we could send some computers into are villiage in punjab? If you can, can you please send us the info at majorbhatti@hotmail.com. also if u cant can we buy a computer off you, and send it to are village ourselves?

[edit] NO WIRELESS SIGNAL (EVER)

I have a network with 2 laptops and 1 desktop. I brought this XO computer home in December and never tried to connect to the internet. I went online to read the user manual so that I may go online. When I click the network, there are NO dots (as on the screen from my desktop where I see the user manual). I tried to go through linux and when I type iwconfig, it simply says no wireless signal. Is this an error with the computer? I read all of the help and could not work it out. Please let me know exactly how I can make it work. Thank you. Also: Is it possible that the computer is defective and not able to connect wirelessly?

[edit] help with my olpc

hello i'm rosie and i don't how i can get sound to her what their saying on my olpc. .

[edit] Our Team

[edit] How will this initiative be structured?

The XO laptop is being developed by One Laptop per Child (OLPC), a Delaware-based, non-profit organization created to design, manufacture, and distribute laptops that are sufficiently inexpensive to provide every child in the world access to knowledge and modern forms of education. OLPC is based on "constructionist" theories of learning pioneered by Seymour Papert and later Alan Kay, as well as the principles expressed in Nicholas Negroponte's book 'Being Digital'. The corporate members are Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Brightstar, Chi Mei, eBay, Google, Intel, Marvell, News Corporation, Nortel, Quanta, and Red Hat.

Nicholas Negroponte is chairman of One Laptop per Child. Other principals involved in developing the laptop are: Mary Lou Jepsen, Walter Bender, Jim Gettys, Michail Bletsas, David Cavallo, SJ Klein, Ivan Krstić, John Watlington, Richard Smith, Chris Ball, Andres Salomon, C. Scott Ananian, Michael Stone, Eben Eliason, and Mitch Bradley. Benjamin Mako Hill, Alan Kay, Seymour Papert, Barry Vercoe, Ted Selker, V. Michael Bove, Jr., and many others are advisors to the project.

Design Continuum collaborated on the initial laptop design. Fuseproject is our current industrial-design partner. Red Hat and Pentagram have been instrumental in designing and building the Sugar interface. The open source community has been an invaluable partner at all stages of the software development process.

[edit] How can I get involved in OLPC as a whole?

There are many ways to get involved, the most basic being to contribute your ideas and feedback. This is the project wiki (http://wiki.laptop.org/wiki/One_Laptop_per_Child) where we are accumulating information about the project and suggesting places and ways to help. See Getting involved in OLPC.

[edit] How can I get involved in OLPC in a given country?

The OLPC project does not manage the purchasing, distribution, or implementation of individual countries. To get involved, you should contact the country government (probably the Department or Ministry of Education) locally. In Uruguay, the organization managing the implementation is called Ceibal after the national flower.

[edit] Other Team questions

[edit] Upgrading the browser

I love my little computer! I got my email from Comcast's website. It told me I needed to upgrade my browser, and then gave me choices for Windows or the Mac. The OLPC computer uses Linux, correct? So, which browser upgrade do I click on? I'm a Mac user, so I don't know about Linux.

Thank you

[edit] Dell power internal short

I just bought a new power adapter for my lap top but it acts like its not plugged in and my screen keeps flickering. What can i do about this problem....i feel like i can't move my laptop an inch with out it messing up the connection.

[edit] digital pics

can i download pics from my digital camera to this computer? if not then what iis the memory card slot for?

[edit] Sustainability

Hello,

I work for an international development agency many developing countries around the world. I find this initiative interesting, but question the sustainability - what kind of technical support to communities/children receive? How are technical failures or difficulties managed? It is of questionable usefulness to provide tools without any instruction or support in case of problems - and, no matter . I would be interested to hear about any sort of follow up actions that are provided.

[edit] Social Issues

The full impact of the OLPC will only be determined with time. Nevertheless, you may have concerns about recipient governments, child safety, privacy, abuse. A discussion of metrics can be found here, and a general discussion of social issues surrounding laptop deployment can be found here.

[edit] Child Safety Concerns

There is a general statement on child safety at Online threats and security.

[edit] Cultural impact

Replace with a link to summary/discussion of this issue.

[edit] Ownership and theft

Replace with a link to summary/discussion of this issue.

[edit] Other social issue questions

[edit] Browse

I can't launch browse it says no such file found,page load error.How can I get it to work.[Built 656].

W.T.

[edit] --Purchasing, Distribution, and Countries--

[edit] Give 1 Get 1

There is a general page about the program at XO Giving. That page includes some questions that should be moved to this page (if you can help, great).

[edit] General responses to shipping issues

Oh Canada... We at OLPC are very sorry about the Canadian shipment situation: we underestimated the time it would take us to fully work out the import duties and taxes and we were not clear in our communication to you. We apologize for everyone with a child who will not receive a laptop this year. You can visit the laptopgiving.org website to download a gift card that lets your child know that an XO laptop is on its way; it is obviously not the same as a laptop, but we hope it helps in some small way. We are working on the logistics of getting XOs to Canada: everyone should have their XO in the January/February time frame. The team at OLPC wants to thank everyone who has thus far participated in Give One Get One. Thanks to the generosity of Canadians, more than 4000 children in the least-developed countries will be receiving laptops in early 2008. --Walter 20:39, 20 December 2007 (EST)

Checking our list... Some of you are comparing notes and noting that some later-day donors got laptops before Day One donors. (I can personally attest to this, since I was the very first person to order a Give One Get One laptop and I have yet to received it.) We did have a glitch and rather than lose a full day's worth of shipping, we shipped to some later-day donors. We did this only after first confirming that we would have enough laptops to ship to the Day One donors by December 24. (We also moved to one and two-day shipping to speed things up.) We appreciate everyone's generosity (and patience); we are doing everything we can to get laptops out as quickly as possible. --Walter 13:06, 21 December 2007 (EST)

[edit] Reference Number for T-Mobile HotSpot Offer

I have received my laptop. I am trying to determine my "Give One Get One order reference number" so that I can activate my T-Mobile hotspot offer. Where can I find this number?

[edit] Success of G1G1 program

I have read several articles about your project, and the last one I read this weekend (a month old Newsweek since I have been traveling) and I have given to the G1G1 program. Will you be posting information on your website as to the success of this program? How many are given, whether the 2 week window was uniformly used or if it peaked then ebbed or vice versa, etc.?

Good luck with your program.

Dr. Elisa H. Barney Smith

[edit] Other G1G1 questions

[edit] new version XO2

Will those of us who participated in the give one get one be able to do so with the new version?

The "Give 1 Get 1" program will run again at the end of this year. XO2 will be available in 2010. That's all I know!

[edit] dansguardian

how do you download & install dansguardian using xo laptop terminal?

please leave step by step moron proof instructions. thank you.

[edit] Distribution

We also have additional information about training & volunteering or donations and other financial issues.

[edit] Where or how can I get one?

Short answer: Either apply for an XO through the developer's program or get one through the Give 1, Get 1 program (no longer possible as of 2008).

Medium answer: Given the characteristics of the project, the OLPC is initially available only to national government agencies—e.g., Ministry of Education—allowing us to achieve the initial economy of scale and a sufficiently large impact to make it sustainable. There are plans and ideas on how to expand our market to include other smaller and/or distributed organizations that will cater to people, places and situations where government agencies are unavailable - in the future and most likely collaborating through and with other parties.

Trying to satisfy personal, individual or otherwise 'isolated' retail requests (many present in this section) will divert precious energy that would otherwise be more effective at larger scales and targets. This does not imply a lack of interest or sympathy towards these requests, many of which are at the heart of our mission, but rather a physical limit that has to do with trade-offs between wishful thinking and practical realities. By no means does this preclude or try to impede that private, NGO and other grass-root organizations or people lobby in their target countries to be included as recipients or to get involved—it just means that they'll have to be a little patient and not lose sight of their dreams and try to match it with our timings.

Keep alert, maybe in the near future there'll be news that will allow us to cater your special demand.

Future answer: YOU CAN, probably, almost. Quanta, the manufacturer of the OLPC laptop, may start selling $200 laptops in 2008 or so that resemble the OLPC laptop. See this.

[edit] Give 1 Get 1

See xogiving.org or XO Giving for further information on the "Give 1 Get 1" program.

Can we get the number of machines distributed in the USA by city/state? This information may facilitate getting together with other XO owners.

For the full story on retail sales, read: this article (another article) (another in spanish).

[edit] Will it be distributed in developed countries?

As mentioned in the countries section, the decision to distribute in any particular country (including the USA and other developed countries) does not depend on the OLPC but on the government's decision.

Note must be taken that developing countries are the initial and ultimate target countries for the OLPC, although it does not preclude other countries from participating.

[edit] Why not the USA?

See above. Or for further discussions on the subject see OLPC4USA and retail.

[edit] Can NGOs and charities get them?

The short answer: see the XO Giving page. Groups should refer to the Give Many page. Individuals should refer to the (retail) availability page.

The OLPC efforts are currently focused at national level, and although we would love to make it available without restrictions, this would disrupt and overload our launch process in order to deal with the vast number of NGOs that are interested in participating. After the initial launch, plans include the opening up to include them. See here.

[edit] Who will get one?

As much as we would like to see an OLPC in the hands of every child on the planet, practical issues and humanitarian criteria help decide the first people to get laptops:

• Children and teachers in developing countries whose governmental leaders have partnered with OLPC

[edit] Other Distribution Questions

[edit] A Word To The Wise

At least one person has reported an ordering problem here (see below). I ordered our OLPC via Give1Get1 online late November 07 and received it about 30 days later (US). I hadn't seen the recommendation below and did not contact OLPC ... the ordering process worked smoothly.

'After ordering within the first 25 min of the initative, I've been waiting anxiously to receive the unit. I called to try and get more specific info to be told that, even though a payment was processed and deducted from my account, there was no record of my order anywhere in the system. I now have to wait 2-3 days to be contacted by a supervisor to begin sorting this mess out. This means that, regardless of my effort to act as quickly as possible AND being one of the first responders, there is no way I'll be receiving the unit in the Dec window. I HIGHLY recommend that you contact OLPC to verify your order even if, like me, they had no trouble charging you the money for it.'

[edit] Countries

You can use the edit links in the questions below to answer questions. Even better, however, would be to use the "Reorganize questions" link above, so that you can move the "<noinclude>" tag after the question you answer. That hides it from this page, so it only shows using the "See all questions" link above.

[edit] Why some countries and not others?

The reason is quite simple: the OLPC has made an offer (an inexpensive laptop) to national governments (not individuals or NGOs). Countries interested in the offer then decide if the offer is of their liking or not. If it is, negotiations and/or talks can start with the OLPC, and it's only then that they appear on the OLPC radar, and given a color/status depicting the level of commitment or interest.

[edit] What if I don't like my country's color?

If your country is color-coded in a hue with which you don't agree, you should lobby that country's government to start talks with the OLPC.

[edit] How can a country get involved?

By starting talks with the OLPC at national or ministerial level—minister or similar high-ranking government officials—not at individual level. Individuals should lobby their government to participate. More info.

Further details on the OLPC community's work with specific countries can be found at Category:Countries.

[edit] Other Country questions

[edit] Afghanistan

Alam to OLPC. ITS GREAT TO HEAR THAT THE OLPC team has a program to give a chance to the poor countries to develop in IT sector. nice job.

But my question is that, that i have done lots of work on localizing my country languages, but no seen here in wiki.laptop.org hope that to see in which category is my country, what needs to be localize, and wot to do for children to get more benefits from OLPC.

best of luck

Uman Mansour

[edit] Nigeria

When will XO pilot rollout occur in Nigeria? What is the rollouot plan for that country (i.e. will XO's be deployed in schools in certain regions)? Where are pilot projects already happening?

Ashley

You can read about OLPC Nigeria/Galadima pilot site, or other sites. Xavi 15:46, 7 September 2007 (EDT)

[edit] Mauritius

Mauritius is the place where I was born and it does not show in your list of countries where you intend to promote your program. Can we be of any help ? We surely would be very glad to especially if we can help the poor kids overhere as well. Looking forward to be hearing from you

Pierre

You can create a page for Mauritius, contact the government there, organize a group to support the laptop there, and other things. I'm ready to help. --Mokurai 05:15, 26 November 2006 (EST)

[edit] Libya

I just saw that John Markoff wrote in the New York Times about Libya signing a contract with OLPC. The story says that four other countries have signed up, which was recently denied on this site. The tale gets 42000 hits on Google. So where is the press release? Where is the news story on this site? What actually happened?--Mokurai 02:23, 13 October 2006 (EDT)

Aha! It's not a contract, it's a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). OK. Now, can the rest of us have a look at the plan? It answers a lot of the questions being asked here and elsewhere, according to the description.

"The committee was presented with the outline of a comprehensive plan to distribute the laptops, create connectivity and server infrastructure, and prepare teachers and students."--Mokurai 17:32, 15 October 2006 (EDT)

What plan do you have for teacher training? I have been working in a staff development department of a school system that has been one-to-one for 6 years now. We have found that training teachers to integrate technology is as fundamental to the success of a one-to-one program as the hardware itself. If the Libyan teachers do not have extensive, well-organized training, the students of any program will be shortchanged. Jon Morris jjmorris@henrico.k12.va.us

The plan given to the Libyans addresses this. They seem very interested in the OLPC program. --Mokurai 17:39, 15 October 2006 (EDT)

[edit] Timor Leste (East Timor)

I am a volunteer IT worker here in Dili. I wish to follow through on getting the Government/Min of Education involved. Is there a set of templates/docs/procedures for me to follow? If so, then I think that they would be very useful for other countries. thanks chris mansonc@usa.net

Thanks for writing in.

Right now I think the whole world knows about the program. You may contact your countries Minster of Education and try to start a dialogue about the service OLPC is offering. If they are interested you may then try with in your country to find big donor corporations that will come up with the funds for your country and you can also contact me on this site to ask more questions in how you can do that. I am sure you speak the native language which would make this much easier that you can also speak English too. This way I can explain this to you as in how to do that.

Thanks, Hunter--Hunter 10:36, 28 December 2006 (EST)

I recommend http://laptop.org/en/contact.shtml . MitchellNCharity 01:04, 12 September 2007 (EDT)

[edit] Caribbean Countries

I didn't see any of the Caribbean countries among the OLPC list. I work with a non-profit organization. One of the organization's mandate is to provide affordable computers to every home in the Caribbean. We sent an e-mail to OLPC asking for contact name and e-mail address in OLPC and got a reply from OLPC indicating that only the governments can purchase these laptops. If there is no Caribbean government in the list why not a non-profit organization like ours buy the laptops and distribute them? The reply e-mail also said that there is a staffing limitation. As the non-profit organization, we are saying that we are here to help. We are here to work with you. So please ensure that the bottlenecks are eliminated as they are found.

The list you see is merely the first round. It includes countries that have expressed interest in the program, and have the possibility of coming up with the $200 million required to order a million units. All other countries will have a chance in the next round, when smaller batches will be offered. --Mokurai 06:59, 21 November 2006 (EST)

[edit] Gambia

Can anyone tell me if Gambia is among the countries where the Ministry of Education has expressed an interest in this laptop project? Since it is such a small country (situated along the Gambia river in Senegal), I can't tell from the map.

Gambia is 'orange' (those countries who have expressed interest at the Ministry-of-Education level or higher). BTW, there is a higher-resolution version of the map in the section: #How does the color/status scheme work? that you can click to enlarge. --Walter 11:19, 10 January 2007 (EST)

[edit] Developed Nations

Are developed nations really not as interested in this device as it seems? Certainly it would seem that the support of a nation like the USA would be a huge boon to development and production. And distribution issues would seem to be virtually garuanteed. And the benefit to such a country seems to be revolutionary. Are there just too many obstacles?

What is stopping a nation like the USA from having one of these in every child's bookbag in 5 years? Anything besides willpower?

A number of US states are talking to OLPC about this. Maine and Georgia have similar programs now using conventional laptops. I am lobbying in California, and others are welcome to join OLPC4USA. --Mokurai 17:37, 6 July 2007 (EDT)

At Laval University, Quebec, Canada, we have plans to build on our Francophone university-school partnerships and university-developing countries normal school partnership with Gabon and begin a pilot project as soon as XOs become available to us. We are also working with the International Office of the Department of Education of Catalunya (Spain), an enduring university-ministry of education partnership over the past seven years, and plan initiatives in some Francophone countries south of the Mediterranean Sea (e.g. Senegal). [Written by: Therese Laferriere, tlaf@fse.ulaval.ca] </noinclude>

[edit] --Technology--

Click here if you would like to go to a different page dedicated to questions about our technology.

[edit] Design Decisions

[edit] Why is it important for each child to have a computer? What's wrong with community-access centers?

One does not think of community pencils—kids have their own. They are tools with which to think, sufficiently inexpensive to be used for work and play, drawing, writing, and mathematics. A computer can be the same, but far more powerful. Furthermore, there are many reasons it is important for a child to “own” something—like a football, doll, or book—not the least of which is that these belongings will be well-maintained with love and care.

Nevertheless, the OLPCs do not stand alone. They communicate in an extended range wifi network. They can use USB devices that can be shared in a community access center. For instance a library of thousands of books can be cheaply distributed on a few CDs. These can reside in a community access center along with a few USB CD readers for the kids to download. The OLPC is not as limited by its storage capacity as it first seems.

With a laptop, learning can be in vivo, 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, and accessible to families and the entire community—this is tremendous leverage.

[edit] Why not a desktop computer, or—even better—a recycled desktop machine?

Desktops have a lower capital cost but higher operating costs. We are taking great care to keep the initial capital costs low, and to also minimize the computer failures that lead to costly maintenance. The OLPC laptops are low-power devices that consume less electricity than desktop computers.

Also, we feel that mobility is important, especially with regard to taking the computer home at night. Half the kids in the world don't have electricity at home - this is a real barrier for desktop computer use. Kids in the developing world need the newest technology, especially really rugged hardware and innovative software. Recent work with schools in Maine shows the huge value of laptop use across all of one's studies, as well as for play. Bringing the laptop home engages the family. In one Cambodian village where we have been working, there is no electricity, thus the laptop is, among other things, the brightest light source in the home.

Finally, regarding recycled machines: if we estimate 100-million available used desktops, and even if each one requires only one hour of human attention to refurbish, reload, and handle, that is forty-five thousand work years. (This time could be better spent working on software, content, mentoring, etc.) Thus, while we definitely encourage recycling used computers, this is not the solution for One Laptop per Child.

[edit] Why not just give children cell phones?

While cell phones are inexpensive—and there is growing convergence between the technologies of telephony and computing—there are some differences that make the distribution of cell phones the wrong path to follow. Our project is not just a connectivity project, but also a learning project. The cellphone display is small. Even if the information is beamed from the cell phone to a television set, two major problems still exist: (1) half of the children in the world don't have electricity at home (and thus no television); and (2) standard television resolution is too low to read books or view webpages for an extended period of time. It's possible with HDTV, but HD has very limited presence in the Third World and is too expensive.

Cell phones are very limited in terms of their ability to foster a wide range of expression, and, unlike computing culture, which is as much about creating as consuming, phone culture is service oriented: you use a phone, you do not transform it. It is not a “thing to think with.”

[edit] Other Software questions

[edit] The Network

[edit] OLPC since Christmas and still no internet connection

I have two OLPC. I have been trying to connect them to the internet through my wireless network at home since before Christmas. They are currently running Build 656. The router is a 2WIRE BT2700HGV which is the UK version of the AT&T 2WRIE 2700HGV - both the same.

I have tried every channel (1 to 11). I have tried fully open, no security. I have tried with WEP. I have tried MAC filter.

They find the channel that the router is on - but then it is like they can not stay connected after that. They certainly do not appear to be gaining an IP address.

Help - any ideas? Stuart.

Have you tried connecting to any of the access points listed here? --Walter 11:09, 12 February 2008 (EST)

Hi Walter, I do not have access to any other routers. Any ideas on the configuration? stuart.

You don't have a neighbor or library or internet cafe near by to test connections??? I don't know that anyone has tested the 2Wire router... Maybe post a question to networking@lists.laptop.org? Best of luck. --Walter 22:33, 16 February 2008 (EST)

[edit] Can't connect to ANY networks after the first time connecting

Not sure if anyone's been able to resolve this. We are able to connect the first time (secure or non-secure WAP.) However, the second time (after a reboot, etc) we cannot connect at all, securely or otherwise, to our network or anyone else's. For a secure network, it keeps asking for the key (which was set up the first time, and even if you re-key it, it still loops.) For an open connection, it simply doesn't connect. There has to be a way around this. Looks like others are having the same problem... does anyone have a resolution? (Please don't tell me to read the website -- we've been through it top to bottom and there is no useful info on this topic.) Thanks.

Frequnetly you can get good feedback/advice at the OLPCNews Forum. You'd specifically want to try at the Network sub-forum. Specifically for your problem, I can't say what's happening, but something which has worked on similar problems is to delete the networks.cfg file. That file contains information about the various connections you've made, and if something goes wrong/changes, it can stay confused rather than starting over from scratch. So, in the Terminal:

su -
rm /home/olpc/.sugar/default/nm/networks.cfg

That should make it forget everything (all network access stuff you've done) so you can try starting over from scratch. If it doesn't work, I suggest the forum. Good luck. Tdang 20:27, 22 May 2008 (EDT)

[edit] Hardware

Will the XO really have a hand-cranked battery charger? What will the keyboard be like? What about size & weight? If you don't find the answer in the specifications page you can find additional information at this hardware Q&A.

Questions here should be about current hardware; questions like "why don't you include gizmo XYZ" should be asked/discussed in Hardware ideas.

[edit] Other hardware questions

[edit] Software

[edit] What software will be included?

Without being picky, we prefer the term activities (instead of applications). That taken care of, the software components initially planned to be included are: the operating system, a web-browser, a document viewer, a text editor, chat client, and some programming environments.

[edit] Are kids expected to program the laptop?

Are kids expected to write novels after they learn to read & write? No.
Can they write novels? Theoretically yes, but most will never go past writing for fun.

The same with the laptops and programming: just because they may learn how to do things with the computer doesn't turn them into programmers. They aren't required to learn programming any more than they need to know how to write a novel.

But they can if they want to, after all everything included is Open Source—so they can tinker with all of it. And that's the reason why several programming languages or environments are included, not for them to program them (in the software development sense) but to do things with the laptop. Currently included you find Etoys, Python, TamTam, Turtle Art, and some others to be determined. Java is not amongst them.

[edit] Will software for MS-DOS or MS-Windows work on it?

No. MS-DOS programs (not MS-Windows) may benefit from a second life through the use of third-party emulators, but don't count on it.

[edit] What will the interface look like?

The interface used is Sugar, and because it's been designed for kids (not adults) it's based on a whole different set of premises and metaphors. See the OLPC Human Interface Guidelines.

[edit] Can we try Sugar without a real laptop?

Yes. The simplest way is to use an emulator and try it in your own computer.

[edit] Will the software be localized?

Yes. A major objective of the OLPC is that communities and their children preserve their cultural heritage and have the tools to bring it to the digital world—another reason for Open Source software. It won't be easy to support so many different languages, but who said otherwise? The community (national and global) is welcome to participate in the effort.

Additional information is available on the Operating System and the Linux platform. The Expanded FAQ on Software answers many questions about what software is included and what software it should be possible to add. Specific questions about which languages are supported are answered here. Additional information about the pre-installed software can be found on this software page.

[edit] Other Software questions

[edit] How does the directory structure work for external storage devices and is there a way to hide files from the journal?

I have a G1G1 laptop and am exploring. I have added a 4GB SDHC card and it seems to be working fine, but it does not seem to allow for directory-style organization. All of the files appear in the journal, whether or not they are filed in directories or not. I've noticed this situation with USB sticks as well.

I have a number of ebooks on the card, as well as some downloads that I'd like to have should I re-install. Finally, I'd also like to install some programs (perhaps a stripped USB version of Firefox, for instance) and keep them on the card rather than using up space on the machine. But this would flood the journal with literally dozens of files under the current situation as I see it. Even sorting by file type (which the journal seems to be able to do) could get very messy - especially if I have a number of apps such as Firefox loaded.

Is there a way to hide files from the Journal?

[edit] mesh networking

in the interest of power saving, how can i disable mesh networking and the constant attempts to find school servers and other mesh networking partners? of course i want the "regular" wireless networking to continue to work.

    -paul

[edit] USBs Blank

Not sure if this is the correct area. When I transfer files or activities from my XO to the USB and then to my PC, the files either never appear or are blank.

[edit] how to determine the version number of an installed activity

Is there a standard approach (like Help>About in Windows applications) to determine the version number of an OLPC activity? The wiki Activities page identifies the version number of each activity listed but how can a user determine if they have an older version of the activity (preinstalled and optional) on their laptop?

In the new Sugar GUI designs, this information is shown as part of the Home list view, but for currently released builds you'll need to use the Terminal activity, and enter the below command to search the two locations, ~/Activities/ and /usr/share/activities, that activities might be living in.

  grep -r activity_version ~/Activities/ /usr/share/activities

[edit] Squeak, Simcity, etc. display size

the zoom in the browser is clear and works as expected, but there are other apps with no obvious zoom ...am i missing a universal zoom somewhere ??? For example, squeak's smalltalk coding screens and simcity screens have text too small to read...

[edit] XO not playing recorded video from previous session

My XO will not play recorded video if the XO has been turned off since the video was first created. Clicking on the item in Journal opens Browse, a file is downloaded, but after hitting 'OK' or 'Open' nothing happens. I'm not the only one who has experienced this problem - [New User Guide]. What to do?

[edit] installing dansguardian...

how do you download & install dansguardian using xo laptop terminal?

please leave step by step moron proof instructions. thank you.

[edit] Product Life-cycle

The OLPC is the greenest laptop ever mass-produced.

-No hard disk or other moving parts and increased toughness mean longer expected life

-Batteries, backlight, etc. all designed to avoid toxic materials.

-Ground-up design for efficient power consumption - several times less than many current laptops.

[edit] Other life-cycle questions

[edit] Sound

Hi just got my OLPC computer and one problem I am having is sound. There is no sound coming out of the computer. I've turned up the volume and even tried a headset, but no sound.

Can someone help?

I found this in the FAQ. Support_FAQ#My_XO_laptop_won.27t_play_sound

[edit] xo is extremely slow to the point of being not usable

This was acquired on the G1G1 program. everything that is launched never gets past starting... the disk light is on solid. the wireless flashes and appears to be connected. I tried the reload previous os by pressing the O gamepad key when powering up. that fails and restarts the laptop. How can this be resolved. my guess is that the journal filesystem is busy doing something and is not letting anything else to run. Any constructive help is appreciated.

[edit] Archives

Visit our archive of older questions: ...

There's also a big pile of uncategorized questions that have fallen through the cracks as we updated our FAQ policy. Please help by moving them to the right section above - here's how. also, notice that the journal does not start... should it start automatically on booting?