Ask OLPC a Question about Give One Get One orders

HowTo [ID# 101856]  +/-

This page deals with issues related to Give One Get One orders.

Return to Ask OLPC a Question.

The Give One Get One program concluded on 31 December 2007. Thank you for your participation. There are more ways to give: please see the Give Many page.

New Year's Resolution There continues to be some confusion and concern about the status of Give One Get One shipments. Please note that no orders have been lost (Day One or otherwise). There are several different reasons why people who have ordered on Day One may not have received their laptop yet, among them:

1. As previously pointed out, Canadian donors will not receive their laptops until early in 2008;
2. We received some orders to PO Boxes without phone numbers; we are unable to ship to a PO box, so we are working on a plan to follow up with those donors;
3. There has been an address-verification failure for some orders; we are working on a plan to follow up with those donors.

We will continue to make every effort to get laptops to you as quickly as possible; thank you for patience.

Estimated G1G1 Shipping Date

When will the G1G1 units start to ship?

Shipping dates will depend on order date. Laptopgiving.org lays out delivery windows here. I've moved the rest of this long thread to the archive ~ Hexagonal 5 December 2007

Walter Bender's weekend community news update for December 8, 2007 -- found at Current_events -- (also available here along with all previous updates) asserts that shipping of G1G1 units was meant to start on Monday, December 10, 2007. ~ Hex

G1G1 deliveries: will UPS need someone to be at home to sign for them?

I understand from the OLPC donor services e-mail referred to in the Estimated G1G1 Shipping Date discussion above that the Give One, Get One XO laptops being distributed in North America will be shipped via UPS.

It would be helpful to know the exact weight and dimensions of the final shipped boxed XO's. Could someone post that information when it's available?

Typically when I get things from UPS here at home they ring the doorbell and leave the package, not waiting for a signature. I'm not sure I want them to leave an XO on my front stoop; though I might. Depending on the anticipated delivery date I may even be out of town. I think that the shipping originator (in this case, OLPC) might be able to instruct the UPS driver to require a signature, or to explicitly waive a signature, or even to attempt delivery to adjacent addresses. What would most G1G1 participants want?

A related question: once UPS accepts packages for delivery, the shipment is trackable by a unique shipping number. Would it be possible to have UPS e-mail G1G1 participants their tracking number? Maybe you could give UPS the e-mails that are tied to each order. Who knows, maybe UPS could ask us whether we wanted a signature release or not. I'm not trying to make more work for OLPC, but these services might be common UPS offerings, and I would at least like OLPC to check into this. Thanks ~ Hexagonal 16:32, 21 November 2007 (EST)

On 12/10/07, "John T." posted an e-mail he had received from service@laptop.org on this external, unaffiliated website. Emphasis added. ~ Hexagonal 08:52, 10 December 2007 (EST)

As far as you shipment date inquiry, we are currently producing the laptops as we receive the orders. If you made your donation by the date in the column on the left, you're scheduled to receive your XO laptop within the corresponding delivery window in the column on the right.

Donation Date Scheduled Delivery Window

Nov 12, 2007 Dec 14-24, 2007

Nov 13-15, 2007 Dec 17-31, 2007

Nov 16-25, 2007 Dec 26, 2007- Jan 15, 2008

Nov 27-Dec 31, 2007 Early 2008

We are doing all we can to have as many XO laptops shipped out by December 24, 2007. These shipment dates apply to US delivery addresses only; we will post a delivery schedule for Canada as soon as those dates are determined.

UPS will email out the tracking numbers as the laptops ship out.

We do apologize that shipping CANNOT be expedited.

Your donated laptop will reach a child in Afghanistan, Cambodia, Haiti, Mongolia, or Rwanda in Early 2008.

Thank you for your interest in One Laptop Per Child.

OLPC Shipping status

I called the 800 number and listened to the recording. It sounds like everything is being done to ship the laptops out before or by the end of December. 1. Will my credit card be charged the full amount at the time of order or will it be charged only after the laptop is shipped? 2. Is there a way to check status using the confirmation number?

I can't speak to the status check by confirmation number, but I can say that my CC was charged at the time order.

1-800 service # doesn't work from Canada

Any word on when I can speak to a service rep. about my order? The 1-800 service number doesn't work from Canada.

This is not an official answer, I am just a user like you, but a workaround for dialing 800 numbers outside of US borders is to use Skype. You need an account and it costs a little money, but it works in a pinch.

Email confirmation of order

Will I recieve an email confirming my order through the G1G1 program?

A general confirmatory e-mail was sent to me at 11:30 pm on Thursday, November 15th, from "OLPC Customer Care." No new details were provided: "Laptops will be delivered on a first come, first served basis. While early purchasers have the best chance of receiving their XO laptops in time for the holidays, quantities are limited and we cannot guarantee timing. We will provide you with regular email updates. If you have any questions about your donation, please contact OLPC at service@laptopgiving.org." Hexagonal

I got no update - mine just came. NOT UPS - Fed Ex.

Shipping give one get one

How long is the shipping once I purchase a $100 laptop from give one get one?

We will be setting up a first-come-first-served queue; but until we know the scale of the interest, we won't know the degree to which the volume will impact our production pipeline. We will develop a schedule for shipments and share it with the public as soon as possible.

OK. You've had long enough to tell us when they will ship. I ordered mine the first day they were for sale. I've still not gotten it. Surely I hope my child will get his Christmas present this year. If not, I expect a full refund.

The first G1G1 units are shipping now (the week of Dec. 9, 2007), at least in the United States (no word on Canada yet). Doug Johnson, an professional educator interested in technology who lives in Minnesota, reported on his blog on Tuesday, December 11 that: "My OLPC XO came today". He describes his XO in more detail on his "OLPC Follow Up" post. ~ Hexagonal 15:04, 12 December 2007 (EST)

Canadian G1G1 Delivery Dates

Its been 3 weeks since OLPC published delivery dates for U.S. customers and effectively announced that Canadian orders would not follow the promised first in first out delivery. Nor has OLPC updated us on the status.

I am requesting that OLPC make clear when the machines are going to be shipped; if there is a problem, then let us know what the issues are.

Bottom line, don't keep us hanging; keep us informed

I'm trying to get an answer to this question. Sorry about being left hanging. --Walter 22:08, 15 December 2007 (EST)

"If you live in Canada, your laptop is scheduled to be delivered in early 2008. We are currently working on more exact shipment dates for Canada, and will post as they are determined. We thank you for your patience." Hope to be able to report more soon. --Walter 20:18, 19 December 2007 (EST)

Shipping Confusions

I've been reading this wiki and some unofficial blogs. I am sure that my question is shared by many other G1 G1 donors. I am very concerned about the confusion in shipping information. 1. We were in the first minutes on first day donors, but still have not received a shipping number or a laptop. (Lots of posters on the blogs seem to have got their XO without ever getting a shipping tracking number.) 2. There seems to be no logical order that these things are shipping out. I have read blog posts of second week donors who have already received their XO, yet many of us First Day donors have nothing. (We're US by-the-way. I understand that Canada is getting totally ignored also.) 3. Originally it seems that UPS was supposed to be the shipper, but now FedEx is what most people are saying brought their laptop. Which is it? Is UPS doing any of the shipping? Did the shipping get split up between the two shippers? Are some going out by another shipper also such as DHL? Was the shipping split up by some logical order, such as geographic region? 4. Also, what about the T-Mobile hot spot numbers? I haven't heard of anyone getting those yet. Is there a hold up on those? 5. Is there some way to find out the status of our shipping? We called FedEx and they have no record of anything coming to our address. We will be traveling during the next couple of weeks and it would be good to know if the package is going to get here before we leave. We may need to make arrangements for a neighbor to pick up our package so it doesn't get stolen off the porch (there is at least one report on an unofficial blog of a laptop stolen in shipping). I have other questions, but this is enough for now. I think I have summed up the most frequent questions that I keep seeing on the blogs (and yet unanswered). Any info would be appreciated.

We plan to post an update regarding shipping on Monday (Dec. 17). Sorry about all of the confusion.

Could you please provide a link to the shipping update posted on December 17th? I haven't found it yet.

• • mine arrived today, no email notification with tracking number = nothing, I arrived home from my errands and the box was on the doorstep. The box does not reference in anyway what is inside and the from label says Brightstar. I ordered mine online the first morning - just FYI - gina

my order process date was Nov 12,2007

When can I expect to receive my laptop? the order date was 11/12/2007 Ernest Friedlander transaction 5jg86454d3551101h Thank you.

Need an OLPC?

Got my laptop from OLPC. While the hardware is cute the software is complex and cumbersome, especially if the child has any prior experience. It shows why years of Mac and WIndows development should not be discounted when building an easy to use laptop . I am glad to have been able to help the project, but this machine is not of any use to me. Anyone who wants to purchase/trade please contact me at dtscoot@mac.com.

Free WiFi

I received my laptop and in an email it stated when my laptop was shipped I would receive a password and instructions on my free year of internet service. I have not received any information.

Elsewhere it has been stated that the free password information will appear in your email in box. That should happen sometime soon. I'm still waiting, and have used my XO at free spots that are not charging or requiring an id or payment.

The information to get the free T-Mobile access was in my ship notification e-mail. That's the good news; the bad news is that there appears to be a layout bug in the XO browser activity that prevents the login/password box from showing up when you attempt to connect at a hot-spot. When I get a chance I'm going to install Opera or lynx and see if that gets me going.

First Day/First Hour. Still no OLPC

I ordered my OLPC right at 6:00 AM on 11/12. I have not yet received OLPC XO. I've called the customer service desk multiple times and they keep telling me it is at shipping. Yet many people who ordered after me have already received theirs. I've tried putting in my confirmation number as a reference and it shows up as nothing. I'm at my wit's end!!! The voice i hear every time I call the customer support line says they are shipping them first come, first serve. Multiple press releases from this organization say the same thing. What else can i do to ensure they ship the OLPC XO in time for Christmas?

Discussion forums?

Hi!

I ordered a G1G1 last week before learning about the shipping issues to Canada. :-( I hope you can figure this out soon.

I also want to help and provide some support. I tried to follow the directions to get emulation working on my Mac (Intel MBP C2D). While I can get DamnSmallLinux and Windows 2K running under emulation, I can't get an OLPC image to run. I would like to communicate with other who apparently have not had this issue but I can't find a discussion forum either on laptop.org or dev.laptop.

Could you direct me to the right place?

Thanks in advance

Note: The official OLPC help forums can be found at forum.laptop.org

Yesterday, Walter Bender said there were enough OLPCs to ship before Christmas for us Day One

donors. Now, today, I get an email saying mine won't ship before Christmas. I ordered mine right at 6:00 am on 11/12. Will someone explain to us in great why this is the case instead of a canned excuse?

---

Greg a fellow user responds

I'm just a fellow XO adopter. I ordered two in the early hours of the first day. I received mine, but perhaps it wasn't based on the exact time of the order, who knows maybe Brightstar had orders pile up based on different order methods. Did you use a phone or the net?

They did give a disclaimer saying they'd try to get them to us. I know this isn't what you want to hear. I heard they are selling 10,000 laptops a day ($2 million a day) so perhaps somehow your order got shifted around a bit and perhaps not even the first 5,000 units have been received in the USA. I don't know I'm just speculating. For what it's worth there is some bugs in the software that need to be fixed and you'll end up hacking the thing a bit to keep it running. So it's not exactly ready for prime time in the USA yet. That's my opinion based on the "orphaning of files" (see my other post here). Eventually every adult or even child user that loads big files on the XO will find it runs out of space and they will have to use Linux to clear the problem away. Until OLPC releases a patch. I hope you get yours soon. The XO is not exactly a wonder sub-laptop performance wise, if your expecting it to be a quick zippy game console for the kids, it's not going to be that type of device, at least not from my experience with it.

---

Solar Panel and order tracking

When I ordered the laptop the write-up said that a solar panel was available. Now I read that there are no plans to make it available. It was one of the main reasons I ordered the laptop for my child!

Can you please re-think this? I really don't understand how all the demonstrations with the hand-crank and the solar panel could have been displayed at order time and now everything is different.

I am not a wealthy person who can afford to just shrug it off and say "it's for the kids in the developing world after all and I can afford to buy my son other laptops"--I can't.

On another note, I still haven't received our laptop and I ordered it December 12, the first day. I can't find any way to track my order. Anyone? Has everyone else received theirs, if you ordered it the 12th? In fact, has anyone who ordered it on the 13th or 14th received it? Please post.

G1G1 Shipping Cost Discrepancy

On Thursday, December 13, 2007, a G1G1 recipient named Drew posted this account of getting his XO on this external website.

This is Drew. I'm from Chicago, I ordered my XO the first morning and I honestly didn't know if I'd get it or not....until a week or so later when my Visa was billed (no shipping fee btw). I got the first day email confirmation around the time I was billed for it. Overall, I would say there were some glitches in the whole process, but nothing TOO bad. I was suprised to find the box on my doorstep when I got home from work yesterday, so I don't know if it came via USPS or FedEx or what (I don't have the shipping box with me right now).

Elsewhere on the site Drew lets us know that he participated in G1G1 by phone, not online. Drew's info compels me to "re-up" some questions I asked here last month. I'd moved these to the archive to save space on this page, figuring that this was a settled issue.

Shipping Costs

G1G1 started today. Folks who used Pay Pal online were charged $24 shipping; folks who called weren't told about shipping costs. What's really happening?

Both phone orders and on-line orders are charged for shipping.

Phone Order Processing

Have any phone orders been processed yet? Were they charged shipping?

They should have been charged for shipping.

Well, yes, they should have been. But have they been? On another website at least one external G1G1 participant who made phone orders on Monday, 11/12 still had no charges posted to their credit card accounts by Thursday am 11/15. So we haven't gotten actual confirmation that phone orders actually have been charged, only that they ought to have been. And as of mid-week the folks taking phone orders were still not mentioning shipping costs. Walter, I have a suggestion for you: make a call to the 800 number yourself, and walk through the whole process, to check for yourself what info is being given to the great unwashed... [-from Hex.]

I'm concerned that G1G1 particicipants' facing different prices is not a settled issue -- if Drew is right, he wasn't charged shipping. Another person on that same site also says that they were not charged shipping. First, we need to find out if other by-phone G1G1'ers were or weren't charged the $24.95 that PayPal charged online participants. If this is widespread, then in fairness OLPC really ought to charge those who phoned, or refund those who ordered online. ~ Hexagonal 13:18, 13 December 2007 (EST)

G1G1 Ordering: Similar scenario

I ordered via the 877 number on 11/12. I encountered the same problems several people mentioned. Incorrect confirmation number. Not quoted shipping. Long delay in billing credit card. ON 12/4, OLPC billed my credit card $423.95. I can confirm that yes indeed for the first four days not all people were quoted shipping charges on the 877. I called the 877 number on Thursday the 11/15 just to check and then called the Donors Line to inform them. So, in theory, everyone should be charged for shipping. However, I would like to add that from my experience, OLPC's handling (or whomever they hired to perform this function) of G1G1 orders has been a comedy of errors. Although OLPC and G1G1 is truly an altruistic cause, the execution of G1G1 has been lacking and so has the flow of information.

By the way, I understand that instead of UPS the laptops are being shipped by FedEx Ground and being left at people's doorstep if they are not home. Does anyone know anything about this and what happened to receiving notice of shipment and a tracking number? --JC 16:34, 13 December 2007 (EST)

Update

Received mine today 12/14/2007 at 12:57PM in Miami, FL via Fedex Home Delivery. AWESOME. --JC 14:47, 14 December 2007 (EST)

TRACKING

I recieved my confirmation email from paypal on 11/14 my credit card has been billed but I have yet to recieve my two laptops I ordered is there a way for me to track my order? Thanks Bonita Millhollin

As each laptop is shipped, we will send an email with a FedEx tracking number.

I was told UPS was going to deliver them when I ordered mine over the phone. I ordered first day/first hour and nothing yet, not even a shipping email, yet people who ordered on the second and third days and beyond have already received theirs.

Which UPS service will be used when shipping to Canada?

Will the laptop be shipped to Canada using "UPS Standard" service? This is important since "UPS Standard" will result in an additional $43.73 "broker fee", or about a 10% net price increase upon delivery. Use of other UPS shipping methods or companies avoids this unnecessary charge (UPS rates for shipping to Canada : http://www.ups.com/content/ca/en/shipping/cost/zones/customs_clearance.html).

Laptop numbers, shipped to children?

How many laptops have been shipped to children?

Thousands already. In the trials they've had them for months. For the mass production run, Uruguay is receiving their shipment now. According to the BBC in October the order was for 100k. According to Ivan's blog entry (link on main page), 1k laptops were handed out in three days, another 7k in the next two weeks, and 90k in the coming months. 260k ordered by Peru. --Quozl 20:18, 4 December 2007 (EST)

receipt number 5489-1805-9150-0102

Please advise when we may expect delivery of the computer. Hendrik Baayen

Sorry, we can't do that here. Contact the agents whom you spoke to originally, see the laptopgiving web site for details. --Quozl 03:48, 6 December 2007 (EST)

G1G1 distribution to Canada delayed?

The news from 2007/12/1 (item 3) says first day donators should have received an email about delivery. I live in Canada, donated on the 12th, and did not receive such an email. Can you estimate when I might receive my shipment? I'm sort of patient, but eager.

Thanks - Phil O

E-mail can go missing. The web site has a shipping information page now that gives the current schedule estimates. --Quozl 04:15, 6 December 2007 (EST)

Your e-mail isn't missing. Canadian donators did not receive this e-mail, as OLPC has yet to determine shipping dates to Canada... Go figure.

G1G1 XO ship dates?

Does anyone have any specifics on ship dates for the G1G1 program? Any idea when the laptops are going to ship to early participants in the G1G1 program? Something more specific then "mid-December" or "you may have to wait 4 months."

Thanks.

Rumour ... look for an update on the laptopgiving web site within the next 48 hours. Tens of thousands of units have been produced, and work is being done toward shipment scheduling. --Quozl 00:43, 28 November 2007 (EST)

Many of the early G1G1 participants have been sent this e-mail, which says, in part, "Thanks to your early action, your XO laptop is scheduled to be delivered between December 14 and December 24. Our "first day" donors are our highest priority and we are making every effort to deliver your XO laptop(s) as soon as possible. We will send you an update upon shipment." ~ Hexagonal

Update - Shipping dates will depend on order date. Laptopgiving.org lays out delivery windows here. A production G1G1 XO was received on or before Dec. 5 in South Africa; see Morgan Collett's blog. ~ Hexagonal

What about "first day" donors in Canada? Why are they not a priority?

Changing Shipping Information

I ordered over the phone, how do I change my shipping address? ~LDoran

Trouble Ordering OLPC G1G1

I called 1-877-70-LAPTOP first thing Monday, November 12. I was told that it would be $399. I placed the order and was given a repetitive confirmation number. However, I later read that if you ordered it online shipping was charged. I thought maybe the order taker made an error. I called the donor service questions line, 1-800-201-7144 on Thursday and was told that shipping should have been charged. I told her that up to Thursday morning EST ( I had called to double check) no shipping was being quoted on the 1-877-70-LAPTOP line. She told that she was going to look into this and Also would have a supervisor look into my order, but it would take two business days to get back to me. I still have heard from anybody and I am wondering if my order was placed. I tried to calling the Donor Service question line again today, but I gave up after half an hour. My question is: Should I place another order?

Hi ~ I imagine that there will be no problem with the orders placed by phone, and that there's no need to place a duplicate online order -- but I don't really know anything; I'm just a G1G1 participant like you. I don't want to put words in your mouth, but it sounds to me that rather than having "trouble ordering OLPC G1G1" you've been having trouble "confirming details of an OLPC G1G1 order." Would that be a rephrasing acceptable to you?

If you placed your order with a credit card, do you ever use your online access to your credit account? If you ever do, you could check to see if you've been charged yet? I think you should feel pretty comfortable with the notion that the charge appearing on your credit card confirms your purchase. Maybe you could get back with us on this wiki letting us know when your account was debited, and if they did indeed charge you shipping. I've been asking related questions for a week now. ~Hexagonal 13:36, 19 November 2007 (EST)

You are probably correct. I guess it is trouble confirming the order. I actually I called my credit card company and no charged has been processed or hold has been placed. I am starting to think the order was not placed correctly by the order taker. I'm afraid the order taker, God bless him, did not inspire confidence since he was reading straight from the script and was having trouble with some of the big words. I'm going to try calling the donor service question line tomorrow morning. After half an hour around midday today, I gave up. --JC 14:12, 19 November 2007 (EST)

Hi JC, welcome to the wiki contributors. I take it you're the one who posted this new question in the first place? As we're writing this it's Monday, 11/19/07. What I'm learning from you is that you called 7 days ago, on 11/12, and placed a phone order that as of today, a full week later, has not been posted to your credit card. I take back what I said, that seems like it might really be an issue down the road: consider, for example, that we've been told that delivery by Christmas will be "first come, first served"; if your credit card is finally charged, say, tomorrow (11/20), will you be in the delivery queue behind all the folks who ordered last week, even though you placed your order on 11/12? (In the grand scheme of things, I guess in the long run that wouldn't be a crisis, even if it would mean that you got your gift XO later than fairness would dictate; after all, you would still be getting an XO that with any luck will be fun to have for years to come. Still, that would be sloppy management on OLPC's part, and I hope your order doesn't end up being a bummer for you.)

It seems like you are thinking that you haven't been charged due to some sort of error on the part of that particular order taker; would the possibility that he did everything he was tasked to do, but that NO phone orders have been charged yet be more disturbing or less? I'd like to encourage anyone reading this who has participated in G1G1 by phone to chime in, to let us know if you have or haven't been charged. For the more active folks within the OLPC community, have you heard tales of G1G1 ordering that you could share with us? ~Hexagonal 14:28, 19 November 2007 (EST)

Spoke to someone at the Donor question line about twenty minutes ago ( I type really slow). She said that they were backlogged and would be charging credit cards and sending email confirmations soon. She also said that if I do not show the charges by this Friday that I should call back on Friday. Since she did not have access to orders placed, a supervisor will be contacting me via email about my alleged order. I get the feeling I am not the only one in this situation because she acknowledged that shipping charges did not appear on the telephone order takers systems until much later than Monday morning. I am not sure what I should do at this point. Although I think whatever I do (place another order via web and cancel the other order if it ever appears or wait out the supervisor) that I will queue screwed. Argghh. Why me? --JC 15:16, 19 November 2007 (EST)

Not sure if this really helps, but I placed my order online on the 12th via paypal. I received paypal notification that the charge was processed on the 13th. On the 14th my credit card linked to the paypal account was debited for the amount (including the shipping) and I received confirmation from the OLPC that they had received payment and processed the order on the 15th - with a note that shipping information will be sent once they are actually ready to ship it. Not sure how the process differs online vs over the phone, but in my case it was pretty quick and straighforward... just thought that might help :) g.

Hey, does the paypal notification gives the full email address of the seller? In this way European "donors" could put up the $425 (is that?) and set the address in the description of the payment.

I received a call from OLPC Donation Question line yesterday evening. It appears their were a few problems with the order taking in general on the phone . However, my order that was placed on Monday morning, November 12 is in the system although my credit card has not been billed and I have not received a confirmation email. The supervisor (who was supernice) to whom I spoke to assured me that my queue position is not affected by the delay in getting a confirmation or posting the charge to my credit card which should happen by Friday. She told me that I am in the first 600 in queue. She also told me that the response to the G1G1 has been incredible. Thanks to everyone for their input. All is well in my little world. I await patiently or rather impatiently to receive my XO. Funny enough, I work 1.4 miles from Brightstar Corp.'s world headquarters in Miami. I'm sure it is 1.4 miles because I googled mapped it. Do I sound a little anxious?--JC 15:14, 20 November 2007 (EST)

I ordered the Laptop on the 12th the very first minute that the lines opened up. My credit card wasn't billed until the 21st. I didn't receive a confirmation email until the 27th, so don't worry! It is the same for everyone. ~ Aaron

Shipping confusion

I'm sorry to sound so cynical, but just as Canadian donors were being asked to be patient with the shipping process in a vague update (and I was willing to do just that, keeping in mind that the priority is third world children getting their laptops), I find that the shipments to American donors are now being EXPEDITED?!

How is this preferential treatment even remotely fair, Walter? Especially when it's being flaunted at Canadian donors right on the main page of this wiki, one right after another?

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)

I think it's time for an HONEST explanation to Canadian donors, don't you? Please! Do not ignore this, or delete this... Please!

disappointed

I believe I speak for great majority the people that you've disappointed by not being able to deliver your laptops on time for the holiday season. Yes, we're excited for the OLPC cause, but the reality is that you've broken a trust with great contempt.

Early donors that believed in the OLPC philosophy and signed up for this program in the first couple of days now are now being told new deliver dates of mid January. This clearly illustrates the falsehood under which you created this demand without the capacity to fulfill. You continued the ambiguity until three days before Christmas, and now when there are few alternatives, you explain you can't fulfill orders.

You've warmed our hearts thinking we are participating in something good for the holiday season, but you've left our heads cold and suspicious of the appreciation of our donations.

re: disappointed

This is an education project; which can wait until January. -matthew weigel

Some of us were going to take advantage of our vacation time to spend tinkering with the OLPC. I won't have the time or the leave to spend with it if I receive mine in January. That's a big reason why I ordered mine first thing on 11/12. The lack of communication, conflicting statements and lack of candor until there was a growing backlash is unfortunate has potentially jeopardized the project. This will be an educational project in a lot of ways than it was originally intended.

Canada's OLPC contribution

As a Canadian G1G1 participant, I was wondering if it were possible for all of the Canadian laptops be sent to Afghanistan. If this is possible, I believe it would be a very special gift from us to them. Canada has been at war in Afghanistan for several years now, and this gesture would mean a lot. What is being done here will change the world; and the relationships we build with those that have less than us are necessary in entering the 21st century. - matthew weigel

Four thousand plus rugged computers with good mesh networking, with the possibility of those being used in guerrilla warfare? That's scary.

Yes, guerrilla warfare... on ignorance!

Good idea. Do you have a website we can go to when you send yours to Afghanistan? It might catch on.

I'm confused. Isn't that what the the donation plan (aside from G1G1) is for? But yes, please post a link to your blog or site.

Did you get your OLPC yet, Walter Bender?

We have not heard any more from you since you posted last week about the "glitch" and advised that alteration in the shipping was allowed because you were assured that there were enough on hand to arrive by Christmas. Well, Christmas Eve is upon us and a lot of us have not received ours OLPC XOs yet that we ordered on Day One of G1G1. Of course, since then a lot of us who ordered on the first day got an email advising us that we wouldn't getting ours by Christmas and we would get them by January 15th. The time has come for you to fully disclose all that you know about the glitch. Also, you advised that you had stepped up shipping to first and second day shipping to help ensure delivery by Christmas. Will you be doing this as well for those us who woke up early on 11/12 to place our orders first and will not be getting them in time for Christmas or are we not worth the extra effort once Christmas has come and gone. The CSR with whom I spoke today had no clue that you had upgraded the shipping and advised they were only going to be shipped Ground even after I directed her to your post home page of the wiki. The lack of communication is really going to greatly hurt this project if it is not fixed immediately. I wonder if countries that were on the fence about purchasing these are going to think twice with the fiasco that the G1G1 has become.

I have not received my XOs yet and if anyone who ordered on Day One also did not receive one, my sincerest

apologies. I have not withheld any information and will continue to follow up with the distributor to find out the ETA for our XOs. --Walter 21:52, 25 December 2007 (EST)

Thanks for the information, Walter as little as it may be. You seem to be the only person connected with the project willing to communicate this information to the public. We are getting more information from you than the customer service representatives on the toll-free line after we've been waiting on hold with them for far too long and they seem helpless to pass this information to Brighstar to get those orders prioritized over the orders that were placed much later that have already shipped ahead of the November 12th orders. From what others have reported on other blogging sites devoted to the OLPC, this appears to be bigger than a simple "glitch". Also, they need to change they message on the toll-free number as it continues to mislead the customers that they laptops are shipping the laptops on a first come, first service. The link to tracking the status of the orders is useless as it continues to report to those of us who have confirmed orders placed on November 12th that the reference number and e-mail addresses are invalid. I think all of this is going to not only deter individuals from participating in the G1G1 program but it could potentially deter other organizations from participating in the OLPC when they see how this situation has the appearance of being mismanaged. Now that orders placed as late as early December were delivered before Christmas, the patience of many unfulfilled first day orders is on thin ice.

I think most of us G1G0 1st day'ers have figured out by now what the "glitch" was. Obviously, the data transfer from Paypal/OLPC to Brightstar was faulty. During the batch review of addresses, something went wrong. In the time it took to resolve, that batch of people was skipped and the next batch of valid orders was filled. The comments about making sure there were enough laptops to cover this may have been true but Brightstar is doing it's own thing without supervision by OLPC. I'm sure they got a file of names and a tractor trailer full of XOs and it was up to them to put the two together. The order they're using to deliver surely is not based on ordering position but instead to minimize their costs.

OLPC can't reveal this because it would demonstrate either their lack of oversight or the indifference to 1st day orderers. Remember they're not doing G1G1 in response to folks requests - they're doing it so they can have enough orders so that their vendor has enough volume to make it worthwhile. Recall all the country orders that didn't go through. I think their big mistake was undersestimating the amount bad press and comments this has generated. The one group of people they shouldn't have pissed off was the 1st day order folks - they are the most motivated.

The offer of an e-card was yet another slap in the face. Unless OLPC does something substantive (for me, I'd like to get a free pull charger or maybe another AC adapter) people will continue to complain even after they get their XO. 71.58.75.37 21:09, 26 December 2007 (EST)

I actually wish I wrote the previous paragraphs. I agree with much of what is in there and they are far more sophisticated than the little sarcastic e-mails I sent to OLPC. I only wish it wasn't anonymous. I am old school with regard to standing behind your words.

Thanks. I'm not really anonymous but I haven't set up an account. If you see tsdguy on IRC, that's me. I've said basically the same thing in the OLPC:Content channel. I hate to be negative - I would be silent if EVERYONE was delayed - that's just the breaks. But the one thing that I don't accept is unfairness. If it was inadvertent, just say so. Their silence implies knowledge and compliance. (PS. Don't forget to add 4 tildes ('~') after your post so it gets tagged. 71.58.75.37 21:00, 27 December 2007 (EST)

Adding on to my previous post to let folks know that my XO is now showing as shipping on the AltTracking webpage from FedEx. I used my OLPC tracking number: 7000012xxx which I got on Dec 22. Didn't get any notice of shipment. Also, they went back to ground shipping - I guess we're not worth the effort to use overnight or 2nd day. Bet we won't see any acknowledgment or accommodation. Not surprising but considering all of the marketing folks involved with OLPC they should be well aware that good will is their most valuable resource. Hope folks get more information.71.58.75.37 13:15, 29 December 2007 (EST)

Last edit - I received my XO on Jan 2. Worked perfectly, enjoying playing with it now. Fine piece of hardware works exactly as designed and designed very well for the intended audience. Hope they sell millions - this is the hardware developing nations need for their kids, not just some cheap laptop running vanilla software. Hope everyone that was negative gives back a little to the program. I know I will. 128.118.119.10 12:58, 3 January 2008 (EST)

I was planning on proudly helping with some e-books. Yesterday, I converted about 50% of the first work to pdf pages using openoffice and will convert from there to djvu format. That took a lot of time, but the content is quite good, a free web guide to making classical guitars that I helped a friend cook up a bunch of years ago.

I used the word "was" above because while I will still contribute and OLPC will still get content out of me I am not going to be proud about it. If the organization is intentionally not releasing what happened, I am not proud to be associated with that. If the organization doesn't care, I am not proud to be associated with that. And if the organization doesn't appreciate their responsibility with regard to the situation, I definitely cannot be proud to be associated with that.

Things went wrong with the distribution of the OX laptops for the G1G1 program. Now someone at OLPC with the actual facts such as order databases etc, should call the shipping company and see what happened, then let it be known what happened.

I will help with this effort because as a teacher I believe that education is key to turning around many of the problem areas of the world. I want to be proud of this organization and not ashamed.

--Cdfps 23:34, 26 December 2007 (EST)

What is the plan for alternate shipping addresses? I had mine changed to another relative who I knew would be home during since the original delivery window fell within the time frame when I knew I'd be out of town on business and this relative lived where I would be staying during the Christmas holiday when the OLPC XO was expected to arrive. If my OLPC doesn't arrive by next Monday, December 31st, that will change and I'll have to have it shipped elsewhere since my employer won't allow me to receive packages at work and I won't have any leave to burn to take off to pick up from Fed Ex and I don't usually get home from work until after the local office pick-up window closes. However, when you call the toll-free helpless number to change the address, they tell you that if you ordered before December 15th, you can't change the shipping address. This is getting to be a major pain since I ordered my OLPC on November 12th right around 6:00 AM and had no clue they'd be bumping people who ordered ahead of us because of this unforeseen glitch. Last week I got an email telling me it might ship by January 15th. I should be able to have the shipping address changed again because of this.

Even though I know it will probably be of no use, I called the toll-free help line again. The CSR said she'd pass it on to her supervisor since my laptop has been at shipping level 2 for a long time and the supervisor is supposed to call me back. I'll believe it when I see it as they've told me that last week and this elusive supervisor has yet to return that call. Somebody at OLPC needs to take charge and do something about this pretty quick. There are already a lot of irate people because orders were not shipped first come, first serve despite what the greeting says on the CSR toll free line and they will get even upset if they are in situation like mine and have to make alternate shipping plans yet are unable to because of a broken distribution system. It's really hard to keep focused on the mission of this project when the people in charge all of a sudden get quiet when things go awry. I'm grateful that Walter has been on this although I wonder if it would be different if this didn't affect directly him as well with since his OLPC XO's were undelivered as well. --con

I just checked FedEx's website and used my confirmation number used it to track by reference number and it shows that it shipped today for delivery next Wednesday. I don't know what you did, Walter, since I don't think my situation fell into what you mentioned today, but I definitely appreciate whatever you did to get the ball rolling!

I called today and was told my new reference number was 2520008xxx while my old number was 7000002xxx. Neither of which works on the fedex site or the laptopgiving tracker site. I hope the "every effort" in the new home page means they will send it next day air, but I sort of doubt that. Seriously, I am only looking for one effort. Ship the laptop. Ship it.

There needs to be a wiki page detailing what happened with the confirmed addresses problems, the "groups of consecutive ref numbers not shipped" problems, etc.

How can OLPC have any credibility if they don't?

--Cdfps 01:11, 29 December 2007 (EST)

speaking of shipping, FYI I ordered mine over the phone on 11/12 and was not charged shipping. On December 24th, I did receive a $24.95 charge on the credit card I used to purchase my OLPC which I assume is to pay for the shipping charge. You might want to add that to your list of reasons for the shipping delays, Walter since I can only assume that's why my order got borked. Also, it would have been nice to have gotten an email or phone call verifying this instead of me just happening to check my account and noticing that charge. 71.114.10.121 20:22, 29 December 2007 (EST)Con

Love my XO Merry Christmas from So. California

I received my XO, I am sitting in Starbucks learning to use the how to navigate the through the screens. I showed it to my friend who is a kindergarden teacher and she wants for me to bring it her class to show her kids. She said the key board and color was greatfor kids to use. Great job XO people!!!!!

Thanks, Rod :)

Canadians still being ignored

It is now January 4th, I am a Canadian, I donated in the first HOUR of the program being open, and now I can't get anyone on the phone to switch my shipment to a US address. All we get is a vague "sometime in the January / February timeframe" message, and I have now also been charged a second fee, $35, on my credit card, of which I have no receipt from you to find out what it's for!

This is quite aggravating folks - you should have been much better prepared for the international scope of your donors, especially ones that live just miles away from places like Seattle, Detroit, or Boston.

Oh yeah - and I work daily with laptop programs across the K12 universe in the States. I hope you know there is a lot of enthusiasm for your lofty goals, but very little interest in the poor execution so far.

Bill Hunka White Rock BC

Shipments to Canada began at the end of last week. --Walter 12:27, 13 January 2008 (EST)

I am in Canada and just received my XO today. Surprise! 24.215.18.0 13:25, 15 January 2008 (EST)

Great news. Let's hope it is the beginning of a flood of laptops into Canada. --Walter 13:34, 15 January 2008 (EST)

Got mine on 16th (Ottawa)

Jan 21, 2008. Finally got mine today. Very cool, the UI is a little mind-bending after using Windows for so long. Thanks, and I will be sure to carry it in airports around the country. My 3 year old daughter already likes what she sees! Bill Hunka, White Rock, BC.

Problem with Tracking Page/Tracking Number

I ordered an OLPC through the G1G1 program, and though I received a tracking number, whenever I enter it, or my e-mail address at [1], the page linked from [2], it returns a page which says either "Error : Invalid email id.", or "Error : Invalid reference number .", depending on which I enter. Prairie 22:30, 12 January 2008 (EST)

Please email the help AT laptop.org. They may be able to help. --Walter 12:27, 13 January 2008 (EST)

I did, about 2 weeks ago. No response... Prairie 12:50, 13 January 2008 (EST)

help AT laptop.org or help AT laptopgiving.org? In any case, please try the former again. --Walter 13:05, 13 January 2008 (EST)

I had been e-mailing service AT laptopgiving.org, I just tried e-mailing help AT laptopgiving.org, but that address does not exist. Prairie 16:43, 17 January 2008 (EST)

This page in the support forum says that help at laptop.org is the correct address to which to send, and it lists some information that is helpful to include in your request. —Joe 16:55, 17 January 2008 (EST)

Hi Walter,

I am having the same problem with the reference and tracking number I recieved. They are not accepted on the site. The email address supplied by paypal only results in a form letter saying it will take 3-5 days to answer the inquiry. I am a classroom computer teacher and have an entire school that has reseached, read and is now waiting for the laptop. I get to hear every day at the beginning of each 60 minute class-," Has it come yet?" It is very much like that long trip all parents take with their children yelling, "Are we there yet?", from the backseat. At least on those trips you can hush the children with a time estimate:) I am hoping someone can give me a estimated shipping date so that I can quiet the relentless questions coming from my excited students. The automated emails says they were overwhelmed by the response and yet several other sites quote OLPC has saying it was not an overwhelming response. As an educator I look at it this way-lots of children in developing nations are going to get laptops that would not have had without the G1G1 program. I do not mind waiting-I would just like a projected ship date. I just got an email moving the ship date to early in 2008.I will post that for my kids-I have a bad feeling that I willstill be asked every day , "Is it here yet?" I would have loved something like January 29 or even February 14th-- Then the kids could count down the days Kelley

Is this legitimate?

Is this legitimate? It sounds good and we called early in the morning November 12. We bought two laptops: one for our grandson on one as a donation to a child in a needy country. No laptop has been delivered. We have made very many phone calls to OLPC with no satisfaction. Now we have a supposed number, 8000000476, but this number is not recognized. The OLPC website no longer has a functioning answer address.

We fear this may be a scam and wonder if any laptops will be deliverd to those in need. Why are there no answers? My only recourse is to call VISA and cancel payment. Is there any reason why I should not? Are laptops really being sent? If so, why won't our questions be answered and why isn't our grandson being sent a computer?

--I think you should do what I did. I am fed up with lack of answers and lack of computer, so I have regestered a complaint with my state Attorny General's office. I am reporting them as being a scam charity. Take the money, make lots of promises, and skip town with the funds. That is what they are doing and it is time for all of us fed up "Doners" to unite and call their bluff.

OLPC, get off your fat lazy disorganized butts and resolve the shipping issues!!!! NOW!!! (I will sign my name because I don't want them to think I am a coward. You can't get a name out of any one in "Service" dept. They are a bunch of cowards. This is posted by Tanya Buys of Waldron, AR--a frustrated "Donor" who ordered in the first 2 minutes.)

OLPC has already shipped over 60,000 laptops to participants in our Give One Get One program. But there are still some (angry) people who ahve not yet received a laptop. We apologize that not everyone has gotten a laptop as quickly as they had expected (or as quickly as we had anticipated for Day One donors). We continue to sort through the orders, working with you to correct shipping addresses, etc. Thank you for your continued patience. --Walter 09:16, 19 January 2008 (EST)