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'''This is a community-run effort. The content on this page is not necessarily produced or endorsed by OLPC or its employees.'''
Discussion on repair centers can be found on the [[Talk:Repair centers|talk page]]. Also see the pilot repair center going up at Boston-area [[Olin repair center|Olin College]] as a first testing point of the infrastructure - more sites to follow.


== Meeting minutes ==
== How you can help ==


We need action, but first we need ideas that can be put into action, since repair centers ''can'' involve the complex and costly shipping of parts across the world, and we'd like to minimize this whenever possible and discuss it in advance. Some specific things we're looking for are below.
* [[/Jan 27 2008]]


=== Business plans ===
== Meet Others who will Support You ==


We need "business plan" proposals for individual repair centers themselves - which can only be generated by the folks who want to run those centers, as each situation is different. What will you do, how will you run both logistically and financially, where will you get resources and what resources will you have, what services will you offer to whom, and so on. Note that it may be a few months before we're ready to have other repair shops join the fray, but we can certainly start preparing. Add your group to the [[Repair center locations]] list, get in touch with an existing repair center group directly with feedback, or generate ideas for business plans and [[Repair centers#Business plans|post them here.]]
<b>Grassroots organizers of Community Repair Centers are strongly encouraged to discuss their plans and share their successes on the [http://lists.laptop.org/listinfo/grassroots grassroots mailing list].</b> Also consider joining OLPC 50+ [http://lists.laptop.org/listinfo/support-gang Community Support Volunteers] who are driving many of these plans forward.


== Map of Repair Centers ==
=== Supply chain solutions ===
<googlemap lat="41.912497" lon="-95.624207" zoom="3">
47.620716, -122.347533, Seattle, WA, USA
42.35888, -71.05682, Boston, MA, USA
48.751448, -122.472574, Bellingham, WA, USA
38.906981, -77.014231, DC, USA
40.438355, -80.001983, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
36.15888, -86.782097, Nashville, TN, USA
41.547353, -72.650872, Middletown, CT, USA
41.499713, -81.693716, Cleveland, OH, USA
39.099233, -84.517486, Cincinnati, OH, USA
41.879535, -87.624333, Chicago, IL, USA
33.652526, -117.918997, Costa Mesa, CA, USA
</googlemap>
<!---
<imagemap>
Image:usamap.png|
circle 79 37 6 [[#Seattle|Seattle]]
circle 709 140 6 [[#Boston|Boston]]
circle 81 18 6 [[#Bellingham|Bellingham]]
circle 630 279 6 [[#Raleigh|Raleigh]]
circle 648 221 6 [[#DC|Washington DC]]
circle 601 193 6 [[#Pittsburgh|Pittsburgh]]
circle 517 289 6 [[#Nashville|Nashville Murfreesboro]]
circle 694 159 6 [[#Middletown|Middletown]]
circle 581 184 6 [[#Cleveland|Cleveland]]
circle 548 232 6 [[#Cincinnati|Cincinnati]]
circle 498 189 6 [[#Chicago|Chicago]]
</imagemap>--->


We need to find a way to deal with the financial, shipping, and legal logistics behind repair centers getting parts - wide-scale donations (even of broken machines) to any repair center that wants them isn't a scalable/sustainable solution. There's also the tough balance of ensuring repair centers are run by good people doing good work without imposing onerous "certification" burdens on either the repair centers or OLPC itself (which doesn't have the resources or the desire to be the Big Boss behind all these repair shops) - again, any help in coming up with models and solutions for this would be super-welcome. Add your thoughts on the [[Talk:Repair centers|discussion page]].
== Potential locations ==


=== Vancouver, Canada ===
=== Collaboration models ===
* Contact SNelson, with the very active Computer Recycling & Linux Users Group [http://freegeekvancouver.org Free Geek Vancouver]


A number of global/grassroots communication and collaboration models among repair shops so that they can share ideas, parts, refer customers to each other, and so on. After generating a strawman business plan for your center, you may want to get in touch with one of the other centers-in-the-making and hash out ideas together for how two entirely different repair centers - or more! - might be able to work with each other. Get in touch with [[Repair centers]] directly, or add your thoughts on the [[Talk:Repair centers|discussion page]].
=== Boston ===
* [[Olin university chapter|Olin college]]; see their [[Olin_university_chapter/Repair_center|draft]]
** documentation, links, etc. to be posted on [[Olin repair center]]


=== Seattle ===
=== Situational adaptations ===
* [[SeaXO]]
=== Bellingham ===
* Bellingham, WA - [[User:ixo|ixo]] via [http://it.myna.ws Myna IT Consulting] and local [http://blug.org Bellingham Linux Users Group (BLUG)]


The situation in the US with G1G1 and small, privately-run pilots is also rather different than the situation in the countries that the "give one" laptops are rolling out to en masse. One is the availability of parts (and transport to ship things in and out) and the proportionally higher "real cost" of parts as a significant expense to XO users not in "Get One" households. Another is saturation of laptops in an area and how that affects supply and demand - if 15 centers in Chicago want to open repair shops, but only 100 laptops exist in the entire metro/suburban area and most of those are with developers who can usually repair their own, what can centers do? Local pilots in "Get One" areas will change the saturation situation drastically - how will community groups react? Add your thoughts on the [[Talk:Repair centers|discussion page]].
=== Raleigh ===
* TriLUG has expressed interest.
* Meets at Red Hat, Centennial Park, NC - RLUG
* Contact "sph0lt0n AT gmail DOT com" for info
* Oak Hill Academy has also expressed interest.


=== DC ===
=== Doing more than just repair ===
* Washington, DC - [[User:Ffm|FFM's LUG]]
=== Pittsburgh ===
* Pittsburgh, PA - [[User:Ttuttle|ttuttle]] is starting a users' group at [http://cmu.edu Carnegie Mellon University] that may spawn a repair center


Repair centers don't have to just do repairs, they can do other things that require physical equipment like peripheral/hardware/charger etc. design, community gathering places... becoming a physical meeting point for local [[Grassroots]] groups. What else can you think of? Add your thoughts on the [[Talk:Repair centers|discussion page]].
=== Nashville ===
* Nashville / Murfreesboro, TN - [[User:Karmaflux|kfx]] and his incipient student group @ [http://mtsu.edu MTSU]
=== Middletown ===
* Wesleyan University, [[Middletown Childrens Project|Middletown]], CT - [[User:Katie|Kate Davis]]


=== Cincinnati ===
== Existing proposals ==
* Cincinnati, OH - Ian Daniher + Local Highschool + University Team; hosted at resident MegaChurch w/ free wifi, kitchen areas, meeting rooms.
=== Chicago ===
* Aurora, IL - [[Illinois Math and Science Academy Chapter|IMSA]]
* Glenview, IL / Downtown Chicago (temporary) - OLPC Chicago office, starting full-time this summer. [[User:Mchua|Mchua]] and [[User:Nlee|Nlee]] will be there.


=== Cleveland ===
=== Infrastructure suggestions ===
* Cleveland, OH - Case Students led by Steve Burns(?) if needed
=== Southern California ===
* Orange County, CA - [[User:scorche|scorche]] volunteers himself.


* Local Coordinator with Backup
** From our current volunteers, support and otherwise

* Location: University, Church or Other NonProfit
** Must have secure onsite storage for equipment , tools and parts
** Must have shipping/receiving capabilities during "normal business hours"
** Must be able to accomodate 30+ people plus parking
** Must *not* require additional insurance waivers etc
** must have broadband available: ethernet to set up temporary hotspot

* Times: Regular Periodic
** At least monthly
** As often as weekly, or more, if staffing and demand supports it

* Atmosphere:
** Model on Apple Genius Bar? eg. make it an showcase for OLPC and the XO
** Setup Hotspot
** Setup Mesh
** Allow drop ins to mesh their XO's
** Snacks etc if volunteered
** really great POS from OLPC
** A few demo XO's for folks to try

* Repair:
** DIY supported
** Knowledgeable volunteers to help

== Other resources ==

*[[Repair center locations|Volunteer repair centers]] being formed around the US
*[http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/OLPC-US/ Interactive XO Support Forum] Interactive Community Based Tech Support Group

Discussion on repair centers can be found on the [[Talk:Repair centers|talk page]]. Also see the pilot repair center going up at Boston-area [[Olin repair center|Olin College]] as a first testing point of the infrastructure - more sites to follow.

== Meeting minutes ==

* [[/Jan 27 2008]]


[[category:community repair]]
[[category:community repair]]

Revision as of 15:39, 13 February 2008


This is a community-run effort. The content on this page is not necessarily produced or endorsed by OLPC or its employees.

How you can help

We need action, but first we need ideas that can be put into action, since repair centers can involve the complex and costly shipping of parts across the world, and we'd like to minimize this whenever possible and discuss it in advance. Some specific things we're looking for are below.

Business plans

We need "business plan" proposals for individual repair centers themselves - which can only be generated by the folks who want to run those centers, as each situation is different. What will you do, how will you run both logistically and financially, where will you get resources and what resources will you have, what services will you offer to whom, and so on. Note that it may be a few months before we're ready to have other repair shops join the fray, but we can certainly start preparing. Add your group to the Repair center locations list, get in touch with an existing repair center group directly with feedback, or generate ideas for business plans and post them here.

Supply chain solutions

We need to find a way to deal with the financial, shipping, and legal logistics behind repair centers getting parts - wide-scale donations (even of broken machines) to any repair center that wants them isn't a scalable/sustainable solution. There's also the tough balance of ensuring repair centers are run by good people doing good work without imposing onerous "certification" burdens on either the repair centers or OLPC itself (which doesn't have the resources or the desire to be the Big Boss behind all these repair shops) - again, any help in coming up with models and solutions for this would be super-welcome. Add your thoughts on the discussion page.

Collaboration models

A number of global/grassroots communication and collaboration models among repair shops so that they can share ideas, parts, refer customers to each other, and so on. After generating a strawman business plan for your center, you may want to get in touch with one of the other centers-in-the-making and hash out ideas together for how two entirely different repair centers - or more! - might be able to work with each other. Get in touch with Repair centers directly, or add your thoughts on the discussion page.

Situational adaptations

The situation in the US with G1G1 and small, privately-run pilots is also rather different than the situation in the countries that the "give one" laptops are rolling out to en masse. One is the availability of parts (and transport to ship things in and out) and the proportionally higher "real cost" of parts as a significant expense to XO users not in "Get One" households. Another is saturation of laptops in an area and how that affects supply and demand - if 15 centers in Chicago want to open repair shops, but only 100 laptops exist in the entire metro/suburban area and most of those are with developers who can usually repair their own, what can centers do? Local pilots in "Get One" areas will change the saturation situation drastically - how will community groups react? Add your thoughts on the discussion page.

Doing more than just repair

Repair centers don't have to just do repairs, they can do other things that require physical equipment like peripheral/hardware/charger etc. design, community gathering places... becoming a physical meeting point for local Grassroots groups. What else can you think of? Add your thoughts on the discussion page.

Existing proposals

Infrastructure suggestions

  • Local Coordinator with Backup
    • From our current volunteers, support and otherwise
  • Location: University, Church or Other NonProfit
    • Must have secure onsite storage for equipment , tools and parts
    • Must have shipping/receiving capabilities during "normal business hours"
    • Must be able to accomodate 30+ people plus parking
    • Must *not* require additional insurance waivers etc
    • must have broadband available: ethernet to set up temporary hotspot
  • Times: Regular Periodic
    • At least monthly
    • As often as weekly, or more, if staffing and demand supports it
  • Atmosphere:
    • Model on Apple Genius Bar? eg. make it an showcase for OLPC and the XO
    • Setup Hotspot
    • Setup Mesh
    • Allow drop ins to mesh their XO's
    • Snacks etc if volunteered
    • really great POS from OLPC
    • A few demo XO's for folks to try
  • Repair:
    • DIY supported
    • Knowledgeable volunteers to help

Other resources

Discussion on repair centers can be found on the talk page. Also see the pilot repair center going up at Boston-area Olin College as a first testing point of the infrastructure - more sites to follow.

Meeting minutes

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