XO Giving

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You can help support OLPC's mission by contributing time and knowledge or donating money, or by participating in our annual giving campaign, below. The 2008 giving campaign begins on November 17

Give 1, Get 1

The 2008 Give 1, Get 1 campaign will launch on November 17, at Amazon.com/xo.

• For details, see G1G1 2008.
• A collection of archival info on Give1Get1 2007: G1G1 2007
• To give a larger number of XO laptops, see Give Many.

Frequently Asked Questions

When does the program start? Can I give/get a laptop today?

The program will start on November 17, 2008. You cannot take part before then, but can donate to the OLPC Foundation.

What operating system will the laptops run?

The laptops will run the latest release of Sugar on a Linux-based Fedora Core operating system. (It will not dual-boot Windows and Linux, contrary to some reports.) For answers to this and other frequently asked questions, see the XO Giving FAQ.

How are "get" XOs sold through G1G1 different than those overseas?

The XOs sold in the US and other developed nations will ship with a US/International keyboard, with the default language set to English. They will ship with a slightly different set of activities and collections, something which is customized by each country and deployment.

If I give an XO through the G1G1 program, will I get a certificate in the mail?

No, for reasons of printing and mailing overhead.

Will G1G1 ship XOs to donors in my country?

During the rollout of the campaign, XOs are only available within the United States and selected European countries. See #International questions below.

Can I use a European credit card to donate?

TBA; most likely yes.

Will the "get" XO include a solar or human-power system?

No. However you can get your own solar panels separately from one of our suppliers.

Will the "give" XO include a solar or human-power system?

Yes, where it is needed and cost effective, as determined by the deployment project team.

Will the "get" Laptops use the anti-theft 'leasing' system?

No.

Will the "get" Laptops require a 'developer key' to run free software that isn't signed by OLPC (e.g. Ubuntu or Gentoo)?

TBA; most likely yes. Developer keys are available for all XO users and provided within roughly a day to everyone who requests one.

International questions

Which countries are covered by Give One Get One?

As in 2007, Give One Get One is running in the United States. Unfortunately, the 2008 promotion will not initially be available in Canada.

Give One Get One may include 30 European countries, for more information, see XO_Giving/G1G1EU.

Can donors receive XOs in other countries?

Donors must provide a shipping address within one of the selected countries in order to receive a laptop. We will continue to work to expand the shipping options and range of countries.

Can donations be made from other countries?

Yes, you can donate to the OLPC Foundation from anywhere. You can also donate to OLPC Europe.

How do you come to know (make sure) whether a donor is from US?

Is there any way of finding out which country/community your "Give" laptop is sent to?

see XO Giving/International for further answers to this and other questions.

Other questions

Why are XOs sold in developed nations (as part of the get one give one program) only being sold for a limited time? Couldn't any child regardless of geography, culture or income bracket benefit from a educational laptop like this? Additionally, wouldn't it help create manufacturing economies of scale if more were sold?

This year's XO Giving program will start on November 17, and is not scheduled to end. Yes. Yes.

Can I vote for which country receives the given XO?

No. OLPC has been using the Give One laptops to start pilot projects in the least developed nations in the world (as defined by the UN) where suitable arrangements can be made with grassroots organizers to manage the deployment. This includes the recent pilots in Mongolia, Haiti, Rwanda, and Ethiopia.

What do I do if I want to give both laptops to children in a developing country?

You can "simply give" as many times as you want -- these $200 donations will go directly to XO programs in the developing world.

User communities

Users of the XO are forming their own user communities, even before the units arrive, see Users.

New Users can post questions and get answers on a separate page.

Give 1, Get 1 2007

The 2007 Give 1, Get 1 program (or "G1G1") concluded on 31 December 2007. G1G1 2007 has archival info on the 2007 program.

During the program, participants who donated USD $399 would cover the cost of one laptop to be distributed by OLPC to one of its least-developed partner countries, and would get 1 to keep, for themselves or for a child in their lives. OLPC also has a static Official FAQ on this program.

Discussion

Discussion topics have been moved to the discussion page at Talk:XO Giving.