OLPC4USA FAQ

Nobody has asked these questions here yet. Some have been asked elsewhere on the OLPC Wiki, and some I made up based on experience writing other FAQs.--Mokurai 15:43, 2 November 2006 (EST)

Retail

Q Will I be able to buy a Laptop?

A See Retail.

States

Q Will OLPC sell to individual US states or territories? Massachusetts has expressed interest.

A They haven't said.

Bush Administration

Q Has OLPC talked to anybody in the Bush Administration about Laptops for the US?

A I asked, but OLPC hasn't replied yet.

Update: Presentation at US State Department of State Open Forum

A Conversation With Nicholas Negroponte: One Laptop Per Child

WHEN: Wednesday, November 15, 2006, 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.

WHERE: George Washington University's Elliott School of International Affairs, 1957 E Street NW, Room 602, Washington, DC

WHAT: One Laptop per Child (OLPC) is a non-profit organization created by Professor Negroponte and other faculty members from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) 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.

A $100 laptop has been designed, of which 5,000 (actually, 900) will be testing in the field over the next 90 days. Initial launch in 2007 is anticipated in Brazil, Argentina, Nigeria, Libya, and Thailand. (Greatly exaggerated. See Countries.)

Nicholas Negroponte is founder and chairman of the One Laptop per Child non-profit association. He is currently on leave from MIT, where he was co-founder and director of the MIT Media Laboratory, and the Jerome B. Wiesner Professor of Media Technology. A graduate of MIT, he was a pioneer in the field of computer-aided design, and has been a member of the MIT faculty since 1966. Conceived in 1980, the Media Laboratory opened its doors in 1985. He is also author of the 1995 best seller, Being Digital, which has been translated into more than 40 languages. In the private sector, he serves on the board of directors for Motorola, Inc. and as general partner in a venture capital firm specializing in digital technologies for information and entertainment. He has provided start-up funds for more than 40 companies, including Wired magazine.

Laptops

Q Should the US use the OLPC laptop? Aren't there better ways to get computers for US schoolchildren?

A The alternatives, such as conventional laptops, cost more, and do not come with mesh networking, but are larger in capacity, with bigger screens and keyboards, and run faster. Maine and Georgia are using conventional laptops. There is a tradeoff here.

Q: Why isn't this being scaled up HUGE in the US media. Which is to say how can I help publicize this issue?

A: Are you willing to do demos of the Laptop to interested organizations? We may be able to get you a unit. Check out the Laptop demonstrations page.--Mokurai 20:01, 14 April 2007 (EDT)

Q: Is there a page with email links for relevant government officials so that members of the public can help promote this issue?

A: The US government and the states have a bunch.

• House of Representatives
• Senate
• The President
• your state legislature

You can also contact party organizations, political clubs, service clubs, the PTA, churches/synagogues/mosques/temples...Let us know what you hear from them.--Mokurai 20:01, 14 April 2007 (EDT)