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'''Ask OLPC a Question''' is a set of pages dedicated to answering general questions that you have about the project. Please add your question by editing this page; as soon as possible it will be added to the [[OLPC FAQ]].

'''This page is not''' a dumping ground for just any question or comment: every page in the wiki has a "discussion" tab at the top.

Please search for an answer to your questions using the '''search''' field in the column on the left side of the page (alternatively you can try a [http://www.google.com/custom?domains=laptop.org&sitesearch=laptop.org Custom Google]), and add a targeted question or comment to the discussion associated with that page. We will delete questions that are already answered elsewhere in the wiki.

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'''To get a laptop'''
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To get a laptop for yourself, your young relatives, your NGO, etc : see [[Ask OLPC a Question about Distribution#Where or how can I get one?|'''this section''']].
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'''To submit ideas'''
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See the '''[[OLPC Idea Pool]]'''.
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'''If you know the answer to a question'''
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Feel free to reply below. Sign your response (using the wiki convention of <nowiki>-- ~~~~</nowiki>) and put it in the Answered Question Section of this page. The community can discuss and revise your answer and subsequently integrate it into the main FAQ.
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'''<font color="red">To ask a new question</font>'''
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First read this entire page to be sure it has not already be answered; then add it to [[Ask OLPC a Question/New|the '''New Questions section''']].
|}

<div style="float:right; width:370px;">
__TOC__
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==General==

===OLPC & UNPO Members===
:''N.B. UNPO => Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization''
Many regions are not represented by an official government. Kosovo, Somaliland, Iraqi Kurdistan and many refugee camp as Dafur/Mali, Myanmar/Thailand border,... have no chance to get support from any government. (see [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unrepresented_Nations_and_Peoples_Organization UNPO]) For normal the United Nations give some support, but the people have no work and the people are bored.

Especialy for these people education is very importent. It is also important to give them a voice to tell about their lives.
The 100$ laptop and a internet link could improve the situation of this people very much.

The regions are too small to order one million laptops but all this regions together have more then 1 million children.
Is there a special program for these children? There is no government to talk with, but the UN together with NGOs could do a lot.

Many people ask if it's possible to give some money for the OLPC project. If there is some money, this regions should be the first that receive sponsored laptops. One million children with the ability to send text and videos from daily life as a refugee could change the world. --[[User:Bz|Bz]] 09:28, 27 January 2007 (EST)

:There are plans to extend invitations to NGOs [[Ask_OLPC_a_Question#Can NGOs and charities get them?|after the first phase]]&mdash;OLPC currently targets '''only''' [[Ask OLPC a Question about Distribution#Overview|national governments]].
:Community sponsoring (ie: [[Ask OLPC a Question about Distribution#Buy 2 Get 1|Buy 2 Get 1]]) is not being contemplated as an option in the near future&mdash;maybe later.--[[User:Xavi|Xavi]] 10:21, 27 January 2007 (EST)

===OLPC & United Nations===

Will the new leadership at the United Nations affect the laptop.org program in general?
--[[User:216.194.7.160|216.194.7.160]] 18:08, 26 December 2006 (EST)
:Probably not, given that neither dependends on the other. AFAIK, [http://content.undp.org/go/newsroom/january-2006/100-dollar-laptop-20060128.en;jsessionid=a_Q884XX38gg agreements have been signed] with the U.N.'s [http://www.undp.org Development Program].--[[User:Xavi|Xavi]] 11:44, 27 December 2006 (EST)

=== What are the Pros and Cons of OLPC? ===

One could be that many children want to have a computer, now
that many places are going solar for energy so many more
will want a lap top like the OLPC laptop!
--[[User:Hunter|Hunter]] 08:50, 8 January 2007 (EST)


:This is also discussed on various question pages, including [[OLPC FAQ]] and [[Ask OLPC a Question]]. --[[User:Mokurai|Mokurai]] 17:45, 9 November 2006 (EST)

:There are a number of naysayers claiming that the OLPC project will never work for various alleged reasons. Most prominent among them are Bill Gates and John C. Dvorak. [http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/story.aspx?siteid=mktw&guid={CABBDAC8-7AD5-4F8B-A5D8-1EFB949A1AA3} Dvorak's recent attack], posted on MSN Marketwatch is a misch-masch of straw men, ad hominem attacks, and ignorance, in my opinion. More than 400 [http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/11/18/0733221 comments have appeared on Slashdot]. The Linux community is of the opinion that Gates is opposed to the laptop purely because it runs Linux and other Free Software, and that Dvorak, once a respected voice in the industry, is shilling for Gates. --[[User:Mokurai|Mokurai]] 06:59, 21 November 2006 (EST)

=== Public traded company?===

I am wondering if olpc is a public traded company and if not are there any plans of this happining in the near future?
:US non-profit corporation, so no. You could start your own company to buy from or sell to the families of the children. (But not to sell the laptop.)--[[User:Mokurai|Mokurai]] 02:23, 13 October 2006 (EDT)

=== Background in pedagogy? ===

Do any of the OLPC designers have experience with teaching young children, especially ones in the third world?

:It is best to read through some of the site or use the Search button at the left before asking questions. Or are you questioning the management's competence in making the decision to assign technical design experts to do the design instead of pedagogues? Read the [[constructivist]] page to begin with and then check the backgrounds of the people who are running the OLPC project. You couldn't ask for more solid educational credentials.

Also those that may not know what pedagogy is it is:the activities of educating or instructing or teaching; activities that impart knowledge or skill; "he received no formal education"; "our instruction was carefully programmed"; "good teaching is seldom rewarded"Not every one is that smart a first glance that asks questions.
--[[User:Hunter|Hunter]] 09:48, 8 January 2007 (EST)

::The question was to try to find out to what extent unusual aspects of the system (sugar, social chat-oriented software) were validated by experience teaching young children. From what I have seen of the OLPC staff backgrounds, they're generally university people, surely a very different demographic.

:::[[Seymour Papert]] has been involved in elementary school classroom software for decades. See his book Mindstorms. [[Alan Kay]] managed the design of computers suitable for children at Xerox PARC in the 1970s. His Alto computer and Smalltalk software were the original GUI system that became the model for the Apple Macintosh, the X windowing system for UNIX, and Microsoft Windows. There are other educational software developers and classroom teachers in OLPC.

:::In addition, the concept of One Laptop Per Child has reportedly been validated in classrooms in [[Maine]] and [[Cambodia]], using conventional commercial laptops. Some of us are eagerly awaiting the research reports on these deployments. --[[User:Mokurai|Mokurai]] 05:55, 7 November 2006 (EST)

::::That reported validation indeed sounds exciting, but where are the reports?

===Statistics===

I would like more information about the Nations that are involved with the OLPC program as far as statistics and population information!

:You can find out information about statistics [[OLPC Country statistics|here]]. Also, some countries have an infobox with an abstract.

=== About the Colors ===

What is the difference (apart from the color) between the Orange and Green machines? .--[[User:Ahmad|Ahmad]] 11:36, 27 October 2006 (GMT+1)

:There are no Orange or Green machines. There are only prototype boards and components in various stages. Pictures with Orange and Green machines used plastic models or case prototypes. They are just there as pretty pictures to give a rough idea of what a finished unit MIGHT be.

::Green ones now exist: [[B1 Pictures]]. --[[User:66.30.117.127|66.30.117.127]] 16:53, 9 January 2007 (EST)

=== What does XO stand for ? ===

Nothing really. It is simply a shorthand reference to the shape of the icon which is used to represent a user of the mesh network. The icon represents a person with arms outstretched, jumping for joy. It looks like an '''O''' stacked above an '''X'''. [http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Talk:OLPC_Human_Interface_Guidelines/The_Sugar_Interface/Icons Some people don't like it.]

===History===

I am curious about the history of this project: when was it started, by whom, how it has evolved, etc.

:Some of this information is being collected on the [[History of OLPC]] page. You may also find some information on [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Laptop_per_Child Wikipedia] however the best way is to Google for information on [[Nicholas Negroponte]] and [[Seymour Papert]].


===Rwanda===

I would like more infromation about Rwanda.



Rwanda has recently joined the OLPC program. You can find out more infromation about them at this link
[http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Rwanda]

==[[Ask OLPC a Question about Social Issues|Social Issues]]==

The full impact of the OLPC can only be determined with time. Nevertheless, you may have concerns about [[Ask OLPC a Question about Social Issues#Government concerns|recipient governments]], [[Ask OLPC a Question about Social Issues#Child Safety Concerns|child safety]], [[Ask OLPC a Question about Social Issues#Privacy and Anonymity|privacy]], [[Ask OLPC a Question about Social Issues#Rights Abuse|abuse]]. Check the '''[[Ask OLPC a Question about Social Issues|Q&A about social issues]]'''.

==[[Ask OLPC a Question about Distribution|Distribution, Roll-out, Marketing & Sales]]==
{{:Ask OLPC a Question about Distribution/Summary}}

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You may also be wondering about [[Ask OLPC a Question about Distribution#Training & Capacity Building|training & volunteering]], or [[Ask OLPC a Question about Distribution#Donations|donations]] and other financial issues.

'''[[Ask OLPC a Question about Distribution|Expanded FAQ on Distribution is here]]'''

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==[[Ask OLPC a Question about Countries|Countries]]==
{{:Ask OLPC a Question about Countries/Summary}}

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You can see the community's work for each of the countries in the ''[[:Category:Countries]]''.

'''[[Ask OLPC a Question about Countries|Expanded FAQ on countries is here]]'''

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== [[Ask OLPC a Question about Product Life-cycle|Product Life-cycle]] ==

Besides [[Ask OLPC a Question about Product Life-cycle#Quality Assurance|quality assurance]], there are issues about [[Ask OLPC a Question about Product Life-cycle#Maintenance|maintenance]] and/or the [[Ask OLPC a Question about Product Life-cycle#How are these machines going to be dealt with at the end of their useful life?|disposal]] at the end-of-life. '''[[Ask OLPC a Question about Product Life-cycle|Look here]]''' for those Q&A.

==[[Ask OLPC a Question about Hardware|Hardware]]==

Will it really have a [[Ask OLPC a Question about Hardware#Power / Energy|crank for powering]]? What will the [[Ask OLPC a Question about Hardware#Keyboard|keyboard be like]]? What about [[Ask OLPC a Question about Hardware#|size & weight]]? If you don't find the answer in the [[hardware specification]]s you can check other '''[[Ask OLPC a Question about Hardware|questions and answer about hardware]]'''.

How come it doesn't include a built-in hardrive?

==[[Ask OLPC a Question about Software|Software]]==
{{:Ask OLPC a Question about Software/Summary}}

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Doubts about the [[Ask OLPC a Question about Software#The Operating System & Platform|Operating System and/or Linux]]? Will ''(my favorite application)'' be included? How will ''[[Ask OLPC a Question about Software##International / Language Support|(my language/country)]]'' going to be supported? Check:

'''[[Ask OLPC a Question about Software|Expanded FAQ on Software is here]]'''

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==Uncategorized==

===RSS===

Would it be possible to give LAPTOP NEWS RSS feed capability? I use a NewsGator RSS reader, and I like it very much. It saves me a lot of time, and the releases in each feed are always the most current when I log on. I try to check my feeds at least every 2 or 3 days. Thanks!
: [http://penguintv.sourceforge.net/ PenguinTV] is one of the activities already running on the laptop; you can [[OS_images_for_emulation|run an emulator]] and download the latest image of the OLPC environment to try it out for yourself. [[User:Sj|Sj]] [[User talk:Sj|<font color="fc9"><small>talk</small></font>]]

= New questions =

{{:Ask OLPC a Question/New}}

Revision as of 23:57, 3 July 2007

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