Talk:XO Giving

Is it really impossible... (non-US)

... for Europeans to take part in this program within the given period?

• Of course not, but import/export is your problem. There are services that will help you by providing a US mailing address that forwards to your real address; try Google to find one.

• Thanks for your hint. I've found several postal services by using the search terms "mail forwarding service".

• That probably won't help if they're also asking for payment via a credit card with a US billing address.

• Why don't OLPC just do this themselves using a transatlantic courier? Transatlatic trade isn't a new idea... If they don't have the human resources or expertise to negotiate a deal, they could just encourage discussions like this one about the best way to get them shipped over individually, and put the most highly recommended links and tips on their official site. Surely anything is better than a vaguely implied flat-out "No" to the 93% of the population of the world who aren't in Canada or the USA?

• Yes it is a interesting hint. But it is too bad, that Europeans cannot participate. I know a lot of people who are interested to participate. I think the Organization would get a lot of donations by making this Give 1 Get 1 Program available in Europe. Maybe the reason is because a fear of too many orders?

---Will the charging adapter work in the UK? What addition parts will need to be bought? Really disappointed Europe is being ignored here.

---

US laptop chargers generally work in the UK with a pin-adapter. Depending on the connector, it may be possible to use a thrid party charger, or if the charger is multi-part to swap in a UK power-socket connector cable.

I'm disappointed this program won't be available in Australia. I was looking forward to the give 1 get 1 launch so I could get one for my nephew. This is sadly only going to increase the demand for grey market laptops on eBay. :(

I'm also dissapointed by this. For example the European market is about the same size as the USA. So the OLPC organisation could double their numbers of free laptops to give away. Also the price per laptop will go down since the volume goes up. Now if the whole world could join this program, it might triple the manufacturing volume. I just don't get this. Many of my friends will stop producing software if they cannot get a target machine to work with! A worldwide G1G1 program is an incentive to show your willingness to participate with the rest of the planet.

Note that if your friends are developing for the XO and require a laptop, they can apply to get one through the developers program, regardless of where they live. —Joe 12:19, 3 November 2007 (EDT)

There might be good reasons for limiting it to just North America, for example setting up distribution and servicing. Also, if it's successful in North America, perhaps mobile network partners on European networks would be more willing to offer incentives in order to be associated positively with the project (like T-Mobile in the States). I can't help but feel that the 2-for-1 idea could potentially end up as the largest mechanism for charitably supplying laptops to children in developing nations, so I hope they are quick to act on this and make the offer international if the N. American drive is a resounding success.

Other countries: I seems the "buy one give one" program is limited to North America. Will there be a similar program in Europe (e.g. Germany), provided the US program is a success? Or was there no sufficient interest so far? If yes, would "localised" keyboards be a possibiliy ? Maybe that can best be assessed when the participation in the US is known, which may be an indication for interest to be expected in other industrialized countries.

Feedback

I've seen Mr. Negroponte's story on "60 Minutes," and have press releases about the project. I advise a group of college students who raise money for the Zambia Open Community Schools program, a program for students too poor to attend government schools. It seems like this is exactly the population the project is designed for . . . but I'm gathering that the only way to serve a relatively small program (we've raised ~$150,000 over several years, all of which has gone directly to the ZOCS program). Is the "Buy One, Give One" program the only way we could connect olpc to the children in and around Lusaka, Zambia?

Try the "give many" program. For around $30,000 you can get 100 laptops to the location of your choice - and 50 go to a location of OLPC's choice. This obeys the principle of Core_principles#saturation. ps. Please sign your comments.

=

If human/solar power options do not come with the laptop you get in the Give 1 Get 1 program, will they be available separately? If an option, for how much $$$?

Using testing for expectation management

MitchellNCharity 12:43, 18 October 2007 (EDT) My understanding is an xogiving site rewrite is in progress, addressing expectation management by emphasizing the laptop is a "gift" in return for your donation. Here is an additional, complementary, expectation management idea - invoke testing. The software they receive will unquestionably be quite buggy. But we should be able to change some "Oh, _another_ bug. :( How disappointing/annoying." to "Oh, another bug! Another opportunity to contribute to the project and the world!". And at the same time contribute to expectation setting.

At least when doing one-on-one demos with people on the street, it's possible for their feelings towards bugs to go either way. Disappointment, or, turning proudly to their friends, "Hey, *I* helped find a bug!". It's something I experience myself. Perhaps some key factors include 'not being surprised', 'not getting stuck', and 'a feeling that the situation is improving'. The 'not getting stuck' is more a "creating a support model for xogiving folks, who don't have a school/city full of xo peers, perhaps by facilitating community formation", and thus off topic for this note. But the surprise, and moving towards bug finding as a positive thing, we can start addressing now.

With something like

The software will likely be buggier than much commercial software.

As part of your getting this gift, this early release of the laptop, it is our hope that you will note and report the many bugs you encounter, helping us prepare for and support, the pilot schools and initial deployments around the world.

Possible extra bits:

...by (downloading and) running the "testing and bug reporting application"... Basically, the testing team's Test activity.

Observing that children, at least in communities, can find ways around many bugs, but can't do anything with hardware and software they don't have, we have been focused getting key features more or less usable, for our user and developer community to build on.

bug reports will help... us, and the community of developers. <-- emphasize community aspect

More

• There seems a default expectation among people that they will be delivered by Christmas.

• The keyboard is too small for most adults to touch type. This needs to be made clear, lest the purchaser be surprised. Perhaps a photo with a large adult hand? Actually, some older children report it small in trials. I've no idea what the range is. The site should provide guidance.
  • The keyboard appears to be at *most* 22 cm across; this gives a size ~ 60% of a, for instance a Palm folding keyboard. Sleet01 15:13, 24 October 2007 (EDT)

• The laptop is slow. My one-liner is "It's like a laptop from several years ago. Faster than most current handhelds, but several times slower than current mainstream laptops".
  • We have another problem: emulation currently isn't throttled to the real CPU speed, so testers may be experiencing 8~9x real performance! Sleet01 15:13, 24 October 2007 (EDT)

• There has been a lot of news coverage of the "the battery lasts all day!". We are far from that. Which was fine when it was long-term vision pr. But not now. We should give detailed and real numbers for battery life, else wild expectations will bite us. It's an FAQ when doing demos.

• Detailed list of what you get, with picture. No crank.

MitchellNCharity 12:43, 18 October 2007 (EDT)

I would like to buy one laptop but I would like to give second to caritas. I trust this organisation. Not trust OLPC.

An alternative...

---Consider the Asus Eee PC. It's an OLPC copy, but:-

• It's actually researched, designed and built where it's intended to be used (at first, Taiwan & SE Asia)
• They're not restricting sales to governments only, and don't dictate how the laptop is supposed to be used
• They're aware of the existance of non-American, non-developing countries like ours enough to actually be making use of and selling to these countries
• They have a variety of models for a variety of needs

Unfortunately, both the Asus Eee's software and hardware are less adventurous than OLPC - e.g. no rubber coating, no lime green, a more ordinary operating system and no crank handle. And Asus's aims are entirely corporate. No-one else but them benefits from you buying one.

However, some of these drawbacks may be a good thing. E.g.:-

• It doesn't look childish, which is good for ambitious children who value their self respect.
• Profit motive means less ego motive and less dictating how the laptops are to be used.
• Although their software is less intuitive, it's a better preparation for the quagmire of badly written software that employers and higher education establishments use.

I'm not sure which is best - both have very different strengths and weaknesses. Asus is more corporate, but is a good corporation automatically worse than an NGO who arbitrarily cut out of a scheme every single country other than USA & Canada, and forget to even say so on their own website?

It is really quite simple to decide whether one should buy Asus' Eee or XO from OLPC. Need. Figure out your need, and the rest will follow.

A really pessimistic take...

While OLPC Laptops appear to be as rare as hens teeth at the moment, given the corrupt nature of the civil servants of many of the benefitting countries I'm sure it won't be long before there are a glut of Laptops available on e-Bay for $50

What about a counter ?

would be nifty to have a real time counter of the donated laptop via the give 1 get 1 operation

What about a different color for developed countries ?

Why not change the color of the XO for the "Give One Get One" program to purple or white for instance. It should be very cheap to mix another color than green into the shell. Then it is possible to put some public pressure on Ebay etc. to stop the market for non green XO in the developed countries.

G1G1UG?

I just ordered through G1G1. I'm looking to connect with others who have as well. Especially if you're located in the Boston/Cambrdige area. Drop me a note.

- :) Ben Nardone::My Talk::Internship::G1G1::Software::Peru::Nigeria 12:06, 20 November 2007 (EST)

Suggestion: overcoming donor hesitancy

To help overcome donor hesitation, how about an additional tax donation chit in return for the donor's used US laptop? The original box could contain the return label and postage. Bringing the donorz cost down to $99 + ship. Or more depending on the IRS' allowed value on used gear.

Infrastructure is an issue - warehousing, and email status ("We received your return, go here to print our your tax receipt." emails). Get Backcountry.com to help out, those Mormons are awesome.

A thornier issue would be recertification, and possible conversion of English keyboard etc. Shipping individual units back to Shanghai is not tenable. Any ideas?