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Ask OLPC a Question is a set of pages dedicated to general questions about the project.

Questions about how to learn and use the XO can be posted to New Users.

Прежде чем задать вопрос...

Прочитайте "Official OLPC FAQ";
Если вы являетесь владельцем ноутбука, пройдите на руководство по | "быстрому старту"; ну а если после прочтения руководства у вас остались какие-то технические вопросы, попробуйте почитать "Support FAQ";
Пользуйте поиском по вики для отыскания ответов на свои вопросы (поле Search в левой колонке вики или же воспользуйтесь поиском компании Google), добавляйте свои вопросы в комментарии к страничке Discussion для страницы схожей тематики.
Aside from the sections below (each of which can be viewed in expanded form using the links provided), there are several other pages which contain Frequently Asked Questions. Check them to see if your question is covered there.
Some classes of questions have their own forums:
- To get a laptop for yourself, your young relatives, your NGO, etc., see this section;
- To submit ideas, see the OLPC Idea Pool.
- To answer a question, use the "See all questions" link for that section, and then the "edit" link for the question. Sign your response (using the wiki convention of -- ~~~~). The community can discuss and revise your answer. Also, we would appreciate it if you use the "Reorganize questions" link to hide answered questions so they don't show on this page (instructions at Answering questions).
- To make general comments and suggestions, see the main talk page or the "discussion" tab at the top of each page;
There is a discussion page to dispel various rumors about the project.
There is a new developers FAQ at http://aaa.opensourcehost.com/~thoughts/faq/.

Ask a new question

Choose a category from the table of contents that should appear somewhere at the top of this page (usually on the upper right hand side). Under the targeted heading, click the appropriate link to add a new question. Your new question will initially appear on this page. However, when it is answered, editors may decide to show it only in the subpage for the category you put it in. Therefore, if you do not see your question here, use the links below to see the full list of questions for your category.

--User support--

See Support for these questions and answers.

--Project and Goals--

This page has a more up-to-date location: Archive

Our Mission

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The argument for one laptop per child is simple: many children—especially those in rural parts of developing countries—have so little access to school—in some cases just a tree—that building schools and training teachers is only one way—perhaps the slowest way—to alleviate the situation. While such building programs and teacher education must not stop, another and parallel method is to leverage children themselves by engaging them more directly in their own learning. It may sound implausible to equip the poorest children with connected laptops when rich children may not have them, but it is not. Laptops can be affordable and children are more capable than they are given credit for.

Once upon a time only the very adventurous could travel and only a few privileged individuals had access to knowledge. Technologies like the compass, paper, and printing changed the world by expanding these limits. Today there is the opportunity for Ethiopia to revolutionize knowledge once more, by participating in a revolutionary use of digital technology that will empower school children to explore the most distant places and to access knowledge on an unprecedented scale.

Throughout the world, computing and communications technologies are sparking a new entrepreneurial spirit, the creation of innovative products and services, and increased productivity. The importance of a well-educated, creative citizenry has never been greater.

Most people see a natural connection between computers and education. Computers enable us to transmit, access, represent, and manipulate information in many new ways. But they can do much more than that. They can move beyond static information-centric views of computing and learning by taking full advantage of new computational technologies, such as those in the One Laptop per Child (olpc) program. These will enable students and their teachers to become better learners and thinkers.

Evidence for OLPC's educational theory?

In response to some of Lee Felsenstein's issues with the OLPC program, he cites your lack of evidence that your theory of how children learn (esp. in developing worlds) is flawed. While he is no expert, as I read through this wiki, you say things like "we have 50 years of research", and that a lot of your board members are steeped in child-technology education, but you don't seem to give any definitive evidence that your idea is any better than anyone else's. The best I can find is the wikipedia article on inquirty-based science, citing two sources.[1] Anyhow, while I'm no expert on the subject, peer-reviewed publications supporting your educational theory would be helpful for laypeople to understand the science behind your logic, besides your organization just saying "it's right because we think so." It also would give more creedance to your values, which would be nice to deflect the critics. Thanks. Rhetth 17:20, 5 January 2008 (EST)

Laptops for under privileged children in Pakistan

Please let me know how I can get a few laptops for children from poor areas in Pakistan. In your Give 1-Get 1 option, I would like to Get and Give to the kids in Pakistan in the area I am helping. I am currently concentrating in an area where most children are on the streets trying to make a living and help their families. These children are very young. As of now, I have about 19 whom I am putting through school.

I am very keen on getting them these laptops, as I believe it will motivate them to attend school and develop a love for learning. I believe it will have a tremendous impact on their lives and will make it better all around. It will also encourage those, who are not currently in schools, to join a school.

If I can get a couple of laptops to start with, so I can introduce it to them, I would greatly appreciate it. I sincerely pray that the OLPC can help me.

Thank You

_____
Try contacting the Pakistan team. Their main page is at: http://wiki.laptop.org/go/OLPC_Pakistan You can find e-mail addresses to some people who work in Pakistan there. Gregorio 13:47, 26 November 2008 (UTC)

Internet connection

We have wireless network connection at our house (Comcast & Apple Extreme Airport). The connection is a secure one - but not a closed network. However, the XO laptop can’t locate our network. How can we fix this problem? Thanks.

where is the computer?

I bought the XO back in December, knowing at the time it would be a bit before I recieve it. But it is now March and I have not heard from anyone since I recieved the email thanking me for the give one get one program. I would also like to know if I use that letter for my taxes or is there a more proffessional reciept that I need? Please respond as I have been feeling that this was just a large hoax and I was sucked in by wanting to help. Kelly Coltas kcoltas@pasty.com

You might want to read some of the questions in the Donor Inquiries section of the Support FAQ; there is a donor services phone number and e-mail address there, as well as some tax info. —Joe 12:18, 3 March 2008 (EST)

help me help

I am an internationally recoginized scientist with teaching experience on three continents. I am infatuated with what you are trying to accomplish and wish to contribute actively and often. While I am a well educated user of utilities,I am not a programmer and feel I need a mentor to help me learns the system and find useful ways to contibute. Is there anyone out there willing to assist me? I don't even know where to look for a reply. I can be reached in the windows world at JFKearns@gmail.com. Please help me find my way in.

John Kearns Frederick, MD USA

Music Makers on the OLPC

Hello -

I am trying to connect to those out there that use the OLPC as a creative music sound making device...

Thank you! michelle king san francisco

please email me at missmmking@gmail.com

I know this is an old issue on WPA but I have exhausted all options

WPA2 connection through Apple Airport Extreme, build #656

ran the Wpa.sh script manually and could see my AP but it asks me again and again the 'Wireless Key Required'. No matter how many times I entered my network password, it wont help. Had gone and deleted the networks.cfg file and rebooted but that didn't help either.

How do we connect to another user of olpc in another country, make friends, to have friends in a chat area? How can we connect to a classroom in another country? My daughter loves her computer but is having difficulty connecting to other users

lern programing

is it able to prosed an computer language like as c++,c+,java etc.

Will magnetic case latch harm XO?

I purchased a small bag for my daughter's XO. The bag latch stays closed by using small magnets.

From my reading, I know the XO itself uses magnets in the hard case.

Is there any risk of magnets in a soft laptop case harming the XO over time?

Thanks!

Can I return this XO for refund?

If so many people are waiting to get one they can have mine. I am proboly going to send it back. It is usless to me. My kid doesn't hang out at Starbucks much and it is just very NON USER FRIENDLY! Andrea

Bridging the Digital Divide

I am a digital media instructor in San Francisco. We teach underpriviledged youth in the Bayview/Hunters Point and surrounding districts. I am curious to know if you donate to students who are in the U.S.? Thanks!

Will Hammond www.baycat.org email: willhammond@baycat.org

Uploading m3u files to listen to.

How do I upload and listen to a m3u file from an online book? thank you, Buddy

money

exactly how much money is the video chat laptop?

how do you copy and paste

i don't know how

non-profit schools in Sierra Leone, Malawi, Uganda and the Dominican Republic

I am part of the non-profit Children of the Nations (www.cotni.org). We run several schools for underprivileged children in Sierra Leone, Malawi, Uganda and the Dominican Republic. We are interested in adding computer curriculum to help the students learn the skills that they will need to be successful after graduation. How can i get a hundred OLPC computers for my schools in these countries?

Thank you for your consideration stuart.scott@hotmail.com

Display has faded away

The display of my G1G1 OLPC all of a sudden faded away, i.e. there is almost no contrast left. What I can see with full brightness are the colored items (but also the colors are like washed out). The activities symbols are almost not visible.

The mouse cursor is not visible anymore while moving. This makes it almost impossible to navigate with the mouse.

I have just installed the OS 656.

I appreciate any help take care Markus

Why Use the Constructivist Approach?

Why is OLPC supporting the Constructivist approach to education, instead of the standard "instructivist" one? Why not just use standard educational software, instead of going to the great effort involved in developing a whole new ecosystem of Constructivist software? There seems to be an implication in the Mission Statement that with Constructivism children can learn on their own, or at least with much less teacher input, than under the traditional method. Is that the reason? And if so, why do think that Constructivism makes it possible for children to do this?

hi. we are wondering if we could send some computers into are villiage in punjab? If you can, can you please send us the info at majorbhatti@hotmail.com. also if u cant can we buy a computer off you, and send it to are village ourselves?

NO WIRELESS SIGNAL (EVER)

I have a network with 2 laptops and 1 desktop. I brought this XO computer home in December and never tried to connect to the internet. I went online to read the user manual so that I may go online. When I click the network, there are NO dots (as on the screen from my desktop where I see the user manual). I tried to go through linux and when I type iwconfig, it simply says no wireless signal. Is this an error with the computer? I read all of the help and could not work it out. Please let me know exactly how I can make it work. Thank you. Also: Is it possible that the computer is defective and not able to connect wirelessly?

help with my olpc

hello i'm rosie and i don't how i can get sound to her what their saying on my olpc. .

Reset Settings

How do I reset my OLPC XO Laptop back to factory settings?

music makers on the olpc

how do i add music to my computer. i have searched the web looking on how to doit and when I've found the the website that can help me i didn't get it so plese give me easier nd helpfull step on to add music to my olpc computer asap.

thank you

THE FLASH PLAYER STOPPED WORKING IN MY XO AND I HAVE BEEN TRYING TO REINSTALL IT FROM WIKIPEDIA AND I CAN'T.ANY IDEAS?

git://git.infradead.org/users/marcelo/libertas

How do I download this to my pc? My browser doesn't understand the git protocol

GJTison glennjtison@hotmail.org

Hi Glenn,

I'm not a GIT guy but I can tell you that you can browse that code by changing it to http://git.infradead.org/users/marcelo/libertas

I believe that GIT is for pulling down whole repositories of code so you probably need a client (could be just a command like tool like FTP) and its not something you do in a web browser. That's my guess and I hope it gets you started. If you want more specific intructions you can try e-mailing or development list: http://lists.laptop.org/listinfo/devel

HTHs.

Thanks,

Gregorio 13:36, 26 November 2008 (UTC)

sofware which permits editing of individual tracks of existing midi file

I somehow stumbled into a feature, I think of etoys, which presented a menu of each track and controls to pan L & R, and adj Vol. I have never seen it since and don't know how to invoke it.

how do you buy the xo

Hi,

Buy it now on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/xo

Its only available until December 31 so place an order right away. They usually ship right away so you can still get them in time for Xmas.

I'll send you a direct e-mail too.

Thanks,

Gregorio 13:29, 26 November 2008 (UTC)

Record activity no further works

Hello,

My name is Andrei (Andrew) from Romania and I am 12 years old. I have an XO laptop since March 2008 and until now I was very satisfied with it. The problem is that for several weeks the record activity is no more functional. I can not take picture and record video and audio, I only can view images. On the right bottom side of the screen it appears all the time "Your disk is full" but this is not true because I have erased all the activities from the Journal, that is now empty. I can not take picture and record video and audio both pressing the right button and clicking with the mouse properly on the screen. What do you think is the trobleshooting and what can I do about it in order to activate again the record activity? Thank you very much and best regards,

Andrei

Hi Andrei,

I hope you check this page again to get a response. I think the best idea is to try sending an e-mail to help at laptop.org (change the "at" to "@" for the full e-mail address). There is a team of volunteers who respond to those questions. They may take a while to answer but should be able to comment eventually. My guess is that there are some files of some kind on the XO which are taking up space. The problem is finding them and removing them. If you don't mind losing everything you have on the XO and starting over, you can try upgrading to the latest version of software. To do that, see: http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Release_Notes/8.2.0.

Good luck!

Thanks,

Gregorio 20:01, 7 November 2008 (UTC)

give one, get one--getting laptops to U.S. programs

I am considering soliciting small donations among a large group of people for the the "give-one, get-one" program. Then, I'd like to donate the "get one" laptops to some local education program in a low-income area. Does someone have experience doing something similar with this program, or do you know of restrictions that could prohibit this?

Thanks, Kristi Leach New Port Richey, FL

Hi Kristi,

There could be restrictions. Its up to you and the people you work with to figure that out. You also need a longer term relationship and plan. Just delivering some computers (even one as well designed as the XO) to a school is not enough to make an education project. That's my opinion. If you can work with the school over time, understand what they need, support them in achieving what they need etc. then you can make a bigger long term difference.

One organization that has delivered the full package successfully is Wavplace. See: http://www.waveplace.com/ They have one deployment in Florida too! Contact them and tell Tim I sent you his way. If you raise money for them to use in a deployment I think they can effectively bring in all the additional support needed to make it a success.

HTHs

Thanks,

Gregorio 13:25, 26 November 2008 (UTC)

How is child defined? (age)

What are the requirements for a child in regards to age? What is the beginning age these laptops are designed for?

What is the youngest age these laptops actually go to?

Thanks!!

They are designed for 6 - 12 year olds. Older kids and grown ups can use them too. Especially the technically inclined older folks will enjoy the graphical programming environment. On the lower end, younger kids can use them too but you may need to come up with some special programs. The newest thing I have seen for young kids is this one: http://xent.com/~bsittler/yay-bee-see.html Someone is making that available for the XO. For details see: http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Yay-bee-see

It looks like fun and now that my kids are older, it reminds me how much I miss reading Dr. Seuss :-)

HTHs. Gregorio 13:19, 26 November 2008 (UTC)

download this book "pale ink", step by step instruction possible?

http://www.sacred-texts.com/earth/pi/pi01.htm

how to download this book onto the xo olpc? can you help me by giving me a step by step instruction? once i have successfully followed through for this download, i will be able to do it for the other books. Thank you for your kind patience. Swannjie

Cannot install new hard drive!?

I have bought recently the drive: Hitachi DeskStar 7K1000.B - 1 TΒ - 7200 RPM - 16 MΒ - SATA II (bulk edition) and when i connected it to my pc after a long period of showing the bios picture says something about to connect a cable of 2x12V and reboots. After the reboot starts normally but does not find my drive, neither in the system bios and in the OS.

My pc is: Pentium(R) 4 4.3 GHz L2 Cache 1024 KB Memory: 4 GB (4x1 GB DDR2-SDRAM PC4200 CL4 (KVR533D2N4/1G) - Kingston) Mainboard: Intel D915GEV video card: ASUS Extreme AX300SE/T Drives: 1) ST380013AS (80 GB - primary - OS installed) 2) SAMSUNG SP2004C (250 GB - slave) 3) SAMSUNG HD501LJ (500 GB - secondary controller - master) OS: Windows XP sp3 PSU: ATX12V300WP4

Now my pc works great except that sometimes stacks for 3-4 seconds and then continues regular. My mainboard has 4 SATA which i already have 3 on them and i tried to disconnect an older drive and connect the new but still no luck! What is the problem?

What if my laptop doesn't start up properly?

I successfully start my laptop several times. Then, the next time, it just gives me a screen with the OX from which I can do nothing. I can't type. I can't restart. There's no cursor. How do I fix this?

Charger stops working

My charger seems to have stopped working. I've tried several outlets in the house...no go. How do I order a new one...or is this a problem with the computer. The computer powers up still.

<3

where can i buy a 100 dollar laptop?

Transmittal

If a laptop is brought from the USA to Nigeria, is it possible to transmit e-mail from Nigeria back to the USA with that laptop?

What is "XO"

Has anyone wondered what is the full meaning of the term "XO"? I have read a lot of documentation on OLPC webpages but i have not seen this abreviation "XO" defined. Can someone provide us with the meaning please.

where can I get a lit showing SYMBOLS and the meaning of Symbols for connections of my laptop and pc?'

how can i get rid of the bugs, worms, and other viruses of my XO laptop? because it is too slow to load

Windows XP for 1st-Year G1G1 Donors?

Will donors who participated in the original G1G1 be able to load Windows XP on their OLPC machines?

The contents of this page are considered outdated and some of the information may be stale. Please use information here with caution, or update it.

Our Team

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How will this initiative be structured?

The XO laptop is being developed by One Laptop per Child (OLPC), a Delaware-based, non-profit organization created 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. OLPC is based on "constructionist" theories of learning pioneered by Seymour Papert and later Alan Kay, as well as the principles expressed in Nicholas Negroponte's book 'Being Digital'. The corporate members are Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Brightstar, Chi Mei, eBay, Google, Intel, Marvell, News Corporation, Nortel, Quanta, and Red Hat.

Nicholas Negroponte is chairman of One Laptop per Child. Other principals involved in developing the laptop are: Mary Lou Jepsen, Walter Bender, Jim Gettys, Michail Bletsas, David Cavallo, SJ Klein, Ivan Krstić, John Watlington, Richard Smith, Chris Ball, Andres Salomon, C. Scott Ananian, Michael Stone, Eben Eliason, and Mitch Bradley. Benjamin Mako Hill, Alan Kay, Seymour Papert, Barry Vercoe, Ted Selker, V. Michael Bove, Jr., and many others are advisors to the project.

Design Continuum collaborated on the initial laptop design. Fuseproject is our current industrial-design partner. Red Hat and Pentagram have been instrumental in designing and building the Sugar interface. The open source community has been an invaluable partner at all stages of the software development process.

How can I get involved in OLPC as a whole?

There are many ways to get involved, the most basic being to contribute your ideas and feedback. This is the project wiki (http://wiki.laptop.org/wiki/One_Laptop_per_Child) where we are accumulating information about the project and suggesting places and ways to help. See Getting involved in OLPC.

How can I get involved in OLPC in a given country?

The OLPC project does not manage the purchasing, distribution, or implementation of individual countries. To get involved, you should contact the country government (probably the Department or Ministry of Education) locally. In Uruguay, the organization managing the implementation is called Ceibal after the national flower.

Can a team carry out an OLPC project in their country of origin, if they are from an African country?

Yes! Please see OLPCorps Africa or the Contributors program.

Upgrading the browser

I love my little computer! I got my email from Comcast's website. It told me I needed to upgrade my browser, and then gave me choices for Windows or the Mac. The OLPC computer uses Linux, correct? So, which browser upgrade do I click on? I'm a Mac user, so I don't know about Linux.

Thank you

Dell power internal short

I just bought a new power adapter for my lap top but it acts like its not plugged in and my screen keeps flickering. What can i do about this problem....i feel like i can't move my laptop an inch with out it messing up the connection.

digital pics

can i download pics from my digital camera to this computer? if not then what iis the memory card slot for?

Sustainability

Hello,

I work for an international development agency many developing countries around the world. I find this initiative interesting, but question the sustainability - what kind of technical support to communities/children receive? How are technical failures or difficulties managed? It is of questionable usefulness to provide tools without any instruction or support in case of problems - and, no matter . I would be interested to hear about any sort of follow up actions that are provided.

printing

how can i print off my xo?

Forcing memory flash

My problem is that I've tinkered with my XO AFTER I've updated it to the latest (711) version.

When I attempt to flash it back to a "clean" 711 installation, via USB, (starting with the 4 game keys pressed down) the process appears to see that the XO alread is at the latest version, and nothing is done. I've also tried to reinstall an older (656) version, prior to reinstalling 711, but the 656 version won't install.

Any ideas on what I might be overlooking?

Thanks!

help lee w/ XO

How can you acsses videos, music and games with out it turning black,on the web?

HOW CAN I BUY A LAPTOP

If I am interested in buying one of these laptops for myself, how can i buy one?

HELP ME

I bought a laptop (and donated one) and have NEVER gotten mine to work.

It doesn't sing on to our wireless system and is faulty. While I believe in helping all, this is really upsetting that my 9 year old (we've had it a year), has NEVER gotten this _____ to work.

How do I update fix the software? Where can I send this ?

I am at wits end. There is litterally no help on this. We recieved NO guide or anything.

Granteppler@aol.com

PS we give to all kinds of charities and donate our time and money. This has been the least productive. If the one I bought for someone workls as porrly as this one...

help ticket entered at help@laptop.org

organizational structure

Why is it necessary to have a natch between the goods and services an organization is providing and the organizational structure?

Social Issues

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The full impact of the OLPC will only be determined with time. Nevertheless, you may have concerns about recipient governments, child safety, privacy, abuse. A discussion of metrics can be found here, and a general discussion of social issues surrounding laptop deployment can be found here.

Child Safety Concerns

There is a general statement on child safety at Online threats and security.

Cultural impact

Replace with a link to summary/discussion of this issue.

Ownership and theft

Replace with a link to summary/discussion of this issue.

--Purchasing, Distribution, and Countries--

Give 1 Get 1

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There is a general page about the program at XO Giving. That page includes some questions that should be moved to this page (if you can help, great).

General responses to shipping issues

Oh Canada... We at OLPC are very sorry about the Canadian shipment situation: we underestimated the time it would take us to fully work out the import duties and taxes and we were not clear in our communication to you. We apologize for everyone with a child who will not receive a laptop this year. You can visit the laptopgiving.org website to download a gift card that lets your child know that an XO laptop is on its way; it is obviously not the same as a laptop, but we hope it helps in some small way. We are working on the logistics of getting XOs to Canada: everyone should have their XO in the January/February time frame. The team at OLPC wants to thank everyone who has thus far participated in Give One Get One. Thanks to the generosity of Canadians, more than 4000 children in the least-developed countries will be receiving laptops in early 2008. --Walter 20:39, 20 December 2007 (EST)

Checking our list... Some of you are comparing notes and noting that some later-day donors got laptops before Day One donors. (I can personally attest to this, since I was the very first person to order a Give One Get One laptop and I have yet to received it.) We did have a glitch and rather than lose a full day's worth of shipping, we shipped to some later-day donors. We did this only after first confirming that we would have enough laptops to ship to the Day One donors by December 24. (We also moved to one and two-day shipping to speed things up.) We appreciate everyone's generosity (and patience); we are doing everything we can to get laptops out as quickly as possible. --Walter 13:06, 21 December 2007 (EST)

Reference Number for T-Mobile HotSpot Offer

I have received my laptop. I am trying to determine my "Give One Get One order reference number" so that I can activate my T-Mobile hotspot offer. Where can I find this number?

Success of G1G1 program

I have read several articles about your project, and the last one I read this weekend (a month old Newsweek since I have been traveling) and I have given to the G1G1 program. Will you be posting information on your website as to the success of this program? How many are given, whether the 2 week window was uniformly used or if it peaked then ebbed or vice versa, etc.?

Good luck with your program.

Dr. Elisa H. Barney Smith

new version XO2

Will those of us who participated in the give one get one be able to do so with the new version?

The "Give 1 Get 1" program will run again at the end of this year. XO2 will be available in 2010. That's all I know!

dansguardian

how do you download & install dansguardian using xo laptop terminal?

please leave step by step moron proof instructions. thank you.

Computer Education in Remote Areas

We intend to start basic computer training in rural areas of Chhattisgarh, a backward State in in Central India where people are economically very poor and have no or little access to Computers. We wish to start mobile vans which will reach out to the villages in the interior on a pre - scheduled programme alongwith necessary training materials and a tutor. Will it be possible for your organisation to help us in our mission ?

   Col Siddhartha Bose
   C - 2   Tagore Nagar
   Raipur  ( CG ) 492001
   India
    Mob  +91 9993032720

Computer Education in Remote Areas

We intend to start basic computer training in rural areas of Chhattisgarh, a backward State in in Central India where people are economically very poor and have no or little access to Computers. We wish to start mobile vans which will reach out to the villages in the interior on a pre - scheduled programme alongwith necessary training materials and a tutor. Will it be possible for your organisation to help us in our mission ?

   Col Siddhartha Bose
   C - 2   Tagore Nagar
   Raipur  ( CG ) 492001
   India
    Mob  +91 9993032720

Distribution

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We also have additional information about training & volunteering or donations and other financial issues.

===Where or how can I get one?=== i like to reveive a piece of laptop from your company. Please help me out. you can contact me at boccares@gmail.com

Osondu Short answer: Either apply for an XO through the developer's program or get one through the Give 1, Get 1 program (no longer possible as of 2008).

Medium answer: Given the characteristics of the project, the OLPC is initially available only to national government agencies—e.g., Ministry of Education—allowing us to achieve the initial economy of scale and a sufficiently large impact to make it sustainable. There are plans and ideas on how to expand our market to include other smaller and/or distributed organizations that will cater to people, places and situations where government agencies are unavailable - in the future and most likely collaborating through and with other parties.

Trying to satisfy personal, individual or otherwise 'isolated' retail requests (many present in this section) will divert precious energy that would otherwise be more effective at larger scales and targets. This does not imply a lack of interest or sympathy towards these requests, many of which are at the heart of our mission, but rather a physical limit that has to do with trade-offs between wishful thinking and practical realities. By no means does this preclude or try to impede that private, NGO and other grass-root organizations or people lobby in their target countries to be included as recipients or to participate—it just means that they'll have to be a little patient and not lose sight of their dreams and try to match it with our timings.

Keep alert, maybe in the near future there'll be news that will allow us to cater your special demand.

Future answer: YOU CAN, probably, almost. Quanta, the manufacturer of the OLPC laptop, may start selling $200 laptops in 2008 or so that resemble the OLPC laptop. See this.

Give 1 Get 1

See xogiving.org or XO Giving for further information on the "Give 1 Get 1" program.

Can we get the number of machines distributed in the USA by city/state? This information may facilitate getting together with other XO owners.

For the full story on retail sales, read: this article (another article) (another in spanish).

Will it be distributed in developed countries?

Yes. In the US it has been distributed most prominently in Birmingham, Alabama. As mentioned in the countries section, the decision to distribute in any particular country (including the USA and other developed countries) does not depend on the OLPC but on the government's decision.

Note must be taken that developing countries are the initial and ultimate target countries for the OLPC, although it does not preclude other countries from participating.

For further discussions on the subject see OLPC4USA and retail.

Can NGOs and charities get them?

The short answer: see the XO Giving page. Groups should refer to the Give Many page. Individuals should refer to the (retail) availability page.

The OLPC efforts are currently focused at national level, and although we would love to make it available without restrictions, this would disrupt and overload our launch process in order to deal with the vast number of NGOs that are interested in participating. After the initial launch, plans include the opening up to include them. See here.

Who will get one?

As much as we would like to see an OLPC in the hands of every child on the planet, practical issues and humanitarian criteria help decide the first people to get laptops:

Children and teachers in developing countries whose governmental leaders have partnered with OLPC

A Word To The Wise

At least one person has reported an ordering problem here (see below). I ordered our OLPC via Give1Get1 online late November 07 and received it about 30 days later (US). I hadn't seen the recommendation below and did not contact OLPC ... the ordering process worked smoothly.

'After ordering within the first 25 min of the initative, I've been waiting anxiously to receive the unit. I called to try and get more specific info to be told that, even though a payment was processed and deducted from my account, there was no record of my order anywhere in the system. I now have to wait 2-3 days to be contacted by a supervisor to begin sorting this mess out. This means that, regardless of my effort to act as quickly as possible AND being one of the first responders, there is no way I'll be receiving the unit in the Dec window. I HIGHLY recommend that you contact OLPC to verify your order even if, like me, they had no trouble charging you the money for it.'

zelmono

Countries

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You can use the edit links in the questions below to answer questions. Even better, however, would be to use the "Reorganize questions" link above, so that you can move the "<noinclude>" tag after the question you answer. That hides it from this page, so it only shows using the "See all questions" link above.

Why some countries and not others?

The reason is quite simple: the OLPC has made an offer (an inexpensive laptop) to national governments (not individuals or NGOs). Countries interested in the offer then decide if the offer is of their liking or not. If it is, negotiations and/or talks can start with the OLPC, and it's only then that they appear on the OLPC radar, and given a color/status depicting the level of commitment or interest.

What if I don't like my country's color?

If your country is color-coded in a hue with which you don't agree, you should lobby that country's government to start talks with the OLPC.

How can a country get involved?

By starting talks with the OLPC at national or ministerial level—minister or similar high-ranking government officials—not at individual level. Individuals should lobby their government to participate. More info.

Further details on the OLPC community's work with specific countries can be found at Category:Countries.

Laval University Canada

At Laval University, Quebec, Canada, we have plans to build on our Francophone university-school partnerships and university-developing countries normal school partnership with Gabon and begin a pilot project as soon as XOs become available to us. We are also working with the International Office of the Department of Education of Catalunya (Spain), an enduring university-ministry of education partnership over the past seven years, and plan initiatives in some Francophone countries south of the Mediterranean Sea (e.g. Senegal). [Written by: Therese Laferriere, tlaf@fse.ulaval.ca]

No, nothing :)

</noinclude>

--Technology--

Click here if you would like to go to a different page dedicated to questions about our technology.

Design Decisions

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Why is it important for each child to have a computer? What's wrong with community-access centers?

One does not think of community pencils—kids have their own. They are tools with which to think, sufficiently inexpensive to be used for work and play, drawing, writing, and mathematics. A computer can be the same, but far more powerful. Furthermore, there are many reasons it is important for a child to “own” something—like a football, doll, or book—not the least of which is that these belongings will be well-maintained with love and care.

Nevertheless, the OLPCs do not stand alone. They communicate in an extended range wifi network. They can use USB devices that can be shared in a community access center. For instance a library of thousands of books can be cheaply distributed on a few CDs. These can reside in a community access center along with a few USB CD readers for the kids to download. The OLPC is not as limited by its storage capacity as it first seems.

With a laptop, learning can be in vivo, 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, and accessible to families and the entire community—this is tremendous leverage.

Why not a desktop computer, or—even better—a recycled desktop machine?

Desktops have a lower capital cost but higher operating costs. We are taking great care to keep the initial capital costs low, and to also minimize the computer failures that lead to costly maintenance. The OLPC laptops are low-power devices that consume less electricity than desktop computers.

Also, we feel that mobility is important, especially with regard to taking the computer home at night. Half the kids in the world don't have electricity at home - this is a real barrier for desktop computer use. Kids in the developing world need the newest technology, especially really rugged hardware and innovative software. Recent work with schools in Maine shows the huge value of laptop use across all of one's studies, as well as for play. Bringing the laptop home engages the family. In one Cambodian village where we have been working, there is no electricity, thus the laptop is, among other things, the brightest light source in the home.

Finally, regarding recycled machines: if we estimate 100-million available used desktops, and even if each one requires only one hour of human attention to refurbish, reload, and handle, that is forty-five thousand work years. (This time could be better spent working on software, content, mentoring, etc.) Thus, while we definitely encourage recycling used computers, this is not the solution for One Laptop per Child.

Why not just give children cell phones?

While cell phones are inexpensive—and there is growing convergence between the technologies of telephony and computing—there are some differences that make the distribution of cell phones the wrong path to follow. Our project is not just a connectivity project, but also a learning project. The cellphone display is small. Even if the information is beamed from the cell phone to a television set, two major problems still exist: (1) half of the children in the world don't have electricity at home (and thus no television); and (2) standard television resolution is too low to read books or view webpages for an extended period of time. It's possible with HDTV, but HD has very limited presence in the Third World and is too expensive.

Cell phones are very limited in terms of their ability to foster a wide range of expression, and, unlike computing culture, which is as much about creating as consuming, phone culture is service oriented: you use a phone, you do not transform it. It is not a “thing to think with.”

problems in selecting path

i am the stuedent of mscs. i am going to research. and i select olpc so what are the shortcoming in this mesh network.

What will you do to emulate others that e-mail is a good and environment-friendly technology?

The Network

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Hardware

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Will the XO really have a hand-cranked battery charger? What will the keyboard be like? What about size & weight? If you don't find the answer in the specifications page you can find additional information at this hardware Q&A.

Questions here should be about current hardware; questions like "why don't you include gizmo XYZ" should be asked/discussed in Hardware ideas.

Help

I am a youth fellow of ITU Telecom Asia 2008 from Bangladesh.I got one OLPC.But now my Keyboard is not working.What can i do now? Please help me. Please email me -> gmostafa07@yahoo.com

Marzia Bangladesh

Software

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What software will be included?

Without being picky, we prefer the term activities (instead of applications). That taken care of, the software components initially planned to be included are: the operating system, a web-browser, a document viewer, a text editor, chat client, and some programming environments.

Are kids expected to program the laptop?

Are kids expected to write novels after they learn to read & write? No.
Can they write novels? Theoretically yes, but most will never go past writing for fun.

The same with the laptops and programming: just because they may learn how to do things with the computer doesn't turn them into programmers. They aren't required to learn programming any more than they need to know how to write a novel.

But they can if they want to, after all everything included is Open Source—so they can tinker with all of it. And that's the reason why several programming languages or environments are included, not for them to program them (in the software development sense) but to do things with the laptop. Currently included you find Etoys, Python, TamTam, Turtle Art, and some others to be determined. Java is not amongst them.

Will software for MS-DOS or MS-Windows work on it?

No. MS-DOS programs (not MS-Windows) may benefit from a second life through the use of third-party emulators, but don't count on it.

What will the interface look like?

The interface used is Sugar, and because it's been designed for kids (not adults) it's based on a whole different set of premises and metaphors. See the OLPC Human Interface Guidelines.

Can we try Sugar without a real laptop?

Yes. The simplest way is to use an emulator and try it in your own computer.

Will the software be localized?

Yes. A major objective of the OLPC is that communities and their children preserve their cultural heritage and have the tools to bring it to the digital world—another reason for Open Source software. It won't be easy to support so many different languages, but who said otherwise? The community (national and global) is welcome to participate in the effort.

Additional information is available on the Operating System and the Linux platform. The Expanded FAQ on Software answers many questions about what software is included and what software it should be possible to add. Specific questions about which languages are supported are answered here. Additional information about the pre-installed software can be found on this software page.

How does the directory structure work for external storage devices and is there a way to hide files from the journal?

I have a G1G1 laptop and am exploring. I have added a 4GB SDHC card and it seems to be working fine, but it does not seem to allow for directory-style organization. All of the files appear in the journal, whether or not they are filed in directories or not. I've noticed this situation with USB sticks as well.

I have a number of ebooks on the card, as well as some downloads that I'd like to have should I re-install. Finally, I'd also like to install some programs (perhaps a stripped USB version of Firefox, for instance) and keep them on the card rather than using up space on the machine. But this would flood the journal with literally dozens of files under the current situation as I see it. Even sorting by file type (which the journal seems to be able to do) could get very messy - especially if I have a number of apps such as Firefox loaded.

Is there a way to hide files from the Journal?

Your issue has been noticed by many. Newer builds (the Joyride series, for now) cause the Journal to ignore external devices. There's some other way (I don't know what it is, though I know you can use ordinary Linux terminal commands) to access external storage devices.

mesh networking

in the interest of power saving, how can i disable mesh networking and the constant attempts to find school servers and other mesh networking partners? of course i want the "regular" wireless networking to continue to work. -- paul

From http://en.forum.laptop.org/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=162394 , in Terminal activity as root, enter the command
echo 0 > /sys/class/net/eth0/lbs_mesh
To make this happen automatically, you could add the line to a startup file, e.g. enter the command

echo "echo 0 > /sys/class/net/eth0/lbs_mesh" >> /etc/rc.local

-- skierpage 07:38, 15 June 2009 (UTC)

USBs Blank

Not sure if this is the correct area. When I transfer files or activities from my XO to the USB and then to my PC, the files either never appear or are blank.

how to determine the version number of an installed activity

Is there a standard approach (like Help>About in Windows applications) to determine the version number of an OLPC activity? The wiki Activities page identifies the version number of each activity listed but how can a user determine if they have an older version of the activity (preinstalled and optional) on their laptop?

In the new Sugar GUI designs, this information is shown as part of the Home list view, but for currently released builds you'll need to use the Terminal activity, and enter the below command to search the two locations, ~/Activities/ and /usr/share/activities, that activities might be living in.

  grep -r activity_version ~/Activities/ /usr/share/activities

Squeak, Simcity, etc. display size

the zoom in the browser is clear and works as expected, but there are other apps with no obvious zoom ...am i missing a universal zoom somewhere ??? For example, squeak's smalltalk coding screens and simcity screens have text too small to read...

There is no universal zoom in the GUI; sorry. SimCity was written for a larger screen with multiple windows, and the current version was a very quick port. The Micropolis version of SimCity should be much better, zoomable, etc, in six months or so. Gnu 23:32, 8 July 2008 (UTC)

XO not playing recorded video from previous session

My XO will not play recorded video if the XO has been turned off since the video was first created. Clicking on the item in Journal opens Browse, a file is downloaded, but after hitting 'OK' or 'Open' nothing happens. I'm not the only one who has experienced this problem - [New User Guide]. What to do?

installing dansguardian...

how do you download & install dansguardian using xo laptop terminal?

please leave step by step moron proof instructions. thank you.

Other Software than Sugar

Hello, I was wondering if it is possible to install Damn Small Linux (DSL) onto my 656 build XO laptop and if it is possible can I install it directly to the internal flash drive and use it as my operating system and delete the factory Sugar interface?

Thanks, -- SR

Maybe. There's a wiki page for Damn Small Linux. People are running Debian and such on their XOs, see Installing Debian as an upgrade. -- Skierpage 06:35, 26 August 2008 (UTC)

XO button

On the map I can't find the XO button on the map to register. From Tristan

Use SD card as main memory

2008-11-25 Hi. Is there a way to use an SD card in the slot in order to increase the size of the main memory, or to use it as swap space?

my cat chewed my charger cord. is there any other methods for charging?

Redhat Remix linux organization?

i am trying to follow the instructions at http://wiki.laptop.org/go/OpenBox

yum installs everything, but then there seems to be something wrong with the recommended options given to configure: "./configure --prefix=/usr --sysconfdir=/etc"

checking the config.log, it barfs on the gcc command (line 3679 of configure), not finding stdio.h!

and i don't find it in /usr/include, where i'd expect it to be?

can you explain how the (Fedora Remix?) distribution lays out the standard linux directories, please?

(and why am i seeing this page, but not the Ask_OLPC_A_Question page, in Italian?!)

Kiosk mode / single Activity

Is there a good way to run a single Activity or application (in my particular case, I want to run a pygame application) and nothing else on startup? Something a bit like xguest, but without being able to switch to a console, etc?

Product Life-cycle

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The OLPC is the greenest laptop ever mass-produced.

-No hard disk or other moving parts and increased toughness mean longer expected life

-Batteries, backlight, etc. all designed to avoid toxic materials.

-Ground-up design for efficient power consumption - several times less than many current laptops.

Maintenance

Another complaint from critics is the question who will maintain the laptops.

Maintenance will be done locally. The laptops have been designed so that it is easy to replace some of the major components without specialised tools. The expectation is that each school will have a person who is capable of swapping out bad parts and that they will be supported within the same organizational structures as the other school facilities.

Also see the wiki pages on Support.

Quality Assurance

Testing and risk management seems like a good idea, even though this project does not contain life-critical components. How will it be acomplished? Is there room for certified testers in the project?

Testing is mentioned in several other places on the wiki including the news section. There are extensive test efforts underway. Try to use the Search button at the left before asking your question.

Here is a place to start exploring on-going test efforts: test_issues

How are these machines going to be dealt with at the end of their useful life?

In addition to dangerous heavy metals, shouldn't the amount of benign metals, plastics, etc require the need for responsible collection & recycling the machines?

What about the shear amount of waste these labtops are going to produce? Are we going to have landfills in third-world countries brimming with computers that outdated after 2 years? Does anyone know if any sustainable questions like these have been asked and if so where can I find out more information. Lucy

We are doing a cradle-to-grave analysis of the laptop. We'll report more on the wiki when we have real data. --Walter 11:18, 25 August 2006 (EDT)

It would be great if you could look beyond cradle-to-grave strategies and consider cradle-to-cradle senerios where key parts and materials are reused/recycled for use in production of new laptops. Have you considered signing on to the EPEAT program which defines a set of environmental criteria for computer products? A few of the guidelines include:

- Reduction/Elimination of toxic substances (Cadmium, Mercury, Lead, Hexavalent Chromium, Flame retardants and plasticizers, Polyvinyl Chloride, etc)

The industry is way ahead of you.--Mokurai 19:38, 9 November 2006 (EST)

Nickel-cadmium batteries will not be used. NiMH or Lithium ion batteries are state of the art.
Where would mercury appear? The XO doesn't have fluorescent backlighting. It uses LEDs.
Tin-lead solder works better than the current alternatives, but is not required.
There is no excuse for hexavalent chromium to appear in a laptop. (Erin Brockovich found it in drinking water near a chemical plant.)
I have never heard of flame retardants on a computer. That's been an issue with clothing, not electronics.
Plasticizers are used to soften plastics. There is no reason for them to be used in a rigid plastic case, keycaps, or any other part of the Laptop other than a tiny amount of wire insulation inside the case. You might get some Diisodecyl phthalate (DIDP) in the insulation.
PVC is solid, does not dissolve in water, and is extremely non-reactive. However, it will not be used in the Laptop. It is much better suited to use as water and waste piping.

Plastic parts for computers are likely to be made from Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, or ABS, which is the material for Lego bricks. The standard for such toys is no toxicity when children put them in their mouths. --Mokurai 19:38, 9 November 2006 (EST)

- Materials selection (recycled or bioplastics content & dematerialization) - Designed for recycling - Product longevity / life cycle extension

The limiting factor on computer life is not materials, but electronics obsolescence. It is conceivable that the Laptops could be made so that the screen and motherboard could be replaced to create the next model. Since almost all the cost is in the screen and motherboard, it is not clear what the advantage would be, compared with the psychological advantage of all-new computers for the children every few years.--Mokurai 19:38, 9 November 2006 (EST)

- Energy conservation (crank is a nice touch here) - End of life management (take back, battery recycling) - Packaging design

For more information on EPEAT see: http://www.epeat.net/

I have suggested that schoolchildren might get OLPC laptops or other computers in first, fifth, and ninth grades. A four-year lifetime is a bit long, but not horrible. When more money is available to schools, it could be reduced to three years, in grades 1 4 7 10. The first day of school each year would include exchanging computers for grades 5 9 or 4 7 10, and copying all of the work from previous years to the new, more capacious storage media. At this point, it becomes economical to take all of the old computers from each school to a regional or national recycling center for processing. Handling millions of the same system would allow much greater efficiency in recycling than you get with the usual hodge-podge of all ages and kinds of equipment. --Mokurai 19:38, 9 November 2006 (EST)

Battery Recyling

State of the art NiMH batteries still shouldn't be thrown into landfills or burned...When the batteries wear out will there be an exchange program? Or will they just be junking up the villages? 69.153.191.101 20:40, 16 February 2007 (EST)

Life cycle costs

See Lifecycle Costs.

Ask OLPC a Question/lang-ru

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--User support--

--Project and Goals--

Our Mission

Other mission questions

Evidence for OLPC's educational theory?

Laptops for under privileged children in Pakistan

Internet connection

where is the computer?

help me help

Music Makers on the OLPC

I know this is an old issue on WPA but I have exhausted all options

lern programing

Will magnetic case latch harm XO?

Can I return this XO for refund?

Bridging the Digital Divide

Uploading m3u files to listen to.

money

how do you copy and paste

non-profit schools in Sierra Leone, Malawi, Uganda and the Dominican Republic

Display has faded away

Why Use the Constructivist Approach?

NO WIRELESS SIGNAL (EVER)

help with my olpc

Reset Settings

music makers on the olpc

git://git.infradead.org/users/marcelo/libertas

sofware which permits editing of individual tracks of existing midi file

Record activity no further works

give one, get one--getting laptops to U.S. programs

How is child defined? (age)

download this book "pale ink", step by step instruction possible?

Cannot install new hard drive!?

What if my laptop doesn't start up properly?

Charger stops working

<3

Transmittal

What is "XO"

Windows XP for 1st-Year G1G1 Donors?

Our Team

How will this initiative be structured?

How can I get involved in OLPC as a whole?

How can I get involved in OLPC in a given country?

Other Team questions

Upgrading the browser

Dell power internal short

digital pics

Sustainability

printing

Forcing memory flash

help lee w/ XO

HOW CAN I BUY A LAPTOP

HELP ME

organizational structure

Social Issues

Child Safety Concerns

Cultural impact

Ownership and theft

Other social issue questions

--Purchasing, Distribution, and Countries--

Give 1 Get 1

General responses to shipping issues

Reference Number for T-Mobile HotSpot Offer

Success of G1G1 program

Other G1G1 questions

new version XO2

dansguardian

Computer Education in Remote Areas

Computer Education in Remote Areas

Distribution

Give 1 Get 1

Will it be distributed in developed countries?

Can NGOs and charities get them?

Who will get one?

Other Distribution Questions

A Word To The Wise

Countries

Why some countries and not others?