Ask OLPC a Question/New
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Image about the World Summit in Tunisia, showing Nicholas Negroponte and Kofi Annan when presenting the laptop
Hello, I am writing an article in the german Wikipedia on the "100-Dollar-Laptop" aka "Children's Machine" (link: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/100-Dollar-Laptop). I would like to add an image showing Nicholas Negroponte and Kofi Annan in Tunisia on the World Summit. Unfortunately on flickr there is no photo, which is compatible zu the gnu-licence. Only Creative Commons 2.5. with the right of commercial use and of course the gnu-licence are allowed to be uploaded in Wikipedia.
Do you have such a picture in your portfolio? Can you upload this picture with compatible licence on Wikipedia?
In my opinion such a picture would have positive impact on OLPC's image. If you google for "Children's Machine" the german Wikipedia-article has the best page rank. You can contact me on the german Wikipedia, search word "Betbuster".
Thanks, Wikipedia user: Betbuster 134.2.57.213 09:20, 19 December 2006 (EST)
School Gateways
I've looked around the site for a while and cannot find much about gateways at the schools. Can somebody tell me about the connectivity to the internet for the whole mesh network through gateways at schools? I'm especially interested in what the power requirements will be for a gateway, because I'm hoping to find out how hard it would be to set one up in an area where there is no electricity. Thank you!
- The OLPC networking concept is not Internet-based. We assume that there will be no Internet connectivity and no Internet gateways. The laptops are being deployed into countries which do not have a lot of native-language content available on the Internet. The networking focus is to make sure that the laptops will be able to communicate with each other over a larger than normal area, and that they will be able to communicate with resources in the school. In most cases, these school resources will not be Internet gateways but will be more like a cross between a library and an FTP site with content that kids can download to their laptops. Of course some schools will have Internet access and may copy Internet content for use by the kids, but the laptops are not intended to be used for direct Internet surfing.
- In regard to your questions about power, you may wish to read the Battery and power page for tips.
Technology innovation is moving at a very rapid pace
How are you guys planning for the future. How are you guys preparing for the technology currently planned to be used inside the laptop becoming absolete. What is your turnaround time between parts going into production and actually being distributed to the people? --314159271828 01:55, 4 December 2006 (EST)
Maximum Altitude Spec
According to the Hardware specification the Maximum altitude: -15m to 3048m (14.7 to 10.1 psia) (operating), -15m to 12192m (14.7 to 4.4 psia) (non-operating... would it be possible to operate (safely) above that altitude? After all, in the Andes (and I'll assume the Himalayas) many people live higher... El Alto 4150m, Potosi 3967m, etc... --Xavi 12:47, 30 November 2006 (EST)
Usability and User Testing
There is very little public information about requirements gathering, usability and user testing. In other words, how do you know whether the OLPC (i) will meet your users' needs and (ii) is easy enough for them to use? Have the target user groups been characterized? What ongoing plans do you have for this? I`d Like test the OLPC in Argentina, Please contct with me to know how. Thanks.
- As far as I know, there are two local groups in Argentina with test boards (don't know if anybody has the 2B1/XO prototypes though). They are Ututo and Tuquito. I know Ututo had some explicit arrangements to let other people use/test the boards. If anybody knows about other groups (or about any local XOs) please let me know (or post in the OLPC Argentina pages. --Xavi 07:23, 6 December 2006 (EST)
What about usability testing for children? A recent article quoted the OLPC chairman as saying: "Granted, I'm not a child. I don't know if it's going to be intuitive to children." Was there research?
Deployment Criteria & Metrics
Although these issues are basically 'national' prerogatives, is there anything being done at the OLPC level? In many countries, 1 million laptops will either be too little or too much. All along, before, during and after the deployment they should be able to assess the result of the effort (metrics), be it to keep the course, or change things, or try new things, etc.
- We do not believe there is such a thing as too little. In countries where 1 million laptops is too many, we won't be able to do an early deployment, but we do expect that after a few million units are in the field, there will be other organizations who will deploy smaller quantities to smaller countries, such as many island nations. In fact, Libya has announced their intention to buy laptops for some poorer African nations.
- I think that spanish speaking latin american countries do fit in a gray-zone there; there are many that individually would have to wait for later stages, but together they could probably put something - ie: central american countries.
- As far ans metrics are concerned, we take that very seriously both in the design of the laptops and in the whole deployment process. We are constantly measuring, analysing and making course corrections based on the data. We will continue to do so.
- Seriousness is good. Transparency too. :) I've somehow managed to reach the Pilot Projects#Diversity Matrix, which I find a bit shallow and unstructured for my taste, so I'm assuming that more structured guidelines are being thought out, planned and to be published, right? After all, as the proposers of the idea, the performance analysis and other measurements should be your domain of expertise. For example, which population segment is known to make the most out of the laptop experience? Is income considered a (key) factor? People with very-low, low, medium, high, or very-high income are 'all equal' or they somehow 'profit' differently in respect to their original educational levels? Under all circumstances?
- I'm well aware that these are mostly unanswered questions (I'm not looking for an answer here) and will be subject to many factors and variables; notwithstanding, what kind of information is being thought as necessary to evaluate or consider? All I'm asking is to be able to see the guidelines - and hopefully a way to collaborate.--Xavi 17:04, 9 December 2006 (EST)
Timor Leste (East Timor) not involved yet and how to get the process off on the right foot
I am a volunteer IT worker here in Dili. I wish to follow through on getting the Government/Min of Education involved. Is there a set of templates/docs/procedures for me to follow? If so, then I think that they would be very useful for other countries. thanks chris mansonc@usa.net
Thanks for writing in.
Right now I think the whole world knows about the program. You may contact your countries Minster of Education and try to start a dialogue about the service OLPC is offering. If they are interested you may then try with in your country to find big donor corporations that will come up with the funds for your country and you can also contact me on this site to ask more questions in how you can do that. I am sure you speak the native language which would make this much easier that you can also speak English too. This way I can explain this to you as in how to do that.
Thanks
Hunter--Hunter 10:36, 28 December 2006 (EST)
Social Benefit
How will OLPC benefit countries when the majority of children do not attend public school or public school is not available?
- Your statistics are questionable. What is your source for such an outrageous statement? In any case, the OLPC is not distributing laptops to schools, they are distributing laptops to kids. In thousands of small towns and villages, the existence of a mesh of laptops will create a learning infrastructure that can function without a school building.
Mention was made in the NY Times article of a sponsorship program where people could fund a OLPC for a child in a target country. The quote was attributed to Nicholas N. How do we sign up?
- If there was such a quote, it was incorrect. The laptops are being purchased by national ministries of education. If you want to sponsor the purchase of laptops then you must make arrangements with a national ministry of education. --Hunter 10:12, 8 January 2007 (EST) OLPC4USA is not connected to Hunter or the Hands of Love Program.
The OLPC will not be involved at all in such arrangements. In the USA you should contact OLPC4USA. For personal purchase you should read the Retail page.
OLPC4USA is it true that the OLPC lapop cost $500.00 to $700.00(US) if it is not provided by a third world program as retail?
Support for Self-Learners
However, what about those children who cannot attend to schools and have no teachers, which is not uncommon in really poor 3rd world countries? I still cannot imagine how illiterate kids (probably having illiterate parents) teach themselves the usage of the OLPC laptop and moreover teach themselves basic reading, writing and math.
- The goal of the project is to provide/propose to governments a laptop that is (financially) cheap enough to be massively distributed to kids while being powerful enough to do all sorts of things. It'll be upto those governments to decide how they'll be deployed, what content will be included (and/or developed), etc. In some target countries schooling is so widespread making your scenario a marginal one (but nevertheless important). In other countries, I agree, things are quite the opposite. An interesting reading is the Learning Vision and its reference to the CREATE project in Costa Rica, where some families moved into a town that had 1:1 computer education just so that their kids would have access to that kind of education. IOW, the population pro-actively flocked to that schooling system.
- If you can't imagine how kids can use a computer for learning in the absence of teachers then you need to read about the Hole In The Wall Project in India.
Accessibility
What mechanism olpc is going to adopt to make it accessable for child with physical disabilities? Will there be seperate keyboards for blind with braile? Will there be alternate input methods for child with dysfunctioning hands?
--Ankur Sharma, olpc Nepal (ankur@olpcnepal.org)
- As far as I know, OLPC keybords are standardized for each country's language/s, but not braille. The OLPC has 3 USB ports to which external (braille) keyboards may be connected (quick search and sample result or alternative method). In order to better gauge the dimension of the issue, the World Health Organization (WHO) has some statistics on the incidence of blindness.
- I have posted some observations about Dasher as an alternative input method, not only for physical disabilities but general use too. --Xavi 09:45, 21 December 2006 (EST)
Programming
Does the os suport basic programming.
- Short answer: yes.
- A bit longer, assuming that by 'basic programming' you mean 'simple programming' (instead of the BASIC language), you have Etoys (Squeak), LOGO, Javascript, Csound, and most other things are in Python. You should also check the pages on software and our software. And since the project is based on an open-source philosophy, even the OS will be accessible to kids to fiddle with.--Xavi 16:49, 27 December 2006 (EST)
I question whether there is some benefit for us or you by getting involved
We are a St. Louis MO based charity doing Health Related activity in many poor parts of the world including Ecuador, Africa, Asia etc. We have recently been asked by Ecuador officials to assist in several different activates, including build schools, clinics, furnish computers etc.(we have a current request for 100 computers that we are trying to fulfill.
Or name is Wings of Hope and you can view our website at www.wings-of-hope.org to get some idea of what we do and who we do it for, both locally and around the world. We are a volunteer organization with pilots, nurses and support people stationed in many countries in poverty stricken areas. We are non political, non religious based, have no ethnic motivations nor any other motivation based issues except to help people in need.
We furnish air transport service to poor people in the central part of the United States to get them to health care facilities. We set up health clinics in poor areas of the US and we Donate aircraft to many areas of the world to be used as Air Ambulances. The website above will reveal a lot about Wings of Hope activates.
I saw the article in Popular Science about your computers and I just feel there is something that we can offer that will advance your cause. Our relationships appear to be with the kind of folks you are trying to reach. If you feel we can be of any assistance to your efforts, we would like to discuss the issue(s).
Please Contact our Director, MR. Douglas Clements, www.woh206@earthlink.net or 636-537-1302, 800-448-9487.
Keith Barbero, WOH Board Member
--Hunter 10:45, 28 December 2006 (EST)
From what has been publicly displayed this is mainly a government program that has to have approval from the hosting country to be implemented. Depending on the type of services you are offering this may or may not be a a program that could fit in to your NGO's aim. But if you are intrested from the stand point of ONE LAP TOP FOR EVERY CHILD then you should keep in touch and ask more questions as they come to you. Thanks Hunter
Availability
You could make this wonderful PC available to everyone on a commercial basis. Charge USD 150 or 200 for it (I would at least buy one) and let the profit sponsor kids in the 3rd world. This would also up the produced volume getting the hw costs even lower.
- You should read the Retail page where this is covered. Any changes to the situation will be updated on that page.
What about poor kids in our country (USA)?
As a technology professional, I see tremendous value in OLPC. I see OLPC changing the way we educate our children. I understand that school children in the USA have more opportunities than school children in most parts of the world. However, we do have school children in this country that need the help that OLPC can provide.
Why are children in the USA not even on the deployment radar?
- OLPC does not deploy laptops. That job is done by national ministries of education. In the USA, this would be the Secretary of Education. You should direct your concerns to the Secretary or join with OLPC4USA to make this happen.
I think under the "Buy two give one free" program the donor should be allowed to decide which country and child the OLPC should go to so that economically disadvantaged children in the 1st world can also benefit from it. But I think the OLPC is specifically designed and engineered to meet the needs of 3rd world countries though. Like the hnadcrank charger for example. I think it will be more cost efficient to donate a used laptop or a PC to economically disadvantaged children in the US. For $150 I think you can get a real used laptop with a hdd, cdrom drive and a bigger screen :-D
security
i just learned of this project today and am very excited about it. one of the things that holds poor children back is lack of experience. children have so many marvelous ideas in their heads, but if a child doesn't know that architects or engineers exist, he or she can't hope to become one. not that becoming one is the point. the point is having a future to hope for as well as something to enjoy in the present. the children will develop these computers in ways none of us can imagine. some will create great works of art. some will become business moguls. some will find ways to help others. what a wonderful thing. i can also see how this project might become another economic project for the whole village. like the entrepreneur who buys a cell phone and sells minutes of its use, somebody's going to buy a hard drive and a USB cable. or do something else i can't imagine. i hope mohammed yunas knows about this. which brings me to my concern. as described on these pages, these machines are incredibly useful. i want one myself. i can wait until the idea makes it to the open market, but many adults are not so patient. i can see these powerful machines and their mesh network ability being very attractive to bandits, drug dealers, the parents of the children who can use them in their businesses and so on. it's not just that the children would lose their laptops. i am concerned for their safety, and that this will become another tool to enslave child for the benefit of adults. (i'm not talking about the child keeping the books for a family business, which helps the whole family.) i have no doubt that the minds who designed these incredible machines can solve this dilemma as well. i think you have probably already thought about this, but i didn't find where the site addressed it. i felt it would be wrong not to bring it up to be sure the children are protected. thank you for doing this for the world's children. i look forward to learning more and finding ways to contribute. dee pearson (just want the "creators" to know the following comment regarding energy is not from dee.)
Regarding the energy source for the machine - I would love to imagine children walking or running to school or home with their machines swinging along. Since The Crank is out, how about self-winding, through movement? I have a 40-year old watch that does it. Have you thought about using self-winding as some part of the power question? Creators, commence!
Contribution towards Programming
Hello,
I am really interested in contributing towards the programming efforts in linux kernel and python. Please let me know how shall I proceed and start contributing towards it?
Suresh, Bangalore, India.
Volunteering
How does a computer science professional contact OPLC about volunteering their time to help deploy the laptops and train new users? Is there an affliation with GeekCorps?
XO for Propaganda?
Dear OLPC,
I believe wholly in the OLPC program and am very happy to learn that units are shipping. I do, however, have one concern:
Is it possible for education ministries, who will be distributing the XO laptop, to map political propaganda onto the XO prior to release? Imagine if a particular political party in power had used their party's political messaging in the splash screen at XO startup. That messaging would be carried with a child for a very long time.
On the flip side, if a particular country has a problem that needs tackling, such as AIDS, then it would be beneficial if there were messaging intended to tackle that problem embedded as a default [but end-user changeable] setting.
I assert that OLPC needs to take top-down initiative to ensure that governments do not abuse this new mode of communication.
carter.cliff@gmail.com
Where can I see an OLPC in the UK?
Hi,
I'm really interested in the OLPC project, and often add things to the wiki... But I've never actually seen one in real life... How many are there in the UK, and what are the chances of actually viewing one? Maybe you should do a grand tour?!
What about American Senior Citizens?
Why are American Senior Citizens being excluded from this very worthwhile project? As a computer-literate senior citizen I have found that most wives (mine included) in the senior age category will be computer-helpless when they become widowed. Please, puhleeeeze consider opening the OLPC program to American seniors who have been left behind in the current computer obsessed world. Thanx, M. Zipes, Poughkeepsie, NY (Moved question originally posted by 69.121.101.152 in Image talk:Contentatlaptop.png.
- Uh? Not only this question was out of place, but also, dare say, conceptually. OLPC = One Laptop Per CHILD. In the best of worlds, it would be One Laptop Per CITIZEN—regardless of nationality, age, etc. but it's not the case. Children are the priority, and in developing countries.
- A more congenial answer would be to point you to OLPC4USA and ask you to lobby your government with them.--Xavi 09:59, 2 January 2007 (EST)
there are classes available almost anywhere in the US for any adult, and specifically seniors, to take. in addition, US seniors, as a group, are the wealthiest people on the planet. your wife has a computer in the house and does not learn. puhleeeeze think of others who do not have the resources and try to help them. dee pearson
Theft of laptops from children
Perhaps it would be possible to use facial/voice recognition software and the laptop camera/microphone to ensure that the laptop will only work if one child (selected by an administrator using a complex password) is using it. (This would avoid situations where the child might give up a password under duress)?
Wouldn't adding those extra features also significantly increase the price of the OLPC as well? Why not use the OLPC's built-in wifi adapter to track the signal and MAC address instead?
Nicholas Negroponte
Hello - how can I get involved and help Nicholas with his $100 laptop project? I am an accountant by trade and am looking to get involved in the voluntary sectory. I should be grateful if you would pass this message on to him. Many thanks - ankit.dodhia@hotmail.com
Wish there was a version of fedora with the Sugar os, so they could be put on existing low end laptops and desktops. That would be great for schools that have older hardware, so they do not have to purchase newer machines. Great budget saver and great pr for RedHat also. just a thought...
Is there a better alternative?
Could the children be better prepared for life learning to use, as I and MILLIONS of others had, with a BIG CHEIF tablet and a pencil (yet somehow I am computer literate now)? Total cost for pad and pencil: $2.75 ... left over for food and medical from the initial $150: $147.50.
- add to your account books. Many of them , big large books. What about movies, multimidia, are you media literate? Can you fit the all the books and movies you can see in your budget?
Beyond education
These machines could be used by adults as well as kids. Surely selling crafts on ebay, checking which markets have the best prices for livestock and downloading info on AIDS would be a great use for these. Why the exclusive ocus on education, and the consequential skew to mesh networking?
Basic concept
Isn't the idea of this as a laptop a bit limiting? Why can't it be a phone, a lamp, a radio or whatever too? All this could be added very cheaply, and features like the swivelly screen seem such a distraction compared to such basics. Cellphone technology would also enable this to be networked over much larger distances.
Science curriculum
I do not see any content related sections for the sciences (physics, chemistry, biology) and math. Can you please point me to that section or include this in your curriculum?
Web content and browsing
I could not find any information on the browsing capabilities / restrictions on these laptops. Can you please ensure that some filter mechanisms are in place that protects these children from the malicious content out there on the web today?
--I have just had a different version of the internet question answered for me by somebody else on this page, which is all that I know about it, but they just told me that the mesh networks that will be used will usually/often not in fact be connected to the internet at all. The OLPC does not proved internet connectivity -- that possibility is there for countries that want to make it available, but that is entirely up to the countries. It was also pointed out to me that for many of these children, there is hardly anything on the internet in a language that they speak. If I knew how to put links into this, I would put a link here, but if you go to the question on School Gateways, there is a link there. Please if I've gotten something wrong somebody else edit this response.
does OLPC not serve to widen the gap between the haves and have nots?
My question is, by not supporting any of the common technology in the first world, and forcing a totally unique paradigm of user interface and technology, how is it that these disadvantaged societies will become more "advantaged"? It seems that a proprietary system will only serve to make a greater distinction between the poor and the rich.
--Ryan Cameron, Haberman Educational Foundation
the OLPC and its Sugar User Interface are NOT a proprietary System. The technologies are open source and built on a tried and tested Kernel and Operating System. in fact, the OLPC's use of Free/Open Source technology will serve to ensure that children are not forced to think like the ms drones of today who believe that computer literacy is knowing how to operate MS Excel. These children are being given a computer where nothing is hidden from them, the internals of the operating system are there for them to inspect, learn from, and hopefully learn to improve. the sugar ui only serves to simplify things for the children until they are ready to look further into the OS and see what makes it tick. ideally in 10 years or so, these children will have an understanding of computers that greatly exceeds the children in our own developed countries because they are not forced into a proprietary paradigm of computing. If we gave these children a copy of windows on every laptop, what purpose would that serve? they could learn to use the applications that they are given, but that is NOT What this is about. the children need to learn how computers work and why they work the way they do, this cannot be accomplished with a closed-source proprietary operating system. I believe it is especially important that these children are able to see and improve the source code of these systems, that way, when they are older and have learned enough, they will have a new outlook on computing, much different from our own. their ideas of how to interact with computers will lead to new innovative software that will benefit everyone. diversity is important and we are giving these children the opportunity to progress in their own direction without the preconcieved notions that the rest of us have from being exposed to Windows and Mac OS for so long.
to Summarize, since I rambled so much, your question is completely backwards. the disadvantage is OURS, the RICH have suffered from the proprietary nature of the Operating System that has been forced on many of us. these children are being given freedom to do as they please with their operating System, and at the same time, it will give them a firm understanding of the linux kernel and the underlying OS that will be much more beneficial to them in the future that anything microsoft or other proprietary software vendors can offer.
Adaptation of Musical Editor for local music systems
Hello, While browsing through the software that will be put on the B2 release, I remarked the screenshot of the Musical Editor, and I saw that it was based on the western notes system (do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, si, do). These notes have more or less fixed frequencies ('la' has 440 Hz, and going from one note to another happens by stepping of halve tones where the frequencies need to be multiplicated or divided by 1.059, the twelfth root of 2).
The OLPC project is ment for children in third world countries, like for instance India and China and other countries, where different music systems are used. Therefore I propose to foresee these adaptations within the Musical Editor (after all, it can't be the intention of forcing children to abandon their own musical culture :-?).
In case OLPC people are interested, I am willing to do some investigation in order to figure out which are the mostly used music systems with corresponding frequencies in order to facilitate the work. I can be reached via my e-mail address under my OLPC subscription account 'scampsd'.
Best regards and good luck with the project Dominique
Random generator entropy
Hi, we came up with this issue at the 23c3 in a lecture about the /dev/(u)random generator in Linux. The algortihm gets most of its entropy from the harddisk. Because the OLPC lacks a hdd, this could be an issue, when you need a random number for cryptography at boot time. Of course the algorithm is still strong and sufficient enough for most applications (or at least i think so), but not as good as some people maybe think. (Other entropies: camera, microphone,...) (DustyDingo)
CHILD PROTECTION SOFTWARE ?!?!?!?!
Hi, as this laptop is geared towards children and it seems as there is no hard drive to install software into the machine. Is there child protection software installed into the device with parental pin code to activate/decativate it?
Also if there was a simple 512mb eeprom then it would be possible to install a few applications into the machine. I am sure this would only add a couple of dollars onto the price. (just a thought).
Thanks From Vince.
- Few apps? Not true. Some years ago we had less than that and we could run thousands of games and applications. Maybe the problem is the applications got fat. And besides a lot of the good stuff moved to the internet, so if the child wants a full blown video editing software he can use an online app. I do not know about parental control, the child seems to have total control over the machine, even to the source code. But the UI is social-oriented so it's geared thru making the child participate community activities, which is a good community control. If you know the child is drawing with peers then he is not be seeing porn - Alexandre Van de Sande
About emulating the OLPC disk Image
I am not sure where to post this as it's a rather technical support like question. I am emulating the OLPC image (I am using olpc-182.zip) in a intel iMac using VMWare tools beta. The emulations runs well, but with a limited size (640 x 480) and I know the laptop goes way beyond this. I have read somewhere an email from the OLPC mailing list that this was a recurring issue and many of the blog posts with screenshots and reviews of the SUgar interface where getting it wrong because of this.
I wanted to investigate this further (and help correct those blog reviews) and posted this question to the VMWare foruns, but they believe it's a problem with the OS image.
Any insights on this?
thank you
Alexandre Van de Sande www.wanderingabout.com alexandrevandesande (at) the email provided by google
- Please refer to the emulation section of this wiki, specifically OS images for emulation and User Feedback on Images. --Walter 08:43, 8 January 2007 (EST)
I just want to try the software
I've read about the software and the UI online. I want to try the software. I want something like a "liveCD" that I can stick in my computer to try it out and show other people. a) Is it possible? b) If possible, is it explained anywhere on this eiki? c) if yes, why is it so hard to find? A nice big link on the homepage might be nice.
- Don't know if there's a LiveCD, but you can try an emulator. On the left there's a navigation bar with a section titled "about the laptops", and under it you'll find the emulation link that'll take there... That wasn't so hard, was it? Enjoy!--Xavi 07:05, 5 January 2007 (EST)
I would desperately want to get such a computer, eventhough I'm not eligible and could easely afford a usual computer
Hello!
I've heard about your project on the program "Click" at BBC World. I think the idea of a 100$ computer is absolutely marvelous!
I would desperatly like to get one of these computers myself, eventhough I can afford usual computers. The problem is, that I'm living in Switzerland, which is still tinted grey on your world map.
I would be prepared to pay double the price (200$) to get one of these computers. That way, you could actually build two of them and donate one of them to a child that really needs it.
I think it would actually be a great idea to allow people who aren't eligible to own one of these computers, to get one for double its price - thus financing a free notebook for a child who really needs it.
It would also prevent people who are eligible to get one to put it on an auctioning site to sell them to people who don't really need them.
Thanks for a reply!
Best Regards
C.Beeli - Switzerland
- It's good to read about your enthusiasm, but alas, quite some people had similar ideas before as the "Ask OLPC a Question about Distribution#Availability - Can XXX in YYY get one paying ZZZ ?" section shows, and to which the short answer is no. A longer answer is that you can still participate and collaborate with time and effort to make the project a reality. And a full answer would be this whole wiki, your government, local NGOs, etc. --Xavi 07:23, 5 January 2007 (EST)
Food For Children
Shouldn't we be making sure that there is at least one meal per child rather than one laptop?
--
there are plenty of organizations that already do this, and you are free to contribute to their cause, there is no need for yet another red-cross or whatever other NPO, the goals of the OLPC have not been addressed before and many people consider education a very important cause. "teach a man to fish"
- I'm all for it! But what about drinking water? That too! And medicines? No doubt! Shelter? Peace? Love? Education? We is a lot of people (sometimes, the whole 6.5 billion)... much in the same way that specific organizations try to bring medicine to the dispossessed (ie: Medecins sans frontieres), or fight for their human rights (ie: Amnesty International), provide better feeding and agriculture technologies (or emergency rations) (ie: FAO / UN), and education (ie: UNESCO), the OLPC is trying to get this 'simple gadget' (a full blown laptop) into the hands of kids for them to learn, communicate, interact, and many other things...
- Not one of the aforementioned organizations can make a better world by itself, each one is needed in their domain of expertise and competence. So let the specialized organizations do what they are good for: battle the odds to make a better world in their 'little' areas of competence. They are all needed, in an interconnected set of efforts that together they stand, divided they fail... (I know, it should read 'fall', but in development issues, it usually and nonchalantly fails).--Xavi 12:27, 5 January 2007 (EST)
Can we look at them as two separate issues instead? Giving basic needs to the poor & needy in the 3rd world = helping them with their immediate needs while giving them OLPCs = providing them with a technological learning tool to help prepare for a better future. While I agree with Maslow's hierarchy of needs we must also realize that teaching IT to children in the 3rd world countries is equally important so that hopefully one day they can use that knowledge/skills to get out of poverty and hunger.
JK
Request for direction to power generation discussion
I am having a hard time finding a discussion about the power generator for the XO. Can you please direct me to the appropriate person or place? I have noticed that while my wife computes, her knee often bounces. And I wonder if that natural movement might be harnessed to generate power for the XO.
I have calculated that such a movement of 2 to 5 cm twice a second under 100 to 200 Newtons of tension (or more naturally 1 to 2 cm at 4 Hz and 50 to 100 Newtons) could input 2 to 40 Watts depending on the level of conscious effort vs. habituated movement and the ability to harness both legs. This is an old concept that was employed for treadle sewing machines and pump organs. The only difference in the case of the XO is the challenge to build it extremely portable for a few dollars, using such things as nylon straps and plastic pieces.
Anyway, I would like the opportunity to follow the discussion of these concepts with the project team if possible if you would be so kind as to direct me. If it wouldn't be too much trouble, you could e-mail me using my gmail address and my first name dot last name.
Thanks. Tom Haws
What about OUR children in the US?
I am tired of us giving and giving to other countries. What children right here in the United States? I teach in a poor Appalachian school district in Eastern Ohio and our children don't have computers. I have 2 computers in my classroom and one is very, very old. My own students do not get to use a computer, so why are we giving to other countries?
- Nobody is asking you to give anything! As a matter of fact, the 'other countries' are investing. So, if you're tired, sit back, relax, and read this or you can lobby together with OLPC4USA your government to invest... --Xavi 16:02, 7 January 2007 (EST)
Black Market
First of all I would like to congratulate you for the idea. I don't think is my opinion alone that the only way to stop poverty is by education, and this is a great tool for this.
How do you plan to fight the black market of this computers? They more or less cost $100 each, and in many of the countries mentioned, families could try to sell them to buy food or fullfill any other basic need.
One solution could be distributing them strategically first to children covered on basic needs, all the way to the least covered.
Thank you and sorry if you have already talk about this.
Yamil Fourzali
The blackmarket for donated items has always existed in third world countries and especially a high-value item (by 3rd wolrd standards) like the OLPC will not be an exception. However, I think combination of social and technological solutions can help reduce this problem: (1) The OLPCs should be kept in school unless there's an absolute need for the child to take it home (i.e. homework assignments, exams). Also at the initial issue of the OLPC parents should be required to sign a promissory note agreeing to take care of it. (2) If the wifi adapter in the OLPC is made to turn on automatically at bootup then the unit will be trackable by detecting the wifi signal and MAC address. (3) The "Buy two give one free" program will help reduce the demand for the OLPC as a cheap substitute for a used laptop in the developed world. If it costs more than a used laptop with comparable or more powerful components that will reduce the demand in the blackmarket too. (4) depending on the number of theft incidents in each OLPC participant country, the local governments can launch public awareness advertisement campaigns to educate the public that stealing an OLPC is like stealing a child's future. (5) The OLPC campaign can ask online auctions like Ebay to ban/restrict the resale of OLPCs online.
JK
Great question which I was about to ask. I live in Argentina and will be interested in seeing how many of these laptops appear on the local ebay. In a country where wi-fi hardly exists and where many poor kids don't go to school and spend their time collecting discarded cardboard and paper to sell if they're not begging, the pessimist in me fails to see how this is going to work. I can in fact see things working better in remote regions of Africa where everybody is poor, for me it seems there are going to be problems in cities where there are very poor people who will be entitled to the laptop and richer people who will perhaps want to buy it. This is all of course provided corruption in the government actually ensure the poor kids get the laptops in the first place!
J Martin
about the ic 321j50
What is the purpose IC 321j50 manufactured by your company?
- I am not aware of any such IC associated with OLPC. Can you please cite a source of reference for this question?
Who is Nicholas Negroponte?
- Prof. Negroponte is the CEO of OLPC (Please refer to http://www.laptop.org/people.en_US.html for more details).
What is an XO machine?
- Please refer to The Children's Machine in this wiki.
What school-focused framework is this article talking about?
- I am not sure what article you refer to when you say "this article." There is an introduction to the OLPC Learning Vision in this wiki. --Walter 08:40, 8 January 2007 (EST)
Can any one ask a question here or is this just for computer programers?
If not where can the avarage person find out more about OLPC?
I'd like to help teach.
I think your idea is marvelous! I heard recently about how cell phones are benefitting rural peoples in Africa, where landlines are almost non existent. and I can see how OLPC could be similarly beneficial -- perhaps more so.
Are you are recruiting folks yet to help train teachers or children to use the laptops? I've worked as a newspaper journalist, writing instructor, and am now in marketing and public relations for a community college. But I'd like to do something more meaning and helpful on a larger scale. How can I find out if there is a use for my skills in your organization? I am willing to work oversees and in primative conditions.
Can this laptop run on old DOS programs?
There are lots of free old DOS programs out there and DOS os takes very little RAM space.
Is it possible to put DOS OS into this laptop?
Is there any emulator under Linux to allow DOS to be used?
If so, what kind of DOS? Freedos or msDOS
Contents will be an issue when this computer comes out.
Regards alanfoo
- We can't boot DOS with the current LinuxBIOS/OFW ROM we use - it lacks the legacy support that DOS needs. DOSEMU (http://www.dosemu.org/ is a decent emulator that may offer some support - how well this would all integrate into sugar is unknown, though. - JordanCrouse (Talk to me!) 11:00, 9 January 2007 (EST)
Gambia
Can anyone tell me if Gambia is among the countries where the Ministry of Education has expressed an interest in this laptop project? Since it is such a small country (situated along the Gambia river in Senegal), I can't tell from the map.
- I think that Gambia's status is 'orange' (those countries who have expressed interest at the Ministry-of-Education level or higher). Another (unofficial) way of checking the status is OLPC Status by Country.
- This question should've been placed in Ask OLPC a Question about Countries and will soon be moved there.--Xavi 10:04, 10 January 2007 (EST)
- Indeed, Gambia is 'orange'. BTW, there is a higher-resolution version of the map in the wiki: . --Walter 11:19, 10 January 2007 (EST)
Proposed "Buy 2 Get 1" Sales
I am wondering why you are forcing someone in the "First World" to buy 2 of your laptops in order to obtain one. I am a disabled person living in an Amish area of Ohio where infrastructure is very sparse. Your laptop would be perfect for me, as the computer I am currently using requires a generator for power, is less powerful than your model, and forces me to move around my house to access it. (I have a hip disability and SEVERE migraine/cluster headaches, often rendering me immobile.) As I live on a limited income, I cannot afford to be buying multiple copiesof your laptop, but could possibly pay a small extra "charge" as a donation to your cause. Please let me know how I can obatin one of your wondeful laptops without being penalized for living in the U.S. Thank you. (zenaru@hughes.net)
Governments & schools - a western construct
I think that the olpc is a wonderful concept and I am fully behind it - 100%. I am delighted that it has plumped for a Linux OS and is centred upon open source software solutions.
I can also fully understand why it seems necessary to use government resources in developing countries to get these laptops into the hands of the children who need them.
However (and you just knew that there was an however coming!) schools are nothing more than a western construct which the developed world seems hellbent on imposing on the devloping world even if the result is social destruction. Governments of all complections have a vested interest in exploiting this project. It seems to me that there is a desperate need to develop a new pedogogy involving non-traditional formal educational structures, possibly working with NGOs. Governments in developing countries will go the same way as many western governments and impose a nationalised curriculum which will be delivered via these laptops.
For those of us who are committed to a constructivist apporach to learning and who recognise that imposition of western schooling is always destructive to enthusiasm for learning, olpc's commitment to only work with governments is ( whilst understandable) hugely disappointing. It may well make this a laptop project and not an education project
I think the "Buy two get one free" idea is great because consumer demand for the OLPC will drive the production to mass numbers and it will help the future availability of used spare parts for service needs. I would also like to suggest for the creation of an online database where OLPC users in need of replacement parts can find donors and order them online.
Retail model: linking email addresses: RISK TO KIDS
HI-
I just read an article on BBC saying that one possible retail model for this machine would be: pay for two; you get one; the other goes to a kid somewhere in the world; and you and the kid get each others' email addresses so s/he can correspond with her/his "sponsor."
Danger, Will Robinson!
If you do this, predators will buy these machines in order to get access to kids' email addresses in countries where kids are naive about adults using email to prey on kids. And you will also end up with a huge legal liability as a result. In other words, DON'T DO IT.
I agree with the idea of "pay for two, keep one, the other goes to a kid somewhere in the world." That's fine. I'd gladly buy these things for myself and for various family members (in my case I'm already using MacOSX, Linux, and WinXP, so this would be an additional unit for whatever practical uses it could fulfill), and pay a price that lets you ship additional machines to kids.
As far as the "sponsorship" thing is concerned: Limit it to the following. Tell the kids who receive the machines, the name of the country where their sponsors are located (and that only, i.e. no exchange of personal information). That could be very good for international understanding and for wearing down some of the bad vibes that people in certain countries tend to have for people in certain other countries.
While we're at it, consider this:
There is a huge market for basic rugged laptops for use "in the field" in a number of industries. These would be cases that don't need the full functionality of e.g. a Panasonic Toughbook, and where basic will do and cost is critical. Develop a suite of work-related applications and/or provide certification for apps developed by others, and sell those on CD at reasonable cost, to bring in more money for free laptops for kids.
The basic arrangement would be: Companies buy laptops at e.g. $200 per unit plus a required $200 per unit tax-deductible donation to the nonprofit foundation. Thus the effective cost is $400 per unit, but half of it is a tax deduction. If you do this, companies will buy these things in huge numbers and thereby pay for equivalent numbers of machines to be given away to kids.
School Gateways follow up
Thank you very much for the response on School Gateways -- I had a big misconception about the internet. I am still curious, however, about how the School Gateways for the mesh networks are intended to be powered, and how much energy they will require. I looked at the power page, and it mentioned microbial fuel cells, which is what I was going to ask about. Are the gateways going to require a lot more power than a microbial fuel cell could provide? Thank you!
Keyboard lamp? Key color contrast.
Oh. Nevermind. Where it says "Keyboard LEDs" in the photo I thought they were lock indicators.
Green lettering on white keys could be a good idea though.
One Laptop Per how old? Child
We're saying One Laptop Per Child, but how old does a child have to be to qualify? Attending school? How old is that? I know, personally, of 3 year old children who could make good use of this device.