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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)

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)

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

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)

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

Self-winding generator

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?

See the section about Ask OLPC a Question about Distribution#Training & Capacity Building... but in general, that is upto the deploying countries to decide how it'll work - you should contact that side of the equation (or any organizations they name when the time comes).--Xavi 17:54, 13 January 2007 (EST)

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?

Wifi adapter as an anti-theft device?

yes I agree. I also think it would be useful to turn the built-in wifi adapter as an anti-theft device. The adapter should be made to start mandatorily at boot up and not allowed to disable it so that in the event that the laptop is stolen it will be trackable by using war driving software.

JK, USA

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.

This question ignores a very important part of the economic equation. Textbooks. The cost of primary school textbooks is kept hidden from most of us but a trip to a college bookstore will show you that textbooks cost a lot of money. The primary economic enabler of the OLPC laptops is that they allow textbooks to be distributed very cheaply. Compared to physical textbooks, electronic ones don't have to be printed and they can be shipped on very low-weight media such as CD-ROMs. Of course, in order to realize the economic benefit of electronic textbooks, you first have to invest in an e-book reader. That is the core of the OLPC project. If you investigate existing e-book reader projects you will dicsover that they are all based around a general-purpose computer with some software that restricts the capabilities to only reading books. The OLPC project goal is to create an e-book reader that exploits as many of the capabilities of the hardware as possible. The end-result is a single device that can serve many different educational functions and is versatile enough to be used throughout the student's educational life and beyond. --Memracom 05:15, 13 January 2007 (EST)

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?

--And if the IT companies can offer the kids after-school paid assignments like light programming and data entry tasks for like 1-2 hrs a day, it will also solve the problem of the kids or their parents selling the laptops for food money

JK, USA

First, the OLPC laptops have no Internet access and the users likely will not speak English. Forget ebay. Second, you point out that the devices would be great for educating about AIDS and then ask, "Why the focus on education?". Thirdly you suggest that kids could do "light programming" to earn money but you ignore the fact that education is required to be a programmer. India is an example of this. It has a good education system producing many skilled programmers who were unable to find work locally. This was exploited by foreign companies who offshored their programming needs. But it all began with "education". Now, perhaps you see why the OLPC project focus is on education first. --Memracom 05:14, 13 January 2007 (EST)

---Yes but you cant ignore Maslow's hierarchy of needs. A starving kid with a starving family at home will not see OLPC as an education tool but instead as something he can sell to buy food. Exploitation in India by international IT companies may be morally wrong by the developed world standards but the alternative for indian programmers to that kind of exploitation is unemployment. I'm not ignoring the fact that one needs education to be a programmer, OLPC can provide that education. "Education first" slogan sounds great, but realistically speaking you can't skip the layers in Maslow's hierarchy of needs.

The interesting thing about Maslow and technology is that it sometimes results are counter-intuitive. For example, many reports have been written about how cell-phone technology actually has improved the standard of living for subsistence farmers, fishermen, etc. because they extend one basic need: communication & mobility (two things targeted by the laptop). --Xavi 08:58, 17 January 2007 (EST)

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.

because a phone, a lamp, or a radio doesn't make a great learning tool like a laptop does. Cellphones have limited capabilities like the screensize, lack of fullsize keyboard, costly airtimes, data storage etc. A radio doesn't allow interactive learning like a laptop does. A lamp is a necessity but with the LCD screen in the laptop the child will be able to read and do his homework in dark. OLPC project isn't about providing them with life's basic necessities, it's about giving children a great tool for education so that they can learn skills to end povery and hunger in their communities in future.

JK, USA

Indeed the idea of this as a laptop is a bit limiting. The OLPC project has put a considerable effort into making this much more than a laptop. If a student wants to use it as a lamp, they can because they are the producers of the electricity required. If they want to communicate with their friends, not only can they send text messages and SVG drawings, they can also record messages and share activities that they have programmed. This is far more flexible than existing cellular phones. The main thing missing is the long range communications ability of cellular but since that comes with a very steep fee per minute of use, it won't be missed. Because the OLPC laptop is an open system it will allow people to build low-cost cellular bypass systems like Motoman.--Memracom 05:21, 13 January 2007 (EST)

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?

Every page has a search section in the column on the left. If you don't see something in the table of contents then use the search capabilities to find it. If you still can't find something which you think should be on the wiki, then start a new page and write an outline of what you think we should have. Others will fill in that outline for you. If you return in a week or two, you will have your answer. --Memracom 05:23, 13 January 2007 (EST)

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'.

The OLPC includes csound software which can be adapted to work with any type of musical system. If you want to document these systems and any csound software that works with them, feel free to start a new page on this wiki. --Memracom 05:30, 13 January 2007 (EST)

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)

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 approaches to solve short-term and long-term problems of the developing world? Giving basic needs to the poor & needy in the 3rd world = helping them with their immediate needs while giving them OLPCs = investing in a better future for them and their societies. 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

Most of this is discussed on the Battery and power page. The OLPC laptop doesn't have a built-in power generator. Instead, it has a DC power input that will accept a wide range of voltage with protection against polarity reversal. This means that any number of alternate power sources can be used. We will be shipping a hand-powered generator with the initial devices but we are open to any new ideas, especially if they are backed up with prototypes and with some solid research showing how they are used by kids in the field. In addition, if a device can be built by the kids (with the help of their teachers) then it would be appropriate to provide detailled building instructions in one of the Ebook formats that we support. --Memracom 05:37, 13 January 2007 (EST)

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)

May be a project similar to OLPC can be initiated to narrow the digital divide in the US. But instead of inventing a whole new laptop like the OLPC old PCs and laptops can be recycled and install linux to save cost? You'll find that when you run Linux on old computers they're not so "old." :-)

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.

The OLPC does not actually deploy the computers in these countries. If you want to work in the field, then start by reading our news section to see where the first computers are headed. Then contact the ministry of education in one of these countries to offer your services. They will likely be working together with one or more charitable organizations who operate in their country. Currently, Brazil, Libya and Rwanda are target countries. --Memracom 05:40, 13 January 2007 (EST)

Governments & schools - a western construct

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.

First, the OLPC project is not developing new schools to be delivered to these countries. We are developing laptop computers to be delivered to children. The laptops themselves will be a rich educational environment even in the absence of teachers. In addition, the philosophy that we follow is a constructivist educational philosophy which focuses on leading the child to discover knowledge for themselves. --Memracom 05:45, 13 January 2007 (EST)

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.

There is no "Buy two get one free" idea. Check the Retail page for details. As for spare parts, the OLPC project is recommending that recipient countries maintain a reasonable level of spares for the computers that they receive. --Memracom 05:45, 13 January 2007 (EST)

Rugged Laptops

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.

'Huge' is relative, you can measure it in number of units or monetary value. And given that the market is a niche, it implies a small volume and high monetary value—the opposite of what the OLPC target market is (afaik). I see your point in 'overpricing' this 'commercial rugged laptops', but that would only create incentives to divert machines to the black/grey market. --Xavi 15:10, 13 January 2007 (EST)

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!

---(JK, USA) There ought to be a sister project of the OLPC to bring internet connection to schools in the developing world. One internet connection per school wouldn't be a bad name for such project. Wireless Gateway/APs powered by environmentally friendly and renewable energy sources like solar or wind power, perhaps linked to a bidirectional satellite internet receiver, and then use [1]WifiPaypal so that donors in the developed world can donate mothly Satellite connection bill direct to the schools using Paypal.

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.

Generally ages 6 to 17. (First grade to the end of high school in the US.) The emphasis is ages 6 to 10 or so. A careful look at OLPC pictures indicates that they are really sized for 6 to 10 year olds. --tef 13 Jan 2007

Regular Laptops as OLPC Clones?

I think the OLPC OS and all the software should be made to run on regular x86 laptops and distributed freely. One benefit of making the OS and software opensource and multiplatform compatible will be that the kids will be able to run it on donated used laptops until there are enough OLPCs for everychild :-)

Is the 'buy 2 and get 1' scheme going to happen?

Hi there, Is the 'buy 2 and get 1' scheme going to happen or not? There have been many reports that suggested that it was planned for next year.

There is no "buy 2 get 1" scheme. If you would read the Retail page then you would know this.

I think this whole idea of connecting receipient with donor and the distribution over ebay is a really fresh and clever idea of you.

This is not an OLPC idea. The OLPC project has no intention to distribute laptops over Ebay and if people started to sell stolen laptops on Ebay we would work to shut that down.

Relaunching software as freeware

We are reviving ChipWits - an award-winning iconic programming game - and would like to encourage a freeware version to be developed for the OLPC. Is there a forum to discuss it?

There are several mailing lists (note the link in the 'about olpc' box at the top-left of the page. Also, there's a section on how to get around Sharing your content with OLPC.

BTW, the OLPC is commited to Open Source, so 'free' would probably not be enough, methinks.--Xavi 16:43, 13 January 2007 (EST)

ChipWits will be open source. Thanks for the pointer to the mailing list.

Tested with destructive children?

Regardless of cultural background, everywhere these laptops will go there will be some children who'll break anything they get their hands on within a few days or even minutes.

Have these two tests been conducted with actual children?

Rotate the screen 90 degrees then have various children attempt to push the screen down as if it was going to be closed normally or in e-book position. If the hinge breaks then it's not strong enough.

The angry child test. Anyone who has ever seen kids get upset at not being able to figure out a toy or game or puzzle and *has not* seen at least one kid hurl the thing across the room or swat it off a table hasn't been around enough children. With the screen in various positions, test it from merely dropping to the floor from table height to being shoved off at various speeds. To gather velocity data, have various children push and throw test objects of size and weight similar to the current BTest laptop design, then use that data with a pusher device on an actual BTest laptop.

One possibility may be to build in some amount of flexibility, similar to spring hinges on eyeglasses, or make a non-twist design for the youngest children. Put some glasses frames on some kids then have them play volleyball. Mix the frames half with spring hinges, half without. Observe the effect of a volleyball to the head and what happens to the frames. (Having your frames broken three times in three consecutive games is a great way to convinve the parents to spend the extra $ on frames with spring hinges!)

Another possible way to reduce damage potential is to make the hinge with a cam action so that it can only be twisted around when it's open to 90 degrees, and attempting to turn it when it's open more or less will push the screen to 90 degrees before allowing it to rotate very far. Joints like this are used in many products already, to ensure the joint can only be manipulated in paths that will work properly. Examine as many existing twist screen laptops as possible to see if any already have such 'forced path' screen hinges. Couple this with a simple spring loaded, double acting "saloon door" type hinge between the screen and the twist and fold hinge already on the BTest laptops could make the hinge system extremely tough.

What could be a bit of a compromise system is to design the screen to 'breakaway' from the top of the hinge, with a reinforced data cable and a braided steel cable for extra durability. The screen could be easily snapped back on, but durability of the snap joint could be an issue, especially if the snap together parts are plastic.

The idea that all or most children who're growing up with next to nothing will give these laptops super loving care is major 'blue sky'. The twist hinge is a big potential failure point. One big thing anyone working on any complex system has to keep in mind is that the more points of potential failure there are, the more likely there will be failures.

Design the screen hinge to take abuse and there will be minimal problems with the abuse it will definately recieve. Leave it with the current hinge design and you'll be seeing plenty coming back with broken hinges.

True but... I would like to add that based on the statement “Cultural Background” there is in some ways a much more stronger type life style that many that will be eligible for the lap top live. But because it is a learning program with a parable infrastructure their has to be in the distribution and training of those who will hand them out a part about responsibility. It should be explained to each child in their groups of receiving the Laptop that if it breaks there is a chance that they may not get another ,as only one lap top per child or family. Since it is the government and their sponsors that are to foot the bill, this is a very serious consideration. Creating a lesson plan with in the training material about the ups and downs of the unit if it brakes. Can One: Move the government too, with in their budget to acquire parts and as well as service contracts in how long they will support the Laptop if it breaks. Two: Where locally will they be able to bring the laptop in for service. Three: be prepared for local people to get in on the act and tinker with the laptop if it is a hinge and find ways to fix it. I also think your expression about child anger was some what misleading and misinformed. I think the possibility of a goat or farm animal stepping on the lap top that belonged to a child that had brought the lap top along to do family chores could be a better scenario I believe this is much more realistic. I don't think presenting such negative leads towards aggression ,as to have faith in the little children that they are good and can handle the responsibility of caring for their new computer friend. I hope in the future to share my experience based on countless hours of research in to the presentation of third world issues that there are some inconsistencies in what is presented by media in general and the real life of that matter. This is also a generalization as in all walks of life the real truth can only be known by the

actors  and witness of the fact at hand. 

That's for every one too!--Hunter 08:53, 19 January 2007 (EST)