G1G1 2007/FAQ

Where or how can I get one?

Short answer: Either apply for an XO through the developer's program or get one through the Give 1, Get 1 program.

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

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

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

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

Give 1 Get 1

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

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

Will it be distributed in developed countries?

As mentioned in the countries section, the decision to distribute in any particular country (including the USA and other developed countries) does not depend on the OLPC but on the government's decision.

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

Why not the USA?

See above. Or for further discussions on the subject see OLPC4USA and retail.

How can a country get involved?

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

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?!

Well, you can try the alpha software in emulation: Using QEMU on Windows XP. If you run into problems, you'll have to research and learn. --Jeff 27 Feb 2007

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I would desperately want...

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)

Can NGOs and charities get them?

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

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

Who will get one?

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

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