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Topic: Laptops

NPR feature on OLPC - what went wrong?

Summary: Since tomorrow is the first day of school and I'm going completely out of my mind, I figured I'd just give you a quick link to an NPR feature on the One Laptop Per Child program that aired on Morning Edition today. As the piece points out,The project has had trouble with its leadership, finances and competitors.

Christopher Dawson

By for ZDNet Education |

Since tomorrow is the first day of school and I'm going completely out of my mind, I figured I'd just give you a quick link to an NPR feature on the One Laptop Per Child program that aired on Morning Edition today. As the piece points out,

The project has had trouble with its leadership, finances and competitors. Instead of the legacy of education for third-world children, the One Laptop Per Child program has spurred an industry in low-cost laptops for consumers.

Check out the broadcast here and check back tomorrow for a little more back to school coverage.

Topic: Laptops

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7 comments
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  • Very simply put, It became a religious war....

    Software is simply NOT a religion.

    So the software religious community needs to learn to sleep with itself.
    dragon@...
    Reply Vote

  • In retrospect, the OLPC has changed the world. Sure, it has spawned an

    industry that is more to serve rich consumers in developing countries, but, this might be the best way to get volume mass production of the components needed for the educational market. So a detour into consumer electronics might not be so bad at all. The innovations, and lower prices spawned by the OLPC will make their way back to education soon enough.
    DonnieBoy
    Reply Vote

  • RE: NPR feature on OLPC - what went wrong?

    What went wrong? That is easy to answer. Using linux. Charging quadruple the price.
    Loverock Davidson
    Reply Vote

    • Sugar, not Linux, is the problem

      Linux was not the problem, but the Sugar user interface was/is definitely a dog. Slow and non-intuitive, it's what I hate most about the thing.
      StevEnJay
      Reply Vote

  • RE: NPR feature on OLPC - what went wrong?

    As part of the Pacific OLPC rollout,I've recently done a lot of work with the "XO" energy needs. In spite of ambitious claims, ~6 Watts "out of the box" is typical, & with their 6V 3Ah battery (thus ~20Wh) only thus ~3 hours "kids level" run time results.

    Since this is only ?? a school day, XO charging needs arise! As many downtrodden regions have no mains power,kids may have to patronize street "cell phone charging" stalls or tap into generators, businesses, churches etc. Hand chargers have been now dismissed, as fatigue sets in after only ~10 minutes use.

    In sunny regions of course solar PVs appeal,but diverse tests here in NZ show the need for at least a 10W panel (~$US60),with charge times of also ~3 hours. Battery banks can ease this,but the daunting overcast & hazy skies common in many issued regions really demand larger PVs (~20W), or new era CIS (Copper Indium Selinide)panels. All up this means maybe an extra US$100 per OLPC should be considered for charging, which schools in "$1 a day" regions just can NOT afford...
    manuka@...
    Reply Vote

  • OLPC is a success, just not effectively done

    As happens with many public service organizations, it is full of people that have little idea how to handle rejection and competition. The XO-1 is an excellent piece of hardware and Sugar is a great OS for young children. I've seen 5-7 year old students pick up the interface quickly and be productive very fast. The OLPC foundation is operated like a hobby and not a business. They are difficult to approach to buy from and have no distribution partners sell for them. I think they thought if they just create a good product people would beat a path to their door. If I want 10K XO-1 and am from a developed nation, all I can do is donate 10K units to a school district and wait for them to show up some day. No pilot, no hands on for the teachers, etc... If I want the Classmate from Intel, there are a number of ISV's that will pilot and deploy the product. Run like the Red Cross or United Way, and get the product to the customer.
    jcschweitzer
    Reply Vote

    • OLPC was Unresponsive

      At George Mason University I gave my graduate students a semester project to develop connectivity and the ability to charge the laptops for OLPC. We received minimal interest from OLPC. Too bad, but they did not seem to understand the environment they were operating in.
      rpwillia0@...
      Reply Vote
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