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OLPC

(One Laptop per Child, Cambridge, MA, www.laptop.org) A research initiative of MIT Media Labs devoted to the creation of a $100 PC for educating children in developing countries around the world....

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Definition: OLPC

(One Laptop per Child, Cambridge, MA, www.laptop.org) A research initiative of MIT Media Labs devoted to the creation of a $100 PC for educating children in developing countries around the world. Founded in 2005 by Nicholas Negroponte, chairman and founder of the Labs, OLPC laptops are geared to the educational ministries of governments that can purchase thousands of units at a time.

Taiwan-based Quanta Computer was selected as the original design manufacturer (ODM), and manufacturing began in late 2007. Although $100 was the target, a manufacturing cost of around $190 was announced for the first run of 300,000 units, a smaller order than anticipated.

Linux Based - No Hard Disk
The laptop is powered by an x86-based 433 MHz CPU from AMD with 256MB of RAM and runs under Red Hat's Fedora Linux; however, support for Windows XP was also announced in 2007. The laptop has three USB ports, 1MB of flash memory for storage and Wi-Fi. Using a mesh configuration, Wi-Fi enables an entire village to be interconnected. A key factor in producing such a low-cost machine is a unique, 7.5" dual-mode display that enables black and white viewing in bright sunlight.

Unexpected Competition
Although orders for millions of OLPCs were expected by 2007, Intel managed to persuade several countries to switch to its own low-cost PC introduced in May 2006 (see Classmate). Although Negroponte admonished Intel for interfering with his non-profit venture to help the poor, soon after, both organizations decided to collaborate. Intel joined OLPC's board to help design future products, but withdrew its support in January 2008.


OLPC

The Prototype
The OLPC was designed to help educate and stimulate millions of kids in countries that would otherwise not have access to computing resources on an individual basis. (Image courtesy of the fuse-project.)



OLPC

An XO Machine Running Sugar
Since the OLPC's logo is an abstract person (X for the body; O for the head), the OLPC is sometimes called the \"XO\" computer. Its graphical interface is \"Sugar,\" which differs from business desktops. Designed for children, Sugar boots up with icons of \"friends\" and \"activities.\" (Image courtesy of One Laptop Per Child, www.laptop.org)





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  • Gallery: OLPC 3.0 - under $100 laptop

    One Laptop per Child (OLPC) outlined its future roadmap, including plans for the XO 3.0, a device "well below $100" that utilizes a design that mimics a piece of paper.

    Image galleries | December 23, 2009 4:53am PST

  • OLPC drops AMD for Via chip

    As part of a wider hardware refresh, the XO laptop for education in developing countries will get a Via C7-M instead of an AMD Geode processor.

    News items | April 20, 2009 6:43am PDT

  • Analyst: OLPC won't draw global PC makers

    Analyst says major PC manufacturers aren't interested in OLPC's open design but it may catch the eye of whitebox vendors who are looking to diversify.

    News items | February 27, 2009 5:01am PST

  • OLPC to laptop makers: Use our design

    At the TED 2009 conference, Nicholas Negroponte says that OLPC's open-source hardware design will result 5 to 6 million new machines every month within three years.

    News items | February 9, 2009 5:28am PST

  • OLPC faces 'vicious' rivalry in laptop market

    One Laptop per Child exec David Cavallo says the organization welcomes new entrants to the low-cost laptop market, but describes the response of some competitors as "unfortunate."

    News items | September 17, 2008 12:28pm PDT

  • Intel chairman pursues passions

    ZDNet correspondent Sumi Das speaks with Craig Barrett at the Intel Developer Forum about his quest to introduce technology as a means of advancing education in developing nations. Barrett gives...

    Videos | August 21, 2008 12:54pm PDT

  • Photos: OLPC's new $75 XO-2 laptop

    The One Laptop Per Child program hopes for a needed boost with a second generation laptop which is geared toward kids in developing countries.

    Image galleries | May 21, 2008 7:38am PDT

  • The OLPC XO Sugar OS

    Hands on with the XO interface using a VMWare image

    Image galleries | January 14, 2008 1:06pm PST

  • Unboxing OLPC's XO laptop

    The XO laptop has landed. Here's a look at the out of the box experience.

    Image galleries | January 10, 2008 6:54am PST

  • Classmate PC and Asus Eee at IDF

    The Classmate PC and Asus Eee were on display at the Intel Developer Forum.

    Image galleries | September 28, 2007 10:43am PDT

  • OLPC spawns another non-OLPC

    No matter how you feel about the One Laptop Per Child project, there is no doubt that it is influencing computing, especially mobile computing, in a number of important ways. Intel has already...

    Blog posts | June 6, 2007 8:02pm PDT

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