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More signs of OLPC woe?

A number of outlets highlighted the removal of OLPC's "Give a School" small donation program from its website, giving rise to further concerns about its long-term plans in small markets. The Give a School program allowed donors to provide up to 100 XO laptops for small-scale deployments that have seen some success outside of large government initiatives.
Written by Christopher Dawson, Contributor

A number of outlets highlighted the removal of OLPC's "Give a School" small donation program from its website, giving rise to further concerns about its long-term plans in small markets. The Give a School program allowed donors to provide up to 100 XO laptops for small-scale deployments that have seen some success outside of large government initiatives.

Donors still have the option of simply paying OLPC $199 to donate a laptop to the cause, although it is unclear when or how this laptop would be deployed. This is different from the Give a School model:

The Give a School program was defined as a "special program that allows donors to choose the country where the laptops go."

As one blogger and organizer put it,

"This is a blow to future small deployments in South Africa, as we have over 600 XOs deployed in South Africa through this program with more that were planned," he wrote. A nonprofit organization was being set up to raise funds and coordinate deployments, but that will be to "no effect" unless laptops from other vendors are used...

What does this mean for the organization? Is this just a component of a very necessary reorganization and turn towards development of OLPC's XO 2.0 laptop? Or is this another sign that the company simply can't support smaller deployments, instead relying on major government purchases to sustain its efforts?

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