“I want to thank you people because you had given us the laptop and I love it so much.” – note from a child in third world
It is an exciting time right now for the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) program. The momentum is beginning to reappear and personally I feel excited to be a part of this. For those of you keeping tabs on this, new to the program, or just looking to learn I have culled together some great new pieces. First, is the recent email sent out by the OLPC team to those who it labels “first day” donors. Make sure to read this link as it will explain a lot:
The OLPC program recently launched a buy one/get one program. Where folks can finally get a hold of the XO laptop by purchasing two. One will be donated to the third world and the other will be available for personal use. This program began on November 12, 2007 and those folks who purchased on that day are being called “first day” donors. It also looks like those folks will be given preferential treatment, receiving the personal laptop first. They are to be shipped between Dec 14-24, 2007. There is no mention of when the donated ones will be shipped, although it does state the countries they will be going to: Afghanistan, Cambodia, Haiti, Mongolia, or Rwanda.
I am a bit miffed that the OLPC team is being ambiguous about the donated laptops. It would be neat to know specifically where they went, how the child is using them, why they were chosen, etc, etc. Does not seem that hard to do and would really create some excitement for us over here.
Still I don’t want to poo-poo too much. This is exciting and we are truly becoming a part of an “international education community.” The OLPC crew is doing a great job of making us feel like we are a part of something big too.
Ok, so news:
- Uruguay recently decided to purchase 100,000 for its children, and has plans to buy more (one for every child in the country). See other countries joining in..
- Nicholas Negroponte (founder of the program) is himself miffed after several verbal commitments from world leaders have not translated into action.
- The mesh network for the laptops is causing some excitement. It allows multiple computers to gain internet access if one laptop can get a connection. The speed is diminished, of course, but something is better than nothing. (details)
- Frapper Map – see who is buying, where they live, and what they are saying
- YouTube Channel for OLPC – enjoy!
- I can’t forget the Wikipedia article and its external links section, very informative.
Finally, those interested in keeping up with all of this can visit the OLPC wiki. I haven’t dug too deep in it yet, but the main page is very informative.
Please, send me any questions or comments. I hope this encourages others out their to join up as well. If money is an issue you can do what I did, get a few friends together to share the costs, share the laptop, and giving something back together.