A compilation of information and links regarding assorted subjects: politics, religion, science, computers, health, movies, music... essentially whatever I'm reading about, working on or experiencing in life.
I've blogged previously about The OLPC Project. This tablet looks like it's made by them, but it isn't. It's made by Vivitar, though it looks like OLPC authorized or commissioned it:
[...] Tablets are always a family device shared by children, parents and even grandparents. The XO Tablet is the perfect solution: a full-fledged Android tablet with Google Play for older users and the educational tablet with its own app store for children. Press one icon and the tablet changes to match the user. Parents set controls to limit child access to the Android version.
[...]
The XO Tablet is a continuation of OLPC's mission to put education and learning--through connected devices--into the hands of children around the world. OLPC's proceeds from XO Tablet purchases will be used to further develop the XO Learning software, to enable region-specific enhancements and customizations and to get connected technology to a larger population of children. OLPC, as a non profit organization, donates software, tablets, and teacher training to schools with underprivileged children in the U.S. and around the world. [...]
The reviews are mostly positive. And interestingly enough, adults seem to find it equally useful. Follow the link, there's lots more information. I've been looking at tablets, and for the price, this one seems pretty good.
[...] For $399, customers buy one OLPC XO Laptop to donate to a developing nation, and get one for themselves or to give as a gift. The G1G1 program last year initially was slated to last only one week, but was extended due to the extremely high demand placed on the company's ordering infrastructure.
The project ended up placing more than 185,000 laptops in developing countries, and according to reports, doing $2 million worth of transactions a day. OLPC says that more than $35 million was raised to fund the delivery of the XO to 31 countries.
With Amazon's assistance, this year's Give One, Get One campaign is an "ongoing" program with otherwise similar details. The $399 donation Places one XO in a developing nation, and one in the buyer's hands. [...]
The OLPC Project was having major problems with the ordering and shipping in their give one get one program. Having a business partner like Amazon.com to handle it makes a lot of sense.
Why give a laptop to a child in the emerging world? If you replace the word "laptop" with "education" the answer becomes clear. You don't wait to educate until all other challenges are resolved. You educate at the same time because it's such an important part of all the other solutions.
The XO laptop was designed especially for children. So no matter who they are or where they live, this computer has the perfect features and software to get them excited about learning. Just imagine how the world would change if every child had the tools to unleash their full potential.
For more about the project explore the links above or visit laptop.org.
If you want to own one yourself, you have to buy one to donate as well. That makes it kind of pricy, but since it is the sales model they are using, it must be working for them. I suppose if sales drop eventually, they could just sell it by itself at a price that makes a profit, with the profit going to OLPC.
This one is manufactured by the same factory (Quanta) that builds the OLPC project's XO laptop computer. It's built for a company called Norhtec, which has been making low cost micro PCs for some years now. The laptop is called the "Gecko". An excerpt from Linux Devices:
[...] The Gecko resembles several other newly launched sub-notebooks, including the Everex Cloudbook and the Asus EEE PC. Like the EEE PC, but unlike the Cloudbook, the Gecko runs a Linux OS that is actually tailored for use on small-screen displays, and it has a fairly conventional laptop trackpad.
Norhtec's MicroClient Jr.
Bangkok-based Norhtec has previously shipped several ultra low-cost Linux thin clients, including the MicroClient JrSX, as well as an earlier $100 PC called the MicroClient Jr., which runs Puppy Linux. The goal for the Gecko was to create a laptop affordable enough to sell in poorer nations, Barnes said. "We are bidding the laptop on several large developing country projects," he wrote.
Taiwanese manufacturer Quanta has some experience with laptops aimed at the developing world, having won the contract to produce One Laptop per Child's Linux-based XO-1 laptop. According to OLPC, XO-1 laptops started shipping in November, and they continue to roll out around the world, albeit at a slower pace than expected. Meanwhile Intel is selling a rival "developing-market" laptop called the ClassMate PC, and a nonprofit group called Literacy Bridge is working on a Linux-based laptop for developing markets that will serve as an audio library for a low-cost Talking Book audio player that is billed as a $5 iPod.
Availability
According to Barnes, the formal announcement for the Gecko Laptop will happen soon, and the laptop will sell for under $300. More information on Linpus Linux Lite can be found here.
It's not restricted to using Linpus, other operating systems, even Windows, can be installed on it. I think this machine will be another welcome entry in an expanding market niche. See the rest of the article for more photos and links.
As the One Laptop Per Child project moves forward, kids seem to take to the computers quickly and with enthusiasm. Even very young kids. How about a 6 year old? From the blog Suburban (in)Sanity:
My six-year-old son, Liam, and I recently attended a One Laptop Per Child networking event at the Marie Murphy school in Wilmette, IL. The event was put on by Chris Brown as part of a teacher professional development day. He invited area XO owners to come talk about our computers as well as have the opportunity to network with others in the community. One blogged about it here.
About 10-15 laptops were present at peak. We gathered around a large conference table in the resource room and quickly got to work. Liam was beyond excited to have so many “friends” show up on his neighborhood view. [...]
The kid takes to it like a duck to water, and pretty soon, he is "demoing" his computer skills to a very receptive audience. Amazing.
I once had a look at the "Sugar" software operating system used on the OLPC computers. I hated it. Most adults do, because it's too different from what we know. It's made to appeal to children who have little or no experience with computers. Even very young children. And apparently, they DO find it appealing. The OLPC project is now expanding to include US schools, with Birmingham, Alabama being the first major project here.
I posted earlier about a 10 year old British boy whose journalist father gave him a OLPC computer, only to be amazed at what the kid could do with it, and how enthusiastic he was. As more and more children are exposed to this, it seems apparent that they are very receptive to it. I find that fascinating for a variety of reasons.
I only became exposed to personal computers when I was in my mid twenties. I'm talking Timex-Sinclair and Commodore 64. I've been a computer geek ever since. But I had a childhood void of personal computers.
These kids I've posted about are part of a new wave that is just beginning. A wave of children who are being introduced to computers at a very early age. And not just rich kids in the classrooms of expensive schools, but kids from all backgrounds, everywhere.
Nothing like this has ever happened before, so we can't quite know what all the consequences will be. Like so many things, I expect there will be a mixture of good and bad. I'm not complaining about it. Even if there were a significant number of people who wanted to stop it or slow it down, I don't think it would be possible. A fully interconnected internet world is arriving now, where even children all over the planet will be able to talk to each other. It's happening NOW, right before our eyes.
In developing nations where the laptops are being used, the parents of children are asking their kids to look up stuff on the internet for them. By proxy, a whole bunch of new adults are being introduced to the internet. There is even talk now of designing a simple inexpensive laptop device like the OLPC XO, that's made for adults. This is a trend that could have big cultural effects world wide.
I love using computers. They can be very helpful tools. But they can be used for lots of other purposes as well, like entertainment and communications, a link to mass media and all the good and bad stuff that comes with it.
I remember as a kid, growing up in the 60's and 70's, listening to the old folks complain about Television being the "boob tube". They said watching too much television made people "stupid". Old folks back then remembered what life was like before the TV existed. Now many years laster, as I look at young kids and computers and the internet, I think I understand better what those old folks were seeing.
TV isn't reality. It's entertainment, fantasy. Sure sometimes it's educational or informative, but it has a large fantasy element. It isn't the REAL world, though it does interact with and claim to represent the real world, it is in so many ways, 2nd hand notions, 2nd hand experiences, unproven ideas and wild imaginings.
The same goes for the internet, but because it is interactive, perhaps it's even more so. Computers themselves are like extensions of our minds, or at least mind tools, as we interact with them so closely with our minds. Plug that into the mass media, the collective or race mind, and then spend too much time immersed in it and... I think you can lose touch with reality. You start living in a world of ideas and imagination, and stop seeing the world the way it really is, and stop seeing people the way they really are.
Our advanced Western culture is becoming so obsessed with electronics and multimedia, you would have to wonder how we will cope if an EMP pulse fries all of our electronics and we suddenly find ourselves living in a world with only the technology of the 1870's available to us? Would we understand enough about reality and the basics of living to survive?
I love computers and the internet, but I love reality too. I see computers and the internet as tools, and as entertainment to some degree. That's all for the good. I just think we have to be very careful not to lose ourselves in them, and thus our connection to reality. With children being indoctrinated into the computer lifestyle so early in life, I have to wonder if they will be able to even understand what I am talking about, much less why it is important.
Microsoft, on the other hand, seems to be getting on just fine with the OLPC project. OK, "Lovefest" might be too strong a word, but it does sound like they are getting along:
One Laptop Per Child Project (OLPC) and Microsoft are developing a dual-boot system to put both Linux and Windows on laptops.
"We are working with them [Microsoft developers] very closely to make a dual-boot system so that, like on an Apple, you can boot either one up. The version that's up and running of Windows on the XO is very fast, it's very, very successful. We're working very hard to do both," said Nicholas Negroponte, chairman of OLPC...
Whodathunkit? I think MS realizes what a unique piece of hardware OLPC has created; they want a piece of the action. Negroponte is no doubt happy to have a monied partner helping them.
I have read reports elsewhere that claim Microsoft denies the Dual Boot story. But it would seem the partnership is doing well. Negroponte seems to think so.
In another bit of news, Mary Lou Jepsen is leaving the OLPC Project to start her own hardware company. She created the amazing indoor/outdoor computer screen the OLPC XO laptop uses.
Jepsen claims that if she had been allowed to take more risks, she could have got the price of the XO down as low as $75.00! Will she do that now?
When the OLPC (One Laptop per Child) was first proposed, much was made of how impossible it was that there could ever be a $100 computer. Well, the naysayers were right. It turned out to be a $200 computer. Now, former OLPC Chief Technology Officer Mary Lou Jepsen says she can make a $75 laptop. [...]
I think I read elsewhere that Jepsen will still be a consultant to the OLPC project, and has agreed to sell them parts at cost. She wants her new company to be more than a design house, she wants to actually make parts and devices. Perhaps a $75.00 computer? I expect we are going to see some great things from her and her new company, "Pixel Qi".
I see much cheaper computers available soon... for everyone!
Can you imagine a world where everyone could talk to everyone, anywhere in the world? Not just adults, but children too?
What would happen if all the 9 year olds all over the planet were able to talk to each other? It's not a rhetorical question; it looks like we may actually find out, thanks to revolutionary new technology like the XO laptop, which is making it literally possible in the here-and-now.
Rory Cellan-Jones, in this article for the BBC News, writes about his experience with the XO laptop. He was given an XO laptop after a recent visit to Nigeria to see how the laptops were being implemented there.
Because the laptop is designed for children, he decided to give it to his 9 year old son to use. He thought the boy, Rufus, would quickly grow bored with it, but the opposite has happened. The kid not only quickly learned the software and capabilities of the computer; he ended up talking to other children with XO laptops around the world. And his dad doesn't quite understand how it is happening! A few excerpts here:
[...] Enter Rufus Cellan-Jones. He is nine, has far more experience of games consoles than computers, and has strong views on most matters.
"Looks fun," was his only comment when I handed over the small, green and white laptop, explaining that he was the only child in Britain to have one.
But very quickly he was up and running.
All I did was give him the security code for our home wireless network so he could take the XO online.
[...]
But the real surprise came one evening, when Rufus asked me to explain what his friends were telling him on the laptop.
I thought those imaginary childhood friends from years back must have returned.
But I went and had a look - and it was true - he appeared to be chatting online.
So how had he managed that?
"You go on "neighbourhood", then you go to the chat thing.
You go on Nigeria and you chat to them."
But why, if he was online with the children at the Nigerian school I had visited, were they sending messages in Spanish?
I decided he must be linking up with one of the South American schools taking part in the OLPC project but we still aren't sure quite how that is happening.
Still, Rufus is widening his social circle. " I have three friends. It's nice to talk to them. They don't speak much English but I can understand them." The conversation is not exactly sparkling, but Rufus has learned to say "Hola". [...]
The XO laptop uses something called mesh networking, which makes it easy to connect to other computers on the mesh network... even children in other countries using the OX laptop, apparently.
The software is Linux, using a Graphical User Interface (GUI) called "Sugar". The Sugar GUI is designed to make learning the computer easy for children who have never used a computer before. Thus, it's not like a conventional computer desktop.
I considered downloading it to try it out, but as I read about it, I didn't find it appealing. In a story on OLPCnews.com, a man buy's an XO for his wife for Christmas. But as he tries using it himself, he thinks she won't like it; it's not made for adults (although there is potential for an adult version of the XO to be produced).
Below you can see a Youtube video of Rufus using his XO computer, demonstrating some of it's features, and showing how he finds other children around the world on it:
The video is less than 3 minutes long. I recommend reading the rest of the BBC article for more of Rufus's opinions, and details from his dad about how it all unfolded, and what he thinks now of the potential of the OLPC Project.
I'm still wondering about the unforeseen consequences. Some people are worried that child molesters could stalk the mesh network, and lure children into dangerous situations. But that at least is being foreseen, and steps are being taken to secure the network against child predators. What I mean by unforeseen is, what will a completely internet-connected world be like? Where all the 9 year olds on the planet, where just about EVERYONE, can talk to each other?
It's never happened before. But ready or not, it's coming. If the OLPC Project fails, someone else will pick up the ball and run with it. It's inevitable. Are you ready for it? Are any of us ready?
Having failed to attract many large orders form Government purchasers, the OLPC Project is now attempting other methods for sales revenue and distribution, such as the Give One Get One program.
That's fine, as some people will do it for charitable reasons, but I doubt it's a sustainable long term strategy. I think they need to just start selling it to schools in developed nations that already have the infrastructure to support it. Not at double the price, but at a smaller markup. The profit could be used to subsidize purchases for underdeveloped nations, and the increased sales would give them the production VOLUME they desperately need to get the price lowered to the $100 they originally envisioned, making it easier to sell to (and buy for) the poorer nations it was originally designed for.
In fact, just selling it to the general public in the same way, as a long term strategy, would also benefit the project in the same way. I'm hoping they'll do it.
Some people are predicting that the OLPC Project will fail, and question if it's even realistic in it's ambitions and intentions. John Dvorak recently addressed this in an article about the OLPC project:
While I can concede that Dvorak does make some valid points, overall I think he may be too cynical. Yet we do need to heed the dangers and pitfalls he speaks of.
I've noticed there are two views of the OLPC project that tend toward extremes. The first view is that the OLPC Project will somehow magically end world poverty (instead of just enabling a bunch of kids to download porn and "Access Hollywood"). The other view is that if it can't end world poverty, it must be worthless and a waste (If it won't help everyone, then it can't help anyone).
Both views are too extreme, and thereby flawed.
There are communities of impoverished people throughout the world, who barely have enough to eat. They may not be starving, but they are still poor; they are still struggling to improve their lives, and to educate their children. These communities may have schools, but not much in the way of resources. Textbooks are expensive for them, and become outdated and wear out quickly. An OLPC laptop, with internet access, could replace those textbooks, and offer so much more as well. Sure, there are problems with setting that up. But it's not impossible.
Education, used wisely, can help people become more productive and improve their living conditions. The OLPC is not quick fix pill, but used judiciously, it has the potential to help a lot of people worldwide. Remember the old saying: feed a man a fish and you've fed him for a day; teach him how to fish, and you have fed him for the rest of his life. Knowledge can do that, and that can be what a project like OLPC can potentially do.
Much of the criticism that's been aimed at the project can actually be helpful, if it ultimately helps the project to succeed. But expectations have to be kept realistic and not extreme. It won't end world poverty, but it may be able to be developed as a useful tool to promote education, and it's resulting prosperity.
It would be like a fat lady trying to fit into a dress that's two sizes too small. Yet the increasing popularity of inexpensive low-end laptops and internet devices (with small resources) seems to be making a fat lady out of Microsoft, as Linux moves with ease into this market, and Microsoft tries to follow.
[...] Four trends: user-friendly Linux desktops, useful under-$500 laptops and desktops, near-universal broadband, and business-ready Internet office applications. Put them together and you have a revolution.
For the last two decades, we've been buying expensive desktop operating systems on business PCs running from $1,000 to $2,000. On those systems, we've been putting pricey desktop-centric office suites like Microsoft Office. That's a lot of money, and the convergence of the above trends is about to knock it for a loop.
[...]
Linux desktops run just dandy on low-end, under-$500 PCs. Vista Basic, which comes the closest to being able to run on these systems, is unacceptable since it doesn't support business networking. Office 2007 also won't run worth a darn on these systems. And somehow, I can't see Microsoft optimizing its applications to work with Google Apps instead of Exchange and SharePoint.
Put it all together, and here's what I see happening. In the next few quarters, low-end Linux-based PCs are going to quickly take over the bottom rung of computing. Then, as businesses continue to get comfortable with SAAS (software as a service) and open-source software, the price benefits will start leading them toward switching to the new Linux/SAAS office model.
You'll see this really kick into gear once Vista Service Pack 1 appears and business customers start seriously looking at what it will cost to migrate to Vista. That Tiffany-level price tag will make all but the most Microsoft-centric businesses start considering the Linux/SAAS alternative. [...]
I read in another article that MS is trying desperately to get WinXP to work on the OLPC XO laptop. But they can't, unless the units have double the memory they have now. As a result, they are trying to get the OLPC Project to build in and extra port to add up to double the memory the device currently uses.
Microsoft has wanted to dump XP and promote Vista instead. But now it finds it wants to compete in the low-end market with Linux, and Vista can't go there. It would seem that XP is going to be sticking around for a while, in some form or another, although it may have to go on a crash diet.
But will XP even be good enough (or small enough) to compete effectively with Linux in this arena? Here are some more articles that look at that, links about XP on the OLPC's XO:
I think that if MS does somehow manage to SQUEEZE WinXP onto the XO, Linux is still going to look like the better alternative. It will require more memory, which will drive up costs, and it may not be as fast as a Linux alternative on the same hardware. Linux also does not have licensing fees. It will be interesting to see what happens.
You can get one in time for Xmas. But only the first 25,000 sold in the first two weeks will be guaranteed for delivery for the Holidays. They may run out of stock quickly.
The XO laptop was originally going to cost $100, but in order for the price to be brought down that low, they need to have orders for manufacturing large quantities. So why aren't they offering it for sale to American schools first, and schools in other developed nations? They already have the infrastructure to support the units, and they also have the MONEY to buy them.
And there's no need to think only in terms of schools. If volume orders are needed to bring production costs down, then just sell it retail. The more units sold, the better.
Wayan Vota has some excellent ideas about how to sell the XO laptop in the USA; ideas that make sense and that could actually work well:
[...] But what would be the best way for One Laptop Per Child to sell its "$100 laptops" to American parents that would also support the OLPC Mission?
eBay XO-1 sales wouldn't be practical at the scale of demand OLPC has generated. eBay is only a transaction site, it has no distribution system itself and would have to partner with FedEx or UPS to get laptops to buyers.
Dell Computers might seem a good partner, they have the distribution network and sell Linux laptops already, but Michael Dell isn't sold on the OLPC goals.
CompUSA is my choice. Not only does it have distribution capacity and could offer maintenance plans, its owner Carlos Slim, already bought 250,000 laptops for OLPC Mexico for use as eBooks in libraries.
No matter the distribution model, OLPC will be sure to gain from each XO sale. Mary Lou Jepsen already hinted at "two for one" XO sales this Christmas, but exactly how would that work? [...]
The OLPC project has a unique product, but they only have a limited window of time to get it produced and distributed, if they want it to really catch on. There are already competing products about to be offered, in a similar price range, although there is some speculation about how real these offerings really are. Will they really be offered so cheaply in mass quantities, or are they just a ploy to slow momentum of the OLPC project, which is threatening market share for traditional laptop manufacturers? Here's a look at what's been happening:
OLPC has been treating the program as an education program, not a laptop program. That has been holding back sales and production. They would probably be better off just selling the laptops first, letting people do what THEY want with them. OLPC can pursue their "constructionist" education agenda later, once the units are established in schools and in use world wide. The way they have been approaching it is like putting the cart before the horse, and it's getting them nowhere.
As it is, I don't know how many units they will sell with their current plan. I wouldn't buy one, presently. It will be interesting to see how many people do, and how well it's received.
The Sinomanic Tianhua GX-1C subnotebook is designed specifically for primary and secondary school students in China. Sinomanic has created four different models for distribution to very specific markets. Will they eventually try to market it abroad? Would you buy one? (Click on image to see a larger version)
Actually, China has more than one answer. They were initially interested in the OLPC project, but changed their minds when they realized they were capable of creating similar solutions themselves. The following article by Wayan Vota at OLPCnews.com, looks at some of the solutions China has in the works:
[...] He then goes on to list the many options that Chinese parents (and kids at heart) have in the affordable computing space. Options like:
Yellow Sheep River's Municator Why should China rely on American do gooders when they can build their own cheap laptops? Yellow Sheep River has come up with a spec for a $150 Chinese Linux laptop with a 40 GB hard drive. It has Chinese Godson chips that offer similar performance to Pentium III chips that were around in the late nineties. This device also plugs into televisions. Read more here.
Dream Dragon We don't know much about this product except what we read on this website: The "Dream Dragon" computer, being developed as a joint venture by the Jiangsu Menglan Group and China's Institute of Computing Technology (ICT), is currently set to cost about US$131. It utilizes a line of low cost central processing units (CPUs) named "Loongson" being developed by the ICT and the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Like the Classmate and XO-1, it runs on Linux, though it is aimed at low income and rural Chinese students. See: this Speroforum post.
Sinomanic Sinomanic is a Chinese branded laptop that will go on the market for $129 to $392.
As of this weekend, there is yet another cheap laptop competitor in the Chinese market - none other than Lenovo, arguably the original cheap Chinese PC computer manufacturer. [...]
China isn't just working on cheap laptops for kids, but also cheap micro computers for homes, that can even plug into TV sets. It's part of a strategy to bring their large poorer inland population on-line.
Read the whole article for more links and a photo of the small (but practical?) Municator.
[...] The buttons at either side of the screen -- whichever way up the latter is orientated, I should add -- are used to turn one page forward or back. The button at the foot takes you to the contents list (and any other menus which the book may need, such as an index) and the top one is an on-off switch.
The pages themselves, as you can see, are in colour or black-and-white and can contain text in any language or font size. I've included one 'plain text' page -- it's from a short story of mine -- purely to show that in this mode (novel, textbook, article) a page will hold around twenty-five lines and (say) 250 words.
Again, this is pretty much like a paperback. As shown here and in a CAD picture, the text itself doubtless appears too small to be readable, but I have tested it upon a group of several elderly ladies whose most frequent (and gratifying) comment has been "It's lovely, I can read it without my glasses . . ." [...]
See the full article for more details and pictures. The device's designer, Martin Woodhouse, seems to be looking for investors to make the device a reality. He contacted the OLPC project, but they were not interested. I'm not surprised. They have their own financial problems, and their device promises to be an eBook reader and much more. OLPC would probably see the Woodhouse eBook as competing for the same market share. OLPC is also pursuing a vision of transforming education and learning for children worldwide; that vision, whether you agree with it or not, requires more than an eBook reader alone can offer.
For situations where children already know how to read, I think the Woodhouse eBook could be a great replacement for paper textbooks, which are expensive and can quickly become outdated.
I think the day is coming when most books are going to be available on digital eBook readers, rather than the dead trees version. I'd love to have one, as long as the screen was easy on the eyes. Think of all the shelf space you would save! You could also just download your books on-line; no waiting for boxes to be shipped - and no shipping charges. Woodhouse points out that the eBook reader could even be used for paperless newspapers and magazines.
Since it's such a good idea, why haven't we seen this adopted on a large scale already? One reason is, the technology. The screens and needed memory chips have been improving and becoming cheaper recently, so perhaps we shall see more eBooks in our future. But there are issues to be sorted out; if a book becomes a computer file, how do you keep if from being pirated? What about conflicting formats? Would there be a universal format that all eBook devices could share? Until these issues are resolved, many authors may be reluctant to have their books distributed as computer files.
Another factor is books versus the internet. Wouldn't eBooks necessarily attract people who like to read books? In our modern age, so many people seem to have given up books in favor of movie and video media. An eBook reader, no matter how good, won't let you watch streaming video of the latest antics of Paris Lohan, Brittney Hilton, Lindsey Spears and other assorted Celebutards. An eBook reader that was also an internet device WOULD let you do those things, and thus would likely be more popular.
I like internet devices, but I also like books, and Woodhouse's eBook reader sounds like just the thing to have. I don't want to read whole books while sitting at my computer; it would be great to have a small, simple and inexpensive eBook device that I could treat like a book, and take just about anywhere. I would love to download my books, and have more space on my shelves! I look forward to that day, which hopefully will come sooner rather than later.
Related Link:
Here is a compilation of my posts about the OLPC project, a topic I'm watching with great interest.
One Laptop Per Child's XO (commonly referred to as the $100 laptop) is designed to change the world by bringing computing resources to children in the developing world. But the many innovations in the XO may also end up changing the world of technology.
Here is an article that takes a really close look at the OLPC project's XO computer, which is just about to go into production on a large scale:
[...] Put simply, the XO is one of the most revolutionary computer systems that I've seen in some time. The entire time I was looking at the XO, I was thinking, why can't my new expensive laptop do this? The technologies that the OLPC's XO are introducing could go a long way towards changing the face of future systems, especially in the area of power consumption.
However, we shouldn't expect to see the OLPC start commercializing these technologies anytime soon. While there is still a possibility that XO's may be sold to the public at a price that helps subsidize their deployment to the developing world, Jepsen said that when people from Silicon Valley ask her about commercializing the XO's technologies, she says, "Get in line, you have a billion kids in front of you."
But simply by doing what they've done, the OLPC will change the laptops and systems that we will all be seeing in the near future. The XO is changing the rules of the game, and everyone will expect other manufacturers to start offering capabilities comparable to the XO (especially at premium prices).
In this article, I'll cover the core innovations I saw in both the hardware and software capabilities of the XO. By the end of this article you may be jealous of the computing resources that will be in the hands of some lucky kids in the developing world. But right now they need it more than you do. [...]
(Bold emphasis mine) The technology this machine uses is nothing short of amazing. The screen that is readable in bright sunlight is itself a marvel. But it's power usage and management is also amazing. It runs on such little energy, that a cheap solar panel can power it.
It runs on a average of 2 watts. It can go for 10 hours on a single charge. See the article for all the details, it's wonderful.
Will we have to wait forever for such a product to become available commercially? Perhaps not:
We are rapidly moving towards an interconnected world, communication wise. Devices that access the internet continue to drop in price; projects like OLPC are pushing to give every child worldwide a loptop computer with wireless internet access.
One belief behind many such projects is, that people are poor because they are uneducated; access to the internet would be educational, and therefore would help end poverty worldwide.
I would agree that the internet CAN be a great educational resource, and could HELP; however, like any resource, it can be used wisely, or squandered.
For instance, here in America, many people have internet access, including the "poor" among us. I don't doubt that some use the internet to educate themselves, to get better jobs, to and improve the quality of their lives. Yet I'm also certain that many more use it to read gossip, watch porn, hook up for sex, and otherwise use it as entertainment and distraction from more meaningful pursuits. Still others use it in malicious ways, like stalking and criminal activities.
The internet by itself does not educate people or lead to a guaranteed reduction of poverty. Trailer Trash can use it and still stay Trailer Trash, even in an advanced industrial nation like the USA, which has abundant educational opportunities.
Used with direction, purpose and guidence, the internet can undeniably be a valuable educational tool. But what about the unintended consequences of making it accessible worldwide?
In prior posts about the OLPC project and other similar programs, I've read that the parents of kids involved in these programs will sometimes come to the school with the kids, and ask their children to look things up for them on the internet.
In one video about the OLPC Project, a school in Cambodia gave laptops to kids, and even let the kids bring the machines home to use. These villagers had no electricity or running water in their homes, but they had a laptop computer! At night, it was often literally the brightest thing in the house. And if their home was within wireless range of the school, they had internet access, too. Access to streaming video, music, everything. (You can see on-line the story, a 13 minute CBS video about this)
Remember in the TV series "Star Trek", the crew had an imperative called the "Prime Directive", which forbid them from interfering with the natural development of other cultures? It also forbid them from giving advanced technologies to people who had not yet developed those same technologies. The logic behind that was, that if you gave advanced technology to people who had not yet developed the wisdom and comprehension to use it properly, the results could be disastrous... or at least, there could be unforeseen negative consequences.
So here you have these little Cambodian children, all excited about their computers. The first word they learn in English is "Google". They use all this kid-friendly software, they sing-along with the computer in English, etc. They and their families now have a portal to the rest of the technologically advanced world, via the world wide web. Is there something inherently wrong with this? No, not that we can see. It's just that their parents and grand parents and all who went before them did not have this. So in the long run, how is this going to affect and change their culture? What will the long term after effects be?
We don't really know, because nothing quite like the internet has happened before.
The internet is relatively new. Even in our own technologically advanced cultures, we are having kids being raised with the internet, which has never happened before. It's making changes that we are only beginning to see. And yet before we even fully appreciate what is happening to ourselves, we are extending it to others, to everyone.
I'm not saying I'm against it. I doubt that anyone could stop it even if they wanted to. I'm just asking, what might the unintended consequences be? And I'm asking that because, I doubt we are going to be prepared for them. Forewarned is forearmed.
In Part II of this post, I'll take a closer look at possible unintended consequences.
I'll end today's post with this simple example of the law of unintended consequences in motion:
The One Laptop Per Child project (OLPC), in it's efforts to produce and inexpensive flash-memory laptop for children in developing countries, has been inspiring competitors to create similar inexpensive laptops. One of the latest ones was recently announced by Asustek, a Taiwan company.
Predicted to be available in the 3rd quarter, the Asus Eee PC will be a flash-memory laptop made for easy access to the internet. With a built-in camera and Wi-Fi, it's aimed at a wide variety of users:
Here is a 90 second promo video for the Asus Eee PC 701 [YouTube]
[...] Jointly developed by Intel and Asustek, the Eee PC will hit the market during the third quarter, most likely in August or September. The notebook will be aimed at education users, but it should also be available more widely.
Prices are going to start at $199, rising based on the amount of flash memory that comes with the machine instead of a hard disk. Currently, Asustek plans to sell models with 4GB, 8GB, and 16GB of flash, but that may change between now and when the first Eee PCs go on sale.
Measuring 9 inches wide by 6.6 inches deep, the Eee PC 701 is about 1.5 inches thick with the screen closed and weighs just 31 ounces. Other specifications include a 7-inch monitor, a 300,000-pixel camera, 512MB of DDR2 memory, and Wi-Fi. Next year, Asustek plans to introduce a second Eee PC model, the 1001, which will have a 10-inch screen.
[...]
Whatever chip it's using, the Eee PC doesn't run hot. The prototype I tested had been running continuously for at least six hours when I picked it up, and the machine was barely warm to the touch. Asustek said the notebook can run for three hours on battery, which is sufficient for surfing the Web or checking e-mail, but I would like more. Unfortunately, Asustek doesn't have plans to offer an extended-life battery for the Eee PC. Hopefully it will offer extra batteries as an option.
The keyboard and trackpad are slightly small due to the Eee PC's size, but I was able to type comfortably. The keyboard felt fine for typing out e-mails or surfing the Web, but I prefer a full-size keyboard for typing for an extended period of time. [...]
The reviewer says the machine was running Linux (Xandros), but I have read elsewhere that it is capable of running Windows XP also.
This laptop is aimed at a broad market, and shows a lot of promise. Many see it as a blow to the OLPC project, with potential to take away OLPC's market share. In my opinion, OLPC's laptop, XO, still has many unique advantages; very low power requirements, a hand operated recharger, a screen that can be read in sunlight, and a rugged casing and design specifically developed for children. Perhaps their biggest obstacle is their marketing and distribution strategy, which relies too heavily on large orders by assorted government ministries.
[...] Now there is the ASUS Eee PC and it doesn't even pretend to be a pure education play. Oh yes, it does borrow heavily from OLPC with its tagline of "Easy to Learn, Work and Play" but do not be fooled. This is not a computer for children. This is One Low-Cost Laptop For Everyone.
With such a broad target, there are going to be instant winners and losers. The first winners will be anyone who wants a low-cost computer and can afford the $200-300 price point. This includes students and adults in the developing world who are not part of OLPC's target market of young children and might find the Sugar UI to be childish anyway. They are now going to be seen as a viable market, one even giants like Intel should focus research, development, and production resources to serve. [...]
OLPC has awakened awareness of new potential markets for fanless, flash-memory, low power use, low cost laptops, and it's only natural that laptop makers will start to compete for market share. OLPC's XO laptop is unique, as it aims to reach not just children, but the poorest, the least likely to afford a computer, and is constructed to function in environments where more typical laptop technology and construction would not fair well.
The OLPC XO laptop thus has unique advantages in the education market, but much depends on HOW it is used:
The CBS program "60 Minutes" recently did a feature on their show about the OLPC Project (One Laptop Per Child). OLPC is a non-profit organization devoted to developing a $100 laptop that could replace textbooks for children in developing nations, and greatly improve educational standards and opportunities.
The video is 13 minutes long, and is available on the CBS website:
The page has a transcript of the story, as well as link to the video that was aired. I strongly recommend watching the video; it's a fascinating story, and a look at the vision OLPC is working to create.
During the course of the interview, the head of the OLPC Program, and it's inspiration, Nicholas Negroponte, blasts Intel, which has a competing product, The Classmate PC. He claims Intel is selling their laptop at reduced cost, to undermine the OLPC project. Says Negroponte:
[...] For Nicholas Negroponte it’s not just business – it’s personal. It’s about his dream, his baby.
"Has Intel hurt you and the mission?" Stahl asks.
"Yes, Intel has hurt the mission enormously," Negroponte says.
These laptops are prototypes. To get them into mass production, Negroponte needs at least 3 million orders which he thought he’d have by now. But so far he has lots of promises but no definite orders.
And he blames Intel. He spends almost all his time – about 330 days a year he says – lobbying government officials, going from one country to the next. [...]
(bold emphasis mine) What the program isn't telling you, is why governments are hesitating to place orders.
Negroponte is fond of saying that OLPC isn't a laptop program, it's an EDUCATION program. That's debatable. But there is no doubt that Negroponte has particular educational uses in mind with his laptop. Apparently he does not believe in structured curriculum or testing; teachers are supposed to be "co-learners" rather than leaders; he has some very free-thinking ideas about learning. One Laptop Per Child has based their project on a teaching method called Constructionism.
I have no objection to that; it's fine to try new things. If it works, fine. If it doesn't, then we still can learn from that. But the government education ministries and departments who are interested in purchasing these laptops don't necessarily want to spend millions to experiment on their kids: they want a solid curriculum. Some have said they want the option to run Windows and more conventional software on the laptops. The OLPC laptop, at present, can't run Windows. It uses a customized version of Linux.
Other companies, like Intel, are offering more options. Intel's Classmate PC can use Windows or Linux. If Negroponte wants to be the only game in town, so he can push his "Constructionist" education agenda, then he's not being realistic, or fair. Having multiple choices is better for everyone.
Wayan Vota at OLPC News makes the case that the competition between OLPC and Intel is a GOOD thing:
[...] In his 60 Minutes interview, Negroponte says that "Yes, Intel has hurt the mission enormously," while in a recent lecture at MIT he accused Intel of trying to sell Classmates below cost just to dissuade governments from committing to OLPC. Professor Negroponte's summation of all this?:
"Intel should be ashamed of itself. It’s just – it’s just shameless."
Actually, no, Dr. Negroponte, its not shameless at all, its competition. Beneficial competition for everyone involved: OLPC, Intel, and the developing world.
First off, the pressure from Intel has made OLPC more responsive to government realities. Gone is Negroponte' arrogance around only dealing with heads of state and only for one million unit orders. He is now more open to different stakeholders and more manageable laptop lots. Gone is a Constructionist focus from the OLPC mission statement, replaced by a new-found focus on educational content.
Next, Intel is engaging in the All-American game of catch-up to the OLPC thought leadership. Intel is increasing its focus on the developing world as a real market, by developing new computing products like the Classmate PC. It is also centering the World Ahead program on the developing world outside of India and China. Last but not least, OLPC has broken Intel from its Microsoft myopia, spurring a Linux Classmate PC.
Now the real winners in this competition are the people in the developing world. [...]
Bravo! Wayan nails it down! See the full article for the embedded links, and further examples of why this competition is all for the good.
And Bravo to the OLPC team, for thinking outside of the box and creating an incredible machine that many people thought could not be done. Now, instead of whining about competition, think outside the box again and start marketing what you created, in order to finance the mission's vision.
OLPC's XO laptop can revolutionize the laptop industry, not just in developing countries, but worldwide. Many people, adult individuals as well as students in the developed and prosperous nations, would gladly pay for a commercial version, which could subsidize the OLPC Project. Some capitalistic savy and know-how can even help the dreams of a non-profit organization come true. Let's hope the OLPC project decides to take the best of both worlds and run with it.
Here is a video, about 6 minutes long, about the OLPC (One Laptop Per Child) project. The project team members talk about their work on the project, about what they have done and what they are attempting to do.
I've previously posted about the OLPC project, (One Laptop Per Child), making cheap laptop computers availible for children in developing nations. Well, it seems they aren't the only ones. OLPC has competition.
Intel has created a similar, but more expensive flash memory laptop called The Classmate PC. It uses 1 to 2 gigs of flash memory, can run Windows or Linux, and is currently in the $400 price range.
They are higher priced than the OLPC machines, which last I heard were going to be $175 each. But the Classmate also has a bit more ability; it's able to run a version of Windows XP, which the OLPC machine is unable to do currently.
The Classmate PC program is also a bit further along than OLPC, having already produce and tested units in the field.
The devices have already undergone trial runs in Nigeria and Brazil, where they have been enthusiastically embraced. Intel has two videos from these trials on their website:
This pilot project launched in September 2006, at the Junior Secondary School in Jabi, Abuja, after a brief training session for four of the teachers. It has successfully completed its first academic term in the school curriculum.
The project objective was to explore the outcomes of a one-on-one experience of students with their own Intel powered classmate PC: how effective will new technology be as teachers teach students utilizing this new platform?
The EEBP Bradesco Foundation of Campinas was established in 1975 to provide education for the children of employees. It subsequently expanded its mission to reach under priveldged children across the region and provide educational and professional opportunities to them.
The foundation currently serves approximately 3,200 students ages 6 to 15 years old, as well as offering adult literacy courses.
This is great for the kids. The price of the laptops will probably drop, the more they are mass produced. Also, flash memory is being increasingly used in cell phones, ipods, pen drives and other devices; the more the chips are produced in mass quantities, the lower the price will, as it has been doing.
Both the Classemate PC and the OLPC units are made for children in schools; they are not available to the general public. Both programs take steps to insure that the units do not get stolen or resold for uses outside of schools.
Will such devices ever become available for the rest of us? Samsung is already making flash memory laptops for adults. They are still very pricey, but the prices will continue to fall as they become more common, and flash memory chips get cheaper.
I've read that India is also working on a classroom flash memory laptop of it's own. I've no doubt that the factories that build these kinds of machines are working on higher end commercial versions to sell eventually. But they have to be careful to not suddenly undercut the market for regular laptops, which these factories make for their big brand-name clients. It is most likely through those same clients that they will release flash memory machines for the rest of us.
If you would like to read a review of the Classmate PC, Riyad Emeran at TrustedReviews.com has one from last September:
CBS TV's "60 Minutes" will feature the Linux-powered OLPC (One Laptop Per Child) device on Sunday, May 20 at 7 p.m. EDT/PDT. Project director Nicholas Negroponte will talk about his dream of putting a laptop computer into the hands of every child as an educational aid.
CBS correspondent Lesley Stahl will report on the project's progress in such countries as Cambodia and Brazil. [...]
That should be interesting. See the link for more details.
The One Laptop Per Child project, devoted to making low cost laptop computers available for schoolchildren in third world countries, is now considering also making the laptops available here in the USA.
The director of software for the nonprofit One Laptop Per Child project believes there is a big market for the self-powered machines in the U.S., provided the user wants to perform basic computer functions.
"The XO machine is quite sweet," the OLPC's Walter Bender wrote in an email to DesktopLinux.com today. "I guess the question boils down to what you want to do with the machine.
"If the goal is browse the web, send email, VOIP, chat, video conference, play movies and music, read, write, compose, draw, program, etc., then the XO is a great machine. If you want to play 'Grand Theft Auto III,' then it leaves something to be desired. From all indications, there is lots of demand for the former," Bender wrote.
Reuters news reported last week that OLPC founder Nicholas Negroponte recently said that the OLPC might market a version of its laptops in the U.S., reversing its previous position of only distributing them to the poorest nations.
"We can't ignore the United States. ... We are looking at it very seriously," Negroponte told at a press conference in Cambridge, Mass., according to the Reuters report.
Once known as the $100 laptop, the lime-green-and-white devices apparently are increasing in price. In February, the project estimated said they would sell for $150 each. Negroponte said their price tag for U.S. children would be $176 apiece, Reuters reported.
The laptop features a string pulley to charge its battery, a keyboard that switches between languages, a digital video camera, wireless connectivity, and an open-source Linux operating system tailored for remote regions. [...]
The article goes on about the potential for the US market (they cite a school laptop program in Maine, which I remember received a lot of enthusiastic support), and gives more details about the production of the units and the projects current status.
When I first heard about this project, I thought that it could also benefit kids right here at home. Why not sell it in the US, for a slightly higher price, and use the profits to subsidize the charity part of giving the units away to poor children? It looks like they are now considering doing just that.
I think they should also consider selling it commercially, to anyone who wants it. Why limit it to just kids? I think there are a lot of adults who would like to buy an inexpensive laptop that would let them do the things most people are interested in doing with their computers. Profits could then be used to subsidize the school programs. I hope they will do that eventually.
These laptops are a whole new way of thinking about and using computers. Hard drives are not the necessity they used to be, especially with Linux, and larger memory modules that can hold and run the entire operating system along with data files in RAM. I wish the project great success.
