The OLPC tablet, with Android

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:

XO 7-inch Kids Tablet XO-780

[...] 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.
   

Amazon.com now sells OLPC's XO laptop

Amazon/OLPC 'Give One, Get One' store opens

[...] 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.

The ordering page at Amazon.com is here:

Amazon.com's OLPC G1G1 page

Give One. Get One.

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.
     

Win XP gets reprieve, while Linux advances

When Windows Vista was released, support for Windows XP was supposed to end, but Microsoft keeps extending the support deadline as Windows Vista continues to have so many problems.

There are several reasons for this. A whole slew of inexpensive sub-laptops, commonly called UMPCs (Ultra Mobile Personal Computers), in the $200-$300 range. The profit margins on such devices is very small. Linux is free, and using it instead of Windows increases the profit margins for manufacturers.

Windows Vista also has a problem with UMPCs - it doesn't fit! It's memory requirements are too big, and can't be scaled down. But Windows XP can, and a scaled down version of XP has been made to compete with Linux in the UMPC market. Linux is still free, but XP has name recognition, and may keep Microsoft in the game on the lower end of the PC market.

With higher end computers, Microsoft has been losing market share to Apple. Thats been bad for Microsoft and PC manufacturers, who are also looking at Linux as an alternative to offer their customers who do not want Windows Vista. MS is still pushing Vista, but many people would rather have XP. There are plans for a service pack 3 for Windows XP, and some people are saying MS may be forced to continue supporting XP, because it is currently the most popular version of Windows.

Of all the versions of Windows I've used, I'd have to say XP is my favorite. It's not perfect, but it's been the most stable I've used and has had the least hardware and software compatibility problems. IMO, MS should have continued selling PC's with XP and Vista concurrently, giving customers a choice. They had an overlap period with Windows 98 and XP, and they should have done that again with XP and Vista, till the bugs in Vista were worked out. Instead they tried to force Vista on people, and now it's costing them market share as people turn to alternatives.

You can read more detailed analysis of these issues in the following articles:

Microsoft To Give XP Stay of Execution - for Budget Laptops

What do you do if your flagship operating system isn't designed to run well on a popular new class of hardware? It's a problem currently faced by Microsoft. Budget laptops like the Asus Eee PC with minimal amounts of RAM, relatively slow CPUs, and solid state storage have proven popular, and Vista wasn't designed to operate well within such hardware confines. In response, Microsoft is reportedly planning to extend the availability of Windows XP for the budget laptop category.

[...]

According to a report from InfoWorld, Microsoft is expected to make XP's stay of execution for budget laptops official later this week. A version of the Asus Eee PC with Windows XP is due to hit the market later this month, and early indications are that it will run XP just fine.

There has been a lot of resistance to Windows XP's imminent demise, with InfoWorld circulating a petition in an attempt to convince Microsoft to relent. XP is by far the OS with the largest installed base in the world; users and administrators alike are comfortable with it and some would love to continue using it indefinitely. [...]

Cheap Machines Give Linux Foothold in Desktop-PC World

[...] Laptops under $400 are real possibilities now, and some of the most buzz-worthy use Linux, such as Asustek Computer Inc.'s EeePC and the One Laptop Per Child Foundation's $200 "XO" computer for schoolchildren.

Linux also is available on slim little "netbooks" being pushed by Intel Corp.

Not only is Linux essentially free to the PC vendor, but the operating system also is better suited than Vista for cheap PCs' spartan hardware designs.

(Windows XP is available on scaled-back PCs like Intel's Classmate, but it's unclear what will happen after Microsoft soon stops selling XP to the general public.)

Amazon.com's top-selling PCs include several Asustek Linux machines.

Although Wal-Mart Stores Inc. recently stopped a test run of selling Linux PCs in some stores, the company says it will continue to offer them online.

Business computing suppliers are finding open-source desktops especially gaining traction in cost-conscious developing markets. [...]

Linux's Impact: The Return of XP

[...] "In the long run," Jim Zemlin, executive director of the Linux Foundation, told me in a recent conversation, "as hardware prices continue to come down and the cost of the operating system makes up more of the cost, Linux simply offers hardware vendors better margins. Thanks to that alone, Linux must continue to gain market share."

Microsoft, however, seems to have been waking up to the fact that it's stuck between Linux on the low end and Mac OS on the high end. It seems all but certain that Microsoft is going to keep Windows XP alive longer than it had planned.

That's the bad news. Microsoft had first planned to start taking XP out of circulation on June 30. Compared with Vista, or ME II as some of us have taken to calling it, Linux has been making serious inroads. XP, however, remains popular. XP Service Pack 3, whenever it comes out, is Microsoft's best Windows ever. [...]

This last article also has details about "Atom", which is not only Intel's smallest chip to date, it also only uses only 2.4 watts compared with today's average laptop, which uses 35 watts. It performs exceptionally well with Linux. Read the details, it may be one of the next Big Things.

Microsoft has some real competition now. Thank goodness. It can only benefit the consumer.

UPDATE 11:30pm:

It's official, no reprieve after June 30:

Microsoft Windows XP Dies June 30, as Planned

They will stop selling it after June 30th, they will still support it for a while yet. MS feels that those that want it have plenty of time to buy it over the next couple of months. But it will be still offered on low-end UMPCs:

[...] Windows XP Home and Starter editions will still be preloaded on ultra-low-cost PCs through June 30, 2010, or one year after the launch of the next version of Windows - whichever comes first, the company said. [...]

That's interesting. Are they expecting the "next version" of Windows, post-Vista, to be able to fit on both low-end and high end machines? They certainly aren't committed to keeping XP for UMPCs past 2010, though a lot could happen between now and then. I suppose we shall see, eventually.