OLPC gets a name: the CM1, or Children's Machine

So, it's official: the hundred-plus-dollar laptop spearheaded by Nicholas Negroponte -- and called the OLPC up to this point for lack of better terminology -- can now be definitively referred to as the CM1, or The Children's Machine. The 7.5-inch, 1,200 x 900 pixel configurable and mesh-networkable notebook, which runs a Fedora Linux distro powered by a 400MHz AMD Geode processor, is meant to supply kids in developing countries with a super-cheap way to access the Internet and thus bridge the so-called technological divide. Although India has publicly scorned the string-powered lappy as "pedagogically suspect," several other nations have expressed interest in submitting the minimum required order of one million units; so unless players like Microsoft suddenly swoop in with their own alternatives, it looks like the CM1 is well on its way to seeing widespread distribution. Three cheers for The Children's Machine, and three more for the fact that we can stop awkwardly referring to this product by the name of the project.

[Via OLPC News]

[Jiggsaw @ Aug 24th 2006 1:59PM]

They don't look chinese .. so what do you think - Thai? Laotian? maybe phillippanese.

[mike p @ Aug 24th 2006 2:07PM]

ahh yes, the country could spend that money on better stuff but why do that when you can waste it instead!

[smellybum @ Aug 24th 2006 2:11PM]

thats special.what about americas techlogical divid i am postin at a lieberry computer

[Karl Viklund @ Aug 24th 2006 2:23PM]

I want one I want one! :)

[Raider @ Aug 24th 2006 2:27PM]

Ah yes, the Tellytubby of notebooks. Now where is the gay purple one? LOL

[Nick @ Aug 24th 2006 2:27PM]

why do kids from 3rd world countries need computers. give them some food or water. OLPC is the stupidest plan ever.

[John @ Aug 24th 2006 2:30PM]

Of course its called the Children's machine. It already has five trapped inside it.

[Karl Viklund @ Aug 24th 2006 2:32PM]

Nick, that was the most stupid comment ever. It's obvious that you don't understand anything of this or what it's all about.

[mark rollins @ Aug 24th 2006 2:36PM]

Sad to say "Nick" is 100 correct.

You can cite "Internet economy" or whatever BS you want, but most of the people in the countries that the computer is aimed at are illiterate and quite literally dying for food and/or uncontaminated water!

Get away from the front of your computer screen and go to a church and see what their Missions are sending overseas.

[Brian @ Aug 24th 2006 2:39PM]

I would like to buy one of these.

[aeo @ Aug 24th 2006 2:44PM]

OMG.. if they use Dell/Sony batterys in these things it could be genocide!!

[wayan @ Aug 24th 2006 2:47PM]

Oh I can't wait to buy a OLPC CM1. I know the the perfect kid (at heart) for it too!

Buy Info: http://www.olpcnews.com/sales_talk/price/buying_a_olpc_laptop.html

[CRS @ Aug 24th 2006 2:55PM]

I guess they could always sell it on eBay for some lunch money.

[Serge @ Aug 24th 2006 2:55PM]

but does it have snakes

on a plane?

[Kspraydad @ Aug 24th 2006 3:13PM]

Microsoft will wait 3 years then come out with a Zune branded version and kill the OLPC crew...

[marc @ Aug 24th 2006 3:14PM]

I spent a few years living in South Africa and will always remember my trips to the townships. In Soweto I saw a fantastic university and quite a few schools. There is no way that the students could afford a Mac, so this is great news.

Probably the same in favelas and other deprived communities all over the world.

I think this is one of the great projects that will truly improve people's lives and it is every bit as worthy as the church and its missions. It's not like the church has nothing to answer for anyway, Mark, their hardline stance on condoms is pretty much orphaning millions of babies.

It is a fact that there are hundreds of millions of children around the world that have no access to a classroom or a library. This new device helps to educate a new generation. It will help rural communities that quite often mistrust each other to start talking to one another. It will give people without a voice an audience.

I wish it every luck in the world. You might not have guessed it, but I'm a big fan of this project.

[Vyenpakakapaka @ Aug 24th 2006 3:15PM]

=O aeo is right...what if they use Sony/Dell/Apple/Whatever batteries?

Nick has a point, too. This is a great cause, don't get me wrong, but a) the computers are extremely out-of-date, and b) people need food, water, clothing, and education before a computer.

But who am I to decide?

[Brado @ Aug 24th 2006 3:22PM]

To those detractors, this is clearly not a project that's supposed to replace clothing, water and housing. Merely it is a tool and a window, which if exercised correctly, can help alleviate problems caused by an insufficent amount of teachers and resources but can also open a whole new dimension of learning. Education can help those out of poverty too.

And these computers are not necessarily going to less developed countries (who really need help in other areas) but ones that have sound infrastructures but not enough resources to say, pull off something similar to the Maine Laptop Project (which was highly successful, enough to make other states follow suit).

[Pedro @ Aug 24th 2006 3:39PM]

Legally, I am still a child. Unfortunately (if that's how you want to look at it), I live in the UK.

This laptop would be perfect for me - if I want more processing power I can use a desktop - I need something that's quiet, doesn't overheat (or explode) and is nice and portable but I can't afford anything I like. The price is right and I actually like what they look like...

If it went for $150 I'd buy one.

[Goodman @ Aug 24th 2006 3:40PM]

>most of the people in the countries that the computer is aimed at are illiterate

The most recent Engadget article suggested that countries that were interested in the CM1 included Argentina, Nigeria, Brazil, and Thailand. Their literacy rates are 97.2% 66.8%, 88.4% and 92.6%. Plenty literate to make use of the CM1. And perhaps the CM1 would actually encourage greater literacy. Certainly, anything that affordably supports and encourages education is a good thing for any country.

[GothSquirrel @ Aug 24th 2006 4:20PM]

Damn I wish i could digg some of you down, I'm talking to you snakes on a plane guy, But Hell yeah i want one and is it just me or does it look like the screen flips over and has a gamepad like interface. Could be great for some emulation.

[Alex @ Aug 24th 2006 4:39PM]

is it me, or is that a _really_ high resolution screen? i mean, some 17" screens have 1440x900 res, and this is about 1/4 of the screen real estate and has 1200x900 res.

I'd buy 6 of these just for the screens and combine them somehow to make a big, 3600x1800 display or something for like $500.

[rodan32 @ Aug 24th 2006 4:51PM]

Well, I'd like to see this have a real impact on education and opportunity in depressed nations. There's a real potential to do some good here. Unfortunately, there's a real potential to see these hacked into spam servers sending out emails from nigerian royalty asking for my help with extracting funds etc. . . The chances that these get to the kids and actually have a postitive impact are slimmer than I would hope. But still, I'm behind it, and I hope it works well.

[Jason @ Aug 24th 2006 4:56PM]

Is that a camera lens above the right speaker? No way right?

I'd pay $250 for two and send one to a child.

[Enzo @ Aug 24th 2006 5:08PM]

Whatever happened to that thing where you signed to buy three of these for $300 and donate two of them? I'd still do that

[Biggsaw @ Aug 24th 2006 5:14PM]

Why, Jiggsaw? Planning an erotic trip?

[matthew @ Aug 25th 2006 10:21AM]

looks very reminiscent of the old clamshell ibook to me. Oh for originality.

[SlyckStyx @ Aug 25th 2006 11:17AM]

marc - "[The CM1] will give people without a voice an audience"

Let's hope the audience knows sign language...::wink::

On a more serious note: imagine...putting millions of laptops into the hands of the next generation of imaginative little minds, creating an entire generation of 3rd-world l33t haxors!!!1!

[Shannon @ Aug 25th 2006 2:31PM]

I really liked the idea of selling them commercially for twice the price so that you could buy one for your kid and it would also buy one for some third world kid.

[Kevin M. @ Aug 25th 2006 8:32PM]

Ubuntu would have more... apt (pun intended, but not at first) but Fedora is a decent OS.

[Corey @ Aug 26th 2006 6:24PM]

Rather than bypassing the original problem of a lack of resources to educate, shouldn't a potential £100 million (because thats the minimum spend here) be spent by a government in training more adults to teach children?

I know in the grand scheme of things, that this may not go as far in the longterm because you still need to keep supplying more money for education resources, but it makes sense to me (and possibly only me) to use that initial proposed investment to fund real improvements in whatever way possible rather than trying to solve the worlds problems with more computers.

[Brent @ Sep 21st 2007 7:50PM]

I want to buy one for my daughter. Where can we get one?

[Brent @ Sep 21st 2007 7:51PM]

I want to buy 1 for my daughter. make some money selling them!!!!