Negroponte announces OLPC for eBay, shows off pull-string

For half the people we talk to, it seems like they could care less if the OLPC project ends world hunger or raises up a new generation of computer-savvy children in third world countries -- they just want to talk about how totally awesome the pull-string generator is. We admit, the idea of having a younger sibling revving up your battery while you try to install Doom is a truly confident leap into the 21st century, and now we've finally got an idea of what the pull-string unit will look like, thanks to a recent presentation by Negroponte. In other, possibly more relevant news, it looks like the 2B1 laptop will be available for sale to the western world, via eBay of all places. The laptops are expected to go for $450, with a $350 tax deduction, and the surplus would go towards buying a machine for needy children. All we ask is that they include the generator with that package, 'cause it's really half the fun.

[Via OLPC News]

[electronicstradefair5 @ Jun 4th 2009 9:28PM]

TRADEFAIRS [UK] LTD

LOCATION: united kingdom

EMAIL ADDRESS:[e-mail]

CHAT ON MSN MESSENGER : [e-mail]

cHAT ON YAHOO MESSENGER:[e-mail]

Telephone number : [phone]

We are international wholesale dealers of mobile phones ,laptops , ipods and other electronics products .We ship worldwide directly to your door step via fedex/UPS shipping company .
Here is our product pricelist :

DIGITAL CAMERA

NIKON D70.....$240USD
NIKON D80 ......$370USD
NIKON D200.....$500USD
NIKON D40.......$180USD
Canon EOS 40D SLR Digital Camera Body only...$620usd ,
Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi ......$500USD
Canon PowerShot SD500 digital camera.....$330USD
Canon PowerShot SD850 IS ELPH Digital Camera....360USD,
Canon Powershot S5 Digital Camera...$280USD,
Canon A1 35mm SLR camera ......$400USD
Canon PowerShot G9 Digital Camera...$420USD,
canon PowerShot A560 7.1MP Digital Camera with 4x Optical Zoom.......$540USD
Canon PowerShot A560 Silver Digital Camera...390USD

CANON-POWERSHOT-TX1. With the PowerShot TX1......$350USD

VIDEO GAMES

PLAY STATION 2 ...$110USD
PLAYSTATION 3 20GB...$200USD
PLAY STATION 3 40GB...$220USD
PLAY STATION 3 60GB ..$260USD
PLAY STATION 3 80GB...$310USD
XBOX 360ARCADE.....$ 180USD
XBOX 360 2OGB ....$160US*D
XBOX 360 ELITE BLACK 120GB...$240USD
NINTENDO WII.....$180USD
CONTROLES WI-FI.....$200USD

IPODS AND ITOUCH

POD GENERATION 5.5 LIST OF 80GB IPOD CLASSIC ....$240USD
IPOD 160 GB IPOD CLASSIC .......$270USD
8GB APPLE TOUCH .....$170USD
16G APPLE ITOUCH...$220USD
32GB APPLE ITOUCH....$330USD
4GB IPOD NANO....$140USD
8GB IPOD NANO.....$160USD
20GB IPOD VIDEO ....$200USD
30GB IPOD VIDEO ......$220USD
40GB IPOD VIDEO.....$250USD
60GB IPOD VIDEO....$270USD
80GB IPOD VIDEO....$300USD




Nokia 8800 sorocco......$340USD
NOKIA N95 8GB....$300usd
NOKIA N95 8GB ....$330USD
NokIA N96 16GB ...$360USD
NOKIA 5700 XPRESS MUSIC
NOKIA N81 8GB....$280usd
NOKIA N93i......$250usd
NOKIA E65.......$190USD
Nokia E90......$350USD
NOKIA N81 8GB....$250USD
NOKIA N80 .... $170USD
NOKIA N73 MUSIC EDITION ..$220USD

Nokia N95.......$300usd
Nokia N93.......$220USD
Nokia N92.......$200USD
Nokia N80...........$160
Nokia N82.......$245USD
Nokia N91.......$180USD
Nokia N90.......$160USD
Nokia N70.......$150USD
Nokia N71.......$190USD
Nokia N72.......$220USD
Nokia N73.music edition black......$230USD
Nokia 7360......$200USD
Nokia 7380......$205USD
Nokia 7370......$240USD
NOKIA 6300......$180USD
Nokia 7710......$225USD
Nokia 7610......$220usd
Nokia 6120 classic...$140USD
NOKIA 7390.....$270USD
Nokia 9300......$235USD
Nokia 9500......$250USD

UNLOCKED APPLE IPHONE 8GB VERSION 1.1.1 OR 1.1.2....$220USD
UNLOCKED APPLE IPHONE 4GB VERSION 1.1.1 O 1.1.2......$180USD
UNLOCKED APPLE IPHONE 3G 8GB ...$270USD
UNLOCKED APPLE IPHONE 3G 16GB .....$320USD

Sony Ericsson w900i....$240usd
Sony Ericsson W800i....$170usd
SONY Ericsson w810i....$240USD
sony Ericsson w700.....$160usd
sony Ericsson w600i....$145usd
sony Ericsson w300.....$130usd
sony Ericsson w950.....$240usd
Sony Ericsson m600i....$215usd
sony Ericsson w850...............$210usd
Sony Ericsson p990i.....$200usd
Sony Ericsson p910i....$220usd
Sony Ericsson z1010........$270
SONY ERICSSON K910i....$240usd
SONY ERICSSON K800i ....$180USD
SONY ERICSSON K850i....$230USD
SONY ERICSSON X1 XPERIA ...$300USD


Samsung SGH-U600 ...$200USD[unlocked
samsung SGH-X836.....$180USD[unlocked]
Samsung SGH-D880 Dual Standby Phone (unlocked) ..$250USD
Samsung d900.........................$260usd
Samsung D800.........................$220USD
Samsung D820.........................$240USD
Samsung D500.........................$150usd
Samsung d600.........................$160
Samsung SGH E900 ..................$230USD
SAMSUNG U600.....$220usd
SAMSUNG U700.....$260usd
SAMSUNG i900 OMNIA...$300USD

MOTOROLA V8....$180usd
MOTOROLA V9.....$200usd
MOTOROLA Z6.....$180USD
MOTOROLA Z8 .....$210USD
SAMSUNG U600.....$220usd
SAMSUNG U700.....$260usd

Mobile Sidekick II................$100USD
Mobile Sidekick III................$160USD

02 PHONES:
O2 X2i--$120
02 X4-- $130
02 X3-- $120
02 x7-- $140
02 xDA Exec--$230
02 XDA Atom--$200
02 XDA NEO-- $235
02 XDA IIi-- $180
02 XDA IIs-- $165
02 XDA mini S-- $210
02 XDA II mini--$220
I-MATE:
I-MATE SP5-- $150
I-MATE SP5m--$155
I-MATE SP4m--$120
I-MATE JAM-- $160
I-MATE PDA2--$190
I-MATE SP3i--$130
I-MATE SP3-- $135
I-MATE PDA2k-$168
I-MATE JAMin--$240
I-MATE JASJAR-$260
I-MATE K-JAM--$180
I-MATE Pocket PC--$140
I-MATE JAM Black--$150
I-MATE Smartflip--$140
I-MATE Smartphone2--$110
I-MATE Smartphone-- $115

ETEN PHONES
E-TEN X800 Glofiish [X800]..............290usd
ETEN G500+ [G500+]..........................240usd
ETEN M600]..........................200usd
ETEN M700 Glofiish 2 [M700].............250usd
ETEN X500 Glofiish [X500]..................230usd
ETEN X500 Glofiish (Open Box) .............200usd

ETEN M550 $180
ETEN G500+ $170
ETEN M600+ $150
ETEN G500 $160
ETEN M600 $140
ETEN M500 $140
ETEN P300B $160
ETEN P300 $150
ETEN P700 $180


HTC PHONES
HTC Touch Diamond...$300USD
HTC Touch Pro ....$340USD

HTC P3450 Touch White...$350
HTC TyTN II.....$360USD
HTC Advantage X7500........... $400usd
HTC P4350 for........... $350usd
HTC S710 for ...........$300usd
HTC P3300 for ...........$250usd

Do pod C730 [c730]................400usd
Do pod C730 (Open Box)..........320usd
HTC 9100 T mobile MDA (unlocked)...250usd
HTC Breeze [Breeze]..............300usd
HTC Foreseer [Foreseer].........310usd
HTC MTeor [MTeor]................320usd

HTC P3600 (Trinity) [P3600].........400usd


Qtek phones
Qtek 9100.... 280usd
Qtek s200.....$130usd
Qtek 9000.....$220usd
Qtek 8310 ....$230usd
Qtek 8300.....$210usd
Qtek 9100.....$255usd
Qtek 8100.....$180usd
Qtek 8080.....$170usd
Qtek 8060.....$140usd
Qtek 1010.....$220usd
Qtek 7070.....$110usd

PALM TREO PHONES
Treo 680 for ...........$200usd
Treo 600 for ...........$160usd
Treo 700p for ...........$200usd
Treo 750v for ...........$260usd
Treo 750 for ...........$250usd

X CUTE
X cute Dv80 $190
X cute Dc50 $180
X cute Dv2 $160
X cute Dv1 $140

Asus P535 $190
Asus P525 $180
Asus P505 $160
Asus Z810 $200
Asus V85 $150
Asus V75 $130

GIGABYTE PHONE
G-smart...........300usd
G-smart i...........350usd
G-smart i 120...........400usd
G-smart i 128...........250usd
G-smart i 300...........430usd

SIDE KICKS PHONES
Sick kick for........... $150usd
Side kick 2 for........... $160usd
Side kick 3 for........... $200usd

Tom-Tom Mobile 5 $290
Tom-Tom GO GPS Car Navigation System $280
Tom-Tom Navigator 5 Bluetooth GPS $270
Tom-Tom Mobile GPS for Smart phones $260



BLACK BERRY PHONES

Blackberry 8700r ...........$200usd
Blackberry 7130g........... $210usd
Blackberry 7130e........... $220usd
Blackberry 7100g........... $210usd
Blackberry 7100i........... $200usd
Blackberry 7100t........... $200usd
Blackberry 7230........... $210usd
Blackberry 7290........... $210usd
Blackberry 8700f ...........$230usd
Blackberry bold 9000.....$290USD





LAPTOPS AND LAPTOP ACCESSORIES

APPLE MAC BOOK PRO LAPTOP NOTE BOOK [ INTEL CORE 2 DUO ] ...........$750USD
Toshiba Satellite A75-S229 Laptop Computer---$400
Toshiba Satellite M45-S311 Laptop Computer---$470
Toshiba Satellite R15-S822 Laptop Computer---$470
Toshiba Qosmio G15-AV501 Laptop Computer---$700
Toshiba Satellite A65-S126 Laptop Computer---$400
Toshiba Satellite P25-S526 Laptop Computer---$700
Toshiba Satellite A45-S120 Laptop Computer---$500
Toshiba Satellite M35X-S149 Laptop Computer---$400
Toshiba Qosmio E15-AV101 Laptop Computer---$500
Toshiba Satellite P35-S609 Laptop Computer---$500
Toshiba Qosmio F15-AV201 Laptop Computer----$550
Toshiba Portege M200 Laptop Computer------$650
Dell Pentium III 750Mhz Latitude C610-----$400
Latitude C600 Model PP01L Laptop -----$350
Dell Inspiron 1150 Laptop Computer---$650
Dell Inspiron 1000 Laptop -Intel 2.2GHz---$350
Dell Inspiron 6000 Laptop Computer----$450
Dell Axim X50v PocketPC PDA Handheld computer----$350
Dell Optiplex GX150 SD P3 1GHz 256MB 20GB 17" NEC LCD------$350

sony vAIO VGN-SR19XN ....$1500USD
SONY VAIO VGN-SR19VN.....$1600USD

SONY VAIO VGN-AR71ZU .....$2000USD
SONY VAIO VGN-AR71S ....$1800USD
SONY VAIO VGN-AR71M...... $1600USD
SONY VAIO VGN-AR71E ....$1600USD
SONY VAIO VGN-AR61ZU....$1650USD
SONY VAIO VGN-AR61S .....$1300USD
SONY VAIO VGN-AR61M ....$1600USD
SONY VAIO VGN-AR61E.....$1800USD

SONY VAIO VGN-BX61XN ....$2200USD
SONY VAIO VGN-BX61VN ....$1900USD
SONY VAIO VGN-BX61MN ...$1800USD

SONY VAIO VGN-BZ11XN ....$2000USD
SONY VAIO VGN-BZ11VN....
SAONY VAIO VGN-BZ11MN ....$2,200USD

SONY VAIO VGN-SR19XN.... $1700USD
SONY VAIO VGN-SR19VN.... $1900USD
SONY VAIO VGN-SZ71WN/C....$1900USD
SONY VAIO VGN-SZ71VN/X ...$1600USD
SONY VAIO VGN-Z11WN/B ....$1700USD
SONY VAIO VGN-Z11VN/B.... $1500USD
SONY VAIO VGN-Z11MN/B ....$2000USD

Sony VAIO A170 Laptop Computer-----$600
Sony VAIO GRT250 Laptop Computer----$700
Sony VAIO V505DC1 Laptop Computer----$700
Sony VAIO GRT270 Laptop Computer------$800
Sony VAIO GRT100 Laptop Computer------$700
Sony VAIO PCG-GRX7001 Laptop Computer---$600
Sony VAIO PCG-R505ESK SuperSlim Pro Notebook---$550
Sony VAIO A130P Laptop Computer -------$1100
Sony VAIO VGN-B100B08 Laptop Computer Notebook---$530
Sony PCG-K33 VAIO K33 - Mobile Pentium 4----$550
ASUS U6S CORE 2 DUO 2.2GHZ! 1GB 120GB 12.1 ...900USD
NB-SYS ASUS Core 2 Duo 2.2GHz Laptop Computer ..$700

LIFEBOOK P8010 NOTEBOOK LAPTOP...$2500USD

LIFEBOOK E8310 NOTEBOOK LAPTOP...$1900USD



u6E-A1 Intel Core 2 Duo T7500 2.2GHz Notebook - $600USD

ASUS U6S-A1 Notebook ...$600USD

HP Compaq Business Notebook nc6400 - Core 2 Duo T5600 / 1.83 GHz - ...$800USD

HP Compaq Business Notebook 2510p - Core 2 Duo U7600 / 1.2 GHz ULV ... $920USD




PIONEER CDJ PRODUCTS AND DJ EQUIPMENT

2x PIONEER CDJ-1000MK3 & 1x DJM-800 MIXER DJ PACKAGE!.....$2,500
Pioneer CDJ-1000 CD Player.......$550
Pioneer CMX-3000 Twin CD Player...$650
Pioneer CDJ-800 CD Player........$600
Pioneer CDJ-1000MK2...............$640
Pioneer CDJ-800MK2.................$620
Pioneer CDJ-1000mk2...............$680
Pioneer CDJ-1000MK3..............$1200
Pioneer CDJ-500 CD-Player.......$700
Pioneer DJM-1000 .....................$1000
Pioneer DJM-800........................$820
Pioneer DJM-600 Mixer ..............$600
Pioneer DJM-3000 19" Mixer ......$810
Pioneer DJM-600-S Mixer...........$650
Pioneer DJM-909 Battle Mixer.....$700
Technics SL-1200MK2...............$600
Technics SL-DZ 1200.................$620
Technics SL-1210M5G Pro Turntable.. .$640
Technics SL-1210MK5 Pro Turntable ...$510
Technics SH-MZ1200 4 Channel DJ Mixer.........$600
Denon DN-D4500 Pro DJ Dual CD/MP3 Player...£300
Denon DN-D9000.....................$700
Denon DN-D6000.....................$850
Denon DN S3500 (CD player)....$500
Denon DN S5000 (CD player)....$700
Denon DN X1500s (Mixer).........$600
Denon DN-HD2500 ..................$700
Pioneer EFX-1000 Pro-Effector..$780
Pioneer DVJ-X1 DVD Player......$980
Pioneer DVJ-1000...............$1,800
Pioneer VSW-1 Video Switcher ..$550
Pioneer DMP-555 MultiMedia Player..$670
Pioneer DJ DVD TURNTABLE DE DVJ-X1..$1,120
Robe ColorWash 575 AT Moving Yoke DMX Lighting Fixture...$2,500
SPEAKER
Atlantic Technology System 4200e Speaker.............$1050
Canton CD 3500 Main / Stereo Speaker...................$1100
Aperion Audio Intimus 633 Concert XD System........$1200
2 JBL PRX518S (18" Self Powered Subwoofer System)....$720
Yamaha YSP-1100 Main / Stereo Speaker...............$850
Bose 901 VI Main / Stereo Speaker.........................$800
Klipsch LA SCALA Main / Stereo Speaker...............$1000
Paradigm Titan Main / Stereo Speaker.....................$1100
Definitive BP7001SC Main / Stereo Speaker............$1150
KEF Audio KHT5005.2 System..............................$1200
Revel F52 Main / Stereo Speaker...........................$2,200
B-52 MATRIX-2000 THREE PIECE POWERED SPEAKER SYSTEM $1,500
GPS RECEIVERS...
Garmin nüvi 360 GPS Receiver......$350
Garmin Nuvi 660 GPS Receiver......$400
Garmin nüvi 680 GPS Receiver......$450






FOR SELL: PLASMA TV AND LCD TV



Samsung FP-T6374 Plasma TV
63-inch 1080p Plasma Flat Panel HDTV.....$2000USD





Panasonic TH-42PZ85U Plasma TV
42-inch Viera 1080p Plasma HDTV.....$550USD





Panasonic TH-58PZ700U Plasma TV
58-inch Viera 1080p Plasma HDTV.....$1200USD







Panasonic TH-50PZ85U Plasma TV
50-inch Viera 1080p Plasma HDTV....$700USD




Panasonic TH-65PZ750U Plasma TV
65-inch Plasma 1080p Flat Panel HDTV....$2800USDK





Panasonic TH-42PX80U Plasma TV
42-inch Plasma HDTV.....$550USD





Pioneer PDP-5010FD Plasma TV
50-inch 1080p KURO Flat Panel HDTV.....$1000USD





Panasonic TH-50PZ80U Plasma TV


Panasonic TH-50PZ80U Plasma TV
50-inch Viera 1080p Plasma HDTV....$950USDK




Panasonic TH-46PZ85U Plasma TV
46-inch Viera 1080p Plasma HDTV.....$600USD





Samsung PN-50A450 Plasma TV
50-inch Plasma HDTV....$730USD




Panasonic TH-50PX80U Plasma TV
50-inch Viera Plasma HDTV.....$800USD




LG 42PB4DA Plasma TV
42-inch Plasma Flat Panel HDTV.....$670USD

Sony KDL-32M3000 LCD TV
32-inch BRAVIA M Series LCD Television....$550USD






Sony KDL-46XBR5 LCD TV
46-inch BRAVIA XBR series 1080p 120Hz LCD Flat ....$400USD




Samsung LN-32A450 LCD TV
32-inch LCD Flat Panel HDTVK...$350USD



Sony KDL-46XBR4 LCD TV
46-inch BRAVIA XBR series 1080p 120Hz LCD Flat Panel HDTV...$1000USD




Samsung LN-52A650 LCD TV
52-inch 1080p 120Hz LCD Flat Panel HDTV....$1200USD




Toshiba 42RV530U LCD TV
42-inch 1080p LCD HDTV....$650USD



Sony KDL-40V3000 LCD TV
40-inch BRAVIA V series 1080p LCD Flat Panel HDTV....$890USD





Samsung LN-T5265F LCD TV
52-inch 1080p LCD Flat Panel HDTV....$1000USD




Panasonic TC-37LZ85 LCD TV
37-inch 1080p LCD TV......$540USD




Toshiba 32AV500 LCD TV
32-inch LCD HDTV..$290USD



Toshiba 37RV530U LCD TV
37-inch 1080p LCD Flat Panel HDTV....$450USD






Samsung LN-46A550 LCD TV
46-inch 1080p LCD Flat Panel HDTV....$500USD







FOR SELL: CAMCORDER



JVC GR-D370 Mini Digital Camcoder.....$150USD

(Digi/Camcorder)12.0MP 2.4" color TFT Digital Video Camcoder-DV7 ....$180USD

iSonic 5.0 Megapixel Snapbox DV3156 Digital Video Camcorder 1ea..$150USD

JVC GRD850US Mini DV Camcorder...$140USD

iSonic 5.0 Megapixel Snapbox DV565 Digital Video Camcorder...$100usd

DSR-PD170 Pro Digital Camcorder ....$650USD

HVR-V1U HDV 1080i/24p Cinema Style Camcorder ..$500USD

DSR-250 3CCD DVCAM Camcorder ....$950USD


MIDI CONTROLLER


M-Audio Keystation 49E 49-Key Entry-Level USB MIDI Controller ... $70USD

Korg padKONTROL USB MIDI Controller ...$90USD

Oxygen 61 USB MIDI Controller ....$110USD

Behringer UMX25 25-Key MIDI Controller...$45USD








FOR MORE INFORMATION ON HOW TO BUY CONTACT:

EMAIL ADDRESS:[e-mail]

CHAT ON MSN: [e-mail]

Telephone number : [phone]

[Jack @ Sep 20th 2006 11:48AM]

At last a good laptop for school? My iBook G3 has been good but a OLPC would do the job much better!

[Enzo @ Sep 20th 2006 11:53AM]

Ouch. I remember that petition where if you bought one for $300, they would donate two more, and I was totally down with that, but $450 is ridiculous.

[+ZERO+ @ Sep 20th 2006 12:03PM]

What in the world is an OLPC?

Forgive me if im totally clueless...

+ZERO+

[Dima @ Sep 20th 2006 12:32PM]

OLPC = One Laptop Per Child

[wayan @ Sep 20th 2006 12:23PM]

Zero: OLPC's are computers for kids in the developing world.
Enzo: $450 is crazy - we can get great desktops for that now and by the time this works, great laptops too.

I don't think that the $450 price will hold. As I said before, people in the countires these are shipped to will resell their 2B1 laptops on arrival. My price prediciton: $250
http://www.olpcnews.com/sales_talk/price/

[Shane @ Sep 20th 2006 12:27PM]

OMG +ZERP+, you have time to post a comment and verify it via email but you can't perform the simplest of google searches.
That's pretty funny dude.

[ocelot67 @ Sep 20th 2006 12:37PM]

"it seems like they could care less" Think about it. You mean "couldn't" care less. They'd be all over you if you screwed up a spec. Grammar Nazi in da house.

[zenprime @ Sep 20th 2006 12:40PM]

Question is how soon will we be able to get a that pull string generator seperatly and able to do charge devices through usb?

[evo @ Sep 21st 2006 3:05AM]

Ideal for iPod charging, but I'd end up smacking the guy next to me on the plane with my elbow a few times.

[Nith @ Sep 20th 2006 12:45PM]

Maybe i am missing something but what good will a laptop do to you if you dont have electricity let alone internet connection. Why bother giving starving children computer equipment.

How about One HIV Vaccine Per Child or One Book per Child, or One school teacher per 20 children.

Its like seeing a person choking on food at a restaurant and asking him if he is hungry. He is in a restaurant so yes he probably is hungry but his first priority, as he is choking, is to get the food out of his throat.

[zenprime @ Sep 20th 2006 12:55PM]

Pull-string generator. Wireless mesh networking.

The rest is up to U2 and AJ.

[Adam @ Sep 20th 2006 12:52PM]

OLPC doesn't fix everything but this may help give skills to poor people who will be able to export those skills and hopefully claw their way out of opressive poverty. The problem Nith listed are mostly syptoms of extreme poverty. HIV in the US is mostly a chronic diease a this point. So maybe OLPC doesn't fix all the world's ills but it likely will help cut the guy some slack. He is trying to do something good.

[PEZ @ Sep 20th 2006 1:50PM]

Trying to save or educate children in 4th world countries is stupid. 5th world, perhaps, but OK, now Im thinking its not such a great idear.

[ChronoZaga @ Sep 20th 2006 1:11PM]

I'm with Nith. That money would be better spent on healthcare and education. I'm not trying to crap on the OLPC, it sounds like a good idea, and it would help. However, the thing that should be looked at is the "value to humanity" to "dollar value" ration. We can get more bang for our bucks.

I have a suspicion that most of those OLPCs will end up sold for food or medicine. Why not save the R&D dollars and sell standard laptops to post-industrialized nations with the profits donated to the Red Cross or World Health Organazation? The OLPC is not viable in a capatalist society, it's a socialist pipedream.

[Nith @ Sep 20th 2006 1:23PM]

I see the merits an OLPC. I am not slamming it I just dont think it will solve anything in a thrid world nation.

I do think that it will do a great deal of good in most western countries (or more developed countries in Asia where Wireless is avialble in most regions, such as India). This will provide a computer for really cheap to poor ppl and will finally allow schools to have a computer on every desk.

But withough basic communication and energy infrastructure it will do no good to anyone.

So its a great idea but targets the wrong market.

[Chris @ Sep 20th 2006 1:45PM]

$450 with a $350 tax deduction, assuming you're in a typical tax bracket, will amount to somewhere between a $100 and $175 discount or so. So after you deal with the tax man in April your actual out of pocket will be on the order of $300ish. Unless you take the standard deduction in which case no discount for you.

A good deal? No. Good for the program? Unquestionably.

And just maybe it will prevent people from taking the laptops back from the third world (where they'd do some good) and putting them into a splitlevel ranch in the 'burbs outside some city in the US.

[jrsykind @ Sep 20th 2006 2:08PM]

With the exception of a standard deduction, how does a $350 tax deduction turn into a $175 tax decuction? That sounds like some fuzzy math.

[Matt @ Sep 20th 2006 1:33PM]

Assuming that this follows the usual rip-off conversion between US$ and � (Wii anyone?), this is really expensive.

You can get brand new Celeron M laptops here with wifi etc for �250-300 from Tescos these days. Why would anyone want to pay loads more for this?

Sell it at the original price of $100 (i.e. 50-60 quid) and they'll fly off the shelves. Hell, sell it at �100 (i.e. about $180) and it'll still sell like crazy and make some extra money for the kids in the 3rd world.

[Craig @ Sep 20th 2006 1:37PM]

Hmm...Let's see... some quick calculations.

Assume you can pull with 20N of force (about 5 pounds), a distance of 0.5 meters in 2 seconds (1 second to pull, 1 second to return). That's 5 N-m/s, or 5 Watts of power.

The capacity of a battery for a ultraportable laptop today is about 3000 mAh at 10V, which is 30 W-hr. So, to fully charge your battery would take 6 hours (30/5) of pulling on the string, continuously. Doesn't sound like much fun.

Can someone check my math?

[Chris @ Sep 20th 2006 3:44PM]

"Assume you can pull with 20N of force (about 5 pounds), a distance of 0.5 meters in 2 seconds (1 second to pull, 1 second to return). That's 5 N-m/s, or 5 Watts of power."

add a flywheel. and some gearing.


"The capacity of a battery for a ultraportable laptop today is about 3000 mAh at 10V, which is 30 W-hr. "

OLPC is a low power system, more like a high end PDA. so more like 1500mAh at 5V, maybe 7V, at total full load, which it won't be most of the time. reading a docuemnt, even with wifi and a backlight, shouldn't draw more than 300-400 mAh. (IIRC, been a while since I payed attention to the power draw on my linux powered iPaq)

[Chris @ Sep 20th 2006 3:38PM]

"With the exception of a standard deduction, how does a $350 tax deduction turn into a $175 tax decuction? That sounds like some fuzzy math."

it turns intoa $175 DISCOUNT, not deduction. first you need to understand US taxes. a $350 deduction means that you subtract $350 from your "taxable income" figure, which is the amount that the tax you have to pay is based on. Since the typical tax bracket is between 25% and 40% depending on income and dependants, the actual amount of tax you DONT pay (or your "discount") on the $350 deduction is rougly $100 to $175. and there are deductions that can apply along side the standard deduction (education and child care costs for example), so this could be done like that so everyone can get in on it.

Though, were talking about adding a tax law, and the obvious question is: what's in it for the government? they aren't manufactured here, they won't be distributed en-masse from here, they dont' reduce our CO2/polution output, they won't create US jobs, they really don't help the US in any way at all, so why would the federal government support this tax break?

[wayan @ Sep 20th 2006 2:08PM]

Not sure about your math Craig, but I do think the OLPC will need more than this string yoyo for power. At the rates Negroponte threw out before, his little power pack would be the most efficient power generation unit ever.

Its about time to seperate the string power hype vs. reality: http://www.olpcnews.com/hardware/power_supply/string_hype_vs_reali.html

[Nith @ Sep 20th 2006 2:11PM]

Can someone please explain what good will they do in a 3rd world country where people go hungry. Water, Waste and power management can be done withough computers. Growing crops and making everyday tools and produce can be done withough a computer. Transportation can be done withough a computer. So why do they need a computer, its not like this is capable of detecting ground water or figure out how to provide power to the village, or how to cure a malaria or cholera.

[Craig @ Sep 20th 2006 7:02PM]

A flywheel won't help. That's just an energy storage device - won't have any impact on how much pulling it would take to charge the thing. It would just add inefficiency and cost. You already have a good energy storage device with the battery.

Gears won't do anything either. They just change the force and distance you have to pull, but don't add any energy.

And, I checked out the OLPC spec - they claim a 23 W-hr battery capacity, which is pretty close to my estimate. So, it's still 4.5 hours or so to charge, for maybe 10 hours of run-time life? Seems terribly inefficient.

[James @ Sep 20th 2006 3:55PM]

The laptops, unfortunately, won't go anywhere near children. The thugs in power in third-world nations will confiscate them and sell them for whatever they can get.

You want to help third-world children out so badly? Lead the army that guts those dictatorships responsible for starving their populations and hoarding all the food and money that guilty Western nations have been sending over for the past half-century.

[evo @ Sep 21st 2006 3:17AM]

The whole point of OLPC is that education is the only long-term way to eliminate and prevent dictatorships, poverty, and other causes for misery and low living standards. It's not something that can be done within the span of one generation, and certainly having other countries foot the bill for kicking out one dictator after another is not cost effective.

[JC @ Sep 20th 2006 4:22PM]

Nith:

The OLPC concept provides accessible education for kids in these countries. They are not eliminating human aid where it is required, and funding for that is already in place, although some would argue we are not doing enough there either.

This is a long-term solution that allows the future generations to get educated so they can give themselves a hand up rather than asking for hand outs from other countries. It's a much more practical solution that hiring teachers, and paying for books year after year. One PC will last for many years of education, and can provide technical education as well.

Let's see the forest for the trees shall we? If we don't look further ahead, all we'll be doing is throwing money at these countries into the future.

[Bob Smith @ Sep 20th 2006 4:32PM]

@Nith: Time and time again, it has been pointed out that this project is NOT for countries in which starvation, disease etc are the major problems. Instead, it is targeted at countries that are otherwise relatively stable but lack certain educational infrastructure, such as China, India, Brazil, Argentina, Egypt, Nigeria, and Thailand. The education ministries of those countries would be BUYING the laptops (if they feel its a good investment) to distribute to their children.

[CW @ Sep 20th 2006 7:38PM]

beat it

[Greg Baz @ Sep 26th 2006 10:00AM]

Congradulations Negroponte you inventer the Yo-Yo!

[chimbaktu @ Dec 4th 2006 8:59PM]

craig: you're looking at it from a linear perspective. since it's a rotating system, you should use .5Iw^2 to find the kinetic energy, where I is the moment of inertia and w is the angular velocity. without knowing the mass of the little disc thingy or the moment arm's radius, we can't really determine how much power an individual can generate from a normal pull.

adding gearing could increase the radius and mass thus adding a lot more kinetic energy for each pull if you maintain the same velocity.

i think most kids could manage a bit more than 5 pounds of force. if you added gearing and maybe springs to add resistance (potential to kinetic) then a kid could exert around 60N of force along half a meter at a meter or two per second, and you could generate a pretty considerable amount of power with just a few pulls.