OLPC's XO-1 gets its first "unboxing"

Sure, the unboxing of a hand-assembled kind-sorta prototype might not totally count as an "unboxing" in the proper sense, but it's fun to watch all the same, and it's definite proof that the little machine from OLPC is really coming along. Hit the read link for the whole gallery, complete with action shots of adults completely dwarfing the "B1" (yeah, we thought it was called the XO-1 now, maybe B1 stands for Beta 1 -- we can only hope), or keep reading for the juicy box-related pics.

[delerious @ Nov 15th 2006 4:21PM]

LOL! PS buttons: X, Square, Circle, Triangle.

[Ryan @ Nov 15th 2006 4:23PM]

why does it have Playstation buttons?

[Montusama @ Nov 15th 2006 4:24PM]

so all the kiddies think its a ps3

[mitchellgreen @ Nov 15th 2006 5:01PM]

I can't believe one actually exists.

[Mark Farina, Jr. @ Nov 15th 2006 8:32PM]

I want one...is that wrong?

[Evan @ Nov 15th 2006 4:38PM]

Sony gon' sueeeee them!

[Sweetdelight @ Nov 15th 2006 4:59PM]

Why does it have a webcam?

They really should sell this to consumers, make a killing, I wan't one!

[Mike Salem @ Nov 15th 2006 4:47PM]

hahaha
that guy who pwnded up the PS3 "unboxing" must be happy

[Chris @ Nov 15th 2006 4:49PM]

Wow, it even looks cheap and childish.

[Caleb @ Nov 15th 2006 4:50PM]

Hmmmm, I wonder why they used AbiWord and not OpenOffice.org. AbiWord is cool but I prefer OpenOffice

[Yan @ Nov 15th 2006 5:01PM]

I think Abiword is a lot more light-weight than OO.o

[Tyler @ Nov 15th 2006 5:10PM]

i was looking at the other features...and it looks like it has a webcam. Anyone know where it is on this thing? i can't find it...

[GJP303 @ Nov 15th 2006 6:31PM]

I don't know exactly, but i think its inconveniently on the right side, meaning you have to kinda lean that way when you are using it. Its just a guess, cause you can see a small black dot on top (microphone probably) and then the web cam next to it. If that isn't what it is, then don't reply making fun of me... its just a guess.

[Sean @ Nov 15th 2006 5:10PM]

How long until someone has Doom running on it? I mean it's gonna happen sooner or later.

[boss sauce @ Nov 16th 2006 12:00AM]

I would buy one of these for $300-- it would be worth that to me-- and it would mean a margin which could buy a second one for somebody else. It's like some lime 6rd gen Fisher-Price iBook... gimme gimme... er, sell to me, sell to me!

I want to see somebody rig this for the LifeStraw-- I'd pay a lot for one for camping ane emergencies, but they're not for sale. Why not sell me three but only let me _get_ one? I'd happily buy them for other people elsewhere who _need_ them.

[Rikko @ Nov 15th 2006 5:30PM]

Quite honestly, I think it'd be a great idea to sell them in the first world nations for ~$300, with the heavily emphasized "perk" that the money you are spending buys you the laptop, and it provides another one FREE for a child in a developing nation.
I'd buy one, and I have no use for one.

[LordFarkward @ Nov 15th 2006 8:38PM]

buying one for $300 and then sponsoring 1 more for a child in the 3rd world even though u have no use of it at all is a very kind gesture and all, but if u actually don't need/want it why not just donate $300 and sponsor THREE poor children instead?

[Apothus @ Nov 16th 2006 9:51AM]

thats a briliant idea, these things would have so many uses because lets face it, unless you are planning on running modern FPS then this is going to be more than capable of handling it. For $300 i would be happy to buy one just to see what i could hack it into and with the warm happy feeling of giving a 3rd world child a free one, why not.

The only problem i can see with this is how is the child selected? i can see these ending up in government offices modified to draw up battle plans.

[Andrei @ Nov 15th 2006 5:42PM]

This idea has been going on for a while and it really is a solid thought. Although i'm not from a 1st rate nation i'd buy one.

[Ryan Libson @ Nov 15th 2006 5:52PM]

didn't leapfrog make this thing years ago!

[Big Ed @ Nov 15th 2006 6:53PM]

Yeah, I think they'd rather have food.

[Murc @ Nov 16th 2006 12:04AM]

BetaMax------failure
UMD disk-----failure
UMPC---------failure
OLPC XO-1----failure

[Hans @ Nov 15th 2006 8:09PM]

Is that an enormous trackpad?

[Abe @ Nov 15th 2006 7:35PM]

huh "cheap and childish"
so expensive and complicated would be better qualities in a laptop for children?

[Echo_ @ Nov 15th 2006 7:58PM]

Big Ed @ Nov 15th 2006 6:53PM

Yeah, I think they'd rather have food.

Geeze, does every ignorant fool think that all people who live in a 3rd world country do not have food? Of course some don't, but the majority are fine, they are just not as technically advanced as first world countries.

[kyle @ Nov 15th 2006 7:50PM]

great theory - terrible execution - why does it have so many moving parts? is necessary to have a swivel screen - reducing these extra features would reduce cost and add to durability...

[bogphanny @ Nov 15th 2006 9:05PM]

Is my mind making up stories again, or do I recall Ebay getting the rights to sell these in the form of a Buy 3/Get 1 deal?

[bogphanny @ Nov 15th 2006 9:10PM]

A little reassurance of my sanity:

http://www.engadget.com/2006/09/20/negroponte-announces-olpc-for-ebay-shows-off-pull-string/

Ebay to sell these for $450 with a $350 tax deduction

[Karl Viklund @ Nov 15th 2006 9:18PM]

I want one! I want one!
Do you guys know if this computer will be for sale in stores? I think that this can be a big hit and that would help to bring down the price faster.

[dbell @ Nov 15th 2006 9:22PM]

Jeez, when is the third world gonna realize that if they EVER plan to join the iPod toting masses, they're seriously going to have to get rid of those massive screen bezels. Worse than teh Zune.

[CubeGuy @ Nov 15th 2006 9:55PM]

What's with the Playstation buttons on the right of the screen?

[Nick @ Nov 15th 2006 10:32PM]

Wow, looks really neat. I'm sure if they released this for retail as a laptop geared towards children the U.S., Canada, Japan, UK, and most of Europe would eat these things up. They would become the new hot item and with a about a $300 price point it would be a perfect Christmas gift, I'd buy one for my sisters.

[Leomar @ Nov 15th 2006 11:05PM]

I want one for my daughter so she can step bugging me about wanting to go online.

[Gordie @ Nov 15th 2006 11:19PM]

: I'd buy one -- but I'm wondering what exactly a child in a developing
nation would use one for? But I'd buy one for 300 if they got one
free I might even buy 2 if I know that they're gonna be used in these
countries -- like I'm just wondering...I haven't really looked into
this to much so call me blind on this subject, but to me they need food more than they need flashy electronic devices

[Kevin @ Nov 16th 2006 5:55PM]

Jeebus. This is not for nations without food. It's for DEVELOPING areas, where the basics like food and shelter are already there, but education is NOT (or poorly done). This is for education.

[Aaron @ Nov 16th 2006 12:09AM]

Yeah, first thing I noticed was the PlayStation buttons. One question: why?

[Darrell Lucas @ Nov 16th 2006 1:37AM]

1st... will the child have a plug to run the PC? (live in a hut)
2ed... what about the web.. they have to pay for that too.
3ed... FOOD.. If you dont know this there is more than enough food on this whole planet for everyone!.. Its just not distributed well enough.
4th... send some to N Korea so the Koreans can see the outside world!!

[Joe Haley @ Nov 18th 2006 5:19AM]

"1st... will the child have a plug to run the PC? (live in a hut)"
Self-powerd by some kind of pull string thingy.
"2ed... what about the web.. they have to pay for that too."
Supposedly, they can network together. (the internet is over-rated anyway)

[Spencer @ Nov 16th 2006 8:52AM]

"1st... will the child have a plug to run the PC? (live in a hut)
2ed... what about the web.. they have to pay for that too.
3ed... FOOD.. If you dont know this there is more than enough food on this whole planet for everyone!.. Its just not distributed well enough.
4th... send some to N Korea so the Koreans can see the outside world!!"

1: It has a pull-cord that can be used to provide power
2: Computers have uses beyond surfing the intertron. They can use it for like... spreadsheets or something. Also, it has some sort of wireless mesh-networking, that lets them all connect together to become a sort of internet unto themselves, or something.
3: Now, I'm no scientologist, but as I understand it, you can't just switch the computer manufacturing plants of the world from "computer mode" to "food mode".
4: Right, because seeing goatse is really going to inspire them to NOT drop the bomb.

[Ghostly @ Nov 16th 2006 9:53AM]

For anyone asking 'why this or that', or saying the 3rd world needs food not this, watch Nick's presentation from TED 2006. It exaplains alot, though not so much the food thing but if you watch some of the other relevant talks, or just think about it, you'll realise that yes the laptop doesn't immediately improve quality of life but it does dramatically increase future prospects for children and countries in question by producing a better educated population more capable of driving their country forward.

http://www.ted.com/tedtalks/tedtalksplayer.cfm?key=n_negroponte

[mts @ Nov 16th 2006 1:14PM]

Looks great -- can't wait for this thing to actually do what it needs to do. I kinda want one for myself, considering that I'm on the road touring with bands. And if me paying a little bit more enables children all over the world to get one and improve their educational environment, even better.

[GazzyC @ Nov 17th 2006 9:13AM]

I like this thing! LINUX!!Another perk is the picture with the guy in the grey hoodie is kinda cute and he have nice lips :P EHHEM yea sell OLPC to us and 3rd world countries!

[Lonny @ Nov 18th 2007 1:12AM]

I am so glad to see this great idea finally coming close to fruition. Another viable idea is utilizing the many 'antiquated' laptops currently being landfilled. If you have ideas for how these old laptops could be set up for developing countries, e.g. good software (OO vs abiWord, Puppy Linux vs Ubuntu, etc.), needed hardware, hardware considerations, sources, etc, check out:
http://www.appropedia.org/index.php?title=Low_cost_computer_guide

[hoopoo @ Dec 2nd 2006 9:07PM]

O yes i wont one!
price sales baby :)

[Rex @ Feb 28th 2007 9:12AM]

1st thing kids will do: download emulators and roms, fold up screen, and play using the handy game buttons... :-)