Negroponte's OLPC aims for production launch in July

With countries lining up their orders and important prototyping milestones falling by the wayside, it's high time for an OLPC launch schedule, eh NickNeg? Indeed. According to the AP, the XO machines will be handed to kids for testing in February with Quanta Computer ramping up to ship several million production units by "July or so." When faced with skepticism over the capabilities of the little XO, NickNeg retorts, "I have to laugh when people refer to XO as a weak or crippled machine and how kids should get a 'real' one. Trust me, I will give up my real one very soon and use only XO." Ok Nick, we'll hold you to that.

[Christiaan @ Jan 2nd 2007 10:13AM]

Well done to them, I think they've done a great job. Sounds like groundbreaking technology to me, and something for-profit organisations could never have achieved.

[strider_mt2k @ Jan 2nd 2007 10:17AM]

From what I've been reading it's an interesting and versatile platform.

Heck I'd love one to play with!

[Bill @ Jan 2nd 2007 10:33AM]

Interesting idea. I know that some schools pay WAY too much for student computers. I was at a school and a teacher was showing off the new reading lad complete with 33 new lap tops. She said with glee that they were $1700 each!

I said "Wow and to think you could have bought 100 less expensive computers that will be plenty powerful enough for anything the kids will be doing."

She just scoffed and walked away.

[Atanas Boev @ Jan 2nd 2007 10:33AM]

And why "XO"? It is the tic-tac-toe version? At least this game does not need CPU power:)

[whiskey @ Jan 2nd 2007 1:14PM]

Well you were kinda happy as a child with the "power" your computer had weren't you?

To me it is a noble effort, but since most of the people have lost touch to the real world, i think i will say this: wake up people, there are families that live in places you wouldn't even drive through, with less money in a month that you make in a day... This project is about giving them a tool (teach them to fish instead of giving the fish to them) not having them playing WoW or Halo. The solution to some of the problems they face: segregation and the digital divide (or digital breach, i don't know how it translates) gets solved by working with the communities where they live, empowering them by giving tools that can make a difference.

[KL @ Jan 2nd 2007 10:41AM]

It's a toy, nothing else, what are they supposed to learn on it when the interface is so different from anything else out there ? As soon as they are in front of a normal conputer all their knowledge will be useless.

This thing is actually dangerous, it will keep the people in charge from spending the money required to get real computers.

[Ebzy @ Jan 2nd 2007 10:48AM]

I would actually think that if this became popular then maybe the said OS will develop on a wider scale with yet more programs to learn from.

Also I have not used computers in school (unless you count the old acorn and bbcs) yet not through studies but my own initiative have I learned to use not only windows but also mac and linux as well, as well as many of the programs that are associated with each platform. I seriously think you are "dumbing down" the learning potential of the kids who would choose to go further into computers by making such a presumption.

[Leonard Nimrod @ Jan 2nd 2007 10:52AM]

Real computer? Let's see... It has a CPU, RAM, and I/O. Yep, it's real computer alright.

I bet you're one of those knuckleheads who thinks Windows is the only OS worth learning.

If you teach the foundations of computing then they will be able to traverse any system with little instruction.

[Christiaan @ Jan 2nd 2007 10:59AM]

KL, as per http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/01/02/business/NA_FEA_FIN_US_Hundred_Dollar_Laptop.php

Nicholas Negroponte ... said he deliberately wanted to avoid giving children computers they might someday use in an office. "In fact, one of the saddest but most common conditions in elementary school computer labs (when they exist in the developing world), is the children are being trained to use Word, Excel and PowerPoint," Negroponte wrote in an e-mail interview. "I consider that criminal, because children should be making things, communicating, exploring, sharing, not running office automation tools."

[Gustavo Leig @ Jan 2nd 2007 10:49AM]

I dont believe he is serious saying that he will be using one for personal use. Actually I would bet that he will never use one. Those toy-computers dont help third world countries at all because what people really need is basic education given by good well payed professors in well equiped schools. I live in Brazil and we dont have any of that. In USA you can by a Compaq Notebook for 499 usd. In brazil with all our taxes, 1500 usd is the minimun price for a notebook. To give a notebook to a kid with no school, no professors and no food is kinda silly.

[Thinker @ Jan 2nd 2007 12:05PM]

The interface of Windows was radically different from DOS, which did not stop the adoption of Windows. We should stop thinking that what is good for adults is also good for kids. These computers are built for kids, not adults!

In reference to the OLPC (XO) being a real computer, check the technical specs. If not convinced (or cannot decipher geek talk), then try running one of the applications to see if these things can function without the brains of a computer.

And finally, as have often been stated, the XO computers are targeted at developing countries and emerging economies. These are nations where those in charge will no longer have an excuse for not providing a real computer to millions of kids. I for one will rather have an XO computer than no computer.

I am from one of the poorest countries on earth, yet we had ample teachers who did an admirable job. Most of us kids were more interested in playing than reading books, same as in the developed countries. Kids don’t need more teachers or a few more books, they need more tools - like the XO computer, that are interactive, fun, and can hold thousands of books. It is sad to think that a few (thank God not most!) people are arguing that children in the developing world should not be given the same tools made available to children in the developed countries. Arguments aside, the OLPC is the right tool, at the right time that the “nay sayers” cannot stop from reaching the hands of millions of kids!

[b00da @ Jan 2nd 2007 2:02PM]

KL said:

"It's a toy, nothing else, what are they supposed to learn on it when the interface is so different from anything else out there ? As soon as they are in front of a normal conputer all their knowledge will be useless."

Yeah, that's the ticket to technology innovation and revolution: force everyone to only learn one way to do things.

[jessew @ Jan 2nd 2007 2:05PM]

I'd like to remind people that the 'said os' is actualy linux with a customized GUI...

What does this mean? Well it has an SD card slot so I imagine a different version of the GUI (with different tools) to be flashed onto the computer for highschool. And since it's linux underneath it all, it makes and excelent computer to learn computer science...

The kids have internet, and they have a computer...It won't be long before this happens as long as the OLPC gains wide acceptance. It only takes one person...

[Macro Pheliac @ Jan 2nd 2007 3:42PM]

You people are ignoring the real point of this all. This computer sure doesn't have as much power to boot as our nifty new dual-core systems, nowhere close, but the move to older architecture has forced the coders to be more innovative in software design; no bloat while offering the same number of features which prevents the need for big-hog processors and large caches of ram, they're making the OLPC lightweight but incredibly functional(a la uTorrent).


Educational software is in the works on the OLPC XO, good enough that it could teach the child on his own. While we can't always feed the children, we can give them knowledge. I wish people would stop agreeing with Bill Gates on the issue, that the low-spec XO's are a joke, when they are actually marvels of innovative coding which don't force people to buy processors that cost near thousands in dollars.

Given this product has expandable flash memory, we will certainly see people "hack" it to run better operating systems. Still think it's a toy? They are working on an administrator interface on the O.S. that would make it just as functional as any other linux O.S.

I have been following this project from the first day anyone heard about it, read your facts before you start criticizing it.

[crunkykd @ Jan 2nd 2007 7:37PM]

What a turd. Why wouldn't you just get a 2yr old real laptop for the same $100? And run real applications like the rest of the world and learn skills that you can use to get real work. And don't say applications are too expensive - in the 3rd world, all the applications are free (just visit any bazaar). And expert support help is available everywhere from a very large worldwide pool of knowledge available over the internet. Developing countries need to integrate into the rest of the world in order to raise their standards of living. This is just what they did with their communications (cellphones), monetary systems (banks & currency exchanges), aviation, etc. Rolling out yet another niche system is folly. They will wind up on the same heap with the Audrey net appliance, Go Penpoint computer, Apple Newton, NCD box, WebTV, etc. - all great solutions better than everyone else. Yeah right. Typical professors with plenty of ego and no clue.

[adrian @ Jan 2nd 2007 9:08PM]

As long as it will run engadget.com it's All Good..

[TheBugMan @ Jan 8th 2007 6:09PM]

These computers have been programmed to attach their antenna to the children’s temples when they get close to the screen. At which time the machine will upload a message for them to attack the Redmond campus of Micro$oft and destroy Mr. Gates. The notebooks will learn at a geometric rate, taking over the world in approx. 3 yrs.

[Canute Temu @ Jul 27th 2007 1:51AM]

We here in Rural Tanzania are anxiously waiting for the laptop [ OLPC] to redeem us from educational misery! If it can be oowered by solar then we are liberated!! We shall access educational sites and the world libraries will be open to us!! We are very very optimistic!!
Canute Temu, Development Consultant and Training Expert. Kilimanjaro, Tanzania.