Brits allowed in to OLPC's 'give one, get one' scheme
XO donation scheme to restart next week
The One Laptop Per Child buy one, give one scheme kicks off again next week, and this time the offer's open to Europeans.
OLPC's programme - dubbed "G1G1", for 'give one, get one' - allows wealthy Westerners to buy a pair of the Linux-based laptops but only receive one of them. The other is sent to a school in the developing world.
OLPC's XO: buy one, give one plan coming to UK
Actually, it's not just for the well-heeled: the XO laptop costs $199, so the two-machine purchase comes to under $400 (£268/€318) - not exactly bank-breaking, even in these hardened times.
The G1G1 programme is being facilitated by Amazon.com, though this time round it'll ship purchasers' XOs outside of the States. Buyers will be billed in their local currency, so let's hope the Pound falls no further against the Dollar. We understand, but have yet to confirm, that the laptops will be shipped locally too.
Amazon will start taking G1G1 orders on Monday, 17 November.
One Laptop Per Child XO laptop review
COMMENTS
@Mark
I suggest you read http://radian.org/notebook/sic-transit-gloria-laptopi
@Nic
"They added an SD reader. It cost a few quid and I'm very grateful because it means that I can run Ubuntu on my XO."
And more memory. And "only a few quid" doesn't cover thousands of copies of said device: unlike software, hardware costs per item.
Did it get re-tooled for free?
Doubt it.
And XP is already out of order and Windows7 *may* be targeted as "the only OS" next, but it won't fit on the same machine, and will require another re-tooling.
The project isn't "give a kid a laptop" it's "help children learn". And FOSS helps that when Windows doesn't. So why should I put money towards a project that doesn't achieve the aims? It would be like being asked to give money to RNIB for "cats for the blind".
MS
Mark wrote:
"the system had to be made from more expensive components just to accommodate the pitiful attempts to get an MS OS down to size is a waste of money."
They added an SD reader. It cost a few quid and I'm very grateful because it means that I can run Ubuntu on my XO.
Mark wrote:
"OLPC is not a computer. It is a learning device."
This is very true. The XO with Sugar interface is a very good collaborative tool for teaching.
But what it requires for this to work is local infrastructure in terms of expertise, support, teaching resources, etc. Dumping in a bunch of machines does not make an educational program. The OLPC project seems to be relying on Open Collaboration to make this magically happen. But that requires nuturing by willing and capable people on the ground before momentum takes over.
What it is not is a Web 2.0 multimedia laptop experience. If countries want to use them as laptops in the traditional sense then I don't see any problem with that.
They're struggling to get enough volume to get the cost down. If they can sell twice as many by shipping Windows then that will bring down the costs of the Linux versions.
I'm sure that Microsoft is pushing as hard as they can but that's capitalism for you.
Give a child a fish...
...and he can eat for a day. Give a child an XO and he can run 419 scams and buy all the bloody fish he wants.
jk ... heyzeus, you're all so sensitive :P
