Remember the OLPC project? One Laptop Per Child? A $100 laptop that actually costs over $200 in some countries? Well, the XO Laptop has received its first batch of orders and it comes from Uruguay.

100,000 is the number of XO laptops that will become available to children that have 6 up to 12 years. A new world for them, and a new generation of users on the internet. Hopefully, they will use the laptop on a good and useful way instead of otherwise.

Some info about the device:

The XO laptop, as the machine is known, has been developed to be used primarily by children in the developing world.

It is durable, waterproof and can be powered by solar, foot-pump or pull-string powered chargers. It includes a sunlight readable display so that it can be used outside and has no moving parts.

[Via: BBC]

Some of you are going to be cynicle about this, and that’s fine – but I’m excited about this idea. The One Laptop Per Child program is a great way, I think, to spread technology to developing countries. I hope, sincerely, that these people already have other necessities before they get computers, but I think spreading computer knowledge across the world is a great idea.

The OLPC program will cost you $399 for your laptop. You’ll get one, and a child in another country will get one as well. It’s a great way to not only get a cool, cheap, laptop, but also help a child who would never have the opportunity to get a computer at all, get a nice, inexpensive machine, to learn about the world that computing can open up.

but, yeah – they’ll probably play video games and watch porn with it. Ah well…

via. Engadget.

Remember that “$100 laptop” from the OLPC Foundation? Well, it’s not coming in at $100. In fact, it’s coming in at almost double that – and in some cases MORE than double that.

The latest price bump by the Foundation has pushed the overall cost of each XO-1 up to $188 – which is up from the previous bump of $176 back in May. In some countries, the cost is even higher. In Uruguay the XO-1 is up to $205 due to a partnership with Brightstar Uruguay SA.

While the device is a steal even at $205 in my opinion, this has really got to be bad news for the Foundation. That “$100 laptop” tagline has got to go for starters. When you set the price on something ahead of time like this, you set its value. When the Foundation started this thing, they created the value of this machine – it was $100. Now they’re more than doubling that price in some cases, and no matter what they do to it, it now seems devalued in the eyes of most people.

That’s unfortunate.

via Engadget

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