One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) is a non-profit organization whose main goal is to design and manufacture $100 laptops for schoolchildren in the developing world. Active participants in the OLPC program include Nicholas Negroponte, Alan Kay, and Mary Lou Jepsen.
In early 2007, OLPC developed the XO laptop, a three-pound device with a 7.5-inch sunlight-readable screen and a built-in video camera. This subnotebook has no hard drive. Instead, it is equipped with 1GB of flash memory. No Windows operating system is installed. Instead, Linux is used as its OS. Ultra-sensitive Wi-Fi antennas are used for Internet access, so the machine can run Web-based applications. Its solid build has been proven by drop tests. Another big plus is its long-lasting battery. The initial price of the XO is set at $188, which is reasonable given its benefits, but still higher than the original goal of $100.
OLPC's chairman, Nicholas Negroponte, is optimistic about the price problem. He expects the price will go down with scale. The contract manufacturer of the $100 laptop project is Quanta Computer. The company is hoping to make more than one million units of the XO. Some emerging countries have indicated their intention to purchase XOs, but they are having second thoughts. They want better deals.
OLP has a clever way of getting more people involved in its project to deliver free laptops to schoolchildren of poor countries. It is launching a donation campaign. During mid-November, 2007, you can make a contribution by purchasing an XO for $399. The actual price for one is $199. The price difference goes to donation. This way you are actually sending one laptop to a Third World child while having one all to yourself. This "Give 1 Get 1" XO sale is valid only in North America from November 12 to December 31.
Some skeptics, however, argue that OLPC's program would fail and end up with a lot of waste. For one thing, there are already some competing low-price laptops on the market. For another, there is no effective implementation plan for after-sale support. However perfect the XO may be, it can break down after much use. Without orientation and training for computer use, children will be disappointed with the machine.
Certainly there are hurdles to overcome, but OLPC's lofty goal of delivering a laptop to every child in the Third World is likely to captivate a lot of people in North America. And the cool features of the XO will generate sales during the "Give 1 Get 1" campaign. OLPC's chief technology officer, Mary Lou Jepson, is hoping to produce a $50 laptop by 2009. That's really impressive. No doubt OLPC is renewing public interest in the computer world.
注）
One Laptop Per Child 「子ども1人にノートパソコン1台」OLPCのこのプロジェクトは、2008年に低価格のネットブックが普及するにつれ縮小に向かう
Linux 「リナックス」Linus Torvaldsが1991年に開発したUNIX系OS
application 「応用ソフト」
emerging country 「新興国」
have second thoughts 「考え直す」