$100 laptop not for the public

[Jimmy 2004]

It was reported a few days back on techPowerUp! that the One Laptop Per Child project intended to release its $100 laptop to the public, but apparently the organisation has now claimed otherwise. An announcement from the project said "contrary to recent reports, One Laptop per Child is not planning a consumer version of its current XO laptop, designed for the poorest and most remote children in the world." The non-profit organisation is considering commercial ventures beyond 2008, but for the meantime they will only be available to the governments of developing countries. It's not yet totally clear why OLPC is against selling the laptops to the public if it could raise money to benefit the poorer countries, part of the reason could be that it wants every laptop it produces to benefit poorer countries.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[Seany1212]

OMG that is so stupid, how could it not benefit the third world countries if the public are paying for them to have them?? I mean if what was suggested ($200 for the laptop, $100 for the laptop and $100 for one to be sent to the third world) then i think the poorer people would be getting them a hell of a lot faster.

 

[jocksteeluk]

it wouldnt surprise me if the laptop costs more than $100rrp for parts and assembly and for that reason they have made it for poor countries only

 

[RickyG512]

wat is the cheapest brand new laptop anyway, it wont be the smallest coz they are normaly the most expensive

 

[regan1985]

there be on ebay the moment some1 from the 3rd world get them, the 1st thing they will able to do is use ebay!and sell there $100 laptop which is like a years wage for them lol,dont see the point in it at all! im sure they would rather have a gun to fight there civil wars or food!

 

[RickyG512]

there be on ebay the moment some1 from the 3rd world get them, the 1st thing they will able to do is use ebay!and sell there $100 laptop which is like a years wage for them lol,dont see the point in it at all! im sure they would rather have a gun to fight there civil wars or food!

lol, money prob would do them better

 

[newtekie1]

My only guess as to why they would not sell them to the public is that they want every last one to go to the people they are intended to go to for the time being.

 

[Polaris573]

lol, money prob would do them better

Education is the basis of a successful, stable, self reliant, nation. No matter what you say computers are undeniably a useful tool to that end.

The problem with merely giving money is that it does not make people any more self reliant and the grow to depend on charity. Giving an impoverished family something as simple as a goat or cow has a much greater effect than money. It allows them to produce fertilizer for crops and/or dairy products to sell at the market, in many cases allowing their children to gain an education and go on to be much more successful than their parents.

 

[RickyG512]

how will they know how to use computers

who will fix it when problems come

will it be in their language

 

[Polaris573]

how will they know how to use computers

Contrary to popular belief the third world does have teachers and the people there are willing to learn.

who will fix it when problems come

How do you fix your computer when it breaks?
1. They will fix it themselves.
2. This strange new job will be created called "computer repair guy".

will it be in their language

Of course, computers are already available in every language why would these be any different?

 

[muon]

Itd be much better for the governments to spend their money on improving schools and making them free at the point of use. Then provide these schools with however many laptops necessary rather than one for each child.

there be on ebay the moment some1 from the 3rd world get them, the 1st thing they will able to do is use ebay!and sell there $100 laptop which is like a years wage for them lol

Not if it remains the property of the government and it is simply leased to people for free. Im sure they will think of ways to combat this. Even without ebay, they would be sold amongst people within the country. Adults would likely be willing to buy the laptops off children.

lol, money prob would do them better

Money is rarely better. Investment will make the economy grow more permanently.

 

[WarEagleAU]

All the good we said on this a couple of days ago? I take it back. This is the most idiotic thing.

 

[lemonadesoda]

I think the reason could be for reasons of "-ve press". Imagine that the laptop is SO RUBBISH that no-one would buy them... or if they bought them... people would complain about how poor it is... especially things like screen quality, keyboard, build quality, reliability etc.

This could cause a wave of discontent that wouldnt help the OLPC stakeholders, and potentially make them loose their funding, and hence their "profits".

Remember that there ARE some people hoping to make a lot of money out of the OLPC concept. If it backfires, an end to their little earner

 

[Track]

They lose money for every laptop, so making more means the lose more money. And they cant make it back like Sony or Microsoft.