Update: “How a Computer for the Poor Got Stomped by Tech Giants” (WSJ), nice idealism.
“The 100 dollar laptop. “The $100 laptop, sometimes called the Green Machine, is being developed by One Laptop Per Child (OLPC), a Delaware-based, non-profit organization created by faculty members from the MIT Media Lab to design, manufacture, and distribute laptops that are sufficiently inexpensive to provide every child in the world access to knowledge and modern forms of education. One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) was announced by Nicholas Negroponte, Lab chairman and co-founder, at the World Economic Forum at Davos, Switzerland in January 2005. The laptops will be sold to governments and issued to children by schools on a basis of one laptop per child. These machines will be rugged, Linux-based, and so energy efficient that hand-cranking alone will generate sufficient power for operation. Ad-hoc wireless mesh networking may be used to allow many machines Internet access from one connection. The pricing goal is to start at $100 and then steadily decrease.” (Wikipedia, 2005) Bad feelings about this that it will be costing much more than $100, so it’s much like a cash-cow for something dismal.” (Reflections on The Future of Learning in the Knowledge Society: Disruptive Changes for Europe by 2020.)
You know what? I could be believing this guy. I’ve seen him talking at the conference of the worst pseudo-organization of European e-learning at Rhodos some years ago – conference tourism, what a business bastard of academia. (Also worth mentioning that to rank European e-learning pseudo-organizations is actually a painstakingly hard task considering the numeruous runner-ups.) He was talking about the miracle of Wi-Fi and its democratic takeover of unevenly distributed broadband heavens. Guess what happened till then? Not much. Why? He forgot about reality and more precisely about the status quo.
For me this video is much more about hipocrisy and penitence of ruining Africa as slave holders – is it really the past? – , sounds like any Miss Whatever Country interviewd who goes for world peace. Too much wrinkles on the forehead, is it from too much talking to politicians or avoiding the real power structure at all costs?
Hungary once was equal to homebred computers (AIRCOMP 16, HT 1080Z, HT 2080Z, PRIMO, VIDEOTON TVC, Z8000 VME, PTA 4000, VideoText 624, Triton IPT-02, SZKI MO5x). So what. What good happened to this country in direct conclusion of accessing these hardware?
Anyone quoting Seymourt Papert should answer why LOGO failed. Also giving something *really* worthy away for free is not a good deal – in sense of defining value.
“Government distribute it through the school system.” OMG. Read the news, buy some paperback history bestsellers with 33% discount at Amazon.
Any glimpse of pedagogy? Teachers? Huh?
“The price of a new product will be increasing”, please, quote one instance if we talk about technology.
“Grey market is a problem.” Sorry, but f*** you, Mr Philantropist.
“We don’t provide content, but the governments will do it, but we’re certainly constructicist.” Christ sake. “To criticise it, is a little bit stupid, actually.” Bit smuggy, I miss the small beard, Herr Obermeisterführer. I’m free to tell my opinion, so much nice and cheesy philanthropy to sweeten the heart of a mid-wife, I’d better be giving a Marshmallow Heart Prize.
Quanta agreed to build it, they smell business like teen spirit. I would love to see the ‘education’ part work, but I wouldn’t bet a dime.
still reading 