The is not having an easy time of its efforts to bring low-cost computing to the masses. Costs are up and it is struggling to get the scale necessary to lower costs and improve its momentum. OLPC is therefore ().
Like the Give 1 Get 1 initiative the Foundation's new philanthropic initiative appears to be aimed at building scale for the program. Originally envisioned to cost $100 each the OLPC's manufacturing costs have since climbed to $188 and the project is having a hard time getting countries to commit to buying the laptops.
The OLPC Project is also looking at more competition than was envisioned when the project first got off the ground. Last week. Asus officially launched its 7". Linux-running Eee laptop at a $299 price point and Intel's Classmate PC project offers another alternative to the OLPC XO.
The article goes on to quote OLPC's founder. Nicholas Negroponte as chastening Intel for selling its Classmate PC at an alleged loss. But why? If the point is to bring low-cost computing to the masses why does it matter whether Intel makes or loses money on its machines if it sees a corporate interest in distributing machines at low cost? I can understand Negroponte's ire from a personal pride perspective but not from the perspective of philanthropy.
We should be grateful for any and all competition that drives down prices for developing nations and expands access to machines. It really doesn't matter who does the work so long as it gets done.
We need to keep an eye on the end goal. How we get there or rather who takes us there is somewhat less important.
Matt Asay is general manager of the Americas and vice president of business development at Alfresco and has nearly a decade of operational experience with commercial open source and regularly speaks and publishes on open-source business strategy. He is a member of the and is not an employee of CNET.
I generally like your stuff but I think you missed on this one. The OLPC is not merely about delivering cheap hardware to the masses it's about providing a viable learner centric solution. It takes more than just hardware to effectively bring computing to the children of emerging nations - it takes thoughtful design and careful consideration of hardware software and the environment which have been key drivers throughout OLPC's development. When you understand how much thought has gone into the OLPC and how little into the competition's options you can understand why Negroponte might be a bit frustrated. See "OLPC: Intel. Microsoft and other "Experts" just don't get it" at for thoughts and some discussion on the matter.
If you believe this comment is offensive or violates the you can report it below (this will not automatically remove the comment). Once reported our staff will be notified and the comment will be reviewed.
Note: Your e-mail address is used only to let the recipient know who sent the e-mail and in case of transmission error. Neither your address nor the recipients's address will be used for any other purpose.
Hi. I found this user's comment on CNET and thought you might be interested in reading it.
It's a server that automatically comes with unlimited support never outsourced and a world-class network & data centers with solid guarantees all working for your business.
Can you afford for your website to offline? Can you trust your current provider?
Choose a green configuration or customize one that works for your business.
Your complete satisfaction is our sole ambition. Anything less is unacceptable.
Every customer has a dedicated team of experts managing your IT critical needs.
Matt Asay brings a decade of in-the-trenches open-source business and legal experience to the Open Road with an emphasis on emerging open-source business strategies and opportunities. Matt is general manager of the Americas division and vice president of business development at Alfresco a company that develops open-source software for content management. He is a member of the and is not an employee of CNET.
After several years of toiling away in secret--with only brief public appearances--Microsoft's chief software architect shares what he's been up to.
Armadillo Aerospace has won $350,000 by completing the first stage of the Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge to improve people's ability to jet around the moon.
Forex Groups - Tips on Trading
Related article:
http://blogs.cnet.com/8301-13505_1-9803525-16.html?part=rss&subj=TheOpenRoad
comments | Add comment | Report as Spam
|