BOGO laptop

[HenryJ]

http://laptop.org/laptop/

My brother is looking at this as a viable vehicle based GPS and communication tool.

[suntinez]

The hardware seems perfect for that kind of use!

Will be very interested to hear how that research goes, especially GPS-type applications that will work with the included sugar. Or will he be programming/developing the interface?

Seems if you are a developer, have downloaded the emulator etc and still need hardware to test on, you can get one for free in the hopes of furthering the OLPC project. Smart move ... info at http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Developers_program if that's what he's doing. If not, there's a program available until the end of 2007 where your $399 donation gets one for a deserving child and you get one free for "your child". That info at http://www.laptopgiving.org/en/give-one-get-one.php Hmmm, you got me thinking now, I'm pretty much of a child most of the time.:)

Also curious how a GPS will interface, let us know OK? Thinking active antenna? Good luck!

[HenryJ]

Actually thinking cheap USB receiver and simple Linux mapping/routing software.
Delorme Earthmate USB receiver?
Low power consumption is amazing! 1w-5w , you could power it with a hand crank charger.

[DavidG]

Actually thinking cheap USB receiver and simple Linux mapping/routing software.
Delorme Earthmate USB receiver?
Low power consumption is amazing! 1w-5w , you could power it with a hand crank charger.

The laptop was originally designed to work with a hand crank. I believe it was dropped as the cost for the "$100 Laptop" increased to $200.

Regardless, I really hope this program takes off.

[HenryJ]

My brothers Xmas from his wife was one of these. Delivery is scheduled for January or February last I heard.
Lots of things running through his head right now. The simplicity. The inter connectivity. He is anxious about the possibility of software radio and researching the possibilities. First step will be to get his "ticket". That will give him something to do while he waits for this laptop.

[DavidG]

My brothers Xmas from his wife was one of these. Delivery is scheduled for January or February last I heard.
Lots of things running through his head right now. The simplicity. The inter connectivity. He is anxious about the possibility of software radio and researching the possibilities. First step will be to get his "ticket". That will give him something to do while he waits for this laptop.

Please post up impressions when he receives it :)

[bigreen505]

If anyone is interested in getting one, I encourage you to do it soon. I would say that with continually increasing pressures from Microsoft and Intel they may not be around long.

[DavidG]

If anyone is interested in getting one, I encourage you to do it soon. I would say that with continually increasing pressures from Microsoft and Intel they may not be around long.

I believe the BOGO program ends Dec. 31st.

[pwc]

I ordered one for my daughter.
Ok, I really ordered it for me to play the "Learn to program in python" game. :)

I'm interested to see how well it works. I doubt it will make Microsoft shiver much, I'm just glad to see the program moving along and getting these laptops into the hands of kids far and wide (and near).

Ours should arive around when Henry's does and I'll let you know (via posting with it) how it works. Ironaically, I was thinking of getting rid of my Earthmate USB GPS receiver....

[HenryJ]

Looks like there will be three in our family. My brother is to receive his and he purchased one for each of his two nephews. My son will receive one.

Word is that the others are on their way to Mongolia. I had to chuckle with flashes of hoards of Mongols with laptops. Young Genghis Khan, Kublai Khan able to create a new empire!
J/K

On the plains and areas that are RF quiet the reception for connectability can be up to 3km. That would be more than enough to connect vehicles in an expedition. It will be fun to see the possibilities.

Last word was scheduled delivery was pushed back to Late February or March for us.

[pwc]

Just got an update that ours won't ship for a couple of months. but the good news is they are in the hands of kids in Mongolia.
http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Ulaanbaatar

[DesertRose]

Keep us posted on this - I just got a link on them, and they look really brilliant.

How can Microsoft / Intel stop this product? Am I missing something here, they are Linux OS.

[TeleScooby]

Keep us posted on this - I just got a link on them, and they look really brilliant.

How can Microsoft / Intel stop this product? Am I missing something here, they are Linux OS.


That's the problem, MS doesn't like seeing Linux machines being widely distributed. There's been some beef between the guy who started the OLPC program and Intel...he wants them to stop supplying chips to Asus for the EeePC, which he sees as a competitor...argh. He should stick to passing out free machines, that part is really cool!

[Scott Brady]

http://laptop.org/en/img/specs_dimensions.jpg

[pwc]

Keep us posted on this - I just got a link on them, and they look really brilliant.

How can Microsoft / Intel stop this product? Am I missing something here, they are Linux OS.

They can stop it the same way Ford can stop the Vespa scooter. They are aimed at different markets. Remember Bill Gate's vision is a "Computer in every home running Microsoft software", or something close to that. I shouldn't have used quotes but deleting takes soooooo much work. Where as OLPC is looking at, well, one laptop per child. I liked the buy one get one model you also used, Rosanne (even though I didn't get one because I've got more flashlights than I can use) as a means for us greedy "what's in it for me" people to help distribute needed goods to people who can really use them.

Anyway, it's not meant to compete, it's meant to get useful technology into the hands of the next generation who will hopefully make a better impact on helping their countries, ummmm, improve? Not quite the right word. But close.


They have an update page here http://wiki.laptop.org/go/News . It's pretty cool to see the real problems they are having and how they are getting fixed.

[DesertRose]

Thanks for the information and clarifications. I can't even put into words (or at least words that the filter on this forum would not screen out) how I feel about Microsoft trying to thwart this effort. Every time I'm in Africa I see how little school kids have - in most countries school is not free nor compulsory - and yet they show up every day and work hard, sometimes 4+ kids sharing one desk if they even have desks.

Some might ask "well why give them computers?" These kids are all super smart, and eager - blazingly eager - to learn anything and everything. They soak it up. These little computers are like putting a turbocharge on an engine. It give them a tool, a boost, for what is already hidden inside. And helps them get ready for the modern world quickly.

Kofi Annan summed up the program so well:

“This is not just a matter of giving a laptop to each child, as if bestowing on them some magical charm. The magic lies within—within each child, within each scientist-, scholar-, or just-plain-citizen-in-the-making. This initiative is meant to bring it forth into the light of day.”

Founder Nicholas Negroponte is an amazing man. God bless him!

[DavidG]

As much as I bemoan the stranglehold Microsoft has on much of the marketplace, I'm not entirely certain we can point to MS for many of the OLPC problems. While not totally clear, it appears Negroponte may have asked too much of Intel (http://www.news.com/8301-13579_3-9839806-37.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20).

Also, MS seems to be working WITH OLPC (http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?no_d2=1&sid=08/01/09/1935207), at least for the time being. (http://www.news.com/8301-13579_3-9847295-37.html)

[HenryJ]

We have had it now for a month or so. This little laptop is just amazing! What a wonderful teaching tool!

Simple complexity.

It has a program for piloting a sail boat, operating a submarine, controlling the locks on a dam, trajectory drops from aircraft, electrical schematic design, etc. Wonderful simple teaching programs. My seven year old son is creating electrical circuits with diodes, switches, batteries, rheostats, transistors, lights, etc.
Great way to show a twin switched light.

The camera, internet browser (opera based), wireless all work great. Networking is automatic and flawless between laptops. Groups can collaborate on projects.

It does not last as long on the battery as I would have expected, but it is small and charges quickly on any available power source.
The package is very nice and definitely user friendly.

I have not played with adding navigation or mapping yet. I still need to let some of the new 'puter wear off, so my son will put it down long enough for Dad to play with it ;)

The other three laptops went to Nepal

http://www.4wdtrips.net/photogallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=1844&g2_serialNumber=1

[DavidG]

Very cool. Let us know what you come up with for navigation when you're allowed to play with it :)

[Tress]

Badd Azzz! Has anyone any more info about this thing, can you use MS office on it? Or some other typing software? Any word on the nav abilities? Either way its so cool and im tempted to get one just so i can play with it and know its abilities, cuz if it does what its supposed to then it might be a perfect thing for us to introduce to an organization in Nicaragua we will be working with for up to a year starting Dec! So ya, really really cool and im dying to hear what aone has to say about there experience with it. Thanks for the info though!!
:REOutIceFishing:

[suntinez]

Tossing aside its iconic green-and-white laptop with its distinctive antennas, One Laptop per Child (OLPC) is pursuing a smaller 2.0 version, scheduled for release in 2010, in which dual touch screens will replace the keypad. The new version will have lower power consumption and a $75 price--a figure that OLPC claims is achievable despite the fact that the current model, the XO, sells for nearly double the sum mentioned in its "$100 laptop" moniker.

But until the new machine comes online, the existing XO will continue to be sold. Only about 600,000 hard orders have come in--a far cry from the 100 million that, two years ago, Negroponte said he was hoping to obtain by 2008. And last week's announcement that the XO will have the option of using Windows or the existing Linux-based operating system has led to some debate among education officials. Yesterday, Oscar Becerra, a Peruvian education ministry official who directs the OLPC deployment under way there, says that he sees little value in adding Windows for computers in primary schools.


Full article here (http://www.technologyreview.com/Infotech/20804/page1/).

Windows, uhoh ..... :confused: