Sometimes there's a story that's so fun and interesting, that you just have to ask yourself, 'what's not to love?' One such appeared in The Boston Globe the other day. Carolyn Johnson's "It's cute, green -- and may change the world" describes a laptop being developed by Cambridge non-profit One Laptop Per Child, the brainchild of MIT Media Lab visionary Nicholas Negroponte.
Scheduled for release this September:
The so-called $100 laptop -- which today costs $175 -- is a low-power, lightweight computer that can withstand a torrential rainstorm, work in bright sunlight, and be powered by kids who are willing to wind cranks or yank cords to keep it running.
Negroponte doesn't lack for ambition. His goal is to provide these laptops to 1 billion kids aged 6 to 16 in developing countries, and hopes to crank out 3 million of them in year one, and he's looking "to change the world through technology."
Obviously, I don't want to push my way in line ahead of some third world kiddo, but the laptop sounds like a lot of fun:
The green-and-white laptop has a small, high-resolution screen that swivels to turn into a tablet. A sliding button turns the backlight out, allowing users to save energy or take the laptop outside and use it in bright sunlight.
It's not just an educational device - it can also turn itself into "a big Gameboy," and in addition to its brilliant hand-crank charging capability, it is also built to survive a heavy rainstorm. It's also got built-in wireless. I'm not sure if this will work throughout the world just quite yet, but the prospect of children being able to learn, connect, and communicate no matter where they are...well, I'm impressed.
The only downside I can see is if these kids trip onto web-sites that make them as crap-consumption-crazy as American kids are - but I guess until there are WalMarts in every corner there's not so much fear of that prospect. (That and exposure to some of the seamier sides of the Internet. I'm hoping there are built-in checks on access to non-child friendly sites.)
No, getting kids to connect up and learn about the world - especially in those places where they're taught that Westerners are Great Satans (two of the trial countries are Pakistan and Libya) - can only be for the good.
So best wishes to On Laptop per Child.
There will definitely be places where it's not easy being green, where corruption, ignorance, and repression will establish formidable barriers to entry.
But what a great idea.
P.S. I refused to Google about this project to see if there are any nay-sayers nay-saying. If you know something bad about One Laptop Per Child, please do not tell me. Sometimes ignorance is bliss, and this is one of them. Really, unless these things are exploding in kids' hands, I don't want to hear anything bad about it.
1 comment:
That's a lovely article and a pleasure to read. It's interesting what you say about looking for information about OLPC on the web. A lot of it is very dull and political. Your article is a joy and an inspiration, which I guess is what the project should be about. What is becoming clear is that the OLPC is a not the solution but a starting point for development. This project needs to be handled in a sensitive way. Different needs and cultures must be addressed properly. Only then will the One Laptop Per Child project be a success. Right now is an exciting time for technology, particularly mobile technology covering laptops, mobile phones and PDAs. Also the web and they way they all work with the web. I get my laptops and peripherals from Portable Universe and I can thoroughly recommend them. The best thing for people to do is to talk to them, let them know what your needs are (both current and future) and they will come up with the best laptop for you. I also get blank DVDs there for my backup.
http://www.portableuniverse.co.uk
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