One Laptop for Two Children

I mentioned in an earlier post that I will be getting an OLPC OX machine through the Give One Get One program. The program is now closed so you missed your chance to get one, you can still give one (or more). I'm still waiting for mine, but Alvin Richards has got his and has a interesting blog discussing the XO and his 5 year old. I'm not sure which Child love it more Alvin or is 5 year old.

I notice Intel pulled out of the progra, but given they only joined six months ago and there's been no sign of an intel based OLPC I'm not sure it really changes anything. As reported on ZDnet, Nicholas Negroponte, head of the OLPC project said

"we view the children as a mission; Intel views them as a market"

So no love lost there then!

UPDATE : Found a good look at the OLPC on the BBC tech site

One Laptop per Child - Better than an iPhone?

The One Laptop per Child program has had somewhat of a rocky ride, it was envisaged that they would cost $100 and be made available to all school age children in developing countries. However they're costing $200 and the orders have not been flooding in from the governments of developing countries. They're now not known as the $100 laptop and are called the XO.

However these things do appear to be amazing devices, a review in laptop magazine mused that they are more revolutionary than the iPhone. Now I have a bunch of macs around the house and am a big fan of apple products, but I think the XO which can be dropped, withstand 120F temperatures and hase a great mesh network and some nice looking collaboration software designed to connect kids in devloping countries has to be better than a phone, even one made by apple.

Although the XO is intended for developing countries, many people in the US were interested so they came up with another innovative idea, if you want to buy one you need to give one. Reading my good friend Alvin's blog I saw his had arrived and I look forward to seeing how his kids get along with it. Alvin has done a good job of introducing his kids to all kinds of tech gear; computers, photography and he even tought his daughter how to DJ so they should pick the XO up pretty quick.

So I just decided to Give One Get One, the program has been extended until the end of the year so you still have a few days left if you're interested.

UPDATE:

I see a great comparison of the OLPC, Kimble and iPhone by Mike Hendrickson on O'Reilly