OLPC [$100 computer]
Netbooks and the Fragility of the Internet
by Sky on May.11, 2009, under Cloud Computing, Cyber-nomads, OLPC [$100 computer], Our networked world, Technology and geeky stuff
I am increasingly concerned about the fragility of the Internet. With our data living more and more in the cloud, we are vulnerable when networks fail. Without email, without the documents I’m writing or editing, I have to sit out any network blackout that takes place. This happens to me more often than I’d like – probably a couple of times a month in my home office. I’m on Comcast cable for my connectivity, and though I frequently get 10 megabits/second of bandwidth, and almost always have at least 1.5 mbs, there are times when it gets so unreliable it might as well not be there, and then there are times when it just stops working for a couple of hours. (continue reading…)
The $100 laptop at International Symposium on Digital Earth 5
by Sky on Aug.28, 2007, under Audio Interviews, Learning and eLearning, OLPC [$100 computer], Our networked world, Social tools
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| The $100 laptop @ ISDE5 |
The International Symposium on Digital Earth was an opportunity for a few hundred experts and other interested individuals to get together, see and discuss ways in which online information systems are making it possible to explore our planet.
The most obvious, to me, being Google Earth. But there are lots and lots of others.
As I walked into UC Berkeley to register, I stumbled across Ed Cherlin, who I’ve known for a few years as a knowledgeable and good-hearted promoter of the Simputer (Simple Computer). This time he was wearing a volunteer staff shirt for ISDE5 and carrying an XO (the “$100 computer”) in his hand. Hmm, an XO. Time to talk to Ed I think! (continue reading…)
“The Other” $100 Laptops
by Sky on May.21, 2007, under Learning and eLearning, OLPC [$100 computer], Sustainability
Techmeme tracks news all over the web, and a link on Techmeme today to a BBC article brought to my attention yet another inexpensive laptop computer for kids. Intel has a $200+ laptop (the “$100 laptop” is now close to $175) that could also be in the running.
And let’s not ignore other efforts to create inexpensive computers, like Simputer and the recent announcement that India seeks to create a $10 laptop computer. (That’s, of course, going to be extremely difficult, but it does show that $100 may still be too high a price to achieve “everywhere” penetration.)
On CBS News, Lesley Stahl interviewed Nick Negroponte about the computer. There’s video there to be viewed. This is the CBS-OLPC institutional view, of course, but the discussion about OLPC in the blogosphere has gotten so negative lately that some positivity is welcome!
One Laptop Per Child
The Intel Classmate
- Google video of the first prototype of the Intel Eduwise computer (later the Classmate) at trade show (May 2006)
- C|Net article on Intel’s Classmate
- Brazil to test…Classmate
- A technical comparison of the OLPC “XO” and the Intel Classmate
- Wikipedia entry on the Intel Classmate
The Simputer (Simple Computer)
- Wikipedia entry on the Simputer
- Simputer web site
-posted using Ecto
Can I please have 1/10 of the $100 laptop?
by Sky on May.05, 2007, under OLPC [$100 computer], Our networked world
The Times of India today (5 May) reported that Indian researchers are striving to create a $10 laptop – having rejected the $100 laptop (now way over $100) as too expensive. Yeah, that may be true for many, many countries. $100 (or $150 or $175 or $200) could add up to a half year of labor for many people in many places.
Apparently the South-Asian researchers have gotten the cost down to $47 so far, labor included.
They report “A meeting of industry and academia is to take place in IISc, Bangalore, later this month to go through the two designs and invite more suggestions.”
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Welcome!
I hope you'll enjoy this mix of topics stemming from my ongoing experiences in the world of online communication. Oh, and sometimes the inspiration comes from face-to-face communications too. Many are sparked by my work as Chief Technology Officer of The Dalai Lama Foundation.
