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> The "one laptop per child" program put some thought into the connectivity problem. OLPC was also ruggedised, had replaceable parts and had things like crank

by flukus 5y ago

> The "one laptop per child" program put some thought into the connectivity problem. OLPC was also ruggedised, had replaceable parts and had things like crank charging for areas with no/little power, it was a well thought out machine all around. Even in developed countries there are many that can't afford the internet, electricity and repairs required so it's a shame to see schools go with regular lapotops or even worse, premium tablets. One of my nephews had an optional programming class that required an Ipad, it's the worst option in just about every way.

robinsoh 5y ago
> OLPC was also ruggedised, had replaceable parts and had things like crank charging for areas with no/little power, it was a well thought out machine all around No, it did not. The crank charger was never supplied commercially, it was purely a marketing tactic. Same as the Potenco Pull-cord generator http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Peripherals/Hand_Crank http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Peripherals/Hand_Crank , http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Peripherals/YoYo http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Peripherals/YoYo Both were ideas which even basic calculations tell you aren't viable. In addition, your other claims like "ruggedised", "replaceable parts" contradict what I saw with OLPC XO. I would say the product was a one-off that had almost no consideration for long term reuse. Things like the wifi bunny ears prove that the product was driven more by marketing tacticians rather than reality and cost. Honestly, my opinion is that OLPC was a huge scam to take money from unwitting unsophisticated developing country funders who didn't know any better and waste it in swanky offices in One Cambridge. It was one of the worst options about how to expend public funds.
- redis_mlc 5y ago
  > OLPC was a huge scam I would call it a pipe dream to inflate the status of Negroponte. Since children and education were involved, that's worse than a scam. People who focus on OLPC hand-chargers simply can't see the forest for the trees - the OLPC was a piece of junk with no educational software. The OLPC was an effort to make a new general-purpose computer platform, whereas a sane plan was to write educational software first. http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Our_software http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Our_software Even today parents' groups focus on getting computer hardware into schools, without regard for educational software. They end up being a 2021-version typewriter class. Apparently 600,000 OLPCs were distributed - I'm curious about any educational results, beyond e-waste.

by flukus 5y ago

robinsoh 5y ago

> OLPC was also ruggedised, had replaceable parts and had things like crank charging for areas with no/little power, it was a well thought out machine all around No, it did not. The crank charger was never supplied commercially, it was purely a marketing tactic. Same as the Potenco Pull-cord generator http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Peripherals/Hand_Crank http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Peripherals/Hand_Crank , http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Peripherals/YoYo http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Peripherals/YoYo Both were ideas which even basic calculations tell you aren't viable. In addition, your other claims like "ruggedised", "replaceable parts" contradict what I saw with OLPC XO. I would say the product was a one-off that had almost no consideration for long term reuse. Things like the wifi bunny ears prove that the product was driven more by marketing tacticians rather than reality and cost. Honestly, my opinion is that OLPC was a huge scam to take money from unwitting unsophisticated developing country funders who didn't know any better and waste it in swanky offices in One Cambridge. It was one of the worst options about how to expend public funds.

redis_mlc 5y ago
> OLPC was a huge scam I would call it a pipe dream to inflate the status of Negroponte. Since children and education were involved, that's worse than a scam. People who focus on OLPC hand-chargers simply can't see the forest for the trees - the OLPC was a piece of junk with no educational software. The OLPC was an effort to make a new general-purpose computer platform, whereas a sane plan was to write educational software first. http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Our_software http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Our_software Even today parents' groups focus on getting computer hardware into schools, without regard for educational software. They end up being a 2021-version typewriter class. Apparently 600,000 OLPCs were distributed - I'm curious about any educational results, beyond e-waste.