This passage in the OP's article is gold: > Drawing on a seven-month study of a model OLPC project in Paraguay, this book reveals that the laptops were not onl

This passage in the OP's article is gold: > Drawing on a seven-month study of a model OLPC project in Paraguay, this book reveals that the laptops were not only frustrating to use, easy to break, and hard to repair, they were designed for “technically precocious boys”—idealized younger versions of the developers themselves—rather than the diverse range of children who might actually use them. The top review on goodreads[1] also resonates with that view. > Ames uncovered a far better theoretical paradigm in nostalgic design, in this case the tendency of the OLPC leadership to create something for their idealized childhood rather than the actual lived experience of children in the developing world. If OLPC was able to see through themselves, they may have recognized the problem they were trying to solve was not the right problem at all. And that, by trying to solve it, they would alienate the very people who could help them. 5 years before OLPC came about, Bill Gates looked at the same problem space and decided against it[2] [1] https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3040698985?book_show_action=true https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3040698985?book_show_a... [2] https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2000/nov/05/billgates.microsoft https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2000/nov/05/billgates...