#education I am interested to know what other folks think of the potential to build low cost PCs using Raspberry Pi (RPi) for education in India & the developi

#education I am interested to know what other folks think of the potential to build low cost PCs using Raspberry Pi (RPi) for education in India & the developing world. I am curious to know what other people think of OLPC XO3 vs RPi vs Aakash (the Indian govt.'s low cost tablet) OLPC http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8428147.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8428147.stm http://asia.cnet.com/what-can-we-learn-from-the-olpc-xo-3-0-tablet-62213156.htm http://asia.cnet.com/what-can-we-learn-from-the-olpc-xo-3-0-... Aakash Ubislate7 http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2012/01/08/the-inside-story-of-indias-50-computer-tablet/ http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2012/01/08/the-inside-story-o... 1. Raspberry Pi(RPi) requires monitor + mouse +k/b while XO3 is self-contained. 2. RPi is more geared to be a lab machine or a home pc while XO3 is more of a personal device. 3. From a pedagogical viewpoint, IMHO, i think younger kids should not have a digital device 24x7 as they could possibly get "addicted" to it . It is more important to impart a sense of curiosity(scientific temper) & hunger for learning, & having an XO3 might hamper kids' social activities - going outdoors & playing with other kids, being fit, taking part in sports. So i feel younger kids could be exposed to low-cost computers( made of a RPi) in school, which are low cost & encourage tinkering (open source, simple inexpensive hw) while older (say high school kids can get their own personal XO3. #4. From an Indian perspective, i wish the Indian govt scraps the crappy Aakash tablet in favour of the XO3. http://phonemantra.com/2012/01/olpc-india-head-rips-into-aakash-calls-it-pre-beta-and-questions-its-indian-ness/ http://phonemantra.com/2012/01/olpc-india-head-rips-into-aak... The vast majority of schools in India are run by the govt & most govt. schools dont have a computer lab or the computers:students ratio is abysmal. The RPi could be an excellent, low-cost way to create computer labs in all govt schools, colleges & vocational institutions. #5. Internet connectivity http://laptop.org/en/laptop/hardware/specs.shtml http://laptop.org/en/laptop/hardware/specs.shtml http://www.raspberrypi.org/faqs http://www.raspberrypi.org/faqs http://www.akashtablet.com/ http://www.akashtablet.com/ The XO3 comes with 802.11b/g & most importantly 802.11s(mesh networking) & the concept of school servers, so kids can download learning content even if access to the larger public Internet is not available. Aakash has GPRS( much slower) & RPi supports wired ethernet & USB WiFi dongles. Exciting times ahead for sure & would love to hear what other folks think cheers p.s. Detailed interview with Eben Upton, RPi's executive director (free registration required) http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/digitalfoundry-inside-raspberry-pi http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/digitalfoundry-inside-...