iConflict XO Laptop Finally Arrives!
Posted on December 20, 2007 - Filed Under media, technology |
On November 12th we ordered the computer, and today, after much anticipation it arrived. The One Laptop per Child (OLPC) undertaking is nothing short of remarkable. Against great odds and in the face of many doubters, Nicholas Negroponte has traveled the globe more times than anyone can count to press governments into purchasing the device, known as the XO Laptop.
His success so far has been mixed. In fact, today’s Washington Post notes that the company is struggling to gain traction as wanning sales, sluggish marketing and competition from Intel’s ‘Classmate PC’ continue to hurt the product.
For the first time, individuals were able to purchase the laptop through the give one, get one campaign. By purchasing 2 laptops (one for a child in need and one for yourself), people can now experience the laptop firsthand. Enthralled at the opportunity to experiment with technology that can empower, educate and illuminate the lives of impoverished children, we leaped at the chance to buy one - well 2.
No one knows if the current problems OLPC is experiencing will be short term or if they threaten the entity itself. But there is a larger point here. Nicholas Negroponte isn’t seeking money, fortune or fame with his computer. And he is well aware that he won’t get any of that. In fact, by his own admission, he will get nothing out of this; nothing but the satisfaction of trying to make a difference.
To demonstrate the abilities of OLPC I am going to update blogflict from it as often as possible. In fact, this post is being made on our XO laptop that is pictured above. This week, I’ll be taking the laptop with me, in meetings, in coffee shops and around the streets of New York City. I’ll encourage people to try it for themselves.
Once iConflict goes live in February of 2008, we hope some of our younger citizen journalists living in impoverished nations will use their XO Laptops to provide us images, videos and news articles. It’s just one very small application for a device that has the potential to achieve great things.
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[…] But you don’t need to convince us at blogflict, we believe in the XO laptop. In fact, this post is being made from the remarkable computer. […]