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A laptop per child takes a giant step towards reality

According to a news release on Vanguard, the Nigerian government has ordered and fully paid for one million One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) notebooks. The order came through earlier this month and the Nigerian government hopes that the investment will encourage tech development and learning among its young citizens. The million-unit deal is the first large order of its kind for OLPCs.

The OLPC project is aimed at encouraging young people in development countries to work with technology and be connected to the rest of the world. The OLPC organization currently works with several government bodies, including those from Argentina, Brazil, China, India, Nigeria and other countries. According to the organization, more orders are eminent.

DailyTech previously reported on the $100 OLPC notebooks. The OLPCs recently went through some changes, such as the way it receives mechanical power. A user will now pull on a string which winds up a generator, generating electricity. Unfortunately, a lot of human effort will be required to generate enough power to keep the notebook going for any significant amount of time. 20 watts is required to operate the unit for roughly 10 minutes, but cranking the generator for a few minutes only generates about 5 watts.

Processing power in the OLPC is provided by a low power AMD 50x15 Geode processor. VIA announced in June that a competing processor called the pc1500 and pc2000 family. Both AMD and VIA said they are committed to the OLPC initiative.

Despite the large order from the Nigerian government, the OLPC organization says that production of the OLPCs will not begin until 5 to 10 million units have been ordered and paid for in total.

Update 08/04/2006: OLPC representatives have denied this commitment.

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This makes perfect sense
By shabazkillax on 7/26/2006 9:48:03 AM , Rating: 3
No food, diseased water, and a laptop...brilliant!




RE: This makes perfect sense
By Homerboy on 7/26/2006 10:00:22 AM , Rating: 2
this is the ignorance that plagues this project (and the way I felt previously) Believe it or not, these developing countries are not all just straw huts, and people sitting around waiting to die... Laptops will help give the (healthy, and intelligent) children and adults a means to learn by and educate themselves about the world around them bettering their country and their futures.


RE: This makes perfect sense
By stmok on 7/26/2006 10:40:58 AM , Rating: 2
Yeah, they'll be learning Linux! :D


RE: This makes perfect sense
By creathir on 7/26/2006 10:41:53 AM , Rating: 3
Why should the government be BUYING these for the people???
Who do they decide recieves a laptop?
Given that there are 128 MILLION people in Nigeria, 1 laptop per child is a joke. All this will do, is cause strife between children that have one, and the ones that do not. This is, as it has always been, a tool that would be used in class warefare.

- Creathir


RE: This makes perfect sense
By creathir on 7/26/2006 10:42:11 AM , Rating: 2
warfare*


RE: This makes perfect sense
By Homerboy on 7/26/2006 11:14:11 AM , Rating: 2
uhhhh the same reason that our Gov't funds the mjority of our schooling system? This is a VERY cost effective way to get children in lesser developed countries into a working, functional, beneficial educational system versus just letting them try to plant corn in a baren field.

By investing in the youth of their conutry, the gov't of Nigeria and similar countries are hoping for a better future for their ENTIRE country.


RE: This makes perfect sense
By creathir on 7/26/2006 11:58:43 AM , Rating: 2
Our government is not SUPPOSED to fund our schooling system. Our federal government was designed to be limited in nature, though recently it has ballooned into a behemoth that is inefficient. The fact that your local schools may be poor in quality is something that is related just to the area you live in. The schools in my area, are well off and have highly skilled teachers. Maybe you should consider moving if this is a major concern of yours.

Sure the laptops are a cost effective way to get them into a better educational system, but where do they go from there? You are trying to lay the chicken before it is an egg. Without a solid job environment, the problem is not solved. You could have 1000 rocket scientists, but if they do not have a place to work, they do NOTHING. What causes a productive place to work? Working power, water, and basic human services. You talk down the fact that they are planting corn, but did you ever think that maybe they are doing this so they can... EAT? Believe it or not, this is more important than learning why European socialists failed at their attempt to create a utopia back in the 1930s...

Once again, you did not address the issue of WHICH kids get the laptops? I can tell you know, it is not the kids plowing the fields of corn...

- Creathir


RE: This makes perfect sense
By Merry on 7/26/2006 12:07:59 PM , Rating: 2
Believe it or not third world inhabitants do know how to share things.

does this answer your question?


RE: This makes perfect sense
By creathir on 7/26/2006 12:18:18 PM , Rating: 2
Believe it or not, MOST third world countries are like this because the ELITE class supresses the lower class. Pull your head out of the sand. There is a reason these countries are third world, and the rest of the world is not.

- Creathir


RE: This makes perfect sense
By Merry on 7/26/2006 12:23:01 PM , Rating: 2


Believe it or not, MOST third world countries are like this because the ELITE class supresses the lower class. Pull your head out of the sand. There is a reason these countries are third world, and the rest of the world is not.

- Creathir

Your post makes no sense.

What exactly is the point you're making here.


RE: This makes perfect sense
By creathir on 7/26/2006 12:38:15 PM , Rating: 2
Think about CLASS ENVY for a second. That is who is going to recieve these laptops. In a utopia, everyone would share and life would be good. This world is not that, and never will be. My POINT is that these laptops will not be used for the purposes intended by the creators, to promote the education of the lower class. Given the fact that the population is 128 million people, and only 1 million of these things will be available, this will be yet another thing the upper class (the ones in control of the country) can use against the lower class.

THAT is my point. It made perfect sense.

- Creathir


RE: This makes perfect sense
By Merry on 7/26/2006 1:37:04 PM , Rating: 2
it makes your point clear, however it still makes no sense.

What would the 'elite classes' want with a $100 laptop when they can buy normal Windows based ones.


RE: This makes perfect sense
By masher2 (blog) on 7/26/2006 2:17:37 PM , Rating: 3
> "Believe it or not, MOST third world countries are like this because the ELITE class supresses the lower class"

I've been to more third world nations than, I suspect, both of you combined, and I have to agree. I can't count the number of times I've seen a $100,000+ Mercedes or Bentley driving past cardboard-walled huts, or past naked children playing in sewage-filled mud.

Your average "third world" nation holds great amounts of natural resources, a populace that, while untrained, is generally willing to work extremely hard and long hours. More often than not, it receives millions or even hundreds of millions in foreign aid. Where does all this vast wealth go? Usually...in the hands of its government, or those favored by it.

Everyone else? They get to play in the mud.




RE: This makes perfect sense
By Merry on 7/26/2006 2:35:32 PM , Rating: 2
I'm not disputing this.

I'm disputing his opinion that these laptops will end up in the hands of this elite class. In my opinion they wont as they can afford better.


RE: This makes perfect sense
By creathir on 7/26/2006 3:13:59 PM , Rating: 2
This laptops will end up in the hands of the poor that kiss the elite's rear ends.

THAT is what I am saying.

- Creathir


RE: This makes perfect sense
By Merry on 7/26/2006 3:19:51 PM , Rating: 2
That happens in every single country in the world, especially the US. It just happens to be a fact of life.


RE: This makes perfect sense
By AbelIAN on 7/26/2006 6:21:58 PM , Rating: 2
So what? Just because the poor are exploited by the rich means we should give up on them? How exactly is providing the poorer classes with better education conducive to class struggle anyway?


By NT78stonewobble on 7/26/2006 1:53:52 PM , Rating: 2
Better red (social democrat or "commie" in TM america) than surviving on something like the 2nd harvest...


RE: This makes perfect sense
By bpurkapi on 7/26/2006 5:15:25 PM , Rating: 2
these computers are reaaall cheap and most likely will be shared in classrooms all around Nigeria. This won't cause class warfare, it will bring the poor into a similar realm as their rich counterparts who already have computers. If anything it is a cheap way to reduce class warfare. Education is the best way to decrease class boundries, if everyone has access to education than society is less likely to have a large gap in income. Look at America, we have a huge middle class because we have a crap load of educated people. We don't have the class issues other countries have because we have easier access to education.


RE: This makes perfect sense
By shabazkillax on 7/26/2006 12:42:44 PM , Rating: 2
Your assuming an awful lot there. Like that the laptops will actually make it to the people that need them. If you look at the rampant corruption in Nigeria I'd say that outcome is very unlikely.


RE: This makes perfect sense
By fxyefx on 7/26/2006 10:27:12 AM , Rating: 2
The laptops still cost the Nigerian government money - this is not a purely charitable enterprise. However, the development of this laptop will allow their government to get a lot of bang for their buck. Those who will benefit from the laptop will receive previously unattainable education and experience with technology. This will promote a healthy economy, in turn benefitting everyone in the country, including those with no food and diseased water. : ) Giving food and water to the less fortunate is necessary, of course, but this is possibly an excellent investment for the government of Nigeria to ensure a better future for everyone living there.


Waste
By DallasTexas on 7/26/2006 11:39:12 AM , Rating: 2
This will cost the Nigerian gov't $100M that comes right out of American taxpayer pockets.

You can argue the beneficiaries here are the $100 laptop manufacturers. Just this week, India refused the $100 laptop as a waste of valuable resources to people who are seeking basic food and shelter.


RE: Waste
By c4xiayu on 7/26/2006 3:07:32 PM , Rating: 2
Even China does not like this $100 laptop idea. There are lots of used PCs donated for kids and at least electricity is not a big problem.


By PAPutzback on 7/26/2006 10:43:34 AM , Rating: 2
How are they going to pull two things at once?





By Harinezumi on 7/26/2006 10:52:15 AM , Rating: 2
Last time I checked, fapping to cyberporn didn't give you AIDS


By ksherman on 7/26/2006 11:00:41 AM , Rating: 2
Last time I checked, you also had to have internet access to get porn...


By ksherman on 7/26/2006 11:01:08 AM , Rating: 2
I meant internet porn, as that is what the OP was reffering to


By Lord Evermore on 7/26/2006 11:41:33 PM , Rating: 2
Maybe they'll work out a deal with the online porn industry to supply "free" content pre-loaded, similar to trial software, in the hope it'll give people incentive to get Internet access so they can get the good stuff.


Nigeria isn't poor
By plinden on 7/26/2006 1:17:19 PM , Rating: 2
Hmm, before asking how Nigeria can afford this, you could do a little research, and find that they had $17billion in oil revenue in 2002 (I couldn't be bothered researching for more than 30 seconds to find more recent figures).

Granted, a large percentage of this ends up in the hands of a political and tribal elite (thanks to the support of Western governments and oil companies) but if they spend $100million of this for education, it's better than nothing.




RE: Nigeria isn't poor
By masher2 (blog) on 7/26/2006 2:21:27 PM , Rating: 2
> "...a large percentage of this ends up in the hands of a political and tribal elite (thanks to the support of Western governments and oil companies)"

Don't blame anyone else but the Nigerian government. What's an oil company supposed to do? It's in business to pump oil, not finance revolutions. Even if a US corporation wanted to effect political change, such actions are illegal under US law and, even if it, would lead to a shareholder suit if they tried. Quite rightly so.

The problems in Nigeria are of its own making. And, by and large, are the same problems faced by most African nations...even those without oil.


RE: Nigeria isn't poor
By plinden on 7/26/2006 3:36:50 PM , Rating: 2
Got a guilty conscience do you? Who said anything about American oil companies? Last time I looked, Shell (who have the major oil concessions in Nigeria) was based in Holland. And oddly enough I did blame the Nigerian government:
quote:
a large percentage of this ends up in the hands of a political and tribal elite


Corruption on the scale of Nigeria can exist only if the rulers are corrupt and the companies doing business there (and the Western governments who try to boost their nationals business) are willing to feed the corruption.


RE: Nigeria isn't poor
By jskirwin on 7/26/2006 3:43:23 PM , Rating: 2
You ever have to bribe someone?
I have. I hated doing it but I needed to get something done, so I did it.

If US (or Dutch) firms pulled out of Nigeria, French/Russian/Chinese would go in. Companies are amoral - they only care about profit.

Besides, the NGOs in Somalia put up with losing 75% or more of their food aid to militia thugs - in order to get at least some food to those who needed it.

The long term solution is the replacement of a the corrupt government with a clean one. How that happens, though, is realistically impossible.


RE: Nigeria isn't poor
By masher2 (blog) on 7/26/2006 4:58:56 PM , Rating: 2
> "Got a guilty conscience do you? "

Not especially. Feel a driving urge to indulge in ad hominem attacks instead of debating the issue on its merits, do you?

> " Last time I looked, Shell ...was based in Holland..."

Last time I looked, there were many other nations just as corrupt as Nigeria. None of which have Shell (or any other Western oil company) operating within them.

Government corruption doesn't require "Western" influence to thrive. And Western companies in Nigeria aren't promoting corruption...they're simply doing business by the laws of the land. Laws they had no hand in drafting, and no business trying to change.

> "And...I did blame the Nigerian government"

You also blamed Western governments and oil companies. None of which are responsible for Nigeria's problems.




"Nigeria Oders One Million OLPCs"
By gotincon on 7/26/2006 9:44:07 AM , Rating: 1
While users may start to smell a little from pulling the string so much in 100 degree heat, but you didnt have to make fun of them... :)


So now Nigeria natives will lead the world in arm wrestling competitions.




By noxipoo on 7/26/2006 9:59:09 AM , Rating: 2
doesn't anyone ever proofread here? i'm sure you can even find people to do it for free or something.


By AxemanFU on 7/26/2006 10:22:13 AM , Rating: 3
How much are these things going to help without WIDESPREAD INTERNET CONNECTIVITY? I mean, its great they can program and type on them, but when half of them are sold on the black market to get an AK or a few extra weeks worth of rice and salt, or whatever, what are is really going to be achieved here? I think the approach to any kind of economic revitalization has more to do with 3 square meals a day, some jobs, and political stability. I'm sure there will be many children that benefit from these things if and when they get made and distributed, but I don't think that just handing them out to schools is going to make the socio-economic problems in the area better. Hopefully there is a plan and cirriculum on how to use these things for education. One thing is sure, this program will buy a lot of "votes" from the recipients of the laptops.


RE: "Nigeria Oders One Million OLPCs"
By ziggo on 7/26/2006 11:36:52 AM , Rating: 2
Its not really that hot in Nigera, the sun is pretty brutal, and its hunmid, but temperature wise its not that bad. But then again, its a rather large country and has a pretty varied climate depending on where you are at.

What will happen with these things if they are not controlled by the government is they will be taken from the children and resold. They will sell absolutly anything to make a buck. Personally I think the equivlent amount of soap would do much more to encourage thier economy.


Oders?
By epsilonparadox on 7/26/2006 9:44:21 AM , Rating: 3
Great!!! Now the financial scams just increased ten-fold.




RE: Oders?
By tygrus on 7/26/2006 10:03:00 AM , Rating: 1
Yeah. The next thing we hear is the check bounces and/or the shipment goes missing.
Has someone told them they still need power, training and decent internet/comms access would be nice.
I don't know much about their access but my supposed 1500kbps ADSL link (Sydney outer metro) has recently dropped down to <100kbps (when it does connect) due to another dodgy Telstra connection (they say they'll fix it tommorrow, 5th time in 3yrs).


RE: Oders?
By Homerboy on 7/26/2006 10:24:06 AM , Rating: 2
again ignorance.
they are not working towards internet access with these laptops, but rather simply netowrking amonugst the owners of the laptops and schools and facilities using them

READ UP ON WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT.


In other news
By cubby1223 on 7/26/2006 4:20:44 PM , Rating: 2
The payment for the laptops came from a company in the UK who owed Nigeria for a past debt. As a major blow to the OLPC initiative, the Western Union money trasfer confirmation number was learned to be fake after the laptops had been shipped out.




RE: In other news
By Pythias on 7/26/2006 5:40:06 PM , Rating: 2
I wonder how many people are going to get that one. =)


RE: In other news
By jmke on 7/27/2006 6:53:32 AM , Rating: 2
419 is my guess.


fully paid for?
By kattanna on 7/26/2006 10:34:09 AM , Rating: 3
you sure the "check" wasnt for more then the amount..and now they want the difference sent back to them in cash...

then 30 days later they find out the check was bogus...

if that happens..i will not stop laughing for days





RE: fully paid for?
By geeg on 7/26/2006 10:56:47 AM , Rating: 2
I am sure the check is related through a lottery which will be paid if the OLPC finacial office writes out their bank account and credit card information.


Gov't Corruption
By jskirwin on 7/26/2006 12:09:09 PM , Rating: 3
Of those million laptops, how many do you believe will actually make it into the hands of schoolchildren?

There's a culture of corruption in Nigeria(a 2005 corruption index score of 152 according to Transparency.org), and I would bet that very, very few of these laptops appear in the hands of schoolchildren.

Most of them will be given away as gifts or sold.

You aren't going to solve poverty without solving the problem of gov'ts that steal everything from people.

BTW I lived in Tanzania - which scores a 96 - and regularly did business in Kenya (144).




RE: Gov't Corruption
By shabazkillax on 7/26/2006 12:38:24 PM , Rating: 2
Thank you for pointing out one of the largest reasons why most African countries remain in the third world. People don't want to face the real issues. Sure, it's easy to throw money at a problem. But at the end of the day nothing will change if the money doesn't reach the people that truely are in need of charity. It's the same old song and dance.


string em together
By otispunkmeyer on 7/27/2006 1:01:33 PM , Rating: 2
im sure if you string 1 million of these together you'll have your self a semi decent super computer. every country needs one of those

but my moneys on the fact they will end up on ebay after a few weeks. in exchange for an AK and some armour piercing rounds




RE: string em together
By AntiTomZandmasher2 on 7/27/2006 7:54:24 PM , Rating: 2
I'm not too optimistic about these machines. There are too many questions and too many pieces that must fall in place for them to have the intended impact.

These points are well summarized by posters here.

How are kids going to get the laptops?
Which kids will get them?
How will the laptops be used? (Study, Wikipedia, Games, Porn?)
How will the kids access the internet?
Will kids grasp the use of these laptops?
Who will provide tech or hardware support?
In many cases, the kids will have better computers than their parents. Won't they have something to say or do?

For developing countries, I don't think it's smart to leap ahead of the tech tree, so to speak. Having in place a stable government, growing economy, and infrastructure for a skilled workforce is far more beneficial than what a million laptops can accomplish.

Another question I've had is why are we building these machines when we have several million computers in the developed world being tossed out of the door when the original owner upgrades to the latest Core 2 Duo(see other DT threads)? The same goes for businesses and their hardware refreshes.


eeeks!
By Homerboy on 7/26/2006 9:44:15 AM , Rating: 2
1 million more scammers!

seriously though I was just reading an articl eon the OLPCs and while a skeptic at first, I am now a convert. Great idea for the longterm and amazingly engineered.




In seriousness
By gotincon on 7/26/2006 9:46:56 AM , Rating: 2
Good for them. I'm sure this will further their development and hopefully someday it will be more profitable to have a good job in a booming Nigerian economy versus scamming Americans.




By jskirwin on 7/26/2006 12:38:25 PM , Rating: 2
http://www.therazor.org/?p=672

See above for 15 minutes of muckraking.

Original source (Vanguard newspaper in Nigeria) has the government spending "a million dollars" (whose? US? Australian? The Nigerian currency is Naira) NOT a million laptops.

I thought that wasn't feasible for a 3rd World Country.




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