That '$100 laptop?' It now costs $200

[FJ218700]

Orders for low-cost computers have allegedly fallen far short of estimates.

Doesn't sound good for Negroponte


"BOSTON - A computer developed for poor children around the world, dubbed "the $100 laptop," has reached a milestone: Its price tag is now $200.

The One Laptop per Child Foundation, founded by MIT Professor Nicholas Negroponte, has started offering the lime-green-and-white machines in lots of 10,000 for $200 apiece on its Web site . . . "

link

 

[samh004]

Is this because the components in the laptop have got more expensive, or have they fallen short of the required amount to have such a low price ?

 

[Abstract]

Yeah, I heard it was failing miserably. The interest seems to be there, and there are organizations and countries that say they want to buy a certain number, but when it comes time to commit to their promise by ordering and paying........they don't!

The only reason they started selling to non 3rd world nations is because they're trying to get media attention, and more people talking about their experiences with this $160 machine.


Don't know why the machine has gone up in price again.

 

[Kamera RAWr]

I believe I watched a story on this and one key thing was that to buy this $100 computer, you had to actually buy two. One for yourself and the other was donated for a child in need, so to speak. That would be $200 right there.

Although I could be totally wrong in that the cost to produce them has actually gone up or something.

 

[siurpeeman]

I believe I watched a story on this and one key thing was that to buy this $100 computer, you had to actually buy two. One for yourself and the other was donated for a child in need, so to speak. That would be $200 right there.

Although I could be totally wrong in that the cost to produce them has actually gone up or something.

the give one (for a kid) get one (for yourself) promotion actually costs $400, $200 times two. it buys one computer to ship off to a kid who needs one and a computer for yourself.

 

[Kamera RAWr]

Aha, perhaps what I'm remembering is what they had PLANNED to do, before the actual cost of production was factored in

 

[motulist]

It's an very honorable idea they are pursuing, and I hope they succeed, but the rational part of me has always been very skeptical of their concept.

Here's what the realist side of me says:

If the countries are really really poor, then a computer is useless because all your time and energy goes towards trying to survive, they need clean water and vaccinations instead.

If a country is very poor, but not starving, then a computer is useless because they have no problems that a computer solves for them. the extent of their math needs ends at being able to keep track of the number of sheep in their flock and things like that. Not to even mention the fact that they don't have power to run computers anyway (the hand crank or other options are not feasible), they don't have affordable net access, etc., so a computer does them no good.

If the countries are poor, but not very poor, then they will have electricity and a reasonable net access price, and a growing opportunity for computing power to help them in their lives. However, a modernizing country isn't gonna want to have their new tech generation of kids learning an OS that by design is intentionally completely different than all the other OS's used in the countries around the world that they're trying to become like and do business with. Plus, at that point they are modernized enough that slow speed shipping to their area would be cheap, and it would be more helpful to them if we just shipped a boatload of our obsolete computers to them (which were otherwise just headed to the land fill) and train one local resident really well how to fix up old computers running linux.

I just don't see the population that would benefit from this computer.

Read more info on the OLPC project

 

[bluebomberman]

Enthusiasm's a bit higher in this thread.

 

[motulist]

Enthusiasm's a bit higher in this thread.

Well, all the comments in that thread are people exited about the hardware as a toy for themselves, no one there is commenting on what they think the prospects are for the laptop project being able to succeed in their mission of having these laptops help out poor children in other countries.

 

[calculus]

BBC news item. The first ones have been bought by Uruguay...

 

[zap2]

Maybe if they opened it up for sale in the USA, (and yea, I know about the 400USD plan to buy two, but by then, you could buy a PC laptop...and its really just a toy to play with for nerds now....)250, you could see lower class people in developed nations buy one

 

[Telp]

Pogue gave it a food review....for what it is. It looks interesting, didnt apple offer free OSX's for it?

 

[nissan.gtp]

Pogue gave it a food review....for what it is. It looks interesting, didnt apple offer free OSX's for it?

Yes, but OSX was rejected because it's not open source. A big part of OLPC is to deliver systems with open-source software that can be modified and "played with".

I have an XO, and it's a very neat little system. With Opera, it makes a good internet browsing system -- and the G1G1 systems come with one year free T-Mobile service, so it'll be a good "on the road" system.

The Give 1, Get 1 promotion goes until the end of December.

And it's little, real little

 

[Telp]

Its a nice colour contrast. How is it overall?

 

[nissan.gtp]

Its a nice colour contrast. How is it overall?

I'm very impressed. For a $200 system, it's amazingly good. The screen is great, 900x600 resolution, and with the backlight off, it's EASILY readable under bright light. The software is a work in progress, but solid in terms of reliability. The power savings has some work to go evidently, but even now it will run about 3 hours on a charge. I've read that once the software is done, battery times up to 10 hours may be possible (I'll believe that when I see it !).
The keyboard is very good but the keys are so small. The action is good and positive, even thought it's covered with a rubberized membrane (so it's water and dust/dirt resistant). I have to type with 2 fingers. I tied my mac kbd and mouse, and they worked fine. I may get a small mouse, but can put up with the keyboard.

All in all, I love it. OLPC is facing a ton of challenges, no doubt, but it's an audacious effort, one that I have no regret in supporting.