neverwonderland

There are many reasons why to choose OLPC’s XO over Classmates. I’ll name just a few why Mexico should not only buy some but actually endorse XO.

I mean have you really compared them ?

Classmate looks as if its just a stripped down version of a former laptop, but keeping lots of the ugly stuff and very few really helpful features that will improve a child’s learning experience. (look daddy, mom placed your laptop in the drying machine and it shrunk)

XO on the contrary has been designed almost from scratch to adapt to children’s requirements, not only that but it has many mobile computing breakthroughs that you won’t find anywhere else for a while. and you mark my words, from now one every mayor Laptop Vendor will copy some of many of its cool features:

i) Power!!
Classmate: let me see, good old EXPENSIVE electricity, bounded to a wall to charge. just decent enough if you are in urban areas.

XO: Human powered, it has plenty of gadgets to fuel this battery up: the Yo-Yo, solar-cells, crank, normal wall-charger, etc. Great if you are on the road or even better if you have no electricity near you.

ii) Screen
Classmate: have you ever tried to use this one (or any other laptop) under direct sunlight ?

XO: has this ÃœberKewl screen that works not only indoors and outdoors (the same way your mobile works) but it has a screen mode, that works in monochrome scale to enable book-reading and power saving.

iii) Mesh Wireless Networks
Classmate: say what ?

XO: Comes with this unique, never seen before “instant-networking” feature. that means if any two or more laptops are within reach of each other they will auto-magically be in the same network, thus enabled to share docs, and apps. But that’s not it…

Also, given its physical design it has 2 or 3 times more range that your normal USD$2000 computer.

There is this guy in Australia that tested a mesh network with XO’s within a 2km range. not a single hub router nor bells or whistles to be configured at all, nothing, zap, just pop-up and share.

And if that was enough, when any of the XO on the mesh network has access to internet, all other laptops will gain access to. Just imagine the time, money and headaches you can save with an emergent wifi zone all over your school.

iv) Child-Proof
Classmate: ok I’m chunky and can take some roughness, just don’t take me the playground.

XO: “Cmon, I’m good enough even for the army” its designed to be treated as a kid would treat any toy, desert, sea, dirt, scraps, water, (yeah, water you can even pour water on it and it won’t even blink) you name it, XO can handle it.

v) Free and Libre Open-Source Software Baby !

Classmate: err.. you just pay the license for the OS and Office and any other software, content, plug-in, mod, hack, innovation etc. that you would want to have here. (it’s really near +50% of the laptop’s cost) And do we really expect a child to configure, debug, repair, remove viruses and vulnerabilities that come out-of-box with windows software ?

XO: Its fuel only by free and open-source software, (and a bunch of geeks) This means that you don’t have to pay no one to use the tools children use to learn, not only that but it means that they have a OS specially designed for them. not only that but you can actually make it (the laptop) run ANY OS you want. not only that, but you can build, mod, translate, localize, any software you need to suffice your very own personal requirements.

Actually it’s currently running a special version of fedora Linux, with a really nice interface specially designed for the laptop based on an open- source platform. You don’t even have to pay license for the developing tools

It comes bundled out of the box (virus-free !!) with lots of FUN software children can start using to develop skills, music, video, drawings, text- processing etc. and any time you like you can hook up to the web and install any of the many educational packages many other organizations have develop specially for education purposes. One laptop per child doesn’t mean the SAME laptop per child.

All this without having to pay any license at all.
(you can always donate if you like)

Actually there are already Game Jams (contests to see who created the coolest games and software for the XO) all over the world which constantly provides new software and you can add those the the thousands of already published open-source software made by global community of developers, which it would take ANY private company eons to develop.

ps. Steve Jobs offered to give away Mac OS for free to all laptops, but Negroponte refused on the basis that its not open-source (only based on FreeBSD which is both open and free).

It even comes with a server version of the OS to serve media and content to a whole school. You can even run it on a very affordable and great hardware made by Koolu, ( a company by Jon ‘Maddog’ Hall President of Linux International)they even save up more than 90% of electricity usage helping you save money and the plantet at the same time.

vi) One for you and one for me
Classmate: all money goes to Intel and MS (and maybe some software vendors, and distributors)

XO: they actually have a program in which you can buy a single laptop (for the double of that to governments) and you will giving away another one to a children in a developing country.

vii) Design
Classmate; Oh cmon’ they look like old compaq presarios form the late 80’s they are big, boring and ugly ordinary laptops shot with the shrinka-ray.

XO: they are fun, RESISTANT, light, strap-pable on purpose made to look like a toy,

vii) Social and Collaboration mindset
XO comes with several collaboration features that place kids immediately in a social environment, related actually with their tangible environment. When they step inside of a mesh network they can graphically see the other children around them and automatically start to work together. and i mean TOGETHER. As in share a views to browse the web together or analyse content and make notes on top of it draw together, share files. Normally to do half os such things (and not all of them are possible with windows) you have to purchase over-priced software from private companies.

I’m not sure if the video-chat is ready, but it will also have of those, (they come with built in video camera)

These makes the computer enhanced learning experience a social activity as well no more, lonely kids surfing isolated from his friends. Oh and another cool thing is they can play and share games on the fly. (remember, without paying any money to anyone)

What’s really behind the laptops?
INTEL: these guys are great benefactors of education and they spend billions on teachers, students and tech. But when it comes to this project, they are “Dumping” the laptops below their price, only to later be able to profit from the children’s usage. (oh don’t forget licenses for Microsoft software)

Actually Barret (Intel’s CEO) recently came down to Mexico and delivered some laptops at a public school, the same day, he asked the children if they liked them. OF COURSE THEY DO !!! its the only computer they know, what would happen if we give them both and see which one they like better and perform better.

Intel’s Marketing people have been keeping track of Negroponte’s visits to governments, just to follow his steps, when questioned (Barret) about such activities, he only replied with a; “Well obviously, that is just how our business works”

Now don’t take me wrong, I Love Intel guys, but I do have to admit that classmate is just another business (Sell computers, chips and Software) whereas OLPC is driven only by providing better education and fighting the digital divide.

Just take a look who’s behind OLPC, Intel itself,AMD, Brightstar , eBay, Google, Marvell, News Corporation, SES, Nortel Networks and Red Hat, besides the literally THOUSANDS of volunteers that help out worldwide to make this project reality

Now lets reflect upon this list issue, why would thousands of people give away their ideas, time and money to help build a project like these if it didn’t actually could provide a better outcome than a closed commercial solution.

After all we are talking of the worlds future here, I don’t know about you, but education should be a responsibility of civil society not another activity of a company that can be outsourced to a mayor corporation (And even if such was the case, i don’t really think i would rather choose MS over Google).

* Its technologically superior
* Its has way off better innovation potential
* Its actually designed with learning in mind.
* Its though and develop by people who care for education.

And

* Yes, they are ready to be used
* Yes, they are reliable
* Yes, they are cheaper
* Yes, they are better
* Yes, I love em and i want them to have my laptop-babies

If it was in my hands,
I’ll take XO’s by thousands,
no brainier.

wow you actually read all the way down here?
thanks, now if i seem the have made a decent argument,
spread the word….

Check out these links to get yourself knowledgeable:

News:
http://hj.ukini.org/orbital/birdfeeder/olpc
http://www.olpcnews.com

Info:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OLPC
http://laptop.org