As developed nations embrace the reality of a technologically-savvy,
“flat” (e.g., connected, globalized) world, many developing nations
struggle for mere access to basic necessities like clean water, health
care, and education. The founders of One Laptop Per Child (OLPC)
believe that mitigating poverty in emerging nations requires tapping
into the potential of children’s ability to learn, share, and
create. To harness and develop the potential brainpower of youth,
OLPC has committed itself to creating an affordable laptop for the
children of the most remote and poor nations of the world. OLPC’s
solution is the open-source XO laptop.
Priced around $200 and with an expected five-year lifespan, the XO
laptop features distinguishing hardware, software, interface, and
design components. The ultra-durable computer is roughly the size
of a textbook, designed for a child with a smaller rubber-sealed
keyboard, and a touchpad available for pointing, drawing, or
writing. The battery does not contain any hazardous materials and
every laptop can be powered by the sun or with a foot pedal. To
decrease the chance of failing internal components, XO was designed
without an internal hard drive and with only two internal cables.
The XO uses the open-source Red Hat's Fedora Core 6 version of the
Linux operating system for its software. The computer
features various open-source applications that come standard on a
typical computer such as an internet browser, word processor, email
client, document viewer, multimedia environment and games, to name a
few.
Production of the XO Laptop began in 2007 and the first five million
units have been ordered by Nigeria, Argentina, Brazil, Thailand,
Uruguay, and Libya.
Although other low-priced laptops are available (including the Asus Eee
PC, Intel’s Classmate PC, and the Zonbu Notebook) and although other
organizations exist to give recycled laptops to impoverished people
(CareCircle; InterConnection.org), a unique feature of the OLPC
initiative is its partnership with governments and NGOs for
distribution.
