Both One Laptop Per Child and Intel are now moving into million-unit sales numbers for their respective 4P Computers, the XO laptop and the Classmate PC.
XO power to the little people!
Last week, the Economic Times reported that OLPC is looking to sell 1 million XO laptops in India for $300 each. But this would not be to the Indian government, which alternates between calling the XO "pedagogically suspect" and attempting its own "$10 laptop". OLPC is looking to India's wealthily elite to fund educational empowerment through an Indian Give Many + Give One Get One:
“The laptops will only be available for charitable donations to primary schools. But, if an individual wants to buy the laptop for personal or corporate use, he/she may have to shell about $400 for two laptops.Interestingly, the $300 price tag includes deployment and maintenance. I really wonder what OLPC means by "deployment" or "maintenance" when Indian schools typically have an approximate $2,500 per computer TCO.One laptop will go towards a school of his choice, while the other can be used by the buyer for personal use. We also plan to print the brand of the company on laptops provided it gets a large order,” says OLPC India advisor Hema Virani.
On the Intel front this week, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez announced he is buying a million Portuguese Classmate PC's for the children of his country. While I can see his desire to connect with Portugal, and political benefits of the whole package he negotiated, I am surprised at his choice.
I would think a revolutionary like himself would want to support revolutions in technology too. Didn't he promise his own "Bolivarian Computer" a year ago? At least these "Magellan" classmates will come with Bolivarian Linux preinstalled.
Regardless of why, I have a nagging question: What was the cost? In Portugal they are 285 Euros while for Venezuela, the IHT only reports:
The blue-and-white laptops - based on Intel Corp.'s Classmate PC design - are manufactured under license in Portugal and are primarily aimed at schoolchildren in developing countries... The computers are said to cost several hundred dollars each, though officials have declined to give an exact figure..
Recent Comments
Hello Wayan,
As a linux lover and contributor I don't feel quite right with the image of Tux with Che's face and gorra.
Please understand that there are pacific revolutions (Gandhi)and not so pacific ones. Those that are not have killings on their own (eg. Lenin revolution implied killing of every little owner of land). The fights between guerrilla and ejercito are killing, torturing kidnapping and raping people today and making all south America unstable today.
Maybe you see the figure of Che as a "hero", but please respect the people that don't thing this way but love to have Tux as a mascot, and want to continue doing so.
I wonder what Chavez, and the India government, expect? What's the immediate and the long term goals they expect to achieve? And what's the reason they think they'll achieve them?
"I would think a revolutionary like himself would want to support revolutions in technology too."
the average joe hasnt gotten to the point of thinking of software in terms of ideologies, be it political, or social.
and yes...despite being a man of power, the Venezuelan President does fall into the realm of "average joe" in this scenario.
"Venezuela is buying the portable computers as part of a $3bn (£1.66bn) bilateral trade deal with Portugal that also covers housing and utilities."
Obviously this is all about corruption and other dirty tactics.
Portugal was convinced by Intel to manufacture the laptops themselves. What a crappy thing to do for portuguese workers. And much more expensive then simply manufacturing like everyone else in China.
$418 per laptop is probably without the portuguese assembling costs.
Chavez is obligated to sign on to buy Intel laptops cause if he doesn't he doesn't get the billions of dollars worth of housing and utilities.
Chavez is ordering ClassMates with Linux? This is getting complicated. I wish someone would start a website with up-to-date figures for purchases and deployments for all the different combinations in the educational realm: XO's with Sugar, XO's dual-booting, ClassMates with XP, ClassMates with Sugar, Classmates with Linux, Asus EEE's with XP,and so on.