Have Laptop Will Travel

I think the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) project is a very commendable effort. I also applaud the fact that the big name companies are also contributing something for this project to succeed. It’s a great PR move for them because it dispels the negative image of these companies as money-grubbing capitalists. I won’t even question their  sincerity just as long as they do get to help the underprivileged get the chance to get a better education.

The OLPC project looks like it really is gaining momentum with  the announcement that they are going to start the mass production of their XO ruggedised laptop. Shanghai-based manufacturer Quanta will be manufacturing the laptops.  This month, the production line will be turned on for initial testing with actual mass production to happen in October.

The OLPC XP laptop is planned to be sold for just $100 per machine. The organization hopes that these affordable machines will help improve how children are educated in the developing world. Currently each laptop’s manufacturing cost is pegged at $175.

Here is a very telling quote frm OLPC’s chief technology officer Mary Lou Jensen: “Next year we should have a cost-reduced version. We’re trying to take innovation in electronics, drive costs down and not use bloated software. This is the opposite of what the PC industry does traditionally.”

Amen to that.

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