One Laptop Per Child (OLPC)

Nicholas Negroponte proposed the OLPC project in January 2005 and is currently the director of the project. Although the educational and social goals of the project are the most important issue, we are interested in the hardware and software design decisions. Read the following and try to answer the questions below.

Original Design http://www.news.com/The-100-laptop-moves-closer-to-reality/2100-1044_3-5884683.html

Windows or Linux?  http://www.informationweek.com/blog/main/archives/2007/12/should_one_lapt.html

Making it Work http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/30/technology/30laptop.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

System Details http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=4093

Sugar – XO Operating System http://www.yourdonreport.com/index.php/2007/03/15/sugar/

In the News http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,140698-page,1/article.html

Opinions http://tech.blorge.com/Structure:%20/category/olpc/

Buy One, Give One Free http://ttcs.wordpress.com/2007/12/31/ordering-an-olpc-laptop-from-trinidad/

Wikipedia's “everything” article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OLPC

Some questions – use the reading above or Google or Wikipedia to help find answers.

  1. What is the outcome of the OS war for OLPC – is it Linux, is it Windows, or is it still undecided?

  2. Describe a couple social and economic issues connected with the OLPC proposal.

  3. Wikipedia says: “The operating system and software will be localized to the languages of the participating countries.”
    Explain why this is a very important technical issue.

  4. The original price of $100 has increased in over 3 years. What is the more likely price now?

  5. How many OLPC laptops are they hoping to sell? Will ALL laptops for OLPC be identical, or will there be significant differences? Explain.

  6. Explain why the availability (or lack) or software is not such an important issue for OLPC.

  7. What “normal” piece of hardware, found in PC's and laptops, is missing from the OLPC machines? Why?

  8. Explain why power consumption is a very big issue for OLPC. Describe a couple design decisions that were made to deal with the power consumption issues.

  9. Does portability matter for the OLPC? Why or why not?

  10. From NotebookReview: “The only problem with the word processor is that it will not export to the .Doc format used for Microsoft Word.” Is this a big problem or not? Explain.

  11. Outline what community (or mesh or neighborhood) networking means. How is this different from “normal” networking like our school has?

  12. Why is “silent” an important issue in a “classroom setting”?

  13. The microprocessor in the XO is slower than a normal PC. How much slower is it? How does the XO compensate for this slow processor?

  14. Do you believe the OLPC laptop could serve as a substitute for a cell phone (as well as being a computer)? Justify your answer.

  15. Speakers, a color monitor, and other “multimedia” features are NOT intended for entertainment, but for education. Explain why these are useful for educational purposes.