[MLUG] Anyone planning on getting a OLPC laptop?

[Mike Miller]

On Mon, 12 Nov 2007, Jonathan King wrote:

> On 11/12/07, Mike Miller <mbmiller at taxa.epi.umn.edu> wrote:
>>
>> We also don't know, as I suggested in my last message, that the OLPC 
>> charitable organization is allowed to become a laptop-sales company 
>> without undergoing a lot of legal work and paying taxes....
>
> Oh, please. You mean they spent all of this time and hype on the project 
> and didn't figure out a way to make this really work? That is most 
> unimpressive.

I'm saying that their plan is that a nonprofit foundation will really work 
and that a laptop sales company will not work as well.  For reasons that 
would probably take too long to explain, you don't agree.


>> Here's some info about which countries are targetted:
>>
>> http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Ask_OLPC_a_Question#Why_some_countries_and_not_others.3F
>
> So basically they have decided to work through countries and ministries 
> of education. I can sort of understand why they thought that might be a 
> good idea in some places, but I frankly don't find that the most obvious 
> or interesting way to go.

Why not?  I'm not saying that you are wrong, but I am saying that it is 
not very useful to read simple declarations like that one that aren't 
followed by any explanation.


>> Here's an answer to another of our questions:
>>
>> http://laptopfoundation.org/participate/givemany.shtml
>>
>> If I wanted to pay $2 million, I could get 10,000 laptops ($200 each) 
>> and designate where all of them are sent (e.g., to myself, I assume). 
>> For $200,000 I could get 800 laptops ($250 each) and another 200 would 
>> be given to poor children selected by OLPC.  For $20,000, I could get 
>> 60 laptops ($333 each) and OLPC would decide where to send the other 
>> 40.
>
> I still find this just stupid.

OK.  But you can see how it works, right?  The idea is to use laptop sales 
to generate money for the laptop distribution project.


>> So what would stop someone from buying $2 million worth and selling 
>> them for $300 each, or even $250 each?  I wonder if there is a 
>> stipulation about reselling.
>
> Who cares?

People who developed the computers to help poor children.

Check this out:

http://news.zdnet.co.uk/hardware/0,1000000091,39290416,00.htm

Does this mean that Microsoft (or Bill Gates, or his foundation) could buy 
large numbers of these, put their lame XP on them and hand them out? 
Maybe that will happen.  I just doubt that Microsoft can produce anything 
that will even come close to what OLPC must have done with Linux.


> How in the world are they going to enforce that?

Breach of contract litigation.


> The beauty of just trying to charge the market price is that they 
> wouldn't have to worry about this. I think I need to stop reading their 
> site, because the longer I read it, the more annoyed I get.

You never liked Negroponte.  I think you have a visceral reaction to him 
for some reason and you can't stand to see him succeed.

Mike