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- divinediva, on 11/17/2008, -0/+17This model is an amazing model laptop at this price.
- goldfenix, on 11/17/2008, -1/+12I've used one of the OLPC's extensively for testing it out, so I hope some of my impressions can help those who are wondering about getting one:
First off, this is NOT a good ultraportable laptop. This is not an EEE pc where you can pretty easily do work with it. In fact, I recommend not thinking of it as a normal computer at all. You're not going to be playing MP3's on it, or editing word documents or anything like that.
This laptop is designed, and fairly well designed at that, for kids in countries with poor educational systems. It's meant to give a student a cheap system that can be used to work on small documents (that can't really be printed or anything, just transferred to other OLPC's), use low-fi chat with other nearby systems, etc. It's a collaboration machine.
What the machine is good at would be things like browsing the internet, or reading an e-book on (well, it does this fairly decently at least) or doing simple science experiments. Heck, it actually is also pretty good for an elementary school student if you want them to learn Python, as it is specifically designed to help people learn how to program in that.
But again, I want to caution people against buying this as if it were something that you could buy as a more world-friendly version of an EEE pc. I guarantee the first time you tried to type out anything on the keyboard you'd start regretting your decision.
(As one other plus, if you happen to be on college campuses a lot chicks seem to actually dig this laptop. So there's an unintended benefit.) - wantguru, on 11/17/2008, -1/+8just so good plan!
- AZRoboto, on 11/17/2008, -1/+7Did anyone else notice this thing has a feature the Macbooks don't? Aside from the swivel screen, it also has a third USB port, and an SD Memory Slot!
But aside from that, this idea is pretty cool. I didn't know it was that successful already. 500k so far, and another 500k estimated by the end of the year? - Photar, on 11/17/2008, -1/+6*cough*
- plainOldFool, on 11/17/2008, -1/+5I wish I knew someone on my Christmas list who could use one of these. This is an awesome gift idea!
- Narcism, on 11/17/2008, -0/+4oops, it did.
- handheldchimp, on 11/17/2008, -1/+5If you were going for laptops in your office space, why not just pay $399 for something your office could benefit from? $399 could easily get you a low-end Dell or HP with processors and specs far more advanced then what the XO has...
- russ3, on 11/17/2008, -0/+4I thought it was funny too, cant even tell if they meant fifth fourth or first.
- directrix13, on 11/17/2008, -1/+4Cover you mouth before you cough on the keyboard, *****.
- seobro, on 11/17/2008, -0/+2XLent, this is plus max bro!
- Mactard, on 11/18/2008, -0/+2Just give both away. The most important feature is not available......the hand crank.
You would never need to plug the damn thing in. - smotpoker, on 11/17/2008, -1/+3These laptops were not developed for .us consumers, they were developed for 3rd world kids. If you want want one, you/they have to make sure you aren't depriving someone who actually needs it. There is not really any profit being made here (by OLPC at least), they just want to make sure they are successful at their mission: helping needy kids. They are willing to sell to people in .us but not if it means depriving little 3rd world kids who are their target demographic.
Considering there are plenty of laptops that are less durable/capable that cost $400+, it is still not a bad deal, IMO. - Solkre, on 11/17/2008, -0/+2They weren't able to reach that price point.
- imasuperDOTcom, on 11/17/2008, -0/+2And at the current dollar value, Laptops purchased in Euros have never been more of a steal! Act now!
- handheldchimp, on 11/17/2008, -0/+2Thanks for sharing!!
- cgruber, on 11/17/2008, -0/+2I'm guessing it's because it is discussing people being uneducated and it misspells a commonly used word, 'fifth'.
- dougbarrett, on 11/17/2008, -0/+2This was their goal originally, but the hardware manufacturers weren't supplying the parts for the prices everyone was hoping for, so they were forced to raise the prices. In the future, they do want to have the laptops. I think for $200, the price is right for these laptops.
- madeingermany, on 11/17/2008, -1/+3http://amazon.com/xo
I wonder how many people are still happy enough to donate a 200$ laptop. - ScottoGato, on 11/17/2008, -0/+2Exactly. I bought a good refurbished gateway one for a little over $400. Upgraded the RAM on it to 2GB and replaced Vista with Ubuntu, and it's a great laptop.
- ironhide, on 11/17/2008, -0/+2Why wouldn't you play MP3s on it? The processor is plenty beefy enough. Hell, I was able to play MP3s on an ancient Pentium rig.
- handheldchimp, on 11/17/2008, -1/+3$199 for one isn't bad at all. However, if I want one for myself I must put down $399...
- Ginglyjoe, on 11/17/2008, -0/+1I got one of these through the giveonegetone program last year. It's a cute toy but has real problems. I got it as a ruggedized, spill resistant laptop for my 2 year old (that's right, 2) and that's just what it is. The software is very buggy and ultra slow. Mine came with a pixel defect on the screen but not a huge one. I figure he'll lose patience with it by age 4, so donate one if you like but don't bother getting one for yourself unless you're a little kid. There are lots of novel and interesting applications, I just wish they ran faster and with fewer crashes.
- shanealeslie, on 11/17/2008, -1/+2I've been using one for a year now, and I love it.
If you get into the habit of working from the terminal with the back light off you can get 8 hours of battery life while doing text entry/editing. I've had mine set up to play movies, mp3s, cbr and cbz archives (comic books), ADOM, Nethack. I agree that it may not have the horsepower of an EEE, but with some self trianing in how to use Linux effectively (which I had to do, being a Windows person from way back (but now dual booting Ubuntu)) it can be a very useful system.
My next project is to get hold of one of the USB to Ethernet adapter that works with the XO, slap in a large SD card, and use it as my torrent box when I know its going to be downloading for an extended period - with no moving parts (hard drive, power supply, CPU, or GPU fans), a low power processor, and a monitor that goes into hibernation when not needed it would be much cheaper than leaving my desktop on for days at a time sucking way more power than it needs just to move a couple of hundred Kbps into long term storage from a remote source.
And yes - chicks dig the XO, anyone can buy themselves an Iphone - someone with an XO (once they find out about the G1G1 program) is not only a nerd, but an environmentally friendly , social conscious nerd that _obviously _ cares about children and knows how to commit (as my wife would say - 'The kind of guy that makes a girls uterus twitch'). - Royish, on 11/17/2008, -1/+2Why aren't they being given to American kids?
- bobartig, on 11/17/2008, -0/+1It makes you wonder if "Dan Nystedt" is from one of those countries. Although, his name looks more Scandinavian, where the education is great, the women are beautiful, and the health care is the best in the world.
- plainOldFool, on 11/17/2008, -1/+2No photar. Nothing but coal in your stocking this year .... again. I told you, if you keep hanging out with that no good pedobear, you'll get no gifts for Christmas.
- madeingermany, on 11/17/2008, -0/+1Like http://www.amazon.com/Asus-7-Inch-Display-Processo ... 257$
- amoore2600, on 11/18/2008, -1/+2EEEPC > OLPC
- directive0, on 11/17/2008, -1/+2For those criticizing the cost; while I agree, lets look over some of the things the XO has in terms of actual hardware.
-Dual mode screen (meaning it works in direct sunlight as greyscale and colour when backlit) with a 1200x900 resolution.
-Oscilloscope and volt meter
-Camera/Mic
-Membrane keyboard (bug or feature depending on your hand size and preference)
-Converts from laptop to tablet (no touch screen)
-built in gamepad buttons
-Writing pad (a stylus sensitive area around the trackpad, this is as of yet unimplemented in Sugar but the hardware works)
-Lithium Ferro-Phosphate Battery,
-Extremely low power consumption.
-Mesh Networking Capability
-Dust/moisture proof case
-User-serviceable hardware architecture.
-Ecological hardware, no toxic components or metals.
So I'd wager a lot of these are probably useless to you, in which case you should opt not to participate in the G1G1 opportunity. But I am hard pressed to find a laptop at the same price point which enjoys the same attributes and I know my XO gets used regularly. Your milage may vary. - jemka, on 11/17/2008, -0/+1No, thank you.
- goldfenix, on 11/17/2008, -0/+1The operating system that's on it really has no support for it. While, with effort, you can get it to play MP3's, every solution I've seen basically sucks.
The machine isn't meant to be an entertainment system. - dekadent30, on 02/02/2009, -0/+0bukmacherka totomix, sts bukmacher
http://www.i-bukmacher.pl
zakłady bukmacherskie sportowe - trdrstv, on 11/17/2008, -1/+1Sorry, but $399 for the OLPC was ok for a "novelty" device back when the economy was strong and Ultra-Portable laptops weren't plentiful ( and better equipt ) for that price.
- handheldchimp, on 11/17/2008, -3/+3How is that "lol" worthy...
- h3110, on 11/17/2008, -0/+0The problem with it is that it looks ugly and only kids would get away with using one. If they designed it so that it looks normal like the Asus EEE PC, then more people will buy and more kids in the emerging world will get one.
- rklrkl, on 11/18/2008, -0/+0OK, why does the OLPC being sold at Amazon UK incur a 50 pounds shipping charge (though I can see that Amazon UK aren't selling it - "One Laptop Per Child" is - unlike Amazon US) and yet Amazon US ships it for free? Interestingly, if Amazon UK offered free shipping of the OLPC, then the actual prices of the US vs. UK versions would be almost the same. Do I smell a "rip-off Britain" scandal here?
- Photar, on 11/17/2008, -3/+2@directrix13 I liked the part with the swearing.
- diehipstersdiee, on 11/17/2008, -4/+3Hooray for open-source software!
- Charbax, on 11/18/2008, -2/+1Obama should buy one for every child not only in the USA but in the whole world.
In fact only $100 billion would be enough to buy a laptop for every child in the whole world. The US could share that bill with Europe, China, Russia and OPEC. Thus only need to pay about $2 billion per year over 10 years.
Buying one for every child that is 6-12 years old in the USA would only cost about $5 billion. - user10, on 11/17/2008, -7/+6"most children don't stay in school past the firth grade." I lol'd
- Photar, on 11/17/2008, -3/+2I like the part with the laptops.
- handheldchimp, on 11/17/2008, -3/+2I understand the meaning behind all of this, but isn't $399 a little steep? If I want one for use at home or whatnot, I must pay $399, so in a sense I am paying $399 for one extremely under powered laptop.
I understand that you are helping out a child in an underdeveloped country, but the price is a little high. Isn't this the same project that wanted one for $100, and now it is $199 each? - imasuperDOTcom, on 11/17/2008, -4/+2This really is a good deal! We just bought 1,500. One for everyone in our North American office!
- anasek, on 11/17/2008, -13/+0Hope this doesn't get buried, helping a non-profit.
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