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OLPC makes it's debut in Uruguay [PICS]

olpc-ceibal.blogspot.com — The One Laptop Per Child project became a reality in Uruguay, as the 160 children of school #24 in the humble town of Cardal received their XO computers.

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  • schestowitz, on 10/11/2007, -5/+31And some said it would never happen. More photos here:

    Kids In Jiri Love XO [One Laptop per Child]!

    ,----[ Quote ]
    | All in all, the day was a huge success and another significant step
    | in raising awareness of XO and just how valuable it can and will
    | be to the children of Nepal!
    `----

    http://olpcnepal.blogspot.com/2007/04/kids-in-jiri-love-xo.html

    The XO in the Real World

    ,----[ Quote ]
    | Some of the children were able to make it to the congress, walking
    | around the showroom with their XO?s and showing attendees what they
    | liked best about the laptop.
    `----

    http://www.j5live.com/?p=357

    Nigerian students power up their laptops

    ,----[ Quote ]
    | Khaled Hassounah, director of Nicholas Negroponte's One Laptop Per
    | Child (OLPC) program in Africa and the Middle East, has spent the
    | last year touring schools in Nigeria. He and his team chose a school
    | 10 miles outside Nigeria's capital, Abuja, to deploy the company's
    | first child-friendly laptops in the region.
    `----

    http://news.com.com/2300-1041_3-6175025-1.html?part=rss&tag=6175025&subj=news
    • CBTF, on 10/11/2007, -19/+2This is the first time i've seen this guy dugg up. Go figure- it's a full moon, maybe that's why.
    • Backlash, on 10/11/2007, -5/+2HAHAH... http://bp2.blogger.com/_1GtFJ5rkm_s/RiXMoMirzPI/AAAAAAAAABc/VC07AyiQoxA/s1600-h/Kids+1.jpg

      no0b.
    • fkr3, on 10/11/2007, -6/+2Every now and then Schestowitz posts his (single) message at the right time and place to get dugg up.

      The stars have to be aligned the right way, and only new users around who haven't seen his cross-posting, retarded link and quote frenzy, but it can happen.
    • Rayonic, on 10/11/2007, -1/+2Very touching. Now, what's the over/under on how fast these things end up on eBay? Free laptops are neat, but $100-200 goes a long way in that part of the world.
    • fkr3, on 10/11/2007, -1/+2Yes, yes it does. For someone doing a manual labour job here in Costa Rica, $200 is a months wage. And this is perhaps the least 3rd-world of the 3rd-world. I'll be surprised if it doesn't shake that tag within a decade.
    • specialK16, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1@Backlash: ROFLMAO
  • Rhapsodys, on 10/11/2007, -4/+9I believe that the laptops are actually so cheap that if they used a copy of Windows instead of Linux the price of the thing would almost double.
    • dave932932, on 10/11/2007, -5/+2Wouldn't run actually
    • Haplo, on 10/11/2007, -1/+4Where have you been?

      2007-04-24 - "Microsoft has just announced that it will offer an entry-level version of XP and Office, as well as Windows Live Mail and Math 3.0, for only 3 USD. Microsoft wants to make deals with governments to provide hardware with this software to students."
      http://news.com.com/Microsoft+aims+to+reach+next+billion+PC+users/2100-1003_3-6177431.html?tag=nefd.top

      Wouldn't be amazed if this entry-level version of XP somehow is going to work on the OLPC in the near future if the OLPC becomes a hit. And then it wouldn't be amazed if a lot of countries "upgrade" their OLPCs...

      Let's hope I am wrong but living in Mexico has shown me that a lot of places run pirated versions of XP versus running Ubuntu. I ordered quite some time ago quite some free Ubuntu CDs and managed to hand out just one...

    • arjie, on 10/11/2007, -1/+2Actually,
      http://digg.com/linux_unix/LAPTOPS_OLPC_Now_175_and_Windows_XP_Ready
    • nemoder, on 10/11/2007, -0/+6Microsoft offering $3 for their software is STILL more expensive than the software on the OLPC.
      Not to mention you don't get to see how the software was built.
    • fkr3, on 10/11/2007, -1/+2Microsoft offering their software means I personally can fund an entire school worth of XP and Office software for a few hundred dollars. I wonder if they have some insane minimum-volume restriction or whether that's actually doable.

      If OLPC didn't have a minimum 250,000 units then people like me, who are far from rich, could personally do something. Pick a school, buy them 20 or 30 computers. Essentially bringing philanthropy to the people who can't afford enough of it to make a difference because most charities piss it away on beaurocracy anyway.
    • schestowitz, on 10/11/2007, -1/+2There was/is a lot of disinformation in the media. OLPC will not run Windows any time soon, but some people spread those lies. See here:

      OLPC project clarifies: no plans for Windows support
      http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070502-olpc-project-clarifies-no-plans-for-windows-support.html

      One Laptop Per Child clarity

      ,----[ Qote ]
      | The bulk of the confusion and conspiracy theorising which accompanied
      | the recent announcement seems to centre on this point.
      |
      | The specs were not boosted to accommodate windows...
      `----

      http://www.tectonic.co.za/view.php?src=rss&id=1481

      OLPC Linux laptop could succeed in U.S.
      http://www.desktoplinux.com/news/NS4220342075.html

      OLPC: Free Software Still Rules

      ,----[ Quote ]
      | Jepsen tells us, politely, to calm down. The plan is still for the
      | XO to ship with OLPC's custom Linux-based Sugar operating system,
      | and she hasn't seen demand for anything else on the XO. "The issuehasn't
      | presented itself. Most people love Sugar."
      `----

      http://blog.wired.com/monkeybites/2007/04/olpc_free_softw.html
  • hiPpymIck, on 10/11/2007, -2/+10

    ..great news about OLPC tho

    ...and i thought id been made to wear stupid-looking clothes as a kid ..
  • hadak, on 10/11/2007, -5/+12Rock the ***** on, Shuttleworth. I support this project.

    This is how the wars should be fought. Make friends, not craters.
    • noseeme, on 10/11/2007, -4/+29What does this have to do with Mark Shuttleworth? That's kind of like how people who are not very computer literate blame Bill Gates for their Windows PC getting a virus, or how Mac users blame Steve Jobs for the semen on their face.
  • StatiK69, on 10/11/2007, -6/+3Damn blog spam... If you put PICS in the title then just give us the pics or in this case pic
    http://bp3.blogger.com/_AWmFzagcOlw/RkX8QggmWLI/AAAAAAAAANU/W4G4XxuA5lk/s1600-h/DSC04174.JPG
  • Backlash, on 10/11/2007, -2/+10"I decided to include some contents in english" [Borat Voice] ;)

    Very Nice.
  • Karted, on 10/11/2007, -10/+1Man i have foreign country's.
  • eqtitan, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3Bravo XO. Now where can I buy a XO shirt to show my support?
  • headdeball, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1Absolutely fabulous!
  • tektalk, on 10/11/2007, -4/+15I'M IN URUGUAY OPEN SOURCING UR SCHOOLS
  • yeskia, on 10/11/2007, -0/+5When do I get mine?
    • chicken101, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1I actually want one. A cheap computer that I can mess around with? Sign me up!
  • digitallysick, on 10/11/2007, -1/+23In other news, 160 + children are now on myspace, and downloading porn on the OLPC.
    • geminitojanus, on 10/11/2007, -1/+8They don't have any internet access as of yet, the nation's telecom company hasn't set up a link to the school.

      ....but yeah, other than that I totally agree.
    • Sneakernets, on 10/11/2007, -0/+5I know some kids in america that would love to have one of these....(me)
    • Backlash, on 10/11/2007, -1/+6Since they don't have the internet there yet the One Laptop Per Child project should have shipped them with some pr0n... I mean come on.
    • FredDre, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2Myspace isn't that popular in South America.
      Maybe they'll get addicted with Flash games, or fotologs...
    • rrossen, on 10/11/2007, -1/+0Only a matter of time until they discover e-baum... the horror
  • gafasiesornivek, on 10/11/2007, -9/+1I'M A LAPTOP. EAT MY ASS.
  • vampireblood, on 10/11/2007, -5/+1I still can't believe they decided to use that design. Green and White what the hell were they smoking?
  • fLUx1337, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4Now those are the photos I've been waiting for! ;)
  • eecue, on 10/11/2007, -2/+6The OLPC will change the world.
  • MadNuke, on 10/11/2007, -2/+1This child does not look happy at all:

    http://lh5.google.es/image/pflores2/RkXzmQgmVvI/AAAAAAAAAJk/9CNPTdWNGNA/DSC04171.JPG?imgmax=576

    :/
  • StanleyKoolPrik, on 10/11/2007, -15/+2Can they eat it? They'd probably prefer a sandwich...or maybe their vaccination shots.
    • cesclaveria, on 10/11/2007, -2/+12they are from a 3rd world country, not chimps in africa... I hate when people think we are still living on trees or something.

      /I am from Guatemala, another 3rd world country far away from Uruguay
  • truegodofwar, on 10/11/2007, -8/+1im in ur emalz

    sending u spam

    http://tinyurl.com/39dglu
  • dankCIA, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2i am glad to see the OLPC officially under way. despite the flaws and nay saying i'm happy to see people have the chance for a better education.
  • Gadren, on 10/11/2007, -0/+6It's great to see technology that can help change the world. But let's get all the naysayers' objections out of the way first:

    "What about food/water/shelter?"
    The OLPC will be going to those who already have basic physical needs taken care of, but need education to help them help themselves and rise out of poverty. Believe it or not, the world isn't divided into the rich 1st world, and 3rd world mud-dwellers.

    "Why are these programmers wasting their time on this instead of X?"
    Can you honestly say that all these developers would be doing some other kind of charity work? This isn't a zero-sum game; if the developers weren't doing the OLPC, in all likelihood they wouldn't be doing anything. This is a great way to mobilize programmers to make a difference.
    • arpad, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1Why exert yourself to the extent of answering those specious objections? Whatever the shortcomings of OLPC, Negroponte and all the folks involved have created something that may make a difference in the lives of poor people. That's yet to be seen. But the advice-spewing windbags on Digg have lots of *advice* for Negroponte.

      I'm sure all that advice'll make, oh, just a whole lot of difference in any poor person's life.

      Hey you loud-mouthed jerks, why don't haul your sorry asses down to a local soup kitchen or St. Vincent de Paul Society, maybe deliver some meals to poor geezers, or man-up at any outfit that's trying to help people with something other then their mouths.

      Once you have to break a sweat helping someone who needs help you'll have a whole different take on free advice.
  • Steve95613, on 10/11/2007, -1/+21If you give a third world child bread, he will eat for a day.
    But if you teach a third world child how to phish....
  • microft, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3I want one!!!
    I just wanna hack it an put a proper Linux distribution on it.
  • qpdb, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Felicitaciones
    This is great.
    Do you ever think we will see digg for foreign languages?
  • andsegu, on 10/11/2007, -1/+3Been an uruguayan myself, this news brings warn feellings to my heart. I just would liked to have this expirience as a child. An for those who dont know in uruguay this is not a FOOD vs LAPTOP issue, since there is no hunger in this mostly middle class technology aware country.
    GO FREE LAPTOPS

    PD: I wander when there will be a college version of the OLPC
  • xOCxKILLSx, on 10/11/2007, -2/+2i didn't think any white kids would be eligible for the OLPC...
  • VitalRecords, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0I think Uruguay is a good place to start. I have been there and the people are grate and hard workers and wanting to better them self. Education is important to them, and I think that is the key for the OLPC project to work.

    Now, for the ones that say it won’t free the world from Hunger, abuse, etc…. Let me go to the Chinese Proverb Quotes:
    Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.

    And to add to that I would not call Uruguay 3rd world. I joke with my friend that lives there and tell her that it’s more of a 4th world. Uruguay is not as bad off as other counties.
  • randal2k, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2checking ebay now...... time to get a laptop.
    OLPC is a joke, we offer to buy 2 to get 1, and they say no... well, let the poor kids have them,a nd then let the poor kids have my money that they can actually use.

  • VirginMan, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0Just see the happy faces from those kids :)
    The project works quite well because it's combine the government public service and private entrepreneurship.
  • AceTracer, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1I just used one of these yesterday at BarCampPortland, pretty cool. The resolution was actually rather impressive, as was the ease of use and build quality.
  • lltn1, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1I live in uruguay, and to me, this is a joke that uruguay recieved this... first off.... poverty isnt a problem here.... the problem is the massive corruption that takes the resources away from the people. Cut that, and then the people would be able to afford thier own labtops.... the country is full of smart people, tons of whom graduated college as lawyers or doctors, but cant find jobs becuase the government wont help them. education here is free... from day one, up until you graduate college. its a country with TONS of agricultural resources, most of the landscape is used for farming, and for growing livestock. the money is there, the question is... in who's pockets does it go... I'd rather see these labtops in africa... not here
  • shanesemler, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1It's a shame so many of the people posting here are such cynical assholes.
    • lltn1, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0not cynical..... but you need to live in a country to know what its like...

      heres an example... you put a band aide on a burn, but dont treat it... sure your helping the burn, but your not giving it the right type of treatment... theres better and more helpful ways to fix the problem...
  • guttertrash, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1they are idiots for not putting osx on it. apple offered them osx for free and they turned it down.
    • skierpage, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0guttertrash, OLPC made the correct choice to use free open source as much as possible. If you bothered to read the laptop weekly news you'd see the strides they've made in power management by tweaking the code in the firmware, BIOS, drivers, kernel, libraries and apps simultaneously, you'd understand the benefits even apart from the philosophical payoff.

      Also since the Sugar UI isn't a conventional desktop UI, none of the Mac's benefits apply.
  • skierpage, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0themastersb, you can flip the screen over and still operate it (e.g. an e-book reader with that amazing screen tech), thus you need some control buttons on the front.
  • cabortero, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0I am a Uruguayan and the way I see it, is that the OLPC will generate future Geeks. This plan puts computers in the hands of kids that otherwise would not have had the chance to use them(maybe only in computer labs). I imagine those who get interested, being future software developers, etc, (the only field where unemployment is Zero in this country).
    By them we may be able to imitate countries like Ireland and become not only a agricultural/beef exporter, but also a technology hub for the region and the whole world.
  •  

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