With early orders, principally from governments in developing nations, for its lime-green, crank-powered, and low-cost XO laptop computer running short of what’s needed to trigger mass production, the One Laptop Per Child project is today kicking off two initiatives that will allow paying consumers to purchase machines for the benefit of children in its target countries.
Originally envisioned as the $100 laptop, the XO now costs about $188. But starting today, consumers can purchase a machine for $200, and donate it to a child in a developing nation. To do so, go to XOgiving.org and click the “Donate” button.
The same website has details of the second announcement—called “Give 1, Get 1.” Under this program, which runs for two weeks beginning on November 12, consumers in Canada and the U.S. will be able to buy two XOs for $399—one to keep and one that will be donated to a deserving child.
The Boston Globe has a lot of details about the project and its evolution. It cites Nicholas Negroponte, founder of the $100 laptop initiative, as acknowledging that the project has not reached the 3 million initial orders that he had previously projected would be needed to kick off mass production.
“There’s a much bigger gulf between a handshake with a head of state and a real check coming out of the treasury,” Negroponte told the Globe. “You could argue I could have been more realistic in the beginning, but if I had, I would never have done this.”
Author: Robert Buderi
Bob is Xconomy's founder and chairman. He is one of the country's foremost journalists covering business and technology. As a noted author and magazine editor, he is a sought-after commentator on innovation and global competitiveness. Before taking his most recent position as a research fellow in MIT's Center for International Studies, Bob served as Editor in Chief of MIT's Technology Review, then a 10-times-a-year publication with a circulation of 315,000. Bob led the magazine to numerous editorial and design awards and oversaw its expansion into three foreign editions, electronic newsletters, and highly successful conferences. As BusinessWeek's technology editor, he shared in the 1992 National Magazine Award for The Quality Imperative.
Bob is the author of four books about technology and innovation. Naval Innovation for the 21st Century (2013) is a post-Cold War account of the Office of Naval Research. Guanxi (2006) focuses on Microsoft's Beijing research lab as a metaphor for global competitiveness. Engines of Tomorrow (2000) describes the evolution of corporate research. The Invention That Changed the World (1996) covered a secret lab at MIT during WWII. Bob served on the Council on Competitiveness-sponsored National Innovation Initiative and is an advisor to the Draper Prize Nominating Committee. He has been a regular guest of CNBC's Strategy Session and has spoken about innovation at many venues, including the Business Council, Amazon, eBay, Google, IBM, and Microsoft.
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