For $150, Third-World Laptop Stirs a Big Debate

[Colin McGregor]

--- Evan Leibovitch <evan-ieNeDk6JonTYtjvyW6yDsg at public.gmane.org> wrote:
> Thanks for bringing the thread back on track, Colin.
> 
> > Seriously, I already have a ball rolling on this
> score, through what has become one of my favourite
> venues. Millions of Linux laptops being built, that
> is news, the sort of news magazine articles can be
> written around :-) .
> >   
> Big enough news that you're now competing for
> readers with the New York
> Times and a good chunk of the blogsphere. This is
> very mainstream, made
> even moreso when Gates publicly attacked the OLPC.

True enough, but I expect there will be interest in
just about every Linux related publication for stuff
on this story. So, yes there will be a large market
for OLPC stories :-) .

> (Actually, I'm eagerly awaiting the first incident
> in which an
> otherwise-eligible request for funding of an
> OLPC-related project is
> rejected by the B&M Gates Foundation. Already the
> notion is getting
> floated around --
>
http://www.techweb.com/blog/archives/2006/11/can_the_gates_f.html)
> 
> > Now, I am attempting to think of other ways money
> could be made off those laptops, creating texts
> (here is where being multi-lingual (which I am not)
> would be
> > a big advantage), what else?
> >   
> There will be many opportunities, not only for
> software but also for
> ideas that will create novel real-world
> applications. (Ie, the cellphone
> didn't really realize its potential in the
> developing world until
> coupled with the concept of microcredits.) There are
> many
> non-educational possibilities, related to areas like
> healthcare and
> security, that are barely even being imagined now. I
> can even see
> instances where the OLPC could double as a (very
> weak) power generator,
> leading to new innovations in items powered by a USB
> port that have
> nothing to do with computing.

True.

> The problem in our context is that people aren't
> going to make much
> money from this, especially people in the rich
> world. Because of the
> nature of the project, most of the ancillary
> services will be provided
> by local non-profits in the countries of deployment.
> They may be funded
> by organizations such as Canada's IDRC, but most of
> that kind of aid
> money must be spent directly in the recipient
> country.

Again true, I don't see any real money plays here
(news articles make money, but it is very modest $). 

Still, one interesting thought would be to encourage
say the various ministries of education to deploy the
OLPC program here in Canada, then there would be some
real money to be made locally (teaching teachers,
supporting local infrastructure... Imagine every high
school student with a Wi-Fi laptop, almost every fast
food place will need a hotspot or know they will loose
their teen customers to places that do, that alone
could be a great consulting/support opportunity...).

> Companies such as Red Hat and AMD are working either
> at-cost or below
> cost to make this happen. As far as I can tell, the
> only entity earning
> a real profit off OLPC is the Taiwanese factory that
> makes it. Others
> are working at nominal salaries, and nominal
> salaries in the developing
> world are far below those standards here.

So long as the laptops are just going to developing
world nations you are likely right...

> - Evan

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