Sorry all, I modified the blog post to reflect the actual pricing. Sorry for any confusion! The cheaper rate is if you are one of the least developed nations or a “partner country”, which is defined by the link in my updated post.

Firstly, part of the reason I wanted to do Aussie trials to typical kids was to show that this isn’t just cheap laptops we ourselves wouldn’t use, but rather cutting edge educational tools that all children benefit from. I believe that the technology as a package (apps, ruggedness and the ability to collaborate in and out of the classroom) is the best option for 6-12 year olds, and am trying to bring that to Australia in a way that both assists our most in need and also through a regional sustainable approach helps all children.

I hate the patriarchal approach to aid too, but any trials done with Indigenous communities would _absolutely_ be done in full consultation and only with the agreement and internal desire from the communities to trial/deploy. I’m actually in talks with some people who have spent their whole lives working with some of the most remote Indigenous communities in Australia and the first step with any community for an OLPC deployment is to show the technology to the appropriate decision makers and see what they think. Then ensure it doesn’t have a negative impact on culture and families, and then ensure it integrates with their education.

If the first Aussie trial went bad, then I would personally be seriously reconsidering this project and the value it brings to anyone, but the trials have gone well, children are learning and are improving their literacy, numeracy, confidence, programming skills and more. So I think that we have a tool that all children in Australia can use to help themselves and their communities, so I want to be sure our most disadvantaged children get full access where possible and appropriate.

I recently spent three days down in Melbourne demonstrating XOs for the public, and there were plenty of white, middle class dads that were asking “were can i get one for my kid?”.

When I was 5, if someone had have handed me a 400mhz laptop, I wouldn’t have known what to think. Since the specs in an XO are similar to the kind that I learned all my IT on, I don’t think this is a case of handing a minority something we wouldn’t use ourselves, just that tech has become mature and cheap enough that we can distribute it to those who can’t have computers as a spending priority in their lives.

Having a working Australian trial would help convince other countries that OLPC is a worthwhile technology. Conversely, if the Australian trial goes badly, then we can learn from that and have a good rethink about what the strategy is. It does seem like “netbooks” are hitting the market in Western countries as a result of initial interest in the OLPC project, but now every manufacturer wants to get their products into the market (which is good for competition).

I suspect that there are a lot of applications for small, rugged, highly portable, low power computers in remote areas. One example is data collection for agricultural science, or possibly the mining industry.

Of course, go for it. I think that when seen in the context of a global (or in our case, regional) strategy, it makes a lot more sense to people.