One Laptop Per Child project

When I left paid work in 2008, the One Laptop Per Child project was in its infancy. At that time the idea of a low cost PC or netbook was not really on the horizon, although the Linux 7 inch Asus EEE PC was a sign of the future.  As far as I can tell, the availability of low cost netbooks and tablet PCs has rather overtaken this project: low cost computing is now available from many sources.

The idea of making low cost computing and internet access available to under-privileged children and others worldwide is a noble one and one I fully support: knowledge is power and knowledge and education are  rights for all citizens of the world.

However, there seems to be some doubt about the success of the OLPC project 5 years on. It was a "good idea" but maybe market forces overtook it?

One of the reasons I like QRP projects is because they have the potential to make useful radio technology accessible to all at low cost.  Like the OLPC project, my dream is a simple, low cost, easily reproducible, HF transceiver design that really can produce useful results. There is something beautiful is "elegant simplicity" don't you think?

One Laptop Per Child (OLPC)

Good to see that Uruguay has become the first country to provide a laptop for every child attending state primary school according to a report on the BBC News website today as part of the OLPC Initiative.  Over the last 2 years 362,000 pupils and 18,000 teachers have been involved in the scheme, which aims to provide low cost, but high specification, laptops to school children across the world.