Colombia Gets $100 Computer

morphus says on Jun 2, 2008, 17:21:

Better than the Cuban computer?

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GregYohn says on Jun 2, 2008, 17:31:

Hola!

LOL!

Yes, it uses just 20 watts of power to recharge, while that TV alone uses more electricity!

12VOIP.com gives free calls to Colombia.Greg

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Monpirri says on Jun 2, 2008, 18:50:

Projecto educativo OLPC para ayudar a los niños de Caldas

GregYohn, thanks for sharing it!

Annette Taddeo for US Congress 2008

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adrimm says on Jun 2, 2008, 22:28:

Awesome news Greg. I wish they'd put them up for sale again, I'd love to buy a few to personally give to some kids I know.

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larryrn says on Jun 3, 2008, 06:11:

They have a new model of the Eee PC and I saw them on Buy.com. I believe the new screen is larger at 9 inches vs 7 and the price went up by 50%. They are made by Asus which has been making computer motherboards and parts for many years. These computers run Linux which is an incredible lean operating system and actually available any many consumer products as an embedded OS (ie: like cell phones, Phillips TVs, Linksys routers, etc.).

Larry

--- Larry Snyder - http://www.rn.org - Your Source for Online Nursing Education!

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GregYohn says on Jun 3, 2008, 08:05:

Hola!

They might have another in a few months the Give 1 Get 1 program again where in the US, people donate 1 and then get 1 for theirselves.

12VOIP.com gives free calls to Colombia.Greg

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Tinto (Moderator) says on Jun 3, 2008, 08:23:

At $200 per laptop, that adds up to a lot of money. Do you know if the money is going to be donated or if it's coming from government coffers? If the latter and if I were the education minister, I'd be sure the school districts had good, well-stocked libraries with long hours and cheap computers for the kids to use before I'd spend any money on programs such as One Laptop Per Child.

I'm not a Luddite and I'm well aware of the benefits of "leapfrog technologies" such as cell phones and text messaging in developing countries, but if kids are still coming to school hungry, and the schools and children are poorly provisioned, this type of technology should take a back seat until the basics are covered.

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GregYohn says on Jun 3, 2008, 09:05:

Hola!

Basically, the laptops will be purchased by the Provincial government, but the inplementation and custom programs used there will be based on vollunteers. It has an expected life expectancy of 5 years and I like the idea that it can be able to be used to hold electronic books. It is my expectation that the places getting the XO will be without books now. The REAL exciting aspect of the XO is that it uses almost no electricity compared to most laptops and its intended recepients probably do not have electricity at home or little income.

I tell people in Cali that the XO is intended for .5 Estrata. I guess that even Estrata 2 children would benefit, but its deployment is for the families that will never have a computer. I think the XO can provide a sense of hope for the marginalized children.

12VOIP.com gives free calls to Colombia.Greg

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Mr. Hollywood says on Jun 3, 2008, 09:26:

Greg, is there also a program to provide connectivity to the internet in these poor schools?

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GregYohn says on Jun 3, 2008, 11:14:

Hola,

Yes, they will provide connectivity and school servers. I know that part can be challenging financially where electricity and internet rates are expensive. A school server could be used as a source for online books and other files, if the internet was not available.

12VOIP.com gives free calls to Colombia.Greg

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