One Laptop Per Child

This is what we got the boys for Christmas. It is one of the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) laptops. If you aren't familiar with the program then go to their website for more info. But basically, these laptops were created to be priced at $200 and to be sent to children in under developed countries. They have some unique design features as well as functionality which is more advanced than some laptops being sold commercially.

These laptops aren't meant to be sold commercially in the United States but instead people can make a $200 donation and have one sent to a child. But, they opened it up so that between 11/12/07 - 12/31/07, if you donated one you could buy one. So, I purchased 2 and donated 2.

I must admit when I first got it, I was a little disappointed because it wasn't as intuitive as I thought. It isn't Microsoft but Linux so things operate a little differently. Plus, all of the applications and interfaces are Open Source so they don't have much documentation. In fact, the laptops didn't come with any documentation.

Also, they shipped with an older build of the OS so it was real buggy and the wi-fi didn't work at all. But, after surfing some forums and the support wiki (it is all user supported), I found how to upgrade it. That was a challenge since I couldn't get it online. But, I downloaded the update to a flash drive and got it upgraded which finally allowed me to get it online.

But, once I got it online, I found the built in browser to be less than desirable and it couldn't load pages like www.thewiggles.com or www.starfall.com. Getting them online was a big purpose of this so we could free up our computers. So, again, I am a little disappointed.

But, it came with some built in activities which proved to be interesting and offer some interesting possibilities. The boys loved doing the activities which were for their ages so all was not loss.

I tried downloading Firefox to use as the browser but it wasn't designed to work with the OLPC "Sugar" interface so the only way to execute it was via command line. A bit of a stretch for a 4 year old. But, I continued to search for a better browser and finally found a post about using Opera. Opera has a "Sugar" version so it can be executed like all of the other applications and it works 100% better than the built in browser. It has allowed them to get online and play their games.

Now that I am learning my way around, becoming more familiar with Linux and finding a variety of support forums, I am excited about these little laptops.

But, if you do ever get the opportunity to get one, be prepared to learn Linux or you will be forever frustrated.