calling all computer guru's

[Bahianut]

Hey everyone,

Has anyone heard of this or looked into it? It is a program to provide lap tops to developing countries and also you get a laptop. My nature is to always be skeptical about such dealings. (I've been on the mission field and know first hand that not everyone who appears to want to help are to be trusted.)

My main question is I'm not computer savvy enough to understand most of the conversations on their wiki page. (I'm not even sure what a "wiki" page means!) Anyway, my parents are looking into this and asked my opinion. I figured I'd ask the community here as I've learned much from all of you and the knowledge base here never fails to amaze me!

Here are the links. the first one is simply http://laptop.org/ it walks you through. The second link is http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Home This is the page that was above my head.

Bottom line. . . would you trust the site? Is what you are getting and giving really worth the 200 bucks?

Thanks!

Andy

 

[grateful1]

Hey everyone,

Has anyone heard of this or looked into it? It is a program to provide lap tops to developing countries and also you get a laptop. My nature is to always be skeptical about such dealings. (I've been on the mission field and know first hand that not everyone who appears to want to help are to be trusted.)

My main question is I'm not computer savvy enough to understand most of the conversations on their wiki page. (I'm not even sure what a "wiki" page means!) Anyway, my parents are looking into this and asked my opinion. I figured I'd ask the community here as I've learned much from all of you and the knowledge base here never fails to amaze me!

Here are the links. the first one is simply http://laptop.org/ it walks you through. The second link is http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Home This is the page that was above my head.

Bottom line. . . would you trust the site? Is what you are getting and giving really worth the 200 bucks?

Thanks!

Andy

Yes.
------------------------------

purpose

Mission
The OLPC Foundation's mission is to stimulate local grassroots initiatives designed to enhance and sustain over time the effectiveness of laptops as learning tools for children living in lesser-developed countries.


Organization
The OLPC Foundation is a tax-exempt (501c3) social-benefit organization chartered in the State of Delaware and headquartered at One Cambridge Center, Cambridge Massachusetts, 02142.


Board

• Nicholas Negroponte, Chairman
• Ashton Hawkins, Secretary
• Robert D. Fadel
• Calestous Juma

-------------------------------------------------


Is it worth $200...depends...I can get a cell phone for under $200 that does the same thing(functionally)...ONLY I have to pay for a plan each month.

Theses are easliy supported and fixed devices to assist in area's were the technology would other wise be extremely expensive.

Is the company a 'sham'? ...well, you don't normally get a .org extension unless you have at least your ducks in a row. From my understanding, this project has been ongoing for a while and the people behind it have probably lost money on development. It's also tries to be a 'green' machine using very few watts.

BTW - it's a linux based system with Open Source stuff on it. specs

 

[Strayvector]

Saw these guys profiled on one of those Nightline or 20/20 programs. Seemed like a very worthwhile cause.

Is the company a 'sham'? ...well, you don't normally get a .org extension unless you have at least your ducks in a row.

My favorite .org site is piratebay.org.

 

[grateful1]

Saw these guys profiled on one of those Nightline or 20/20 programs. Seemed like a very worthwhile cause.

Is the company a 'sham'? ...well, you don't normally get a .org extension unless you have at least your ducks in a row.

My favorite .org site is piratebay.org.

LOL - they had their duck's in a row: :whistling:

"In Sweden, torrent trackers have not been found to be illegal."

Anyhow...it's a pretty neat little pc laptop.org developed.

 

["K"]

Seem legit to me also, inaddition to what those guys said; ".org" domains are generally setup for non-for profit, humanitarian organizations.

 

[Bahianut]

Thank you guys. This place is the greatest. Not only do you learn tons on cigars but there is someone that has experience in just about everything!

Thanks again!

Andy

 

[hoshnasi]

For $400.00 you can buy a better laptop (Get one for yourself and give one program), but it is a pretty neat device to play around with I imagine. The battery life and wifi is suppose to be great has an interesting "Mesh Wifi" which allows the laptop to function as a wifi access point while the main processor is off.

Also T-Mobile sweetened the deal buy offering a years worth of free Hotspot access for those participating in "Get One Give One".