Now with free carrying case.
How did I miss this? One of our favorite curmudgeons, John C. Dvorak, hits the nail right on the head with his assessment of the OLPC — send $200 of rice to poor countries, not a $200 computer. The inventors and backers of the OLPC project trust and believe in education as a way out of dire circumstances. Fine, but isn’t a laptop a bit useless if you don’t have clean water or a well-funded school in your town? The question is not whether or not kids need computers — they do — but whether this effort ignores more prevalent structural problems within a country.
In a report by 60 Minutes last week, they showed the OLPC in Brazil, where they are planning on handing out one to every school child. Fine. Good stuff. Sao Paolo and Paducah, Kentucky could probably both use a few laptops for the kids to use, ensuring that the poverty in fairly developed nations stops at Generation Z.
Other countries aren’t so lucky.
Of course, it might be a problem if there is no classroom and he can’t read. The literacy rate in Niger is 13 percent, for example. Hey, give them a computer! And even if someone can read, how many Web sites and wikis are written in SiSwati or isiZulu? Feh. These are just details to ignore.
Apparently, saying anything negative about the OLPC XO-1 computer amounts to heresy in this community. You may as well promote NAMBLA or the KKK. People don’t want to consider the possibility that their well-meaning thoughts are a joke and that a $200 truckload of rice would be of more use than Wi-Fi in the middle of nowhere. There seems to be a notion that the poor in Africa or East Asia are just like the kids in East Palo Alto. Once they get a laptop, there will be no digital divide, will there? People can say, “I did my part!”
Amen, brother. I saw an OLPC at the Techcrunch 40 conference and the wonk who was using it turned it on and it started braying like a goat. Seriously. If you want to make a difference, send food, not laptops. Let teachers and educators figure out when and where laptops are necessary.
Comments
Interesting insight. Of course, it assumes that OLPCs and other donations are mutually exclusive, which is, of course, hogwash.
Send them rice and soon they will be hungry again … or as the old proverb goes, “Give them fish and they will be hungry again … teach them to fish and they will never be hungry again.”
Well said, Bill. A “Truck of rice” will do nothing to solve the problems that underlie poverty. This piece is under thought, unimaginative, and shortsighted.
Worth considering that OLPCs are a bit harder to vanish entirely via graft than straight funding donations. Not entirely ablative of the point, but worth considering.
@Bill - “Give them fish and they will be hungry again … teach them to fish and they will never be hungry again.” - Obviously, but how will the Internet teach these kids to fish? They be better served if you and Steve flew over there and taught them all how irrigate and maintain crops? Or will you guys make a YouTube video and label it “For all hungry people with OLPCs, watch this” explaining crop yields.
Isn’t the OLPC project just one sector of the overall effort to help these 3rd world countries? I can’t go a day without seeing an ad on TV saying that there are multiple truck loads of rice sitting in China and they just need money to transport them. The mission of the OLPC project is to help bring technology to these kids…to teach them about the bigger world out there…to give them an opportunity to better themselves and their country…and hopefully, one would think, to bring them a form of democracy that can help their country dig itself out of the pit of poverty that they are in. If you, or anyone, is concerned about feeding these nations, then get up and do something…start your own foundation to raise money to send them the rice and clean water they need. You want to leave technology to educators and teachers? How are they supposed to bring technology to the classroom? Someone has to step in and help and that’s what OLPC is doing. I am sorry it’s not being done on your time table. I am proud to have contributed to this cause and can’t wait to see what new, innovative, ideas come from these kids.
Sending a truck load of rice is what people have been doing for ages, well did that really help people get out of poverty, I don’t think so. Thats a short sighted temporary solution, the long term solution is at least minimal education which can empower people to solve their problems locally. Most problems don’t need grandiose education infrastructure, minimal education/awareness would do. OLPC effort aims to provide a opportunity for kids to educate themselves with minimal hand holding all along. Negroponte clearly states its meant for self learning and exploration than mere instruction.
We are privileged to have someone at least think of a solution to address the issue, if you have a better idea we would be glad to hear it.
OLPC is the brightest chance to change the world since Bob Geldoff said “Just give us the f’ing money”, but this time it will do something, a truck load of education!
Defense spending across the world, including cash-strapped developing countries, has spiraled, touching over US $1000 billion in 2003 - a level last seen during the Cold War, says a new report.
Can you imagine a stock pile of OLPC laptops you could build with 1000 billion. and the world you could create.
We should send an xo laptop to JB. Seems he could use an education as much as any illiterate third world 4 year-old…
JB, using the logic that it is unfruitful to give children access to the Internet in 3rd world countries is like saying do not give them books or writing materials. The Internet opens the world to them and will allow them access to education materials/information and the freedom to explore that would be impossible for them to have otherwise.
photos might wake you up and show you that computers have nothing to do with food, because curiosity and creativity need to be fed as well;
some great photos of nigerian kids with the green computer in their classroom;
and yes the classroom looks a bit different from what you are used to, also the number of kids is rather high;
but that is the way it goes and it goes very well, thank you;
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/629/629/7113548.stm
it has audio accompanying the slideshow and click on “Show captions” on the bottom right hand side of the picture, they give interesting facts;
Why didn’t you publish my previous comment?
FYI, Niger (which Dvorak mentioned) and Nigeria (where the OLPC was piloted) are two different countries! Maybe they all look alike to him.
Also, Dvorak specifically ridiculed sending food to Africa so maybe we should all wait until he tells us what to do.
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