Nicholas Negroponte: One Laptop per Child, two years on

[iboatswebsite]

I think he is sincere however, I am not sure that a laptop is the most beneficial thing to be providing. He come from a background that puts a huge emphasis on education and technology, etc.

I just wonder if there might be some other things that might be better.

That being said, I admire his motives and drive and motivation.

[crudhousefull]

Okay...I watched the video and I want one now...

[mistrtwistr69]

Applaud this man. He selflessly pursued making other people's lives better. Regardless of his approach, the world needs more men like him. He is making a difference, applying his life to a better world.

[Thelonelyshepherd1]

"The clarity of purpose is there"

[mistrtwistr69]

@Thelonelyshepherd1 tru

[wmcdo1]

Appreciative of the work being done for 3rd world countries. What about children from the USA who cannot afford to have a laptop for college?

[bitemyshinymettalass]

Excellent program, idea. seeing this after 1year of it's implementation saddens me, wish i had seen it earlier. . . but change can be made, and right from wrong xD . like the lifesaver bottle, this is something worth spreading en mass worldwide. . .

Thank you TED,

For sharing

[eduardotufen]

Uruguay is more rich than Argentina per capita and certainly more rich than Brazil per capita. Just because the overall GDP and area is lower doesn't mean they don't make money. So f*** Nicholas Negroponte when he takes pity on Uruguay and says "bless their hearts."

[bitemyshinymettalass]

Well informed, yet bad judgment, i don't know why you hate Uruguay or care for that matter. i also do not know why the statement "bless their hearts" is there. But Brazil did not go with the program while Uruguay did. it's not about the country, it's about the people, the ones who lead and the ones who fallow. and if you look carefully enough you will find something to pity, hate, love, or admire in any person or being for that matter.Please DO NOT REACT but RESPOND to the the things you dislike

[eduardotufen]

I didn't say that to offend Uruguay. I kind of am Uruguayan and the reason I got mad is because whenever I hear people talk Uruguay I always have to hear two things: small and poor. I don't hear that they were the inaugural winners of the FIFA World Cup and Copa America, but I always need to be insulted about something whether it is true or not. The reason, btw, that the Tabaré Vasquez bought those computers was because he had the money and cared for education in rural areas.

[chinaliew]

thank you Nicholas Negroponte

you have help so many people ,

[chinaliew]

a book cost 100

a laptop cost 100 but have unlimited information with acces of information.

definately is a life safer and thirst for knowledge

[greenglance183]

respect to Νικολας! Δεν υπαρχει ο ανθρωπος... ειναι ιδιοφυια!

[OverusedChewToy]

I want a crank-laptop :(

[tekemperor]

I can't believe there are still people commenting that don't realize they get most of their information from the internet. When you come across a new word, where do you go to find out what it means? When someone tells you about an interesting concept, where do you go to learn more about it? The internet and free knowledge are practically synonymous. Knowledge is the divide. They will have shoes when they know how to make them. They will have water when they know how to acquire it.

[rankalot]

So What!...

Nicolis sold millions of computers to poor kids and made more money then those kids stand to profit by getting them..... What plausible education can a child receive from from the internet..... If there wasn't a dollar sign attached these kids would probably have never seen one, I have been to mongolia and if you ever go please count the number of kids you see running aroung barefoot k.....trust me you'll be suprised....wait a sec, maybe the kids could wear the computers as shoes!

[BounceToTheJiggy]

@rankalot.

this is a cynical and silly remark.

You are sitting at home and typing condescending comments about someone, who is *actually dOIng something*.

In my opinion, if you are not able to respond or contribute in a constuctive manner, you should just simply shut up.

Nothing good comes out of your pessimistic & selfrightous bla bla.

Be a part of the solution or at least pay some respect.

Love Ted

[rankalot]

Cynical yes......But Silly? Tell me how a child who's family is so poor they can't afford shoes is silly? Well at least they have a computer right!

I think you are sitting behind your computer looking to start a fight with someone you don't know and don't ever intend on seeing through. Plus I left this comment 7 MONTHS AGO!!!!! I am sorry but these rich elitist types always think they know how to help and what the right thing is to do is. I mean what good is a laptop if you can't use it?

[MellumFellum]

What good are shoes if you can't afford to buy your own? Education is the key to dragging third-world countries into the 21st century. Certainly, it would be far easier to just give these kids shoes, or rice, or fish instead. But if you TEACH a man to fish...!

[nwrhino]

...but Nicolas, You are "selling" laptops !

Not the physical value, but the concept of(laptop) technology improving the quality of life

[happydappyman]

has there been any problems with laptops being stolen or internet acces points vandalized it seems like that could happen

[Katalyzt]

Nicely done! This is one of the greatest/noblest ideas that anyone has had in a very long time! ★★★★★

Katalyzt

[UncleKennybobs]

Oh hai Nick!

Another 100,000,000 people on the intertubes downloading porn....

[ARon10787]

Lmao

[eArtrash]

this guy is a total legend. what a great thing to do!

[mortiphago]

yay, now poor folk will be corrupted by /b/ !

[intrepgun]

thus exposing the 'bottom billion' to the "internet of things".

such a beautiful idea... it's just sad that it will no doubt be used for harm- not by the kids or people using them, but by the people monitoring them. and you know there will be.

but that's not part of the idea [i hope]. the idea is spreading information. and that's mostly good.

[semiliteratedgod]

well, the intention and the idea was good ... doesn't seem to work out though

[neil1337]

I think this is stupid. It's generally easy to get a laptop. Parents can buy their children them if they want. As low as 300$ will get one. Why should our current struggling generation pay for this shit?

[locusSol]

If you don't want to pay for this, just don't buy one. No one's forcing this down your throat.

Just don't drag the whole 'generation' down with you.

[solitairedream]

Yeah, but many of the countries he mentioned, most people can barely afford the most basic of living costs, much less $300.

[UncleKennybobs]

The governments of those countries pay, not the people.

[solitairedream]

Was replying to neil1337, unclekenny. Unfortunately my posts don't file correctly when I 'reply'.

[crudhousefull]

@solitairedream A used computer in my country (Sri Lanka) with much more functionality than that laptop costs just 150 dollars. The rate at which rich countries discard 2 year old computers it's really not that expensive to get a used one for cheap...only the keyboard and mouse have to be made new for the next user

[miscreantpyro]

You have failed at grasping a simple concept, neil1337. The OLPC is a charitable organization. The price point is there to encourage donations, and the laptops go to children in often impoverished or developing areas of the world. Where it's not as you said "generally easy to get a laptop". Every generation has a struggle our is not unique in that regard, but to be a generation that despite our struggles, sees finished the noble cause of educating the whole world would be worth it and more

[CadicusTheDamned]

O,RLY? I am intrigued.

[CadicusTheDamned]

All children should have access to porn during those difficult years of puberty.

[lmaessedai]

absolutely, we need to generate a porn focused society

[CadicusTheDamned]

Peace through porn. Fuck for freedom.

[intrepgun]

run for office. seriously. ever hear of the free state project? XD

[CadicusTheDamned]

I can't run for office. I'm an atheist and have a few public intoxications on my record.

[az824]

Porn can make the world a better place. Islamic fundamentalists, there just angry because they seriously need to get laid.

"Just shut the fuck up about jihad, take this into the bathroom and have a hand shandy" Might put a smile or two on their faces and they wont feel the need to go around bombing shit

[CadicusTheDamned]

If that would work, I'd pony up a few bucks for the cause. Of course, they're going to need running water and some KY too. Can you imagine masturbating with sand on your hands? Ouch. That would just make them madder.

[nyclear]

huh?

[no2late4compassion]

I have been watching the progress of this project with great excitement since I first heard about it(around 18 months ago). Thank goodness for your extraordinary passion, vision, and LIVING your life's passion! Kids DO need access to information- and giving them the technology to "fish for themselves" will lay down the foundation for propelling them into being an adult with passion as well. Thank you for whoever posted this here in YouTube, so I can share it in "MySpace"!! :)

[Aegialeus]

Well said!

[RabidApe]

Nicholas Negroponte should get a TEDprize.

This is about the best thing I've heard all year.

[kellysontheroad]

five thumbs up

[zassounotsukushi]

When I see hundreds of youtube channels of kids using these, then I'll believe what this guy is saying.

The very fact that these people are still invisible on the internet - and that they will stay invisible - shows that they're not living on any kind of equal footing, virtual or real.

[SynapseSnap]

I don't know what you expect from this program present day. Honestly, your position is puzzling.

Youtube represents closing on 20% of all internet traffic (not including P2P sharing)... that's an insane number of people, representing the first world. One Laptop Per Child activity won't pop of overnight obviously, so it can only take time.

You give laptops with internet to people, and their internet visibility increases. It's a pretty straight forward correlation. No need to believe anything...

[zassounotsukushi]

There is need for skepticism.

He was talking about 20% of manufactured computers being these at some point. I've played with one of these before, it seems like everything for it has to be made specifically for the device.

For one, I'm not a fan of making a seperate internet for 'them', it's THE internet or it's pointless

Two, hard evidence of success is unavailable. Playing with one, I can't get it SHOWING youtube, to think that the kids can get any value from this site is far premature.

[FaithIsImaginary]

"When I see hundreds of youtube channels of kids using these, then I'll believe what this guy is saying."

Why? His main goal was educational use(esp programming). Youtube access would have zero value for this. The way I was thinking about it, the main reason to have a network would be to deliver educational content and possibly to create an educational network between the users themselves.

Equal footing is probably a long term goal, in the meantime, availability trumps the alternative.

[zassounotsukushi]

That's very true, and one of the largest problems. It's a fairly localized reading and programing instruction device. If this genuinely saves money for books, that's great, but if that was true, the schools would have already done it and it wouldn't have needed large sums of external funding.

Don't get me wrong, I think it's a great thing, and if this is what's needed to get rally support for developing nation's education, then fine. But the approach is not without well founded criticism.

[SynapseSnap]

I just think the criticism is misplaced - getting young people computers, accelerating their learning, updating their information base, creating an infrastructure for future growth all can only be positive. And I don't think these schools had the resources or the organization to create this sort of program - most of these laptops will be given to the schools primarily because they cant even afford the 100 dollar laptop, let alone anything else. It may not be perfect, but for now it is important.

[UncleKennybobs]

1. The books are donated - they do not pay for them so it won't save them money on books.

2. The OLPC does not need specific hardware or software. It runs on an Ubuntu variant and all plugs are standard (USB for example).

3. It will play YouTube videos. It has more than enough power. This is assuming they will be attached to the Internet at all, that's up to the school/area/country.

I have no idea if the webcam was part of the final design, but it was planned. There's your YouTube.

[tyrbolo]

too bad the USA can't afford these for their kids...

[my15minutes]

5ed and faved

[HoldinCoffee]

This dude was AWESOME in Jurassic Park!

[AngilasGuy]

I lol'd

[TheCapt4in]

i had to read an article 3 years ago about the green machine things and give one get one

i must say the new design will get a lot more kids interested because of the whole cool kid and kids following so if one kid discovers somthing cool the rest will want to know and itl spread like wild fire

[SpinergyDude]

I miss BASIC but what do I know... Meh... Lost the interest now.

[harryogre]

I wish they stil had the Give One Get One program going.

[clearmenser]

Yah, I wonder why they stopped. This is a high interest product.