[dundee] OLPC Videos...niiiiiiiiiice!

[Rick]

On 22/01/2008, Gary Short <gary at garyshort.org> wrote:
> -------- Original Message --------
> > From: Robert McWilliam <rmcw at allmail.net>
> > Sent: 22 January 2008 13:38
> > Same way the device itself gets there. You send it preloaded with
> > useful stuff.
>
> Of course, but (hopefully) there will be new software added to the catalogue of available
> software at regular intervals. Very soon the first laptops will become "out of date" and after
> time, there will (again hopefully) be so much software that it can't all be housed on the
> hard drive of just one machine.  At that point you have to have a process whereby new
> software can be cascaded down to even the most remote village. If you don't have such a
> scheme then you run the risk of creating a two tier community - those with access to the
> central repository (though this repository could easily be distributed) and those who do not.

True, but an out-of-date laptop is still a useful piece of kit.  I
also don't really understand the problem with what you call a two-tier
community, and think this is only really a problem in the world of
proprietary systems and enterprise IT.

One of the most common reasons 'to upgrade' is because of forced
obsolescence by the vendor, and the pressure that exerts on users in
order to read newer file formats etc...  If a village is using V1.0 of
the software, then by the time they come across a V2.0 file-format,
it's likely that there will already be V2.0 of the software installed
somewhere within the local mesh, that they too will be able to
acquire.  The main other reason to upgrade is obviously for security,
which though a problem, should be no where near as bad as in the
'developed' Windows world.

Lacking access to a centralised repository is also not a deal breaker,
as the laptops themselves ship with source code (pre installed) to the
majority of the end user facing applications (which are typically
written in python).  Hence if users acquire a need to modify the
software in someway, they're empowered to do so, and can further
distribute their changes within their local community mesh.  The OLPC
even comes with a special key on the keyboard to view the source to
the currently running program, to encourage this type of learning and
development.

On a different point altogether, imagine the impact that deploying
free mobiles to everyone in developing nations would have (assuming
good coverage and free calls etc).  The savings in wasted time,
needless journeys and co-ordinated delivery alone would have a
significant economic impact.  Well, the XO-1 has been tested,
successfully communicating between individual nodes over a distance of
2km ( http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/communications/soa/OLPC-achieves-2km-range-in-802-11s-tests/0,130061791,339277912,00.htm
), whilst the hardware has been designed specifically to be
serviceable in the field.  This is also why I feel that the OLPC
program is more important than just education, as it has the potential
to foster an entire infrastructure and services economy around it.

-- 
Rick
rick.moynihan at gmail.com
http://sourcesmouth.co.uk/blog/