At OLPC’s Global Country workshop, founder Nick Negroponte unveiled the design of the next-gen XO Laptop. While it gets an update and doubling of the great hybrid display as used in the original mode, the new one drops the keyboard and is about half the size. The mockup picture is beautiful (as seen below.)
The problem is that the machine doesn’t exist and Negroponte doesn’t expect to deliver them until 2010. Why then, show the design so early? It seems that Nick wants other manufacturers to attempt to deliver their own designs, perhaps even in advance of the XO2 Release. This is quite a shift from the contentious release of the previous version of the laptop. I have to wonder if Nick even plans to release an XO2 as described below. Why not just set the design and then let manufacturers like Asus and Intel race to get one delivered first? If anyone can create a device that does what Negroponte describes below and can deliver it for under $100 then everyone will want one. If Nick can do it, then I’ll be happy to buy his and send another to a third world country, just like last time.
update: The Give One Get One program returns in August or September!
Here is the Press Release:
One Laptop per Child (OLPC), a non-profit organization focused on providing educational tools to help children in developing countries “learn learning,” announced today that work is already underway on a second-generation version of its revolutionary XO laptop computer. Leveraging new advances in technology, the primary goal of the “XO-2″ will be to advance new concepts of learning as well as to further drive down the cost of the laptop so that it is affordable for volume purchase by developing nations.
“Based on feedback from governments, educators and most important, from the children themselves, we are aggressively working to lower the cost, power and size of the XO laptop so that it is more affordable and useable by the world’s poorest children,” said Nicholas Negroponte, founder and chairman of One Laptop per Child. “The delivery of the first generation XO laptop has sparked tremendous global interest in the project and provided valuable input on how to make the XO laptop an even better learning tool moving forward.”
“One Laptop per Child and the XO laptop are crucial to the fulfillment of the proposed UN Ninth Millennium Goal: to ensure that every child between the ages of 6 and 12 has immediate access to a personal laptop computer by 2015, said, Nirj Deva, Member of the European Parliament. “It’s only through access to education that young people will be able to develop the skills necessary to compete globally and to develop the solutions required to break the cycles of poverty, disease and malnutrition. Learning unites the child with the world, binds the village into a community, and joins that community to the global village.”
The first generation XO laptop went into production in early November 2007, and there are approximately 600,000 units in deployment in a number of countries including Peru, Uruguay, Mongolia, Haiti, Rwanda, Mexico, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Ghana, Iraq, Afghanistan, and the US and Canada (as a result of the Give One Get One charitable giving campaign that ran last November 12 – December 31, 2007). Key goals for the XO-2 include:
Cost Reduction – Set in early 2005, the original target price of the XO laptop was $100. Although that target has not yet been met (it is now at $188), it is clear that OLPC must aim for an even lower target price of $75. New developments in display, processor and other hardware and software technologies will make it possible to achieve the $75 target in the future.
Lower Power Consumption – While the first generation XO laptop already requires just one-tenth (2-4 watts versus 20-40 watts) of the electrical power necessary to run a standard laptop, the XO-2 will reduce power consumption even further to 1 watt. This is particularly important for children in remote and rural environments where electricity is scarce or non-existent. Lowering the power consumption will reduce the amount of time required for children to generate power themselves via a hand crank or other manual mechanisms.
Smaller Footprint – The XO-2 laptop will be about half the size of the first generation device and will approximate the size of a book. The new design will make the XO laptop lighter and easier for children to carry with them to and from school or wherever they go. The XO-2 will continue to be in a green and white case and sport the XO logo in a multitude of colors that allow children to personalize the laptop as their own possession.
Enhanced Book Experience – Dual-touch sensitive displays will be used to enhance the e-book experience, with a dual-mode display similar to the current XO laptop. The design provides a right and left page in vertical format, a hinged laptop in horizontal format, and a flat two-screen wide continuous surface that can be used in tablet mode. Younger children will be able to use simple keyboards to get going, and older children will be able to switch between keyboards customized for applications as well as for multiple languages. The dual-touch display is being designed by Pixel Qi, which was founded in early 2008 by Mary Lou Jepsen, former chief technology officer of One Laptop per Children and a leading expert on display technology.
While South Carolina has been spared a direct hit during the last few hurricane seasons, Verizon Wireless announced today the company has completed extensive preparations for the 2008 Hurricane Season to ensure South Carolinians have strong, comprehensive wireless coverage and service this hurricane season.
There’s now a 40-acre permanent “cloud” over Hickory Knob State Resort Park. And that’s a good thing.
Regal Entertainment Group (NYSE:RGC), the owner and operator of the largest movie theater circuit in the world, has partnered with RealD 3D, to roll out 1,500 RealD 3D screens, bringing the RealD 3D screen count to over 3,500. The rollout will allow most U.S. markets to have 3D capability and will commence upon the completion of the Digital Cinema Implementation Partners (DCIP) initiative. Regal and RealD will work together to market and develop the RealD premium 3D platform in key Regal markets and theatres throughout the U.S.
Clemson University — CI Days at Clemson University is being held May 19-21 at the Madren Conference Center and will bring Clemson faculty, staff and students together with national experts to raise awareness about cyberinfrastructure and spark collaboration across disciplines. Nearly 340 attendees are registered and include Clemson faculty, graduate students and IT staff as well as colleagues from over a dozen other SC universities and research centers.
AOL Music
Today GE announced that it is demonstrating new hybrid tugboat technology in cooperation with the C-MAR Group. GE
The 10th Anniversary of the InnoVision Technology Awards is now accepting entries. The InnoVision Technology Awards Program celebrates innovation and technological excellence.
Greenville, SC — Selah Technologies, an advanced materials manufacturer, has signed a cooperative research agreement with lighting company OSRAM SYLVANIA to test and develop nano-enabled lighting products. OSRAM SYLVANIA will test both Selah Dotsâ„¢ and Selah Tubesâ„¢ in applications across several lighting-related product lines. The six-month agreement is effective immediately and includes a renewal option.
Greenville, SC –The first step to growing a business is getting noticed by potential customers, but do you know how to get noticed? “Get Noticed Now†is a working seminar that reveals the secrets that PR professionals and business owners use to jump start their businesses by getting the public media to sell for them! Working with the media is not a “dark art†– it is a tool that any entrepreneur can and should use to attract new clients, employees, or investors. The Clemson University Small Business Development Center is excited to partner with Phil Yanov to present this workshop that is always fun, relevant and productive.
