[OLPC library] Licensing for One Laptop Per Child

[Edward Cherlin]

On Feb 5, 2008 4:02 PM, Joshua Waitzkin <joshwaitzkin.web at gmail.com> wrote:
> Okay, sounds great to me. How do you normally arrange for licenses with
> authors? Give me a sense for what I should present to my publisher, and I'll
> do it.

We prefer Creative Commons licenses for content, either Attribution or
Sharealike. See the guidelines at

http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Licensing

This would permit the content to be included in the standard XO or
school server distributions. Otherwise, it would have to go on a Web
site for individual downloading.

We prefer GPL for software, so that children can examine and modify
it. If you and your publisher are willing to license a specific
version under GPL, our developers will localize it into the necessary
languages and package it for the XO. They and some of our students may
want to see about enhancing it.

> Two other questions--what is your time line on this? And roughly how
> many computers are we talking about? Best, Josh

We would like it last year, of course. ^_^ In fact, since we are not
on a commercial schedule, we don't have a specific timeline. Our
developers can talk with your developers when that time comes.

More than half a million XOs have been ordered. This much is fact.
Then we enter the realm of conjecture and possibility.

The eventual aim is something over 200 million units annually, that
is, every schoolchild in the world getting a new unit every four years
or so, but we aren't all holding our breath. If we can get orders
totalling a few million this year, and then start doubling up year
over year, as has happened with successful launches of computers in
brand new markets in the past, it would take six or seven years to
reach the target level. We could wish for more, but we can't complain
at that prospect. It's an 'if' of a fair size, but nothing outrageous.

Of course, if your current book and software get out in front of that
many children, then when they become a bit more prosperous and a
little older, they may want to check out the offerings you and your
publisher haven't created yet. What they call a Blue Ocean,
Bottom-of-Pyramid, Triple-Bottom-Line Emerging Markets strategy.
Buzzword complete, too. ^_^ We'l be happy to talk about licensing
other backlist material on similar terms.

> On Feb 5, 2008 4:53 PM, Edward Cherlin <echerlin at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > Copied to OLPC mailing lists and Librarian Chick, cataloguer of free
> textbooks.
> >
> >
> > On Feb 5, 2008 7:36 AM, Joshua Waitzkin <joshwaitzkin.web at gmail.com>
> wrote:
> > > Hello Edward, Many thanks for following up. Jack Hidary told me about
> this
> > > program over dinner a couple weeks ago. I think it is just wonderful and
> I
> > > will be thrilled to help. Question--would you prefer to have an audio or
> > > text version of my book? We'll make it happen either way.
> >
> > Both, in fact. See
> >
> http://www.olpcnews.com/content/ebooks/effective_adult_literacy_program.html
> > for one major reason.
> >
> >
> > > Also, how much memory is on the computers?
> >
> > 256 MB RAM, 1G flash storage
> >
> > http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Hardware
> >
> >
> > > I can try to have Ubisoft donate versions of
> > > Chessmaster so the children can play chess as well.
> >
> > Outstanding.
> >
> > > I greatly look forward
> > > to combining forces. Yours, Josh
> > >
> > >
> > > On Feb 5, 2008 5:53 AM, Edward Cherlin <echerlin at gmail.com> wrote:
> > >
> > > > We spoke last week when you were on Forum with Michael Krasny. I asked
> > > > about licensing The Art of Learning for use on the One Laptop Per
> > > > Child XO computer in developing countries. We would want to work out a
> > > > license for free distribution to poor students in developing
> > > > countries, without disturbing your copyright and sales in richer
> > > > countries. We would also want permission for people in developing
> > > > countries to create their own translations, in the same way the XO
> > > > laptop software is localized, and other content translated. See, for
> > > > example,
> > > >
> > > > http://dev.laptop.org/translate/ for software
> > > > http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Translators for books and other content
> > > >
> > > > The educational philosophy of the Laptop project, called
> > > > Constructionism, emphasizes learning by doing and collaborative
> > > > discovery. http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Constructionism The XO software
> > > > supports multiple users writing in the same document (with separate
> > > > cursor for each), drawing together, playing music together, playing
> > > > games, and so on.
> > > >
> > > > The countries where XO laptops are currently being deployed are
> > > > Uruguay, Peru, Haiti, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Cambodia, Afghanistan, and
> > > > Mongolia. Birmingham, Alabama has ordered 15,000 XOs for its public
> > > > schools. Languages needed in addition to English thus include Spanish,
> > > > French, Haitian Creole French, Kinyarwanda, Amharic, Tigrinya, Khmer,
> > > > Dari, Pashto, Hazaragi, and Mongolian. See http://www.ethnologue.org/
> > > > if you want to know more about any of them.
> > > >
> > > > Please let me know what you think of these ideas, and how we can start
> > > > the process.
> >
> > --
> > Edward Cherlin
> > End Poverty at a Profit by teaching children business
> > http://www.EarthTreasury.org/
> > "The best way to predict the future is to invent it."--Alan Kay
> >
>
>



-- 
Edward Cherlin
End Poverty at a Profit by teaching children business
http://www.EarthTreasury.org/
"The best way to predict the future is to invent it."--Alan Kay