[Nepal] Thank you all!

Bryan Berry bryan.berry at gmail.com
Wed Apr 23 22:11:55 EDT 2008


Let me clarify,

Should OLPC, Cambridge choose a non-open source path, we (OLE Nepal)
will continue working towards the ideals of OLPC, which means OpenSource
+ Constructionism + Laptops*

I believe that open-source is an essential aspect of the OLPC movement.
If OLPC the organization adopts closed-source software - i.e. Windows
XP, we (OLE Nepal) will continue to work w/ Linux+Sugar


* Durable, inexpensive, kid-friendly laptops. Currently only the XO
satisfies all 3 of these requirements.

Regarding OLPC, OLPC's head of Software and Content, Walter Bender, quit
a couple days ago for undefined reasons. I think one of the primary
reasons is that he is totally burnt out after 3 years of work w/ out a
vacation. He practically lived in the Cambridge office for 3 years.

Nicholas Negroponte wants to expand Sugar to work on other linux distros
and as a GUI on top of XP. I think that porting sugar to other linux
distros is a very important step, however porting Sugar to Windows would
be a waste of resources. I would never load Windows on our XO's because
it is crap.

Here is Negroponte's explanation of OLPC's change in strategy
http://www.olpcnews.com/people/negroponte/nicholas_negroponte_sugar_olpc.html

The sky is not falling. I expect linux+Sugar to continue to develop and
Windows+Sugar will be an annoying distraction that won't go anywhere. 

Hope this clarifies some things.

When are you coming back to Kathmandu? Let's meet up when you do. Give
me a call at 98511-04733.

Bryan
OLE Nepal



On Thu, 2008-04-24 at 00:00 +0530, Bibek Paudel wrote:
> Sorry for some strange lines that you may read below but because of
> different reasons, I am not updated with the latest happenings in OLPC
> or anything else for that matter.
> 
> What has been going on? What changes in the leadership and
> organization or principle have been taking place?
> 
> I would be glad if someone gave me a pointer to some information.
> 
> While I believe that empowering children and education with modern
> technology is the best way to go, I personally choose to disagree with
> what Bryan wrote, "Should OLPC incorporated choose a non-open source
> path, we will continue working towards the ideals of OLPC." He is
> entitled to his opinions, but the sole driving force of the OLPC
> project has been the fact that it is a free and open platform, using
> free/libre/open softwares and standards.
> 
> Cheers !
> Bibek
> 
> On Wed, Apr 23, 2008 at 7:14 PM, Bryan Berry <bryan.berry at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> >  Shankar and Ankur,
> >
> >  It has been quite an experience working w/ you over the last two years.
> >  Sometimes we have had a rocky relationship but it has been great getting
> >  to know you guys. Good luck to you in your future endeavors. I was one
> >  of the original founders of OLPC Nepal. I helped guide it from a group
> >  of friends to a registered NGO and then national force. While I left
> >  OLPC Nepal back in July of 2007 under unhappy circumstances, I am still
> >  proud of what we accomplished together.
> >
> >  OLE Nepal is still very much committed to the goals of OLPC. We see OLPC
> >  as not as a single organization headquartered in Cambridge but an
> >  international movement. Should OLPC incorporated choose a non-open
> >  source path, we will continue working towards the ideals of OLPC.
> >
> >  Anyone interested in working together with us is more than welcome. We
> >  have been unable to host community meetings over the last 2 months
> >  because we have been simply too busy working on the Bashuki and
> >  Bishwamitra pilots. We intend to have community meetings in the coming
> >  weeks at our office near Sanepa Chowk.
> >
> >  If anyone wants to drop by our office and check out our work in content
> >  development, teacher training, networking, etc. pls give me a call at
> >  98511-04733 . I will be very busy over the next several weeks supporting
> >  the pilots but will try to make time.
> >
> >  Good luck in your future endeavors,
> >
> >  Bryan Berry
> >  OLE Nepal
> >  http://www.olenepal.org
> >
> >
> >
> >  On Wed, 2008-04-23 at 19:03 +0545, Shankar Pokharel wrote:
> >  > It's been a great experience working all-time with OLPC Nepal for
> >  > about 2 years. We got the Government put OLPC in their yearly plans,
> >  > raise much awareness about giving children opportunities for a quality
> >  > learning experience with a free and open platform etc. We would like
> >  > to thank you all for giving me the opportunity to work with you to do
> >  > all what we have done, for every support and encouragements.
> >  >
> >  > With recent developments in OLPC including change in leadership and
> >  > organizational structure , which we do not subscribe to, we have
> >  > decided to take break from OLPC.
> >  >
> >  > Our goal remains to create an environment to use free and open
> >  > platform and the technology for learning. We hope to continue working
> >  > with the great team for this goal.
> >  >
> >  > Shankar and Ankur (ShAnkur)
> >  >
> >  > _______________________________________________
> >  > Nepal mailing list
> >  > Nepal at lists.laptop.org
> >  > http://lists.laptop.org/listinfo/nepal
> >
> >
> >
> >
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> >
> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> Bibek Paudel.
> http://blog.bibekpaudel.com.np/
> ==============================
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