[OLPC-Chicago] Chicago Office Needs...

[Mel Chua]

> _School_ _Servers_

This is an *excellent* idea - we should definitely have one to take
around in the mobile lab (and the discussion on this so far has been 
great.) Any takers on trying to do a setup in the area? There are pilots 
and other groups across the country (heck, the world) struggling through 
the same process right now, and the combined resources and 
resourcefulness of this group could definitely contribute a lot to 
making that process easier - if there are a few brave souls here with 
time enough to try pioneering it.

<random-idea>Mark, maybe that could be a semi-regular meetup at your
office - school server hacking evenings every other Friday night, or
such. </random-idea>

> _More_ _XOs_ in peoples hands

> I really feel like a buzzkill when I show off my XO and then tell 
> someone that they can't have one. How about lobbying for an open Give 
> Many, where someone could buy an XO from OLPC Chicago for a Give Many 
> price, say $300? Maybe if OLPC were nice they'd even kick back some of 
> that to OLPC Chicago to help finance local operations.

So here's a thought.

We need 40-50 machines for the XOffice On Wheels (or whatever it ends up
being called - keep posting and commenting on name ideas at
http://wiki.laptop.org/go/User:Mchua/Braindumps/Chicago_office, 24 more 
hours!) to do
off-grid power development, large-scale testing, and running
workshops/hackathons/bootcamps/etc in the area.

The office is deliberately set to have a sunset clause. Part of what
should happen at that time is that the "office's" equipment - as well as
its knowledge - should trickle and filter and spill its way back into
the local community to give the many efforts there an extra boost. (If 
the office decides to continue in an identical incarnation, they can 
find a way of getting more equipment - it's more likely that the focus 
of the nucleation group will shift to adapt to the changing needs of 
IL-area OLPC efforts.)

The XOs themselves might transfer to individuals, or to pilots - just in
time to kick off the start of the school year. Or perhaps the XOs that 
the Chicago office uses doesn't "belong" to them in the first place.

SJ: "Indeed a way for small ~10-machine pilots to get started with 
laptops would be to encourage the growth of a local nucleation group, 
which would place and receive a single order, oversee initial workshops 
or a few months of development and plannig, and then oversee handing the
machines out... the small pilot would provide funds well in advance, and
get /their/ initial training once the machines arrive through this local
group. At which point the extra from the piloting group can fund spare
parts, jam and outreach kits, a little travel liquidity, and bare bones
support for the initial workshops.."

Are there groups who want to get ready for a pilot (starting in the fall 
school year) who want to have their machines and equipment set up, 
customized (including custom Activity development for your curiculum), 
and tested over the summer?

As an added bonus: The children who get these laptops at the start of 
the school year can then connect with all the people (educators, 
hackers, older children running grassroots bootcamp events) who have 
worked on their particular laptop before - many generations of people 
coming together around one particular technological tool, an 
individualized "support crew" for each child.

-Mel