[Olpc-open] Why is G1G1 program ending?

[Steve Holton]

On Dec 28, 2007 8:53 PM, Charbax <charbax at charbax.com> wrote:

> On Dec 29, 2007 1:18 AM, Steve Holton <sph0lt0n at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > Without growth and spares, the XO hacker community size becomes *frozen*Dec 31.
> >
>
> I don't know what the actual numbers are, but from what OLPC has said
> during G1G1 initial release, only people who ordered on the first day of
> G1G1 on November 12th has got them delivered by now. So that probably means
> about 90% of G1G1 participants still have not received their G1G1 XO laptop.


I guess I should have said  "the *potential* XO hacker community size
becomes *frozen* Dec 31."
So does the *potential* educational community.

Once a technology product is delivered to market, the tech-support staff *
becomes* the sales staff. That was Microsoft's key to making Windows a
success: on-site evangelists.

How many people will get their first up-close exposure to an XO after their
opportunity to get one has evaporated, seeing as how (by your numbers) only
7,000 of 70K XO's have hit the North American streets so far? I know what *
my* reaction was when I was told, before G1G1 was announced, that I could
never be a member of the XO club. Ho hum. When G1G1 was announced, I put my
money down first day. And volunteered for the help staff.

So G1G1 is not stopping on 31st December, many people are still going to
> receive them during the next weeks and months, since OLPC is  probably
> delivering the laptops to Uruguay, Peru, Mexico, Birmingham Alabama in
> priority.


Anyone in Alabama who thinks the XO is cool (but doesn't already have one)
will have to content themselves with drooling over it, or going gray-market.
Gray market drives prices up, which reduces entry barriers for competition,
with no benefit at all to OLPC.

Depending on possible further announcements of big orders of the XO laptop
> by other countries in early January, I think that will be the factor
> determining if the continuation of G1G1 is needed. The point of G1G1 being
> to get the initial production started with sufficient quantities of orders
> placed and to show the developped world that the mass produced XO is for
> real, and that OLPC is ready to sign large orders with any country.
>

>
> --
> Charbax,
> Nicolas Charbonnier
> _______________________________________________
> Olpc-open mailing list
> Olpc-open at lists.laptop.org
> http://lists.laptop.org/listinfo/olpc-open
>
>


-- 
Steve Holton
sph0lt0n at gmail.com
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