[Olpc-open] tabula rasa

[Carolyn Turbyfill]

Hi All,

I'm a big fan of OLPC.  3 years ago I started working on trying to get
internet access for women in Afghanistan (they can't go to internet  
cafe's
unless the cafe has hours set aside exclusively for women).  I was  
beyond
delighted when I found out about the OLPC project.  I will be raising  
some
money and purchasing some laptops.

For those of you who are thinking in high tech competitive terms, I  
suggest:
Small Is Beautiful: Economics as if People Mattered (Paperback)
by E. F. Schumacher (Author) "One of the most fateful errors of our  
age is the
  belief that "the problem of production" has been solved..." (more)

I have spent a great deal of time in poor countries - and to quote my  
husband,
with whom I worked with Hansen's disease (Leprosy patients) in the  
Peace Corps,
"poverty means there is nothing" - no resources, no opportunity.  I  
worked with
deformed and chronically ill people who worked harder every day of of  
their life
just to get by than I've ever worked.  A hardy laptop that doesn't  
require batteries
and is a bit slow - this is so seriously not a problem.

I do hope OLPC has applied for some patents and if not - I'd love to  
help.

Regards,
Carolyn Turbyfill
Fairfax, Virginia

On Nov 19, 2007, at 8:16 PM, Timothy Falconer wrote:

> At someone's suggestion, I took the attitude out of #6 ...
>
> 6. It's a low-cost, low-power laptop.  Tradeoffs were necessary, so
> please reduce your expectations regarding performance, etc.
>
> Thanks,
> Tim
>
> On Nov 19, 2007, at 1:21 PM, Timothy Falconer wrote:
>
>> Hi all,
>>
>> Just wrote up a series of "keep in mind" comments for our XO effort.
>> These are aimed at tech people using XOs for the first time.  Thought
>> they might be generally helpful too:
>>
>>
>> 1. TABULA RASA ... this machine is a clean slate!
>>
>> 2. Trust OLPC ... many smart people made choices for reasons we may
>> not understand yet.
>>
>> 3. This is *not* Windows or Mac .... losing "bloatware" means losing
>> other things too ... give it time.
>>
>> 4. Most XO users will have never used a computer before ... they'll
>> have a very different experience than us.  OLPC is focused on them,
>> not us.
>>
>> 5. This machine is made for all countries and all languages.  Many
>> Western biases will be missing, which may be confusing at first.
>>
>> 6. It's a freaking $200 laptop.  Lower your expectations regarding
>> performance, etc.   It's low-power, low-cost.  Adjust your brain
>> accordingly.
>>
>>
>>
>> Timothy Falconer
>> http://waveplace.com
>>
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>> Olpc-open at lists.laptop.org
>> http://lists.laptop.org/listinfo/olpc-open
>
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Carolyn Turbyfill
cturbyfill at mac.com
11449 Rothbury Square
Fairfax, Va 22030
Cell:  503-381-2808
Home:  703-865-6410
Cell:  703-598-7141
Work:  703-225-2513
Work Fax:  703-225-2501