[Olpc-za] Nature on OLPC

[Antoine van Gelder]

Morgan Collett wrote:
> "OLPC's lower costs come from using less-powerful components and
> eliminating distribution and after-sales service, both of which impose
> burdens on the end user."
>
> They just don't get it, do they? Who do they think is the end user,
> and why would a six year old care about those things?
>
> I get less "after-sales service" by buying a laptop commercially than
> is *already* available through the OLPC community, and if it was built
> into the price of the laptop, how come I have to pay anybody to look
> at it?
>   

Well said Morgan!

I do believe that a lot of the snipes OLPC experiences are precisely 
because so many manufacturers are so deeply frustrated with the facts 
you pointed out above.

Thing is, the marketing, business and accounting models they subscribe 
to leads them to hold the belief that they are incapable of competing 
with the OLPC  in terms of price and features while still forecasting a 
profit.

This, of course, leaves them feeling a bit left out which I think is sad 
for them because - for a CEO or Chairman of the Board who has children 
of their own - it must be a lot more satisfying to think of kids getting 
off on your technology than, for instance, insurance and banking firms 
who are only interested in how to do the same old things more cheaply.

So we have two models:

One is an adaptation of Henry Ford's revolutionary model for producing 
and distributing automobiles.

The other is founded on an observation that information is easily 
transferable and infinitely copyable.

In the first model success is measured by the rate of production of 
billionaires while in the second model success is measured by the rate 
of production of sages.

Seeing as wisdom has the observable property of lowering one's cost of 
living it is not clear to me why we need to increase the rate of 
production of billionaires beyond it's current level nor do I understand 
why some billionaires seem to be of the opinion that educators should 
assist them in such a task.

 - a