Free Laptop Computer for Children
Negroponte's Give 1 Get 1 Gift Campaign Offers 1 Laptop per Child
Oct 22, 2007
In the spirit of giving and just in time for the holiday season, MIT professor Nicholas Negroponte is embarking on a very ambitious project.
Negroponte, founder and chairman of the non-profit organization, “One Laptop per Child” (OLPC), is working diligently and tirelessly to create a connected and educated future for the world's children.
Negroponte’s ambitious OLPC project is bringing the wonderful world of computing to the children of developing countries. For a 2-week period beginning November 12th, 2007, the “One Laptop per Child” campaign will provide another way to contribute to this important endeavor. The “Give 1 Get 1” campaign affords both Americans and Canadians an opportunity to purchase two laptops for the price of one.
For $399, one XO laptop computer will be given to a needy child and a second XO laptop computer will be shipped to the buyer's home just in time for the Christmas holiday. The specially designed green and white laptops are small and sturdy and are perfect for kids. Not only will two children benefit from such a wonderful gift, the donated purchase is also a tax deduction.
The child-friendly specifications of the XO laptops include:
- Pivoting and reversible liquid-crystal 7.5 inch, 1200 x 900 pixel TFT screen
- x86-compatible processor, 433 Mhz
- 256 MiB dynamic RAM
- Dirt and moisture-resistant system enclosure
- Wireless networking with integrated 802.11b/g (2.4GHz) interface
- Keyboard: 80+ keys with sealed rubber-membrane
- Plastic walls 2mm thick compared to standard 1.3mm
- XO operating system is built from free and open-source software
- Integrated color 640×480 video camera
- Consumes little power which is important for children who have no access to electricity
- Can be hand-powered
- Size of a textbook
- Rounded corners
- Extra wide touchpad
- Contains no hazardous materials
- Estimated XO lifetime is at least 5 years
According to the website, Negroponte’s mission is to “provide a means for learning, self-expression and exploration to the nearly two billion children of the developing world with little or no access to education. While children are by nature eager for knowledge, many countries have insufficient resources to devote to education—sometimes less than $20 a year per child. Imagine the potential that could be unlocked by giving every child in the world the tools they need to learn, no matter who they are, no matter where they live, no matter how little they may have.”
The “Give 1 Get 1” campaign is only available online. Email reminders are available and signing up is simple and easy. Visit the OLPC website for further info.
Keep children safe online with a free fun and educational kid-safe web browser. Read the Miss America Kid-Safe Browser article for further information.
 |
