July 2008

The OLPC / OSS Dream

Submitted by Jon on Wed, 07/30/2008 - 10:27

 

The always-amusing XKCD webcomic illustrates the secret dream on the OLPC project in encouraging children to learn and, in doing so, learn programming:

Zero to Fame in Three Hours

Submitted by Jon on Tue, 07/29/2008 - 21:15

 

Today, Twitter launched one person from their normal Internet life to getting news on the California-regional LAist and valleywag blogs, CNet, a top-rated digg story, a google search term all to herself, fan-created artwork, and a skyrocketing number of followers inside Twitter. In three hours, with one twitter.

The world's (new) cheapest laptop (for today)

Submitted by Jon on Mon, 07/28/2008 - 17:03

 

Following fast on the heels of the CherryPal low-cost computer is the Impulse, advertised at $130 for each laptop (but you have to buy 100 at a time). It has, frankly, unexciting specs and wifi is an optional dongle (ew). Network World has more details on the Inspire, but more importantly, the blossoming 4PC market:

Slashdotted

Submitted by Jon on Sun, 07/27/2008 - 00:01

 

I seem to be up at Slashdot.org again with the OLPC; this time with my OLPCNews piece combing through the video of Windows on the OLPC (also published on JonCamfield.com. The comments are a lot better this time around, with a few complaints about my clear anti-MS bias.

mBanking: Fears and Promises

Submitted by Jon on Tue, 07/15/2008 - 11:52

 

This morning's Technology Salon covered the legal hurdles facing mBanking - using your cell phone to interact with your bank account - in developing world scenarios.

Cell Phone in rural India
Cell Phone in rural India


The Salon started with a great overview of what's out there today in mBanking; current business models, and common technical and legal hurdles. The second speaker focused on some of the unique challenges facing Western African nations in creating a multi-country cross-border mBanking system to facilitate regional and international trade. I've redacted the names and any organization-identifying information from this post and my notes because the discussion was intended to be freeflowing and not on the record.

The three general models presented provide a good structure for seeing how mBanking is being approached. First is banks adding mobile services as value-adds to their current customers. This is seen often in more developed situations, and is not intended to target the unbanked or new customers. Second are banks specifically seeking new customers (who do not currently have any bank account) through tailored mobile banking. Finally, we see Mobile Network Operators - MNOs - adding mBanking features to their services.

OLPCs with CellModems

Submitted by Jon on Mon, 07/14/2008 - 16:03

 

Someone's stealing my best ideas
Wayan found a gem in the Times of India article on OLPC and World Bank funding:

OLPC joyride no so joyful (or, what Jon did all day Sunday)

Submitted by Jon on Mon, 07/14/2008 - 11:40

 

So, this weekend I thought it'd be a great time to upgrade to the latest joyride builds, which are rumored to have solved the earlier record problems, and hopefully the SD card corruption issues as well. This is supposed to be an only-mildly-painful experience, with a few command line tricks, a few boot tricks, and so on. Nothing serious.
XKCD on upgrading difficulties (and sharks)

Many Paths Leading to the "Base of the Pyramid"

Submitted by Jon on Tue, 07/08/2008 - 11:34

 
Paths to the Pyramid
BoP Spending
(on Flickr by Merkur*)


(on Flickr by Merkur*)NextBillion, which spends most of its time praising social entrepreneurship, comments on Michael Edwards' new book, Just Another Emperor, which attacks rampant "philanthrocapitalism" (market solutions to development problems);
"Despite its flaws, Just Another Emperor does a superb job of fulfilling Edward's main intent - deflating the hype around philanthrocapitalism without denying it its place as a tool for combating poverty. Edwards reminds us that the free market cannot solve all social ills and inequalities. While noting the benefits of approaches championed by social entrepreneurs and venture philanthropists, he suggests that these movements complement - rather than replace - non-market-based approaches to poverty and sustainability."

Could Many Give Many?

Submitted by Jon on Tue, 07/08/2008 - 05:36

 
olpc xo sales
Give Many XO minimums

So there's an ongoing tension between small projects interested in using OLPCs and the guys over at 1CC who are too busy to really deal with a ton of small orders, regardless of the value of the particular cause, the built-in support it may already have, or any other warm, fuzzy reason. If the order doesn't get up to the Give Many standard, it falls on seemingly deaf ears -- all good reasons to negotiate a term sheet when navigating the GiveMany waters.

I wrote about this general problem first in a long and academic paper when OLPC was still selling in only lots of a million laptops and only to governments. I railed on OLPC for missing the importance of the small but well supported projects in favor of unmanageably huge (but big-number) projects, and proposed a solution -- peer networks of small schools, governments, and any other interested parties banding together to be able to meet the minimum order.

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