One-Laptop-Per-Child

[Fathom Zero]

AKA "The OLPC", AAKA "The Hundred-Dollar Laptop".

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/55/OLPC-Drawing75c.png

They've been giving 'em out to all the usual third world suspects.

Physical dimensions:

Dimensions: 242mm × 228mm × 30mm (approximate, subject to change)
Weight: Less than 1.5 kg (target only — subject to change)
Configuration: Convertible laptop with pivoting, reversible display; dirt and moisture resistant system enclosure

Core electronics:

CPU: AMD Geode LX-700@0.8W (http://www.amd.com/us-en/assets/content_type/DownloadableAssets/33358e_lx_900_productb.pdf) (datasheet (http://wiki.laptop.org/go/image:lx_databook.pdf))
CPU clock speed: 433 MHz
Compatibility: Athlon instruction set (including MMX and 3DNow! Enhanced) with additional Geode-specific instructions
North Bridge: PCI and Memory Interface integrated with Geode CPU (info (http://www.amd.com/us-en/ConnectivitySolutions/ProductInformation/0,,50_2330_9863_13022%5E13073,00.html))
Graphics Controller: Integrated with Geode CPU, using a unified memory architecture
South Bridge: AMD CS5536 (http://www.amd.com/us-en/ConnectivitySolutions/ProductInformation/0,,50_2330_9863_9864%5E13054,00.html) (datasheet (http://www.amd.com/files/connectivitysolutions/geode/geode_lx/33238f_cs5536_ds.zip))
DRAM memory: 256 MiB dynamic RAM
Data rate: Dual – DDR333 – 166 MHz
BIOS: 1024 KB SPI-interface flash ROM; LinuxBIOS open-source BIOS; Open Firmware bootloader
Mass storage: 1024 MiB SLC NAND flash, high speed flash controller

Drives: No rotating media

Embedded Controller (http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Ec_specification): ENE KB3700: Image:KB3700-ds-01.pdf (http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Image:KB3700-ds-01.pdf)

Display:
Liquid-crystal display: 7.5” Dual-mode TFT display
Viewing area: 152.4 mm × 114.3 mm
Resolution: 1200 (H) × 900 (V) resolution (200 dpi)
Mono display: High-resolution, reflective monochrome mode
Color display: 800 (H) x 600 (V) or greater transmissive color mode
Power Consumption: 0.1 Watt with backlight off; 0.2-1.0 Watt with backlight on
The DCON - Display Controller chip (http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Image:DCON_Specification%2C_V0.8.odt) with memory that enables the display to remain live with the processor suspended. The display and this chip are the basis of our extremely low power architecture. The machine is usable and relaying mesh networking traffic while the CPU and much of the motherboard is regularly turned off. The display controller chip also enables deswizzling and anti-aliasing in color mode. You can examine this photograph of the display (it looks even nicer in person; photographing a display is remarkably difficult).Copying and pasting gets the job done once again. It has no bluetooth, but how many of these kids have smartphones? It also comes with a webcam and a mic for conferencing with other nine-year olds. It's open source, a la Linux of the Red Hat variety but with the extremely simple "Sugar" GUI. Naturally, this can run anything Linux can.

Factoid: Steve Jobs, the kind soul, offered up his OS, (stripped down, of course), but they said no because it wasn't open source. Apple gets boned, even when they want to be charitable.

Anyway, they're available for consumer purchase in '08 and will probably be around $135 with the price going down as tech progresses. I'll be buying one. This thing rocks, especially the (completely and utterly optional) pull-string power supply.

On a side note: I'll give you three guesses as to whom the biggest order went to, but you'll only need one. I'll give you a hint. It's in Africa.

Fucking Nigeria.

[zeldasbiggestfan]

I read about this awhile back. I remember it having a crank but I guess they took that off because the African kids took it off and killed elephants or something.

[Guitar Woman]

Mabye if the thing's capabilities weren't from fucking 1977 I'd consider buying this. This computer is seriously composed of shit I could just find in the garbage. Hell, a slightly used 1.3 GHz desktop costs less than this.

[Emu]

What do you expect from mass produced computers?

[Fathom Zero]

Exactly. Plus, this is as laptop.

And they took of the crank because it was ungamely (sp?). It's got a pull string attached to the power brick now.

[AChimp]

They got rid of the hand crank because they figured that children's arms would get too tired turning them after a full 18-hour day at the factory.

[MarioRPG]

Uh, yeah, that's just what Africa needs. :rolleyes

[Fathom Zero]

Here's the contender to the OLPC, Asus' Eee PC.

http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=3829

http://www.notebookreview.com/assets/24544.jpg
Display: 7"
Processor: Intel mobile (http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=3829#) CPU (Intel 910 chipset, 900MHz Dothan Pentium M)
Memory: 512MB RAM
OS: Linux (http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=3829#) (Asus customized flavor)
Storage: 4GB, 8GB, (possibly 16 GB) solid state drive
Webcam: 300K pixel video camera
Battery life: 3 hours using 4-cell battery
Weight: 2lbs
Dimensions: 8.9 in x 6.5 in x 0.82 in - 1.37 in (width x depth x thickness)
Ports: 3 USB ports, 1 VGA out, SD card reader, modem, Ethernet, headphone out, microphone inStart-up and shut down are mere seconds because of the solid state drive inside. Love those things, but they're expensive as hell. Luckily it's all fairly cheap. Starts at $199 for 4 GB flash drive and $250-299 for 8 GB with the 16 GB being a lot more.. It's also competing against the Palm Foleo, which goes for about $499. Of course, this doesn't have the hand-pull and such like the OLPC or the child-like asthetic, but if you're looking for a sub-notebook that's pretty cheap for web browsing, word processing, and the like, this may be for you.

I just may get it over the OLPC. The only downside for me is the black area around the screen seems like a whole lot of wasted space, even though it actually hides the speakers. They could have put more there, perhaps programmable buttons or something.

[MLE]

Ever since my under 2 pound sony vaio crapped out on me, I've been looking for a tiny little laptop. Like, one I could put in my purse. Like my Sony Vaio.

[Fathom Zero]

Try the Sony Vaio UX if you're adventurous.

[RaNkeri]

A friend of mine read an article of how some guys went to see how the kids are doing with those laptops, only to find out that they were filled with porn.
:(

[Fathom Zero]

Yeah, you can tell it was a slow day at Reuters when they do a piece on third world children looking at porn.

[MLE]

i got my old vaio for free, and i'm saving for a $380 theremin. what makes you think i can spend $1500 on a Vaio UX? ;<

[Fathom Zero]

Well, I dunno. You could find 'em used for just over a grand.

Raon Digital Everuns start at $699 and they're purse-able.

But it all depends on what ya need. Sounds like the Eee PC may be for you, if your demands are light enough.

[MLE]

for purse-ing, really, all i want is wifi, word processing, good internet browsing, a decent sized keyboard but hopefully a little on the small side for dimention's sake, like the old sony x505's, and instant messaging stuff. possibly some music playing, but that's not a necessity.

[Fathom Zero]

Yeah, you should wait for the Eee PC. It's got the right size keyboard for you as it's fairly easy to touchtype. It's got three USB ports so you're hardly ever at a loss for connectivity. It's light physically and software-wise. It's got Firefox for web-browsing, Open Office for productivity tasks, and Skype and Pidgin (ex-Gaim) for communication and junk. Should come out mid-September, if I remember right.

Looky at the size in relation to people's hands and see if it's the right size for ya.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=tFLJJw6WRqM

Keep in mind, it runs Linux out of the box even though it's capable of running XP.

[Fathom Zero]

http://www.ncixus.com/search/?categoryid=0&q=eee

Asus Eee PC preorders are now accepted. Coming in at under $400 for the top of the line and $259 for the lowest.

[MLE]

Is the smallest hard drive size out yet and how cheap will that be? I'm hoping for $200 or under.

[MLE]

oh, and " 0 of 475836 items found"

[Fathom Zero]

Oh sorry.

They took the page down because they "accidentally" broke the non-disclosure agreement with Asus. But it should definitely go on sale this month. For reals.

And I think it was $250 or so before they pulled the listings. Of course, Asus may have told them to take it down because they wanted to make changes before final shipping. It may end up being sub-$200 before ya know it.

[MLE]

Why isn't this on sale yet >: I really want one now ;< A Sony Vaio PCG-505tx just went on ebay for 10k. This laptop is a 300mhz unit. That's how nice and small it is. Plus some people were just really gullible.

[Fathom Zero]

The Picturebooks are cool. I was looking at them before I found more powerful and likely cheaper stuff that's coming out recently.

Also, looks like they're not bringing the $199 model to the states, but you can really order 'em here, I believe:

http://www.allasus.com/CATALOG/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=eee+pc&osCsid=ca7b606a72bead2fba5e8883dbde5ad3&x=0&y=0

They specialize in Asus stuff.

"I have an update for anyone interested. First, I found a few typos on our site(s) that were corrected regarding the Eee. Second, Asus has no plans to bring the $199 version to the US. In an email from Asus this morning, Donald tells me that the 256/512 memory is embedded as is the 2/4 Gb flash storage meaning they are NOT user-replaceable as people keep speculating. Be careful when looking at the specs outside the US - even in Canada (we've seen differences in the past and could not get those units). Linux will be installed on the flash storage module (2/4 Gb) but may be changed to XP by the user (through a USB storage device, presumably). The machine will play any type of video files: WMA/AVI/MPEG specifically (people have been asking me about this). I don't know if any of this is helpful but I thought I would pass it on. We're still waiting on info regarding optional batteries. The target release is still the end of September but I've been through this before with Asus and I know how weeks can turn into months. Still, we have been taking preorders (we will start charging deposits soon). If you're wondering why we must do this it's simple: we need you to commit to us since we have to commit to our distributors/Asus. It's pretty simple. Feel free to call us with questions or check our site(s) for information: www.stipc.com (http://www.stipc.com/) or www.allasus.com (http://www.allasus.com/)."

Release is, evidently, still slated for end of September. The RAM is replaceable, though, if anyone's interested in that. Asus confirmed it.

[Fathom Zero]

Here's a really good size comparison of the EEE to the Macbook.

http://img174.imageshack.us/img174/7492/eeepcsizecmpdn4.jpg

Poor thing. Rumor has it that the $199 model will only be available to education and government sectors.

A Japanese importer called Dynamism.com will have 'em when they're finally released.

[MLE]

i am drooling over this ;< since you're such a techie, please let me know what the developments are with the $199 version. is the $249 version coming to the states? i'd pay that much more to have the ability to call technical support for something this nice.

[MLE]

actually, i've been thinking, and as long as i get another full time job (i was laid off by the district manager over at t-mobile), i'll go ahead and splurge and get the $399 version in white <3 it's so pretty ;<


PS- do you know if the EEE pc will be able to read SDHC SD cards? (those are the higher density ones that now go up to 8gigs)

[Fathom Zero]

I am very very very very very very very sure that it'll accept the high-density cards. Everyone I've seen plans on getting one when they get the EEE because the storage space isn't gonna cut it for anything but programs and Word documents and stuff like that. Movies and music would be out. But I'm sure you can probably tell that from what I've already said. An Unreal Tournament, Quake 3, or Starcraft installation would probably work, though.

By the way, the "EEE" in EEE PC stands for Easy to Work, Easy to Learn, and Easy to Play.

[soundtest]

On a side note: I'll give you three guesses as to whom the biggest order went to, but you'll only need one. I'll give you a hint. It's in Africa.

Fucking Nigeria.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v58/chungking/olpc.jpg

[MLE]

in that case, i'll probably wait for the 16 gig SDHC cards to come out to get extra storage.

[Fathom Zero]

It does run Windows XP.

http://img61.imageshack.us/img61/2351/image4eb5.png

[MLE]

oh god i want one ;< ;< ;<

[Fathom Zero]

http://img237.imageshack.us/img237/9200/2796defd15738eceee5f535sl0.jpg ___________http://img237.imageshack.us/img237/3074/a636c624bb8e50626e64bf8ew2.jpg

Here's a pre-production review: http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&langpair=zh-CN%7Cen&u=http://tw.myblog.yahoo.com/jeremy-3c/article%3Fmid%3D9675%26prev%3D9713%26next%3D9649
http://64.233.179.104/translate_c?hl=en&langpair=zh-CN%7Cen&u=http://tw.myblog.yahoo.com/jeremy-3c/article%3Fmid%3D9713%26prev%3D9717%26next%3D9675
http://64.233.179.104/translate_c?hl=en&langpair=zh-CN%7Cen&u=http://tw.myblog.yahoo.com/jeremy-3c/article%3Fmid%3D9717%26prev%3D9777%26next%3D9713

Second link has a video.

"polocanada wrote:
My review about ASUS EEE PC:
I became one of very few privileged consumers in Canada to own the Asus EEE PC model 701 version with 4 GB drive. This is a *** pre-production ** model and I bought it from a company that did an online review for Asus. I LOVE THIS MACHINE. Overall look - it looks sexy, tiny, light, plesant to hold.

SYSTEM INFO:
Bios version 0155
Bios date: 09/10/2007 (this is after I flashed Bios today. Flashing Bios on EEE Pc is easy).
Software version: EEE PC 1.0

Build info: 2007-09-20 06:00. That means this EEE PC was built like 8 days
ago.

CPU Type: Intel Mobile (900 MHZ)
Memory: 512 MB
Mother Board verion x.xx
Screnn - it is matt and looks and feels like a laptop screen when you bought a laptop 3 years ago.

Wherever I go peoples eyes are glaring. I better watch or it gets lost;-)
It boots fast. YES. The boot time when I received it new was something like 20 seconds. The EEE has special verison of Linux (made by Xandros).
.. You might remember Xandros signed a strategic aggreement with Windows. So no wonder that this laptop can run Windows as well as Linux.
The desktop (GUI) linux comes in two flavors. One is simplified (with big icons for email, gmail, gaim, firefox, Open office, player etc… It is very easy to understand. This desktop is for kids, and new computer users. The other flavor is Normal (full) desktop mode. This mode is like any other Windows mode or KDE. It is actually based on KDE and looks like any other Linux.
Switching between both modes is easy. But it requires restart (20 seconds ordeal).

I didn’t test the battery yet (I just got the PC today). It is little bit warm. Not hot, but the tiny fan is running. The screen resolution is OK, the colors are OK. Don’t expect high definition. This is a small device and a relatively low priced subnotebook. OK, what else, camera is so-so. The sound is perhaps some complain. Even using Headphones, the sound level is low. But this might be application dependend. So for example listening to anything in Firefox - the sound level was too low. Playing some games installed - the sound was OK.

A bug:
I discovered already a bug in EEE. If I wan to use external mouse (USB) and plug in and then plug out at some point, the touch pad and keyboard stops working. If I plug in the mouse again, it works, but the touchpad and keyboard don’t. To get both working again, I have to shut down the EEE, take out the battery for a few seconds and then restart (to be honest, this is not a nightmare, it only takes like 20 seconds http://www.eeeuser.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_wink.gif
Not sure why this behavior.

The EEE color (white) is nice.

Another thing - If you shut down the eee into stand-by mode, the laptop will still remain hot. Not quite sure why. I thought the system sleeps. But this laptop keeps relatively warm in stand by mode. Which is OK in winter, when it’s freezing.

The screen doesn’t tilt to 180 degrees (flat). Why? Because it is heavier than the keyboard. So limiting the tilt angle you prevent it from flipping over;-)

The button (which is actually a double button) on the touchpad is little bit tricky. Not easy to handle. Also, it is pretty loud. Oh my… It pretty much sucks… It is noisy. Click Click Click….

The touchpad itself is great.

EEE has 3 USB ports. Not 4. I don’t know who saw EEE with 4 ports but this one has 3.

Multicard reader is great. I plugged in my SD card from my Nokia phone. EEE didn’t recognize it however. I guess because it is not formatted properly. More testing needed for this.

Microphone is underneath the touchpad from the bottom. There might be another one besides the camera. I am not sure about this.

The hinge - perfect. Perfectly tight. Closes good and easy. Good job ASUS.

Bottom - there is a cover. Under the cover there is 1 DDR II 512 MB memory. This seems to be a standard laptop memory that you can replace. (Correct me if I am wrong) .. I believe Max is 1 GB. Besides memory there is Express card slot. This could be used for anything, like a GSM or 3G card or even a memory module. I read a post that said there are already 32 GB express cards coming on the market.

By the way, it is very easy to set up a 3G or HSDPA connection when you have the card. This can be setup in control panel.

The keyboard. The keyboard looks like a sugar candy. I’d like to eat it. Not that I would have masochistic desires, but the keboard really look like made out of sugar. Typing - well - some nightmare. But probably I need to get used to this. My fingers are like XXXL size, so you might find typing OK. One very negative thing about this keyboard is that is relatively noisy. So if you are in a quiet room or university lecture, you might be annoying when tying on this keyboard.

There are 3 USB ports, so you might consider plugging in another full size keyboard, if needed. I didn’t try that though. There are many functional keys. The keyboard I have comes with English and small Chinese letters.
The Back-Space button should have been much bigger. Perhaps bigger than the Enter. Because you will make lots of typos on this keyboard. Other than that - the keyboard is a little bit swimming. So it’s not that feel like keyboard is firm in place. But what can you expect for 300 dollar machine??

Application-wise - I didn’t have much time to discover this but couple of intersting things:
Software update - it’s easy. There is a utility that you can start and update your software. So far, there is not much to update, just the BIOS.
Skype. Hmmm. I wonder how will be the quality. Need to test this as well.
Games - nice set of sweet games.
Media Player - SMPlayer comes preinstalled.
There are other typical KDE applications.
Comes with an antivirus (from Xandros, the maker of this Linux distro)
The software takes lots of space. There is only like 1.3 GB left out of 4 GB for my files. Of course I can use SD or MMC cards or express canrd but.. anyway. There might be a way to put it on a diet by uninstalling some applications? Not sure I didn’t try that yet.
Also I am not clear about how to the complete system backup of this laptop.

The EEE I have has a Webcam. I attempted to start the Web Cam application that came with the machine, but it doesn’t start. Not sure why.
The carger. It looks nice (like some LG and Samsung laptop chargers). The power cord is long enough (thanks ASUS).

The power cord plugs from the back of the EEE. ..Which I don’t like, but this is a matter of preference. I think it can break easily and it would be better if it is on the side. But this is a matter of preference, I guess.
And that’s probably all I have to say. I think many people will love EEE PC and some of them will find that after intial excitement this PC is simply too small and thus a useless gadget that due to low price became a staple and thus a must-have shelf sitter.
If you need extreem mobility and always access to your stuff, work, school, internet, WIFI, movies on subway, then you are going to like EEE PC.
Hope this helps and good luck to buy yours soon. I hope Asus is not going to postpone the release date until after xmas.
Greetings from Canada.
Polocanada"


Now it's been delayed to mid-October. Asus says it's so they can include more software and work out the kinks. I say let 'em. I'd rather have a finished product than a rushed one.

[MLE]

Thanks <3

[Zbu Manowar]

I wouldn't mind having one myself. If it could fit my gigantic hands, then it'd be gold for school use and such.

[Fathom Zero]

Getting back to the original topic, the OLPC isn't really the $100 everyone thought it'd be. Instead, it's around $188 and it'll only be available for consumers starting November 12 for two weeks.

Donate $400, you get a laptop and some negro child gets one too. Not bad, I guess.

http://www.xogiving.org/

WARNING: DONATING $200 NOW WILL NOT GET YOU A LAPTOP, SO DON'T LOSE IT. IT STARTS NOV. 12.

I love it, personally, 'cause it's so damn tacky.

[Dr. V]

Can I play Gears on it?

[Fathom Zero]

The OLPC? Hahahaha no.

The EEE PC, however, it can run F.E.A.R. and the Source Engine games like Portal and Halflife 2, but it has a little bit of trouble rendering shading that people are trying to work out.

By the way, it goes on sale on Nov. 1st.

[Dr. V]

It still looks gay.

[MLE]

I plan on getting one, and the delay of the preorder shit is why i didn't preorder it.

[Fathom Zero]

CNet UK gave it the Editor's Choice.

I will buy it by the end of the year, but I won't preorder it yet because I've committed myself to building a kick-ass desktop.

[Fathom Zero]

Holy damn, the entire stock at Newegg is sold out and it goes on sale tomorrow.

[Fathom Zero]

Get your fill on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/ASUS-White-Mobile-800X480-Notebook/dp/B000Y33CVM/ref=sr_1_10/002-4497935-3836860?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1194185620&sr=8-10

Best Buy is supposedly getting stock on November 11th, if Engadget is to be believed. It'd be a good chance to test the thing out in person if any of ya live in the area.

[DeadKennedys]

Oh, great. They gave them to Nigeria. Get em learning 419 scams young.

I hope we steal them back, give them to worthwhile countries, and nuke the place.

[Fathom Zero]

Agreed. Buncha idiots worked out that one.

[Fathom Zero]

http://wiki.eeeuser.com/list:games

To help get into your mind exactly how powerful the EEE is.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UixLlpMgJqA - Halflife 2: Episode 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOaMAI0jFCM - GTA: Vice City
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCUm9z0jKGU - Halo and UT: 2004
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PyLrs-4TAjwv - Morrowind and Oblivion
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWzzSgsh3Pg - Emulating Playstation, Final Fantasy 7
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biRzKj3XxCY - Compiz demo (not technically impressive, but really cool)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6sERl1znR8 - Counterstrike (guy has a shit camera)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBV40RXYGok - a better Counterstrike
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g13wYPq8xlk - Some soccer game

I want one so bad, my hair is standing on end. MLE, are you still getting one?

[MLE]

When i have some fucking money, yes. I have to take care of a good chunk of my debt first.

[MLE]

And keep in mind, it looks like these guys upgraded their ram to 2gigs.

[Archduke Tips]

Can somebody explain to me how having laptops helps African children?

[Fathom Zero]

And keep in mind, it looks like these guys upgraded their ram to 2gigs.

True, true, but my laptop has two gigs and has extreme trouble with the geometry and vectoring and shading and whatever on a lot of games. And I've seen some 2 gig sticks for around $40 - $75. Not that it doesn't run at all with just 512 megs. It's just the games.

Can somebody explain to me how having laptops helps African children?

Ummmmmm. Uhh. Technically, it doesn't help them at all, I guess. It just lets them get a feel of the computer world when they may ordinarily go their entire lives without seeing one.

[Fathom Zero]

By the way, upgrading the RAM and breaking the "VOID IF BROKEN" seal is covered under the warranty.

http://www.eeeuser.com/2007/12/09/break-that-warranty-sticker-asus-says-its-ok/

[MLE]

Guess what <3 Guess what I got <3 With 2 gigs of RAM <3

[Seven Force]

Guess what <3 Guess what I got <3 With 2 gigs of RAM <3

http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd107/chicago2285/AlphieII.jpg

[Fathom Zero]

Tres cool. I'm about 3/4ths of the way there.

Mind posting a picture or two. I like pictures. A lot.

[Girl Drink Drunk]

Just send em some Commodore 64's.

[Fathom Zero]

Stephen Fry loves his EEE.