Four countries commit to 4 million Linux-powered OLPC laptops
A spokesperson for the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) program revealed July 31 that the countries of Nigeria, Brazil, Argentina, and Thailand have each committed to buy 1 million Linux laptops through the U.S.-based program.
Several media outlets reported last week that Nigeria had committed to buying 1 million of the laptops, and others reported (incorrectly) that $1 million worth of computers — or about 10,000 — had been requested by the African nation.
OLPC program director for Middle East and Africa Khaled Hassounah confirmed to DesktopLinux.com July 31 that Nigeria has indeed committed to buy 1 million machines, and then revealed that Brazil, Argentina, and Thailand also have placed similar commitments.
“We have not finalized the deal with the Nigerian government yet, but we are in the process of doing so,” Hassounah told DesktopLinux.com. “The person who announced the Nigerian government’s commitment to buying the laptops (Professor Ernest Ndukwe) is a key member of the Nigerian Task Force working with OLPC on bringing laptops to Nigerian children.”
“We are actively moving ahead with Brazil, Argentina and Thailand. Others (countries) are being considered,” Hassounah said.
The OLPC aims to distribute — free of charge — millions of Linux-based laptop computers, complete with their own power sources, to needy children in developing countries around the world.
From the Linux perspective, Nicholas Negroponte, head of the OLPC project and former director of MIT Media Labs — where the project originated — has said that the OLPC project could lead to mass adoption of Linux, making the OS as popular on the desktop as it now is on the server.
To date, AMD, eBay, Google, Nortel, Red Hat, and a number of other technology companies have signed on to help support the project.
It’s good to hear that the Program/Organization has had strong interest in this. They needed large orders to keep the cost of the laptops down. It’s amazing how such a little thing has taken so much work and press to come up with. Make a cheap laptop. They are sell right now for about $400 if you look around, but they wanted to cut costs more, and want them around $100. And they’ve hit it.
Tags: Financial, Interesting, News, Technology
