I've been passing my OLPC XO around to see what people think. Kids find it cool, of course, but I seriously doubt they would enjoy owning one. Too underpowered, can't play the games they want, and teachers that want 'PowerPoints' (yes, my daughter's teacher calls them that) would not be happy - in general, the XO's strong point don't seem very relevant in the States.
The two foreign charities our church has contacted say they don't have electricity, and that power (other than wood fires) and clean water are much higher on their list of priorities. To be honest, this is the issue that's concerned me from the get-go. Are computers a necessity, a convenience, or a toy? Perhaps they can improve an economy, but can they create one?
For my presentation* next month, I'm trying to include both technical and social aspects of the OLPC. It's interesting to work out up outline that discusses 802.11s mesh networking, a customer low-power display controller, and the needs of developing countries. Making things a bit more interesting is OLPC's recent announcement that they'll be selling their XO units to underprivileged students in the US. My guess is that they want to increase volume of sales to keep their production costs down; however, in an environment where the 'desktop metaphor' rules, I have trouble envisioning teachers buying into the XO's 'Sugar' interface. Maybe I'll have to add board-room greed to my outline.
*- my company supports and encourages monthly 'brown bag' lunches on a variety of topics. I find it a useful opportunity to meet coworkers and keep fresh on my presentation skills.
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