The campaign to give low-cost computers to the children of the developing world has come up with a novel way to kick-start the giving. And it coincides with the start of the traditional developed world's holiday season. The One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) initiative yesterday announced a program in which supporters can purchase one of their XO-1 laptops for a child of their own and fund the cost of giving one to an underprivileged child. The program runs from 12 November to 26 November in the United States and Canada.
On a special Web site devoted to the Give One Get One (G1G1) program (laptopgiving.org), the OLPC states:
This is the first time the revolutionary XO laptop has been made available to the general public. For a donation of $399, one XO laptop will be sent to empower a child in a developing nation and one will be sent to the child in your life in recognition of your contribution. $200 of your donation is tax-deductible (your $399 donation minus the fair market value of the XO laptop you will be receiving). For all U.S. donors who participate in the Give One Get One program, T-Mobile is offering one year of complimentary HotSpot access.
To get the giving going, the non-profit group, started by MIT's Nicholas Negroponte, has taken out a full-page ad in the current issue of The Economist. On it's own progress site, the group wrote: 'While we have no idea what the response will be, Hilary and the “volunteer army” that includes Pentagram, Nurun, W2, Racepoint, Digital Influence Group, Eleven, Inc., and Len Fink did a fantastic job raising the public awareness of the campaign.'
This publication has written often on the merits of the OLPC movement. For a little background on the technology and people behind the children's laptop initiative, please see two recent articles from our pages: "The Laptop Crusade" by Senior Editor Tekla S. Perry and "Mary Lou Jepsen: Laptops for All" by Associate Editor Sandra Upson.
Negroponte yesterday told CNN International, "In the Give One Get One program, the likely recipient in the developed world is a child. For that child to be using the same laptop as a kid in Africa is especially meaningful."
We're not really supposed to endorse products at Spectrum; but I think if you read between the lines, you might come to the conclusion that this is one offer that could bend the rules a bit.
As Negroponte pointed out yesterday: "Don't buy it because it is an inexpensive laptop. Buy it to join a movement to change the world."
