Sunday, Andy and I were watching 60 Minutes and heard the story of Nicholas Negroponte, a professor at MIT. Two years ago he founded a non-profit organization called “One Laptop Per Child,” through which he recruited a bunch of techies to design a low-cost computer for children in need.
This laptop is sturdy, meant to stand up to the harshest conditions (like being owned by a child), and small. It runs on a Linux operating system and has a built-in wireless connector, among other super-cool features. It costs $200.
For children in countries like Pakistan who don’t have schools to attend, Negroponte calls his laptop “school in a box.”
This laptop isn’t for sale in the United States, but from now until the end of the year, they have a program called “Give 1, Get 1,” where the general public can go online and, for $399, donate a computer to a child in need, and they will then send a computer to the donor as well. Since the fair market value of the computer is $199, $200 of the contribution is tax-deductible.
I was so intruiged by this story, and I spent some time yesterday searching the internet for various stories about this mission and this computer. Like everything, it has some naysayers, but most of what I read was very positive.
I had been thinking about getting a door-buster $400 laptop after Christmas, but now I think I may do this instead.
Did anyone else see this piece on 60 Minutes? Have you heard of this program before? I’d love to hear your thoughts about it… please leave a comment on this post!
