The Failure of the $100 Laptop?

RobertinXinyang writes "MSN's MoneyCentral has an article on the possibility that the $100 laptop project fails to meet its goals, and the potential of the project to harm people in developing nations. The article goes on to liken the project to 'good-natured showboating', and cites the unreality of a family using the glow from the laptop's screen as the only source of light in their hut. Perhaps there are better things to do with our time and money in developing nations?" From the article: "The entire idea may be misguided and counterproductive. At least that's what Stanford journalism lecturer an Africa watcher G. Pascal Zachary thinks. The basic argument is that with $100 you could almost feed a village for a year, so why waste that sum on a laptop? What are they thinking? The fact that these people need electricity more than they need a laptop is only part of the problem. The real problem is lost mind share. The people are harmed because these sorts of schemes are sopping up mind-share time of the people who might be doing something actually useful."

Computers suck

[Caesar Tjalbo]

The people are harmed because these sorts of schemes are sopping up mind-share time of the people who might be doing something actually useful.

So true. I should've never gotten a computer; I might have accomplished something in my life.

MSN reports...

[Bob54321]

MSN's MoneyCentral has an article on the possibility that the $100 laptop project fails to meet its goals

Did they miss that running Vista was not one of the goals?

Re:Sure

[justsomebody]

Considering that this $100 laptop does not come bundled with a Microsoft OS, we can really expect impartial reporting from MSN.

Yeah, and I can confirm that. I just got back from other reality. Up there OLPC is shipping with Windows and Gates just made a statement, where he said:

"Yes, we know the problem with people lacking 100$, but just imagine how these kids will now have opportunity to achieve something what they wouldn't be otherwise. Computers were just dreams for those kids and now they just became reality which could potentially help them to secure their future.

We at Microsoft were working hard to achieve this goal to help those kids... [bunch of blahblah how MS worked hard on that project, so I simply cut it out]

This was a real win for us, because we helped world to understand that with commercial software there is opportunity for everyone to secure its future, intellectual property and other basic resources. This just shows that world is starting to understand that "Free Software" is nothing but promoting hunger to the future. We made sure to let them know that there is no payment if you do work for free. And they understood that fact almost without any questions.

For my final word, I have to say thanks to [bunch of other blahblah about IP awareness and companies/governments that respect it]. This is one project to secure better future to the world and ease future relations between nations."

First-hand experience

[Anonymous Coward]

As a French citizen living in the third world (british midlands), I can tell you those people have no idea of what a computer is and how to use it. You'd better send cans of lager beer if you want to do something useful

Re:First-hand experience

[dances with elks]

As a british citizen I think one of the best ways to help the third world would be to stop give free money to incompetent french farmers, it would accomplish 3 important goals:
(i)Save money for us
(ii)Allow 3rd world famers to sell food to us
(iii)Piss off the french.

Re:Disagree with a point

[LoverOfJoy]

We nerds drink lots of soda. If we just make sure the villagers get a coke bottle each then they won't fight over it like they did in "The Gods Must Be Crazy".

Re:Sure

[Anonymous Coward]

It seems to me *these* are the kinds of statements racists make.

Shocking. It's almost as if that was the point the grandparent was trying to make.

Re:it will work if...

[dangitman]

And, in the end, they still can't eat the laptop, and it still won't cure HIV, and it still won't make clean water, and it still isn't a hospital or a school or electricity

It might teach people how to make cleaner water. Or, put in a Sony battery, and it could boil water or cook a meal!