OPLC Goes 1 For 1

The One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) initiative is a great example of design-led product development. It has a funky shape, neat features and a bucketload of technology jammed into a small space. There is just one problem … no one has signed on as yet.

This seems to have prompted a revision to the plan to restrict access to the machine (it was claimed previously that the machine would ONLY be available to children in developing countries — not in North America or Canada).

From November 12, the XO Giving site will allow you to purchase two of these cool laptops for $400 … one being donated to a child in a developing nation, the second being sent to YOUR child at home.

While Bruce Nussbaum suggests that it is time to call this project a failure … the optimist in me hopes this is not the case. No matter the reasons for a lack of adoption by the governments of developing nations, the potential for significant social and economic transformation through the OLPC program remains. I, for one, am hoping that this new initiative helps kick-start a change that will roll across the world. If you want to participate … make sure you sign up here

One thought on “OPLC Goes 1 For 1

  1. This might go a little better for them if they had done some meaningful formal usability testing in development. As it is, they’re going for boom or bust. I’m not sure that was the wisest strategy.

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