or can you get the linux version and stipulate the other one is too?

The kids work their fingers to the bone in the developing countries actually building these things, and then their reward is a free laptop donated by us kind souls in the west? Wouldn't they rather have food or an education or farming equipment or a bed to sleep in?

anyone knows if the second laptop will be deductible from the income tax as a donation in Europe ?

Or I suppose to be more global about this - not just in the US? the 'Buy 1 Give 1' scheme was just for USians, which seemed rather short-sighted, I am hoping that this time us 'Over There' people will get a chance.

PH 'cos I wouldn't mind her on my lap either.

I think that the "2nd laptop" should just go in the form of cash to the leaders of the western world.

In return they can stop selling arms and funding dictators in the developing world.

that way the developing world can actually progress and these kids can live in a world where they will need computer skills

I got mine through the US give-one, get-one.

Had to wait a while, but now i have it, its great.

It runs a form of linux, but i run Debian from an SD card.

The screen is perfect for watching films on the go and due to the way it looks, i doubt any self respecting theif will see it as much more than a toy.

Hey there, you got the title wrong :) If Amazon sold "1 pc for the price of 2" it would be making a hell of a lot of money .. or none at all if people saw what they were buying :)

It's 2 pc's for the price of 1 :)

No, you're totally missing the whole point of this.

You pay amazon for 2 PCs, and you get sent 1. The other is sent (I assume without ever going near Amazon) by OLPC to where the OLPC project feel it should go.

So the title/content are correct.

I will save you the hassle - I have lit the fire, others will fan the flames.

Think you missed the point there buddy :)

...lis made by this video on TED : http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/sugata_mitra_shows_how_kids_teach_themselves.html

I think you're reading too much here.

You buy two laptops but you only get one, so it really is 1 for the price of two.

>Which means, crucially, that many, many more developing-world children will benefit.

So will Amzon unless the second laptop is sold at cost or they donate the profit from the second one to charity or maybe they really are selling one for the price of two in which case the mark up will be 100%. I can't see Amazon losing out on this.

Uh, these kids would be getting PAID to work their fingers to the bone building these machines. With this "money" they can BUY food.

So all our money is going to fund these children you assume are making the machines to earn money and therby food AND to give them a free PC to educate themselves and get out of the rut where their only job is building these PC's, working their fingers to the bone.

Twonk.

I guess that means it's still only Americans who can buy it, then...

No it won't necessary solve the larger geo-political and economic problems of the developing worlds, but that doesn't mean it isn't worth doing either.

To quote one EVIL big corp: "every little helps".

How much is amazon going to sell these for? I have a sneaking suspicion that they are going to cost a fair bit more than one of the new slimline mini laptops - and with the economic crunch coming, i don't think people are going to see it as true value.

I would go one further than that and say that this is more of an inventory clearing exercise than a breakthrough marking promotion.

When was the last time that the specs were updated?

If the OLPC project had had any brains at all they would have spun off a commercial venture selling black, consumer specced versions of the OLPC and use the profits to plough back into the charitable arm. If they had done this back when it made sense they would have made a killing. Instead Asus, Acer and Dell are all chasing profits from this market and OLPC gets nothing. Oh well OLPC, thanks at least for evangelising the concept of a cheap laptop even if you didn't see fit to cash in while you had the chance.

Most of us who were crying out for the 1-for-the-price-of-2 have now been lured away by the eeePC, the Wind, the One and the various cheap knockoffs.

Our thirst for a Small Cheap Computer has been sated. The XO might be a contender at 1-for-the-price-of-1, but at twice the price its in netbook territory and isn't going to catch the buyer's eye.

(Maybe if they'd included the wind-up dynamo they'd have got greenies interested.)

Ok ok .. I finally got the point ..

Last Christmas I wanted one, now I want the gigbyte whatsit when it comes out.

buy one! get one!

Would be interesting to see how many bought the more expensive version to give one one away if the choice were available

So nice to see people still follow the libertarian dogma. How did this people survive without capitalism? Hint - they did.

And tell me when, given they are working their fingers to the bone, will these kids have time to use a computer and so improve themselves?

"Uh, these kids would be getting PAID to work their fingers to the bone building these machines. With this "money" they can BUY food."

Wouldn't it be far simpler to just give these kids food instead of giving them money to exchange for food? Oh no, that would be slavery. My bad...

Wouldn't it be more expedient for your employers to just give you food and housing instead of money?

In fact, how about we all go back to serfdom, and stop using that nasty paper money at all? Without money, all the world's problems would just melt away, obviously.

Thank god, too. Having to learn multiple skills and deal with people of all social and economic classes have really been killers for those of us who want nothing more than to work in agriculture our whole lives as we "rent" a place to live from the local Viscount. Or Duke. Or whatever.

Well, two OLPC machines ARE going to be more expensive than one EEEPC.

However, the EEEPC doesn't last as long on a charge and cannot take being left on the grass, accidentally kicked, etc anywhere near as well as the EEEPC.

Well, thank you for that well reasoned rant.

FFS, do you really think that the OLPC will be getting children to make them and making them work 20 hours a day?

Shit, sherlock, you really HAVE drunk the Anne Coulter koolaid.

This is probably an alien language to you, though. Neo-con brainwashing is pretty extensive.

So, does that include US Microsoft employees, then? Hmmm... two copies of XP = two sets of "Windows tax"...

Yup, that'll be correct then...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7599652.stm

Sure, buy one and pay for another which will be donated to a 'soon to be' Nigerian 419'er. We REALLY WANT THAT!!!

Yup, because there's no limit to the idiots and their money that will fall to a scam in the west, is there. No limited resource at all.

Maybe if we cut off the fingers of all third world people they wouldn't be able to type on computers and make a scam email.

Sorted!