Friday, January 04, 2008 12:59 PM/EST
The calendar has switched over to 2008 and so far it has been anything but a happy new year for the One Laptop Per Child Project. First, OLPC Chief Technology Officer (and the first employee of the OLPC) Mary Lou Jepsen announced that she was stepping down as CTO in order to start a new company. Then we found out that a Nigerian company was suing the OLPC over a claimed patent violation. And then at the end of the week it was announced that Intel was stepping down from the board of the OLPC.
If you're the OLPC you have to be hoping that the old adage of bad news comes in threes holds up and that they've seen the end of this string of mishaps. And if that is the case, just how damaging are each of these announcements separately?
The Intel news is probably the least unexpected. It was always a strange marriage, and one that in my opinion mainly happened because Intel didn't like the bad publicity it was receiving for fighting with the OLPC. Since this marriage was mainly about PR, it was inevitable that it would break up once issues of commitment, integration and cooperation came up.
Thursday, January 03, 2008 2:20 PM/EST
Here are the emerging technology stories for the week of December 31st.
Lots of Laptop Storage - Following on a recent announcement from Hitachi about new 500Gbyte laptop hard-drives, Asus recently announced that they will be releasing a laptop using two of these drives to provide a terabyte of disk space.
Pocket Presentations - A very cool little projector, and I do mean little, will be made available later this year. Called SHOW this iPod sized projector uses lasers instead of standard bulbs.
Friday, November 30, 2007 3:15 PM/EST
Click the image to see the list
When a product or technology is still emerging, it can be tough to call it a flop. In many cases these technologies are still trying to find their sweet spot when it comes to capabilities and usage scenarios.
But while it may be too early to refer to some technologies as flops, it isn't too early to be disappointed by the failures of some originally promising technologies. (illustrations by Brian Moore)
The past year has seen quite a few exciting new technologies that failed to deliver or actually took steps backwards in their progress. In some cases this was because of overblown promises, in some because of technical limitations and some failures were due to politics and aggressive competition.
However, all of these technologies can take solace in the fact that history has shown many cases where a technology that initially disappointed eventually became a major success.
Click here to see our list of The Biggest Emerging Technology Disappointments of 2007.
Monday, November 19, 2007 3:03 PM/EST
Looking to do something this Thanksgiving other than chow down on turkey and watch the Packers and Lions battle it out, perhaps even do something that involves giving and receiving thanks for it?
Well, one idea for those who love technology and also want to help spread the benefits of technology is to participate in the One Laptop Per Child project's Give One Get One program.
The way this program works is that you pay $399 to receive a brand-new XO laptop (which has been called by some, OK, me, the most innovative laptop seen in years), and along with getting an XO, presumably for a child in your life, you will also be paying for a second XO laptop that will be sent to a child in a developing country.
So along with doing something that will help a young person in the world get ahead, you'll also get a chance to see a really cool piece of technology arrive at your door.
However, if you're interested in this program you'll need to move quickly. The Give One Get One program ends on Nov. 26, which means that as I write this blog post there is only one week left to participate.
Also, those interested in the program should take a look at the terms of the program and realize that they are not purchasing a Dell system with lots of support and warranty protections.
And for those interested in donating XO laptops but not in getting one for themselves, the OLPC also has a direct giving program that lets people pay for laptops to be given to children in developing nations.
Monday, November 05, 2007 4:18 PM/EST
 I've come up with an ambitious plan for my next five years. In five years I intend to be a billionaire and I'm announcing it to the world so that everyone knows.
But what if I don't make it to one billion in five years? What if I'm only worth $900 million or, oh no, $800 million?
Now some of you might be thinking, hey $800 million sounds pretty good to me, no need to be disappointed by that. Getting that close to a difficult goal is a major achievement.
Well sure, from a logical standpoint that makes sense. But you clearly haven't been paying attention to the recent outcry over the failure of the One Laptop Per Child project to meet their original goal of the $100 laptop.
A few years ago MIT's Nicholas Negroponte and the OLPC launched with the audacious goal of creating a powerful and unique laptop for the developing world that would only cost $100. However, recently the OLPC announced that the cost of their XO laptop will actually be $200 for now.
And based on some of the discussion out on the Web, this clearly means that the OLPC and the XO laptop is a massive failure. It doesn't matter that a $200 laptop alone is an unbelievable achievement or that the XO contains innovative power, networking and display technologies not found in laptops worth thousands more. Since they've come in at twice their original goal the OLPC might as well shut their doors and forget about helping millions of kids.
OK, I'm exaggerating a little bit. But for some reason the OLPC and the XO laptop has generated a fairly large share of criticism and skepticism since the very beginning.
Friday, November 02, 2007 3:42 PM/EST
Click here to see images of the Classmate PC
It's been a strange year for Intel's Classmate PC. At first it was pushed as a competitor to One Laptop Per Child's XO Laptop. And then, when Intel joined the OLPC this summer, the purpose of the Classmate PC seemingly changed, almost as if it became a somewhat unnecessary complement to the XO.
But the Classmate PC is still out there providing a low-cost laptop option for children and school systems in developing countries, and Intel just recently announced the sale of 17,000 Classmate PCs to Nigeria.
However, the funny thing is that, other than both being low-cost laptops designed for children, the XO and the Classmate PC are completely different systems with different focuses and very different capabilities.
Strictly head-to-head, there really is no comparison. The XO is a radically innovative new system that could possibly change all future laptops, with groundbreaking capabilities in its display, wireless networking features, and power usage and management. The Classmate PC, on the other hand, is basically just a very standard small-form-factor laptop with few if any innovations.
However, this doesn't mean that the Classmate PC doesn't have worth. In many ways its simple familiarity will prove attractive in certain classroom environments and teaching scenarios.
Here at eWEEK Labs we've had the chance to put a Classmate PC through its paces, and while we didn't find it innovative, we did find some useful features.
Out of the box, the Classmate PC definitely looks like something designed for kids. It has a cute flexible blue cover that includes a handle and magnetized clasp for easy carrying. At nearly 3 pounds it was actually a bit heavier than we expected.
Monday, October 08, 2007 2:47 PM/EST
As someone who tracks lots of new and exciting technologies, one of the more interesting areas is in green technologies. On a regular basis I receive studies, releases and sometimes even demos of new products, techniques and technologies that will reduce power usage, cut down on waste and improve efficiency of computing resources.
And it's all really great stuff. Fuel cell technologies that can run everything from a cell phone to an entire server room. Displays that work well using just a trickle of electricity. New power sources that make it possible to take technology to the most remote areas.
Yep, this is all really exciting stuff. I just can't wait until all of these, and many other advancements, find their way into the technologies that I and many businesses use on a daily basis.
But unfortunately waiting is exactly what I and every one else is doing. In fact some of these "new" green technologies aren't even all that new. Some have been in the works for many years now but have somehow still not made their way into the most recent computing systems.
Sure new technologies can be unpredictable and no advancement is preferable to not ready for prime time implementations, especially in some of the possible uses of fuel cells.
But there has to be some kind of happy medium between a no holds barred risky rush to deploy new technologies and our current glacial pace of green technology advancements. Look behind the many breathless pronouncements of "green" computers and other technologies that you see today and what you often find is a system that is at best just a few percentage points more efficient than systems from a few years ago.
So what's going on here? Are green technologies too difficult or impractical for technology vendors to deploy today? Some would probably say yes but there is evidence to the contrary.
Friday, July 27, 2007 3:43 PM/EST
Click here to download the Tech Rising podcast or click here to listen to it using the integrated eWEEK podcast player.
Few technologies in recent years have inspired as much interest or discussion as the One Laptop Per Child's effort to provide what has been called the $100 laptop to the developing world.
When it was first discussed, many said it would be impossible to build a laptop for anywhere near that price. And then, as the laptop came closer to reality, many took to critizing its
capabilities and its mission to provide computing resources as an educational tool for children around the world.
But now the $100 (actually $175) laptop, dubbed the XO, is going into mass production and will soon be in the hands of millions of children in the developing world. However, while much of the focus has been on the price of the laptop, many of the most impressive aspects of the XO are in
its technology. The XO has made some impressive breakthroughs in power management, display technology and collaboration.
I recently had the opportunity to spend time at the offices of the OLPC and take a first hand look at the final beta of the XO.
While there, OLPC President Walter Bender gave me a demo of the XO's Sugar software interface and I also got on the phone with OLPC CTO Mary Lou Jepsen to talk about the many technology innovations in the XO hardware.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007 2:50 PM/EST
Here are the emerging technology stories for the week of July 23rd.
A Nanomechanical Computer - This is pretty cutting edge stuff, and interesting to anyone who read Neil Stephenson's Diamond Age. These researchers are just getting started on the ideas behind building a true nanocomputer.
GM's Volt, a Plug-In Hybrid - My colleague Wayne Rash had the opportunity to take a close look at new pluggable hybrid car from GM. It is actually pretty cool looking.
Playing Footsy With Your Mouse - It's kid of funny looking but I would be interested in trying one out. I've always had a hard time with foot coordination. It's why I gave up on playing a drum set.<
Wednesday, July 25, 2007 2:50 PM/EST
Click here to see photos of the XO laptop
One Laptop Per Child's XO (commonly referred to as the $100 laptop) is designed to change the world by bringing computing resources to children in the developing world. But the many innovations in the XO may also end up changing the world of technology.
When you first see the XO the thought that immediately jumps to mind is "kid's toy." With its bright green coloring, built-in carrying handle, funny rabbit ears and rubber membrane keyboard, it looks like something that Fisher-Price might put out.
But then you pick it up and realize how sturdy and well built the XO is. And then you turn it on, and discover that you are connecting wirelessly to the Internet and to other XO users that are creating a local network. You find lots of software designed for kids but also find some groundbreaking collaboration tools that let you work with others in ways that outshine some of the best corporate groupware.
Oh yeah, even though bright sunshine is beating down upon the laptop screen, you're having no trouble reading the display. But the sunlight is OK since it's powering your system through a small low-cost solar cell, and the XO doesn't need much power, running at a small fraction of what laptops normally considered green run at.
This is the XO, a system that was born when MIT legend Nicholas Negroponte set out to build a $100 laptop in order to make it possible to deliver computers to kids and schools in developing countries. And while the XO didn't make the $100 target price (instead currently coming in at around $175), it does now sit nearly ready to be deployed around the world.
I recently had the opportunity to spend some time at the offices of the One Laptop Per Child project and got to take a first had look at the final beta version of the XO, dubbed B4. I also had the chance to speak to OLPC President Walter Bender and Chief Technology Officer Mary Lou Jepsen.
Based on earlier looks I'd had of the $100 laptop, I expected to be impressed simply by the economy, low power capabilities and wireless mesh features of the XO. But what I saw firsthand exceeded these expectations.
Put simply, the XO is one of the most revolutionary computer systems that I've seen in some time. Throughout the entire time I was looking at the XO, I was regularly thinking, why can't my new expensive laptop do this? The technologies that the OLPC's XO are introducing could go a long way towards changing the face of future systems, especially in the area of power consumption.
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