One Laptop Per Child XO-1 Hello, my name is George King, and I'm here to talk to you about the One Laptop Per Child XO-1. But first, who are the OLPC? Picture reference: http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Image:B1-mikemcgregor-2.jpg

Who are the OLPC foundation? Non-profit Aim “to create educational opportunities for the world's poorest children by providing each child with a rugged, low-cost, low-power, connected laptop with content and software designed for collaborative, joyful, self-empowered learning.” (OLPC foundation, 2005) Creators of XO-1 The One Laptop Per Child Foundation is a non-profit organisation set up in 2005. Their aim is 'to create educational opportunities for the world's poorest children by providing each child with a rugged, low-cost, low-power, connected laptop with content and software designed for collaborative, joyful, self-empowered learning.' From this, they got funding and made deals with manufacturers to produce the XO-1, a sub-notebook type PC designed specifically for the children of third world countries. Picture reference: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8f/OLPC_logo.png

Design Goals 5 year plus lifetime Rugged Ability to be charged anywhere Low power output Video camera Microphone Long range Wi-Fi repeater LCD screen Low cost Of course, there are challenges in giving laptops to a country where there is little to no technological infrastructure, and where the harsh environment would destroy a regular PC far too easily The most important factor however was the power output. Where the laptop was going to be deployed there would be no reliable source of energy for the laptop, and so the longer battery life the better. This was a big challenge, as the XO-1 features a number of components that typically use up a lot of energy.

Power Subsystem The OLPC achieves a low output through its power subsystem. The green areas are always on. The yellow areas can be left powered on even when they are not in use. The red areas are powered off when not in use. Picture reference: http://wiki.laptop.org/images/7/71/CL1A_Hdwe_Design_Spec.pdf

Power saving technology Components that are not in use can be turned on and off In the case of the processor, this occurs in hundredths of a second Components that have to be constantly on (such as the battery and motherboard) only draw micro-amps when not in use Other components such as the WLAN and LCD screen can be left powered on when the rest of the components are off These features (especially the yellow sections) help to save a lot of energy. The green sections only draw micro amp when not in use, and the red sections are just turned off, cutting all power to them. The yellow sections utilise ingenious design, as they turn on and off when needed, by the processor, but can still be left on when they are finished with. In regards to the screen, this would mean that the screen would still display the picture without using cpu cycles. The wireless LAN can also be powered on even when the rest of the computer is off, allowing it to repeat wi-fi signals, creating a mesh with other laptops, creating a wireless infrastructure for communities which would otherwise have no internet access

From PC to mobile These power saving features could be applied to a great many other electronic devices, and would be a welcome addition to most. Mobile phones in particular are something that would benefit especially from the unique features of the OLPC, as they are more and more becoming computers themselves. Phones such as Apple's Iphone and Android devices such as the HTC series have mobile computing facilities available to them, so the technological leap would not be a great one. In fact it may even come naturally as companies strive to make their components as small as possible. Picture references: http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Image:B1-mikemcgregor-2.jpg http://www.apple.com/uk/iphone/ios4/

The Economics side 1,850,000 laptops sold worldwide Distributed to 17 countries 20+ further pilot projects, and more showing interest Distributed beyond the target market of third world countries, with laptops sold to America, Canada and England The revenue of the OLPC foundation has increased massively. Before the release of the XO-1, the OLPC survived on donations from 'member organisations' such as eBay and AMD, as well as donations from the general public. However, now that they have a commercial product to sell, they can make so much more money (given that the laptop is so cheap to produce, so they make more profit). This compounds with the income gained before, as well as being donated to more (as with the release of the XO-1 comes advertising, so more people are aware of the company).

Social Revolution List of OLPC trials Wider social changes are taking place due to the sale of the XO-1. While it was originally intended for use in third world countries, the OLPC foundation has received orders from all over the world, including the United Kingdom (OLPC UK (2009)), Canada, and most notably, an order of 15,000 laptops for children in Birmingham, Alabama, United States (Mass High Tech Business News (2007)). A “Give 1 Get 1” program offer ran in 2008, and sold 83,500 laptops, with the offer needing to be extended to meet demand. This is a signal to larger companies that small and cheap is better than large and expensive, and (especially with regards to education) simple is best. As a result, companies (such as Acer, who have a large laptop and notebook market) have been almost forced to develop and sell low cost designs that could possibly be used in a third world country, but they will have an uphill struggle against the defined presence of the OLPC XO-1. List of OLPC trials Picture reference: http://www.olpcmap.net/