Do you understand that he’s not a volunteer? That this is not his business, not his money on the line? That the deals to sell this machine are to government officials that are not starving, because selling to the people at any price would be useless?

I don’t consider that trying, nor a positive achievement. Any individual, doing any level of voluntary commerce, is doing more for the world than Nicholas Negroponte.

As for myself, I support church missions groups to Uganda. Value-for-money, I’ll put that up against Negroponte any day. Any idea how many millions or billions of dollars he’s burned through, as compared to the actual improvement on the ground? With that much money being used, ‘trying’ is not a valid excuse. You have a responsibility to produce the results you claim.

I wonder if you’re an employer? Because I’d love to say I’ll be in to work from 8-5, show up the only half the days and produce less than half the value, and still get credit for at least ‘trying’.

What better way to take a region out of the third world by creating resources, and that is exactly what computers create. Don’t underestimate the power of the information age.

Legal issues include exchange rates (North America has very few currencies compared to the rest of the world), trade restrictions (making sure you don’t let anything get into the “wrong hands”), and the normal business trouble (What if they don’t pay? Or the laptop gets lost in shipping?).

Logistically, there’s the hassle of local economies (what’s worth a week’s pay here is a year’s pay elsewhere, and people will complain if you don’t pay attention to that), shipping (including costs), and the joy of languages (no extra comment here).

Take care to all.

This has nothing to do with stereotypes. This has to do with a human holocaust. A MILLION or more every year!

I’m talking about priorities. I am talking about results. I am talking about not fawning over a guy that likes to think he’s saving the world, when what he’s claimed is neither important, nor coming to fruition, nor a good value for real money that could help save real lives.

If that’s a stereotype, and you’ve got the proof, ante up. Or else just call me a bigot.

Yes, these kids are dealing with genocide, lack of food, etc. How does this mean nobody should be putting effort into their education?

Are you saying our efforts would be better focused on dealing with all of the problems that are already firmly entrenched with a country’s (armed) adults than with the poor education and lack of alternatives for its children (i.e. future adults)?

You mention rickets as one of the problems that should receive attention before laptops. Considering most of your arguments are belief-based:

Do you believe that the average Rwandan charged with keeping kids healthy is up-to-date on the latest medical findings on rickets treatment and prevention, or even the fact that exposure to sunlight can help?

Do you believe that the average Rwandan community even knows what foods will help cut down on rickets if they’re available?

In fact, I have not been to Africa at all. I have spent time in the third-world, and I have started businesses there. But the Negroponte story was about Rwanda, and dysentery outbreaks, in my opinion, are more damaging there than a laptop is useful.

http://www.infoplease.com/cig/dangerous-diseases-epidemics/epidemic-dysentery.html

Malaria deaths are another issue. I’m talking statistics, I’m not talking about the anecdotal evidence Negroponte claims.

Personally, if you want to throw names around, I find it far more bigoted to think these are lesser people that need our pity and our hands and our help to be lifted up. I think they’re capable of it themselves. What they need is to be free. They need to not be interfered with, they need to be able to use DDT like we got to to eradicate malaria. They need to be able to burn coal until they can get enough industry to burn it cleanly.

Those are things that are within themselves. They are people with the same abilities as anyone, and they are crippled by false charity and bad government and global regulations. Western grain shipments put their farmers out of business, western clothes shipments their tailors. Further, they keep despots in power.

The bottom line is, people need to be responsible for the results and effects of their actions, not of their intentions. That is my underlying problem with Nicholas Negroponte.

-Over budget (2x)
-Lower demand (30x)

“That doesn’t make the program any less beneficial.”

If that’s the case, we could’ve gone in together on a single machine for a single person, and it would have been no less beneficial. Again, exactly the problem. No criteria, just feelings. No results, just intentions. The word, ‘benefit’ has a meaning– try using it correctly. As does the word ‘bigot’. Get a grip on reality, and the language.

And by the way, you’re leaving out:

-Less functionality

In regards to the first post, it’s true that there are children in the world who impoverished and hungry, but if you take the child population of the world, that number is relatively small. The same goes for war-torn countries. And there are other people working on those problems.

What’s special about the OLPC project is that it has the potential to solve these problems through another avenue: education. Much of the criticism of this project comes out of fear of what children (as well as adults) in other countries will have the ability to do. And this is mostly because there has never been a project this radical.

In terms of who actually will get the laptops, you should notice that these machines are mobile, meaning that they are meant to be brought home with the children. Without doubt, parents are going to use these machines as well.

And as far as the hardware goes, the XO can be powered a number of ways and requires neither Internet or electricity infrastructure.

Like Nicholas said, it’s an education project. And the OLPC is the medium for that education. It’s a turing machine that will help spread knowledge, which in my opinion is one of the most noble of philanthropic pursuits.

There is a lot to be said for all of the arguments for and against as made by everyone so it will be pointless repeating them.

What I want to say is this: I can see the point which Morgan is trying to emphasize, I see everyday in South Africa the sad results of an incompetent government that uses the media to spread their propaganda and lies about democracy and a rainbow nation while in real economic terms more than half of South Africans is half as poor and living under the $1 a day standard for poverty as they were before these insincere frauds took over.

The ANC regime and it’s latching on to Mandela charisma is wearing thin and the world is laughing at all the shenenigans; from a Minister of Health prescribing garlic and beetroot as a cure for AIDS to the multibillion dollar weapons scandal where R50 billion South African rand is spent on lining the pockets of corrupt politicians and their buddies in the big MNC’s who get the contracts

The police commissioner is a suspected friend of organised crime bosses and people suspected of assasinating a mine magnate recently
The president fires those who have sense and reason and try to do the right thing and speak up against abuse, curruption and incompetence

The black people in the country act as if they have the exclusive moral right to claim having been treated badly in the past

Everything is reduced to the lowest common denominator and mediocrity has become the new standard of excellence, all the stupid and tasteless crap gets aired and supported and promoted

Those who try to work to do things properly, openly, decently and constructively are ignored and bad-mouthed and called racist and fascist, just so the “mob” “community” “people” can claim rights and privileges and no one has to work or do anything because it is just provided for nothing because we have been treated so bad in the past

I really fear for this continent, there does not seem to be the kind of people in charge who can make good decisions that will benefit the people of the country as a whole and not just a few connected politicians and their networks of hangers-on

And I am not a white racist, I am a mixed race coloured person who have seen his community destroyed in the Western Cape by people who have a vested interest in suppressing to the world the fact that the descendants of the indigenous San peoples of Southern Africa are the legitimate claimants to rights and privileges before they are overswarmed and smothered out of existence.

B) Negroponte is a failure. No human recharging. Twice the price. Late. 30x fewer initial orders than expected. But he still seems to get the same treatment, the same fawning, as if he did actually do what he claimed he would do.

This is not a comment on your coverage. Yours is probably the only tech news blog I can bear to — and dare I say it, enjoy — to read anymore. It’s just a pet peeve, this guy’s entire idea came from letting Cambodians use his laptop– and they used it as a light bulb.

These people need the basic infrastructure of civilization. Not a laptop. They need clean water. They need not to be killed. They need private property.

The hottest laptop in the world is not going to keep a kid from getting dysentery or rickets. In order to grab the brass ring of technology, they need the food to develop and to actually live long enough to move into a tech career.

So Nicholas Negroponte and his self-congratulatory and made-up stories, well, I guess it’s clear I’m not a fan.

One note, you’ll want to delete the latest comment on your http://www.centernetworks.com/job-board-launch story. He’s got a particularly distasteful take on the matter :)