Starting today the XO laptop will once again be available to consumers in the US and the EU. This is the remarkable laptop invented by the One Laptop Per Child organization for children in the developing world.
In the Give One, Get One (G1G1) program, you have the opportunity purchase two XO computers. You get one, and a child somewhere in the developing world gets the other. Last year, over 100,000 laptops were donated to children this way. (See photos)
This year will be even better!
Last year, there were problems with the distribution, as OLPC was running it by themselves on a shoestring. This year, Amazon will run it. It would be the understatement of the year to say it will be better. There are a few other changes this year as well – it will include EU countries plus a few extra (full list and FAQs here). Sorry my Aussie friends, no mention of your part of the world.
Other good news, this will be an ongoing program. So if you have an idea about doing a fundraiser or planning a school event to get your own XOs, you have time.
Posts about the XO
Last year I got an XO laptop through the Give One, Get One program. Some of my posts from last year:
- OLPC XO – Top Ten Checklist for G1G1 Reviews – Things to think about before you buy that XO or write that review.
- Let them eat cake? No, let them change the world – My response to a dumb column about how the XO is a dumb idea. Examples and photos from a Peruvian XO pilot.
- One Laptop Per Child (XO) – Report from India pilot site – A report and some great photos from an OLPC XO pilot site in India.
- One Laptop Per Child – Why I believe this is a groundbreaking initiative
Spread the word! Here are some suggestions from the OLPC G1G1 wiki page:
- Blog it, add a comment about it to every article about OLPC and the XO.
- Social site updates — Facebook, Twitter[1], MySpace : there are OLPC accounts on many of these sites which need maintenance and regular updating. For instance some 2007-era badges and promotions need to be updated to link to the Amazon site.
- Viral marketing. Put http://www.amazon.com/xo in your e-mail signature. Mention G1G1 in blog posts. Comment on misinformed or incomplete articles online, and include the link and the date, Nov. 17.
Sylvia
Wow Sylvia, you beat me to this. I thought I’d beat you this time, but you sneakily put a timer on the post. That’s pretty clever. =) Time for me to post about it and go to bed, methinks.