Information Society Watch

December 26, 2007, The Hindu

This article examines the successes and failures of the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) programme as mass production of the laptops has finally gotten underway and countries are beginning to place their orders. In one Peruvian village, 50 primary school children who received laptops 6 months ago are demonstrating the OLPC's potential. The OLPC programme has faced setbacks in the form of lower than expected orders, higher than expected prices, and competition, and governments have also expressed concerns about laptop maintenance and teachers' lack of training and equipment to deal with the transformative technology. But Nicholas Negroponte, the founder of the programme, is confident that these obstacles can be overcome by the innovative technology of these machines to transform education and democratise the Internet.

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