PledgeBank United States
I’ll do it, but only if you’ll help

Pledge “100laptop”

"I will purchase the $100 laptop at $300 but only if 100,000 other will do the same."

— Mike Liveright, digital charity supporter (contact)

Deadline to sign up by: 31^st October 2006
3,677 people signed up, 96323 more were needed

More details
Nicholas Negroponte has previewed of the $100 laptop that he has designed for students in the developing world. " One Laptop Per Child - a Preview of the Hundred Dollar Laptop http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/00... "

The suggestion has been made that he also offer it for sale for ~$300 to the rest of us so that we do have an interesting machine and can help to support the cost computers for the developing world. If he does offer it, then I will buy one at three times the cost and thus contribute to supplying two to the proposed users.

I suggest that you might want to also pledge so that he would consider this "We Purchase, They Benefit" option.

Comments on this pledge

• More information about this can be found through:
  http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/00...
  The official website is very sparse with information:
  http://laptop.media.mit.edu/
  Simon Bohlin, 4 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• Note: The Media project is specifically NOT offering this for sale, and though I disagree with this position and hope that this pledge may show them that there are enough people who might be interesting in supporting this project, I felt that I should post their position:
  
  =======================
  
  We appreciate your interest in the $100 Laptop initiative.
  
  If your message is related to purchasing: please note that the $100 laptops--not yet in production--will not be available for sale. The laptops will only be distributed to schools directly through large government initiatives.
  
  Inquiries about buying the laptop regretfully cannot be answered.
  
  Thank you.
  
  ===============================
  Mike Liveright, 4 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• Here is the response I got from the Project Manager
  
  =======================
  
  From: "Nicholas Negroponte"
  
  thanks for your offer. I regret we are not able to commit to such at this time.
  Mike Liveright, 4 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• See: wall street journal story: http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB1...
  
  "At the same time, they say they are hoping to authorize a commercial version that would sell for around $200, with a share of the profits ideally used to subsidize the educational project. "We are in talks with large, brand-name companies," Mr. Negroponte says, noting it will be up to them to decide where and how to sell it. "I would not hold my breath for it to be in Best Buy," he says."
  Mike Liveright, 4 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• The One Laptop Per Child project might accept orders only from large government initiatives, but if they succeed with that, and if the detailed design of the laptop is published, it should be possible for a pledgebank project to contract for large orders to be filled. Perhaps partnerships between donors and organizations such as Oxfam can be formed so that the laptops are distributed where they can best be put to use. Maybe donors can even establish long-term relationships with recipients of the laptops.
  John Kintree, 4 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• There are a number of reasons for supporting the $100 laptop. I wrote a paper titled "The Structure of Power" in which I look at it from a political and grassroots empowerment perspective. That paper can be read at this web address.
  John Kintree, 4 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• Web address of "The Structure of Power"
  http://bengal.missouri.edu/~jbkvd6/polic...
  John Kintree, 4 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• Heard about this years ago. Hope it happens soon.
  Bruce Horton, 4 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• It's a good initiative, well oriented and minded, but it's an evidence !
  
  it's not only a need on buying 300.000 laptops
  
  in this case you've got to manage a huge organization not only in charge of laptop deployment but also on deploying infrastructure to connect them and primary in education for children.
  
  giving your money to non governemental organization could be more efficient
  Nico B, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• I will buy two of them at $300 each regardless of how many people sign this petition.
  
  I want my two children to have the same opportunities as those in the developing world. 1st world corporations are not offering me the machine I need! I want my children to have a muscle powered machine that requires elegant software design, and that is literally incapable of running commercial bloatware.
  --Charlie, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• NT
  Yushuo Low, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• I understand why these won't be sold to the public, however in the idea of offsetting the cost of two others for the price of mine is a good thing. This is technological history and I would like a piece of this, if only to marvel in what this will do for the third world nations.
  Mark Hinkley, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• I would love to be a part of this great revolution. Having such a laptop, developing for it, and using it every day seems by far like one of the best ways to play my part...
  Jocelyn Houle, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• Here's to a truly intelligent project. Information leads to knowledge and knowledge is often the missing catalyst for some amazing things. These laptops will help distribute information to places it just wasn't available before. Thank you to all involved with this project and all contributing by pledging.
  Dan Andreescu, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• As a technologist and social activist, I believe strongly in The One Laptop Per Child project on many levels, but worry that for it to really work the in the field, open source software and educational content really need to be taken to the next level, which means the that the best and the brightest developers need to have these laptops to play with. Also, as much as I want to help with children of the developing world, I also want to help the US inner-city youth (for example in my home of New York City) who would equally benefit and for whom providing the WiFi infrastructure could be much easier. Perhaps THIS buy-1-give-2 initiative can address BOTH issues at once. I would certainly be interested in helping make it happen any way I can.
  Mark de Solla Price, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• Should this proposal be accepted, and two laptops be donated, the third, in a 'higher-tech' environment would become a thin client on my home LAN - so there *is* a market for such devices, and economies of scale may help to fund production. Please consider offering these for those people who don't want to carry around $1K+ systems. They would also useful when travelling.
  D., 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• I am waiting for the day for this project to become a grand success and good luck for the same !!!. The pledge bank (or some other website) should start collecting details about deserving recipients. I would really want to help by pledging, if i know to whom it is getting reached.
  
  Good luck
  Murali Varadarajan, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• This is a great project, and a great idea in donating 2 for every 1 purchased. I'm proud to be a supporter :)
  Brian R. Bondy, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• I pledge to buy one so long as the community is able to modify the look of the laptop. Should I obtain one, I think a sanding and painting would be in order. A battery-less operation laptop would be a dream come true for me, as I like to sit out in fields when I type my papers at college.
  John R. Taylor, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• Selling these computers as fundraiser will generate more money for the project and help lower the price of producing them. I hope that stores will sell them as a donation to poorer countries. Think how many could be sold through Wal-Mart. Also, I know many people in Ukraine, which is not a third world country, that can not afford to buy a computer, but at a hundred dollars, they could finally afford to get one. I could see major wireless networks starting in countries such as Ukraine that are prime for such a computer, not just for kids, but for families.
  Alex Eagar, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• This is an amazing idea and I hope it works out. The idea of having commerciall available products subsidize this overall project even more is a great model to follow, and I have a feeling it will end up being put in place.
  
  In addition, it'll be funny when these out-sell Microsoft's "Origami" gadgets, especailly after Gates' unkind words on this entire $100 initiative.
  Ryan Rawdon, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• Very good idea. However, if you're not actually selling them to the public, then I'm not "buying" one at any price. I'm merely donating $300 to your admittedly worthy cause, which I have no problem with. But I agree with Mr. Price. There's no reason not to distribute some of these in the U.S. as well. I would be most willing to donate $300 to a "2 to developing nations, 1 in the U.S." program. As the good book says "charity begins at home." And I would buy one for myself if they were offered to the public. I have a seven year old granddaughter who could benefit from it.
  Phil Haines, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• Very admirable cause. 100,000 may be a tough goal, but I'll leave a pledge.
  Damon Killian, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• Great idea on the $100 laptops for schools. Im all for that, and if I could get my hands on one for $300 Id do that also. Many options for these.
  Derrick Rose, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• I'd like to see the completly open. Both in source and market. Are they afraid they'll sell too many and actually become successful business-wise?
  Adam Montoya, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• I'd like to see the "hacker" version - just the bare boards, no case.
  
  Apart from anything else, the case is one thing that local communities would be able to fashion themselves from local materials.
  
  Vik :v)
  Vik Olliver, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• Great idea. Please donate two laptops to developing nations and one in the U.S. Also,please make the laptops available to school children only. Let me know how else I may be of help.
  Marc Eisenman, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• I would love to buy one of these for $300. But sadly, at the moment I couldn't even afford one of these if it was selling for $100. I need to gets me some moneys. Until then, I'm with OLPC in spirit.
  Ethan Cheng, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• I have been wondering if I pay 300$ will you actually 'DONATE' two laptops for poor kids FOR FREE or will you sell them at the reduced price of 100$ per piece? If it is the second choice, then I prefer not to go for it. Because MIT has already made it a big deal advertising 100$ laptop, and now they says "98677 more needed" to buy at triple cost:-)
  Felix bast, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• Excellent idea that needs my support and everyone else's.
  
  I will not enjoy the laptop as much as any child who will use it to learn, improve his skills and maybe thanks to it become a full-capable citizen of the new millenium.
  Ricardo Mela, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• Great initiative, I'm going to spread it through my friends.
  
  @Felix: Read the pledge. Now read it again.
  
  The idea is that I, as an individual, buy the laptop for three times its price, so the foundation can "give away" two laptops.
  
  And as noted in above comments, this could expand to local initiatives. There are poor neighborhoods in the most socially advanced cities.
  Ignacio Torres Masdeu, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• While i think the idea of buying these machines at triple the target price, in order to fund units for children in 3rd world countries is an excellent idea in principle, it concerns me that this would cause certain governments to see these laptops as a money making scheme, they can buy them in at $100 a piece and resell them to us in the west via the magic of ebay for several hundred dollars. A commercial model based on the $100 design but with obvious differences to make the system more gadget-junkie friendly(no that doesn't mean running commercial software), selling for ~$200 sounds like the way to go here.
  Phil, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• @felix, AFAICT the media project at MIT aren't at all interested in actually taking your money, at this stage at least. This pledge isn't an official thing.
  Phil, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• How are you guys promoting this pledge? I'll link to it from my website if at least two others do, too.
  Elliot M. Lee, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• Excellent idea !!
  solicitors marbella, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• I'd be willing to buy one of these for $300. With a crank powered notebook, you can write and work anywhere. It doesn't have a hard drive, so it's very robust. It would survive a drop to the floor. I bet the chances of data corruption are minimal. The picture doesn't show a crank, but it has one. Apparently one minute of cranking gives you 10 minutes of power.
  Sriram Sharma, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• @Elliot M. Lee: Good idea. I'll post a link on my site.
  
  I think this two for one is a great idea. I would gladly buy a $300 laptop if I knew two were given away for free to underprivedged children. Count me in.
  
  Jaqian
  (Ireland)
  Jaqian, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• There are pictures of the latest working prototypes here:
  
  http://www.flickr.com/photos/pete/sets/7...
  Chris Winchester, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• Perhaps the format of the donations could be changed to enhance probability of the goal of 100,000 people being met. The goal is to raise 30 million dollars with donations (potentially from 100,000 people) Some would probably give more than 300.00 for the laptop, for instance, I would be willing to buy two for $500.00 each. Some people might even pay 1000.00 for a single one in the spirit of the project. It should be an option.
  Mark Bitz, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• Education is the most important topic for a sustainable future. One Laptop for every child is a good idea to facilitate a better education. And: I like the sustainable power supply very much.
  Wolfgang Feist, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• I pledge to take 2 $30 pair of levi's jeans to a 3rd world country and swap them for 2 of the $100 computers, if I cannot obtain one otherwise.
  rob, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• @ Elliot M. Lee:
  
  I spread it posting the pledge to Slashdot and two of the most populated forums in my country.
  JMM, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• solicitors marbella: are you linking? I just need to confirm one more link before I add it to my site :)
  Elliot M. Lee, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• OK, I added the link to my sidebar. It reads -
  Pledge: Buy the $100 laptop for $300
  Elliot M. Lee, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• I can't think of an better way to spend $300.
  Charles Snider, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• These laptops are the best way for an autonomous, self-dependent 3th world. I would love to contribute... and have one of these outstanding machines as well. ;)
  Guido Bertling, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• I would gladly pay $300 for this notebook, as it would give me an opportunity to develop and test OSS applications for it, and demonstrate it to others.
  
  It's a fab. idea, and if the profit goes to help fund the program, so much the better!
  Darren Meyer, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• Why not sell it retail for $250 and donate the profit to helping 3rd and 2nd world countries?
  
  Such an economical laptop will help others that are on limited (minimal wage) incomes
  to get into computers and possibly into open source development!
  
  Yeah, who wants to shell out near $800-1000's for a lowend laptop that will in two years or less be considered obsolete.
  
  --chris
  Chris Evans, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• I think if you lower the purchase price for developed countries to 200 U$D it would have a bigger chance to get people buying it for their kids education or for their own fun. The now proposed price is too close to a "normal" Intel Celeron laptop on sale.
  The thought of creating a win-win situation where we all get the same machine and making it possible for 1st world buyers to sponsor users in underdeveloped countries is a nice one though.
  Kees van Elst, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• For all those Americans who complain that "giving laptops to starving African children is ridiculous" - YOU are ridiculous to automatically associate "developing nation" = "conditions of dire famine".
  
  I grew up in a suburban middle-class environment in Malaysia, but I had classmates whose families struggled to get new school uniforms and received loaned textbooks and free lunches. If our schools could have distributed/loaned out nice little machines like this, it would have helped a lot for the kids whose families, unlike mine, couldn't afford their own computers. (The school computer labs were perpetually locked up for fear of theft...rendering the computers inside useless.)
  Shi-Hsia Hwa, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• Count me in.
  
  The project gets my annual allocation for donations.
  I've got an income under $20,000 and the idea that so many can be so rapidly equipped with such a useful machine for such a small cost makes me believe that Mammon may not yet always call the shots.
  
  I don't need one of the machines, since I own a puter and I am connected to the net. I understand that the OLPC organisation has made it very clear that the OLPC machine will not be commercially available and so I am pleased that **3** puters and not just **2** may be supplied from my contribution.
  
  Most importantly, the machines' benefits are clearly going to reach so much further than the schoolroom, out into communities and families.
  
  Great work, OLPC.
  Nancy McIntyre, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• Why not instead pledge to donate $300 for a laptop that will be sent to someone in need (who would not even be able to afford $100) in one of the targeted developing countries? I am sure there is more than one NGO that would identify those in need and distribute the units to them, and the units in the field would generate interest in the product.
  
  This would fund the initiative and address needs of disadvantaged folks at the same time.
  
  Before the issue of fraud is raised, please let us not major in the minors by allowing worry about a few units being pilfered in such a program stop what would be an effective, two-pronged effort to 1) get this product into production and 2) provide tools for disadvantaged folks to better their lives.
  Lawrence J. Sylvain, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• I see a small bug in this pledge. Where is the distribution mechanism? If we had some way to say, put our $300 in an escrow account and were able to pay for a super efficient distribution center (and where to put it is another issue) then perhaps interest on the sitting cash could pay to get these things distributed, but we still have no "market based" distro system. The developing nation machines will still end up getting "lost" and end up on e-bay.
  
  If the concept here is to show some distibutor that market demand exists, I still don't see the money, can they track any of us down to collect on this spur of the moment pledge?
  
  I would happily put $300 in escrow if anybody can set that up, walking up to a distibutor and saying " I have $30,000,000 US that i can only spend on product X" would probably be a lot more likely to turn some heads then " we did this internet poll thing..."
  Dan Warren, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• Shouldn't every US school district purchase one of these laptops for each student in the system? It's a $100 or $300 investment for 12 years. Think about all of the costs of paper books that could be saved. Also, think of the weight reduction in the students' backpack. If the student destroys the laptop, then the parents are liable to pay for it just as they pay for missing books. Then the laptop could be used by the student in college, or later in life. Eventually every person in the US would own a laptop computer.
  Elena, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• Even if we succeed in getting 100,000 people to commit to purchasing the laptop, I think we will still need to tackle the issue of distribution.
  
  This is exactly the reason, I think, behind Negroponte's stated intention to sell large blocks to countries: OPLC can just deliver them en masse and let the countries deal with dividing them up and allocating the resources to put them in the hands of the children that need them.
  
  So, if we are to receive a laptop and either 1) subsidize the creation of two others, or 2) take receipt of three laptops and donate two, it is impingent upon _us_ the undersigned to create a support structure to manage the distribution of funds and materials as would the countries seeking to benefit from this arrangement.
  
  If we can prove to OPLC that we as a block of consumers are able to fulfill this function, I believe they cannot say no.
  
  If you would like to assist me in the creation of the necessary infrastructure and/or discuss to what end our $200 subsidy should be used, please join the OneLaptopPerChild discussion group on Google (link below).
  JP Klein, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• This is possibly to most killer app thing I have ever seen. I mean, this thing would be a hit it Walmart would stock it or the school started giving them out to students. If they have in better colors, all the better!
  Anonymous, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• This is an opportunity too good for the world to ignore.
  Elias Tsang, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• On the face of it, this sounds like a great effort and I applaud the intentions of everyone involved. It FEELS like the right thing to do, but:
  
  I am concerned about giving any kind of advanced technology to third world children. It's the third world for a reason. Life is not valued in the third world. Giving a laptop like this, or any advanced technology that would make them seem more important than their peers or leaders, to a child in coutries in the third world, is giving them something that could easily get them killed.
  
  "Who do you think you are, little one? Better than the rest of us? I'll teach you THAT lesson!"
  
  I don't want to be the person who put that laptop in that child's hands.
  Andrew Short, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• Shouldn't we concentrate on getting a laptop in the hands of every child in the US before we go to the third world? I know a lot of children in schools in the US don't own a computer and have no way of getting on the internet. I think it would be better to make this project targeted at children in the US and then go overseas. I think it would have more support that way.
  Mike, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• I teach in a Michigan rural elementary school. I see huge disparities in the access to technology in rural and inner city schools compared to suburban schools. I fully support any initiative that helps equalize opportunities for students. I also see this project as a golden opportunity to advance open source software. Schools often can not afford the software needed on their computers.
  shaw, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• Sign me up! With two provisions:
  
  1. Only if we get to the point where Mr. Negroponte decides he thinks it's a good idea. He's in the thick of this, and we should respect that he knows more about what's going on with this project and its acceptance in various places than we do. If he's not in favor ultimately, my pledge is to donate the cost of two laptops directly to the OLPC initiative (initially I think that's going to be $270, as they're starting out at about $135 apiece with the goal of hitting $100 by 2008).
  
  2. I'll only take delivery of mine when production is really rolling; otherwise, I'm delaying one getting to a child somewhere, and that's really not what this is about.
  T.J. Crowder, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• Just FYI, The laptop no longer has a crank, due to very good reasons, but it still drops the cool factor. It is not longer designed as a self contained unit, it requires external power (though with reasonable specs, and the expectation of spikey power, as required by human generation)
  Dan Warren, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• Commercial versions should all load the OS and run programs from Flash memory, but a compartment to insert a 2,5" harddrive should be available, as well as Bluetooth. With hardware switches to shut off the harddrive, bluetooth and the WiFi Mesh to save battery.
  Nicolas Charbonnier, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• A big fan of Open Source and FSF. Would love to support in this way.
  Michael Bubb, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• hope it ships soon, if its not out this year, it risks loosing momentum
  Finn Krog, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• lets see if we can spread the word - digg members please help!! http://digg.com/technology/Pledge_to_pur...
  Cyrus Nelson, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• $300 is too much. $180 or less will do for me. Please don't get me wrong. I'd like to buy this brilliant piece of hardware for the price of all I possess. But I don't want my family to starve. $300 is too much.
  Tanner, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• I think you should be ashamed of yourselves for being so conceited in thinking that students in the developing world need these laptops.
  
  The money would be better spent on teachers and training rather than introducing a harmful device into the population, only to indoctrinate them with typical Western education (which isn't worth the paper it is written on).
  
  The only people who benefit from this scam is those manufacturing and selling the laptops.
  
  What a rip off.
  Darren Gingerbaerd, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• Darren Gingerbaerd: The laptops could help them a lot more than you think. Without computers, I definitely wouldn't be enjoying the high standard of living I am today. I've tried other careers, but working with computers has been, by far, the most rewarding for me.
  Elliot, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• the idea with the 100$ laptop is great. but if i think about tanzania where i live ... mh, don't know much people who could by this computer on a private base. and if they are funded by organisations - let them pay the price that the product is worth and not subsidized. most of these organisations have too much money anyway. we should think about setting up projects, that can finance themselves. and i don't really think that a 1st world person finally buys a low capacity laptop for 300$. they would rather go to buy a well equiped laptop maybe secon hand for 500$. so basically what i mean is the costs should be calculated that the price can cover all the costs related to the product. whatever/whoever should grow on their own feet to learn how to walk.
  also i recognised that feeling responsible for things is not very common here. so maintenance and so on will be a problem. what if the computer doesnt work one day? recognised that people are much more careful with something they earned than just getting for free.
  
  think the 300$ you better pay school fees for a child in the 3rd world, so that they can read and write before they have to use a computer. or you give someone a loan to start his/her own business and getting independent from funds and donations. or sponsor operations for very sick people. i think there are a lot of things people might need before they can use the laptop.
  
  i don't say that you shouldnt put the computers in schools etc in the 3rd world, but i think the whole project should be well thought about. otherwise its just another project where a lot of money is just wasted. often i think that people are just driven by feelings for helping and humanity, donating endless money but don't think really ahead (about how is money used, how much money goes to whom, questioning the projects)... the last thing we need is making the 3rd world more depending on the 1st than it is already.
  
  and when i read in one statement "let the countries deal with dividing them up" ... oooh, i get very worried. there is corruption everywhere. these governments are not trustworthy at all. so giving laptops in their hands is like giving them cash money, and now think where they will end up. for sure not in the schools.
  kerstin keimling, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• Someone needs to make it much easier for anyone who wants to give money to simply donate. This is one of the greatest ideas ever for the improvement of our world, and it should be advertised and fundraised for like a presidential campaign. At the very least there should be a "click to donate here" on this page and the OLPC home page that takes paypal and major credit/debit brands. Materialisim wins because those who push materialisim advertise.
  Day Cox, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• 100,000 is far too many. The goal should have been set at 10,000 or so. That's still over a million dollars - two thirds of which would go to a good cause.
  
  At 100,000, this pledge is very unlikely to meet it's target and that's a very sad thing.
  Steve Baker, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• There is more to this than simply collecting money for more $100 laptops for needy children (important though that is).
  
  For this device to be a success it needs lots and lots of software written for it. A very large fraction of the people who would take up this deal would likely be software geeks who already know Linux and contribute to OpenSource development. The more of those people have this device - the more software will be written for it or ported onto it.
  
  But even without that - if more people own the things then maybe there will even be a market for commercial software for the device - and who knows where that could lead. If software houses would sign up to a similar pledge ("Buy a copy of our software and we'll give away two copies to needy kids with these machines").
  Steve Baker, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• There are more than 100,000 people on the Internet. Spread the word. I think this goal can definitely be met with the proper promotion. There are forums out there with well over 100,000 members. And look at MySpace, with what, 16 million members? 100,000 is a tiny fraction of that. And yes, I know that this site is not as popular as MySpace. But the signers are there. They just need to be reached.
  Permawords, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• Great idea. I'll mention on today's IT Blogwatch (http://www.computerworld.com/blogs/blogw...)
  Richi Jennings, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• Surely there is a better way of helping these kids than spending $100 on a minimal spec laptop:
  
  1. What softwares are going to be available for them for $100?
  
  2. Without the softwares, how can they practice any useful I.T. skills?
  
  3. I find that the usefulness of a computer is greatly enhanced by the internet: i can find almost any information i want and i can communicate with people across the world. However, I dont think these under-previledged kids have access to internet which significantly limit the usefulness of a laptop.
  
  4. When food, living expenses and school fees are probably of more concern to these kids, how does a $100 laptop help them exactly? and who gets to decide who gets one and who doesnt? with corruption being such a big issue in the third world countries, I am just speculating that some of these laptops could end up in the hands of better off kids or as some have suggested - ebay.
  
  5. What are these kids going to do with their laptops? Even if donating computers to third world countries is the way to go, I think perhaps it would be better to donate desktops to schools rather than laptops to the kids, who might use the laptop as a game toy. Desktops are also cheaper to construct so each $100 would get more hardware for these kids.
  
  5. $100 in a third world country is enough to secure a good quantity of books. It would give the kids a lot of other skills to learn than the I.T. skills a basic spec laptop can teach them.
  
  I think it is a rip-off to buy these laptops that cost $100 to make for $300. If I am donating $200 to help 2 kids, I would buy them books or just give them the money.
  
  The Chinese are so good at maths precisely because they don't give the kids laptops and desktops at school so they had to calculate everything in their heads.
  Dawson, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• Will this work? Mike pledge or even the whole One Laptop Per Child project? Where is it now and who is talking about $100 laptops?
  
  The answers to these questions and more at One Laptop Per Child News http://www.olpcnews.com
  wayan, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• I am starting to think that this pledge for the $100 laptop for every child is a scam.
  invisible, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• I support this project and am excited about the possibilities. Knowledge that can be shared and learned by way of these computers can build empathy and a sense of global community.
  
  However, even at this conceptual stage, I'd like to know more about the plans on distributing the computers to the children. Which nations, communities or aide bodies will be doing this. I want to know that my efforts will prove to be fruitful and beneficial verses throwing my money someplace and not knowing where and how it is being used. Then I'd be more than happy to join in and pledge my money.
  Stephen, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• so they now no longer can be charged without plugging into the mains. how are they going to be charged up in rural areas?
  a crank system or solar etc. is a genius idea. without that its no better than sending them the low-spec laptops we already throw out. why build new models then? send them our old ones.
  A M, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• Great idea, but I'd rather donate $300 and buy a decent laptop :)
  womens health, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• this is a great idea !! it will help the poor
  chaaban, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• Or -alternatively-, I'd buy one for $100.
  Matt, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• After being hit by hurricanes the past two seasons and without power, one of these things would have been wonderful.
  Phillip Partipilo, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• Sriram Sharma -- the final design does not have a crank. That proved too prone to failure.
  Matthew Miler, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• Just a dreamt up fancy (expensive) idea. The biggest problem with developing world is literacy. I'd rather donate money to help people learn to read and write. Hence my suggestion earlier for books and school fees.
  Dawson, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• <embed style="width:400px; height:326px;" id="VideoPlayback" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf... </embed>
  Bill Dignan, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• Check out the video on the laptop
  http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf
  Bill Dignan, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• Wooops. I never knew about this pledge. Now I can't sign up anymore. A pity.
  Nils, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• EXTEND THE PLEDGE
  
  It was not properly promoted
  Leo, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• Extend the deadline. I love the idea, and yet I only heard about it when the news of it's failure broke!
  
  Promote this idea more. We need mass media targeting for public action on a national/international scale. People care. People want to do this. Tell them!
  Steven McCullagh, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• Hi guys,
  
  If you're sad that this pledge failed, why not try this variant using a new, hip and, erm, unfinished new PledgeBank feature called cascading Pledges.
  
  Check it out!
  
  http://www.pledgebank.com/olpchackers
  
  best,
  
  Tom from PledgeBank
  The PledgeBank Team, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• No offense, but you did a horrible job advertising this pledge. Were there prominent links on the OLPC website? I never saw them before, and I can't find them now.
  
  I would pledge in a heartbeat, but I (like many others) didn't find out about it until I saw the news that it failed.
  
  EXTEND THE PLEDGE and see what happens.
  Joe Ibershoff, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• I'm in the day after the deadline, but I just found out about the program. I hope I'm not too late.
  Greg Boyce, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• I pledge to buy two at $300 each.
  
  Can I still sign up ?
  ketan desai, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• I'll pledge to buy one of these also. It's a cause worth supporting.
  
  I'd suggest - extend the pledge, and couple it with some smart viral marketing. That should do the trick.
  
  There are enough technology lovers who could support this cause.
  Thomas O'Duffy, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• I'm sorry to see this pledge site didn't work out. Maybe it should be tried again with more aggressive advertising - I've been following OLPC for a few months: watched a couple videos and read the weekely updates. I've never heard of this site before today, although I do have considerable interest in buying an OLPC
  Pat Marks, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• Wow,
  
  What a poor job at advertising this thing. I'm glad that once it was finally over it made it to slashdot. Sure it was on slashback, but c'mon lumped together with crap stories.
  
  What this petition needs is about $4000 to put ads in wired, linux journal, make, and a few other magazines.
  
  I am all for the idea.
  R Linnemann, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• Agreed, I hadn't heard about this before today either and would have bought one too. If the pledge is re-opened, please let me know!
  Jeff Messer, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• Pity this didn't get enough pledges, even with the SlashDot mention over the summer. I'm not sure extending the plede would have helped, as the pldege was still over 96% short.
  Tom Louie, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• Why would you put a deadline on this? I vaguely remember hearing about this a while back but paid no attention to it as I had no money. I just came into some and would love to make this pledge but essentially I found out about it today, the day after the deadline.
  
  I'm not suggesting that 96,000 more people would sign up if you kept it open another month but I don't see the reason for any deadline ever. When you get 100,000 pledges, you start collecting money. Until then, you collect pledges. Some things build momentum slowly but after they do keep it up for a long time. Why not ospen this back up? Oct. 31, 2006 is arbitrary and unnecesary. Those kids deserve the computers regardless of how long it takes.
  John Michel, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• Why would you put a deadline on this? I vaguely remember hearing about this a while back but paid no attention to it as I had no money. I just came into some and would love to make this pledge but essentially I found out about it today, the day after the deadline.
  
  I'm not suggesting that 96,000 more people would sign up if you kept it open another month but I don't see the reason for any deadline ever. When you get 100,000 pledges, you start collecting money. Until then, you collect pledges. Some things build momentum slowly but after they do keep it up for a long time. Why not ospen this back up? Oct. 31, 2006 is arbitrary and unnecesary. Those kids deserve the computers regardless of
  how long it takes.
  John Michel, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• Poorly promoted. I was not aware of this until today, and it is now too late. Get the media involved! Not just the net, but ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, Were you at COMdex? Marketing, MArketing, MArketing.
  Good Luck, I believe this is a truly noble project, and I wish you great success.
  John
  john, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• put the pledge back up and improve the marketing! I only heard about this after the deadline...
  nick, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• Really, why the deadline? I wasn't aware of the promotion and I'm your target audience. I'm sure you could have done a better job of promoting this. Damn, I might have bought one myself!
  Ron Bannon, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• This pledge was, as far as I'm aware, nothing officially to do with the OLPC organisation, simply something set up by someone to show support for the idea; so don't be upset at OLPC for not publicising it properly. It has a deadline because all PledgeBank pledges do, that's how the site (which just hosts pledges) works - the target was simply unrealistic in that time.
  Matthew, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• I think many people making comments miss out on one of the basic ideas behind this project... the idea is not to give kids training so that they can work some crappy IT job in some outsourced call centre, but rather to give people access to the same wealth of information that we in the first world enjoy (and take for granted). That is, little Billy spends time on the internet learns about HIV and what can be done to prevent its spread so he educates other people in his village, or little Susy who reads about modern agricultural systems and increase the annual yeid of her villages crop... oh and lets not forget about all those young girls who may realize for the first time in their lifes that they have rights as human beings and start the process of changing their cultures to recognize that... but to all those peopel who said this is a bad idea and that they will not support it and that this should not be done, please list your contributions to humanity in alphabetical order... and switching one of your vehicles from an SUV to a hybrid does not count.
  christopher luft, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• I only heard about the pledge this morning. Sign me up. I will need a few details at some point, but the project concept is sound and deserves my support.
  Brett Upton, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• I'd buy at least one. Even two. in fact I tried to find a way to purchase one at (I actually put this comment in another site) $300. That offer still stands. So if this comes up again, I'm game and will be HAPPY to find others. I'm sure I could get at least 10 others to commit to this. EASILY
  Jonah libster, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• I'm late, but if the offer still stands, I would be very glad to buy one.
  Andrea Sterbini, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• If you extend the pledge, I would be happy to commit.
  Felipe González, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• Run it again! This time with more noise, more /., a wikipedia banner, non-profit google ads, Y!, myspace, youtube, NPR, PBS, BBC, CNN, FOX, go all out, etc!
  Ryan Fulcher, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• Is it just 100$? What about -
  1. Shipping and insurance
  2. Logistics
  3. Training & support
  4. Administrative & management cost?
  
  Or will it (100$) cover everything (all of above)? Who will pay for the Laptops? Who will pay for after sales support? Who is going to gain from this project - The country spending some 150 million dollar (+ongoing support cost) for a million Laptops or the country receiving some 150 million dollar for a million Laptops?
  
  And a kid who's starving won't be taking the time to read. Even Bill Gates Sr. figured this out when some time ago he took a trip to Africa and was shown a poor village's proudest posession, a single workstation hooked up to the village's sole electrical outlet. He realised that what village needed most at that time was not a computer, but a refrigerator.
  
  Tech toys like these have theire place and moment can help but the basick foundation of the pyramid must be built first. You need decent health, places to sleep, and a dependable food supply before cranking laptops become not only a luxury but a dangerous drain on time and energy that must be spent on survival.
  
  Africa and the Third World aren't just poorer versions of your hometown, they're places in deep distress with a profound lack of the basic neccessities of life, and sweeping plagues which are taking an enormous toll. These are the problems that must be solved FIRST and foremost before the higher goals can be tackled.
  Aklee, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• "And a kid who's
  starving won't be taking the time to read."
  
  I disagree. At least some of the kids are getting by on the little food they have. Yes, they need food, but that's enough. When I read books in the library, I get so absorbed that I forget to eat.
  
  "You need decent health, places
  to sleep, and a dependable food supply before cranking laptops
  become not only a luxury but a dangerous drain on time and
  energy that must be spent on survival."
  
  I disagree. Laptops (or computers) means access to information and education. This will lead to decent health and better economic understanding. This knowledge and motivation is what is needed to not only survive, but thrive.
  
  "These are the problems that must be solved FIRST
  and foremost before the higher goals can be tackled."
  
  I don't think this is a "higher goal." A higher goal would be supercomputers and computing research centers. These are very cheap, very basic laptops. They offer a whole world of ideas and knowledge that they need to enrich their lives and improve all areas of the process of survival.
  Permawords, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• I live in Thailand and as someone who would love to support this I don't even make $300 in a month.
  Andrew Fenn, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• I think the $100 laptop is a great idea and i'd have definatly coughed up $300 to help the project go forward. Didn't hear about it until now unfortunatly...
  James Pope, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• This pledge should have been linked from http://www.laptop.org/ so people would hear about the pledge. Why don't you extend it and get it /.'d again. I'll bet you hit your 100k goal.
  Jeff Carr, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• I think you should extend the pledge. I also heard about it the first time I saw a post on Slashdot about it's failure. I would be more than glad to sign up.
  Mikko Kortelainen, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• I didn't see this until Nov. 1st. (too late?). If it is still open, I'd be interested. Another laptop around the house would be a godsend.
  Bob, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• If you are serious about wanting the MIT $100 Laptop, come and join OLPC4USA at the Wiki page linked above. We can't buy the Laptop yet, but together we can speed the day when it will be available at retail, and at wholesale in quantities less than a million at a time.
  Ed Cherlin, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• well, am way to late here! -damned, but only heard of it TODAY...!!
  
  suggest: restart the thing!!!
  
  
  !!!!!!!!!!!!!! and make "more noise about it" !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  
  i'd like to participate, too!!, thomas
  thomas ziegler, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• I only just found out about this pledge, yet the deadline has passed. If it re-opens, then I will also pledge. Please let me know.
  Bruce Silver, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• Yes, yes, yes, sign me up and restart the pledge. Let's make it happen.
  Hermann Strijewski, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• That was a pretty arrogant comment about the operating system in these things - this world was BUILT by the processing power of 386's... in any event... count me in!
  
  I vouch to buy one of these for $300+ if my purchase gets TWO OTHERS into the hands of a poor child for free!!!
  
  regards,
  Wayne
  Wayne, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• I just found it now. Yes I will buy.
  Arek Stryjski, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• The children in the dev.world need to have free library first for every child ,I thing the 100$ OLPC notebook is a normal price,and 150$ OLPC notebook with 12inches Lcd screen is normal too,as they do not have hard drive,and CD ROM,
  what I think for the Microsoft to do, is
  to make larger LCD with Windows OS,and make the memory card 4GB slot options,
  so the price cost for OLPC,12in LCD.Win.OS,SD 4GB slot card,total =
  150$+25$
  Total will be 175$ wholesale and retail sale 200$.the child will pay 100$ and his government the other 100$
  And I think as an expirt in microelectronics technology this can be made,in the comming soon future.
  In 2006 we had new cheap color e-ink
  larg size screen and fast cheap flash memory up to 4GB ,when we ask about cheap cost
  notebook pc we must expect pc less than
  the laptop we see in the market now,the poor children see it only not use it.
  I ask Mr.Bill at microsoft to start produce the second OLPC version,and to helpe the children in poor world in action not just talking,and if Mr.Bill move to do it I will give his company my new invention free to add it to OLPC to be the best in design ,for the poor children ,the larg 12in screen is very important for the child to use in education.
  Zaky
  Zaky, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• Looks like this will come to pass, kind of... http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/62...
  Rod Begbie, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• We will buy 20 laptops at $300 if it's not too late...
  VisionWorks Solutions Inc., 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• I second this pledge!!! I love the idea but I guess I am too late. It should have advertised properly..None of my family or friends knew about this... So how about we extend this to a newer date and advertise properly!!!!
  Nithy, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• Im in
  Brandon, 2 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• Great idea, shame that I have only just found the website! Offer the pledges again?
  Gerry Griffith, 2 years ago. Abusive? Report it!