From: Martin Joseph (martyNT_at_barknaturalpet.com)
Date: Wed Nov 16 2005 - 11:21:23 PST
On Nov 16, 2005, at 4:44 AM, Jon Glass wrote:
>> <snip>You hardened sceptic you. Just watch. They will succeed.
>
> That's just it.... I'm _not_ a hardened sceptic. I've seen how the OSS
> community works, and I don't think it will fly. Yes, there is good,
> solid-working OS software, but none of the OSs are something I would
> give=
> a
> kid, and expect him to be able to use out of the box! Beyond that, the
> OS=
>
> community just doesn't have it "together" to make a cohesive,
> integrated =
> box
> that will work for kids. I mean, my kids are pretty savvy with
> computers,=
> but
> give them something with Red Hat on it, and they won't touch it. They
> wan=
> t it
> familiar. =
>
The above isn't a coherent argument. First of all most of the kids who
will get these have never used a computer before. Second of all Linux
has come a long way and will continue to evolve. It already is very
easy to install on some platforms(no command line) and presents a very
windows like GUI task bar and all (yuck). The media lab is more then
capable of pulling together a "distro" which easily and smoothly works
on their laptop target.
>
> Since it's another top-down push at forcing things on people, and
> since i=
> t's
> coming through the schools, it will be centrally controlled, and most
> lik=
> ely
> won't work. And by work, I mean people actually _using_ these things.
So all of the one on one laptop programs in the US that provide
computers for kids don't work? Wrong.
> Oh,=
>
> sure, I bet people spend tons of money on buying these things, and
> gettin=
> g
> them out there, but I doubt they will be used anywhere near enough to
> act=
> ually
> make it worth the time and effort. Beyond that, I sense that this whole
> initiative is ideologically driven, not market driven. Guess what
> happens=
> when
> people try that? (hint, it begins with "f", and ends in "ailure".) :-)
I hope you are wrong, certainly the last part of your theory is a
possibility. I think though kids will love having there own machines
that can help there learn about the world in a way that was never
possible before.
Although this project does clearly spring from an academic
(ideological) idea, I think it is market driven as it has to compete
and beat the market options to succeed.
In fact, even if this particular project doesn't conquer the world, it
may create a new market niche for low cost laptops aimed at education
in the third world. So even if other manufacturers (Chinese?) step in
and offer $90 linux laptops before MIT gets it all together, the
project still achieves it's goal.
Time will tell.
Marty
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