My name is Frank Okoye and i run a private ICT concern in Nigeria, providing high speed internet service to homes, offices, schools and government organisations. I achieve this using VSAT in remote parts of Nigeria and wireless infrastructure in urban parts of the country. I am, amongst several things, a Chartered Member of the British Computer Society.
This is my dream for Nigeria
My organisation also repairs and supplies computer systems, laptops and other ICT peripherals to a number of organisations. On a number of occasions we have had requests for your XO (OLPC) laptops but efforts to purchase this from the open market both here (Nigeria) and oversea has not been successful. I took time out to go through the OLPC website just now, and i understand why we cannot find it in the open market.
I remember congratulating Mr. Nicholas Negroponte via email, so many years ago when this scheme was just an initiative (and he replied back, unfortunately i can't find my copy, I'm sure he might still have my email) and lauded his efforts at getting our children (in the developing world) out of poverty through education by bridging the gap between us and the rest of the developed world through technology.
Unfortunately, several years after, our children are yet to benefit from this great initiative, as the XO laptop (which we then knew as the $100 laptop) is nowhere in sight either as a gift from the initiatives of the donors or as an item purchased directly by those in need of it. How, i ask, can we ensure that our schools here benefit from this initiative?
I presently have a number of schools who have gone as far as raising some money to buy the XO in a very limited number, so they could rotate usage amongst the pupils until they have more money to buy more or some charity comes their way in form of a donation from God knows where?
As a professional running an ICT concern for so many years in a developing country, it is rather embarrassing that I have never seen the XO laptop other than what i read about it online, to arm myself well enough for questions from those who assume i should know everything about such things, it really is embarrassing.
Kindly advice me on how I can purchase a few units or how I can get schools here to benefit directly from this wonderful initiative. We need to empower our children now and we appreciate any help in that regard.
Hello,
I can sell you my XO laptop from here in the USA. I had planned to use the machine for my child, but since he is too young to use it, I can sell it.
It has 2 battery packs, a padded Marware carrying case http://www.marware.com/products/Netbook/SportFolio-II, a 4G SD card that holds the dual booting Xubuntu operating system.
One of the nicest aspects of the XO is that I can make FREE phone calls while online with Twinkle and my 12Voip.com account. I have used it to call my wife in Colombia while in airports or shopping in the US. I have called Colombia, Canada, Australia, Hong Kong, Panama, China, South Korea, Switzerland,and the USA for FREE. Most OLPC XO users do not use this option, so you would appreciate it preinstalled.
Send me reply so we can communicate later.
Lately I have felt like OLPC news is dying, with poorly-edited and hardly-newsworthy posts appearing. It's puzzling to see a "news story" asking us how to buy XOs when there was another post just a few days before answering that very question: http://www.olpcnews.com/laptops/xo1/how_to_buy_xo_laptop_olpc.html
Good luck finding your XOs. I wonder how much success anyone has had with using netbooks in place of XOs in schools?
David Piepgrass wrote:
"Lately I have felt like OLPC news is dying, with poorly-edited and hardly-newsworthy posts appearing"
The OLPC momentum is long gone. As of today, it is not a matter of if, but when OLPC will officially close its doors.
Early this year I worked with a company the deployed about 2000 XO laptops here in Nigeria. I think the problem is that ebay has not connected Nigeria and the last time buy one and get something was done Nigerians did not participate . I personally need a laptop, though I used one for six months during the deployment phase. I enjoyed it. I need one for to carry out some tests and hopefully for my son when he is of age.