This might've been funny if it weren't for the ads for Windows and Dell popping up DURING the video -- and at the end (where they're slightly less awful): Lenovo, something called "Control Port Access," and "Unprecedented destruction will come in 2008, leading to America's fall."

(I guess that last one makes sense if you think of the continued increase in intrusive advertising as a portent.)

Interesting Experience Here. I donated to G1G1 on 11/30 around midnight. On 12/23 I received an email saying "sorry you won't have your XO for 12/24" - which was good because I was away from home visiting family. When I arrived home late on the 25th it was sitting on my front steps! Today (12/26) I received the Email with T-Mobile information and a "coming soon" message.

Maybe some of this is due to me being in Indiana and the distribution being in IL?

Actually, Mike, your experience is the norm. There seems to be little rhyme or reason to XO shipping or OLPC email timing. Its pretty much an XO lotto at this point: http://www.olpcnews.com/sales_talk/g1g1/g1g1_shipping_information.html

I purchased on the first day and haven't received the XO yet. OLPC emailed me to tell me address was invalid even though it is not. It took 3 phone calls (50 minutes wait time each time) with 3 very rude people to supposedly straighten it out. They haven't shipped it yet and they tell you a different story every time you call. I would have to say the only thing they did efficiently was take my money. On the whole I don't really care about the delay but if I am having such problems how will I ever know that the 2nd laptop actually gets to some kid who will benefit from it way more than me? I don't think I would trust the OLPC customer service folk with that.

On a more positive note for the donor laptops: at least those will be going by the truck-load, and they were preparing for the logistics of large shipments for some time. The recipient kids were also the intended recipients of the laptops, so hopefully they are paying more attention to getting the details right for them. The logistics of shipping individual units to countries that they weren't targetting is going to be quite different (e.g. the debacle with Canada).

I just hope that they try to get a bit of publicity for the "give 1" component of the program though, to give us donors a bit of confidence that the foundation has their act together when it comes to serving recipient nations.

I hope they keep us up-to-date on the donated latops as well, Jordan, even if there are snags with that part of the program. If OLPC proves to be as unresponsive to those troubles should they arise as it did to the skipped G1G1 orders from November 12, the project may well be doomed unless they do some sort of massive reorganization and try teaming up with a company that has a better distribution infrastructure in place to handle a massive project like this especially if they have any intention of offering the G1G1 or some variant thereof again in the future.

Mike: Funny. I donated on 11/12, got a receipt from Paypal, an email on 11/28 welcoming me to the OLPC community (sadly, with no reference number for the donation), and have received nothing else, including the XO.

I tried to email service@laptopgiving.org on 12/17, but the message bounced.

I just tried using the "Track Your Order" functionality on the laptopgiving.org site with my email address, but just get a message saying "Error : Invalid reference number ."

This experience feels more akin to dealing with a switch-and-bait New York-based camera retailer than a well-organized charitable organization! ;-)

Nick,
I am in exactly the same situation. I G1G1 once the first day (11/12) via AmEx, and one a month later (12/12) via PayPal. No confirmation number, but a PayPal receipt number for the first purchase. The "tracking" site seems to know my email address (it gives a different error if I enter a different one), but nothing on status is available yet.
I know they're doing their best though, I'll bide my time. :-)

For those of you that haven't received your XO yet, especially among the First Day Donors, you're not alone. There are quite of few of us participating in Wayan's Forum. It is almost theraputic to rant and rave a bit among other annoyed, frustrated, or utterly pissed off people. As they say, misery loves company. :)

And once thet's off your chest there are a lot of other more interesting threads in there as well.

I ordered in the first *minute*, and I still don't even show up in the tracking system. Invalid email id, invalid confirmation id.

Meanwhile, I know someone who ordered on Dec 15 and received it on Dec 20.

Yeah, I too am a G1G1 donor on Nov 12, got an invalid address verification (even though my Paypal address was correct), and haven't heard anything regarding the correction, confirmation number shows nothing in the tracking.

This is what appears to be the norm for the day one donors. Which is a real shame, it would be nice to know why so many of us have been sent to limbo.

And news entries like this one on OLPC News make me feel like I shouldn't care, just a complaining whiner....

My laptop arrived on the 20th. Unfortunately, I had left earlier that day for vacation... won't have my hands on it until tomorrow!

I too am a day 1 donor. I emailed them asking for a tracking number and what i recieved was a confirmation number. If i try to track my order using that number i get Error : Invalid reference number. Strangely i don't feel better knowing that i am not alone...call me crazy....

Yesterday I got 'invalid reference number', today, as of 1:40pm, I was able to get the tracking number from the laptopgiving site using the reference number and discovered that FedEx had tried to deliver it to me on Mon. the 24th but, because the apartment number had been left off the address, though it was correct in the PenPal confirmation, they failed. I have called FedEx and hopefully will see it tomorrow. Oh well, but I'm still really, really looking forward to it.

I am in the same boat as all of the others here. I have called the Donor Service number several times. They have the correct address. They gave me a confirmation number. The first few calls, I was told that I would have my XO by the 24th. Today they said it was not shipped yet, but would be shipped "early 2008." When I asked for something a little more definate, the operator got huffy and siad that today is the 27th and 2008 is only three days away. I pointed out that, "early 2008," could be sometime in February. I asked to talk to a supervisor. I was told that all the supervisors "are in a meeting." I told her I wanted to talk to a supervisor so she took my phone number. I was told that it might be a few days before the supervisor calls me back. This is crazy. I am beginning to think that I will never get the thing. There is some small comforth in knowing that I am not alone in this thing. Hang in there to all of us.

They only have one supervisor, and they're not on site. They *always* say the supervisor is "in a meeting".

Being an early orderer may have been most peoples undoing since its almost certain the ordering system was broken for at least the first few hours.

Once problems in the on-line ordering were discovered and fixed then problems like incorrect addresses would have been fixed.

Having implemented on-line order systems myself I know the kind of problems that will occur in the initial stages. I would have waited and been a 'second day donor' and be more likely to see my laptop.

Oh, and don't wait around for a supervisor to call you back. I've been told that about 6 times now, starting Dec 10th, and it's never happened.

Robert,

But wouldn't you go back and correct those early adopters instead of slogging forward and leaving them in limbo? These "day one donors" are some of the biggest fans of the OLPC foundation, they've hyped up the cause and the opportunity to many of their colleagues and contacts. They're the ones who DON'T NEED a marketing campaign to "sell" the idea. It just seems so wrong to write off those who were "foolish" enough to jump on the bandwagon on day 1, sorry -- whether it is in a G1G1 context or it is with a new online order storefront.

Fed Ex stinks mine has left Wheeling I wont be home and Fed Ex will not reroute.Just lame excuses,I have had other issues and will never use them myself.The USPS is much better,their ground service is awful and so is Kinkos

Yet another 6:05 am Day One donor here still waiting. I was told that my fault was that I actually used BOTH address lines, the first for my business name and the second for the street address. Silly me. (grumble).

Finally called on the 21st and faced the Muzak for more than an hour. Was told that my order would be resent to the warehouse and shipped immediately since I was a Day One donor.

I've been reduced to putting a note on my door pleading with the FedEx delivery people to leave the damned boxes (two in my case) at my door without a signature. I've actually instructed the FedEx delivery person to forge my signature to leave it.

This all assumes that they'll actually ship my two XOs someday.

I also feel that the rollout has been botched in the absolute worst possible way. Textbooks should be written to include this experience as an example of what NOT to do.

I would have expected better from Negroponte, and I have fantasies of follow-up interviews on the McNeil News Hour where he covers his ass and tries to explain why the hype that he generated on Nov. 12 was met with the absolute logistic mess that he and his people generated in the aftermath.

I feel like a sucker for ordering early. I never expected to have to deal with such a bunch of amateurs.

Robert
writer245@yahoo.com
Day One Donor, still waiting.

Robert: I don't think the problem with your order was using both lines for your address, any more than the problem with my order (like they've claimed) is that my email address starts with a number (dmd@3e.org). They're just making stuff up.

I got one delivered the day after Christmas...

Yes, I am another 6:05 day one donor. I totally believe in the effort of the OLPC, the open source technology and community, etc, etc. When I called to make the order, the person answering did not even know about the G1G1 program and switched me to customer service (hmmmm, a sign?). Another call to participate got a mild recognition of the program from the operator. She took the order and I have since paid for the bill, though I've received nothing (trust?). The confirmation number finally came November 30 (someone finally entered the order?), a month later the OLPC tracker registers nothing (ho hum, but why an error message?). I am disappointed. I assume it will arrive by January 15th (what more can I do?). I am not going to spew venom, though. I just want the success of the program in general and want to see a brain trust at OLPC coordinating distribution.

MORE importantly, I think OLPC needs to perfect this distribution so it can EXPAND the G1G1 program. Yes, OLPC needs to expand G1G1 so those with relative wealth (international open source community) and relative poverty are working together, having something at stake together. AND mass distribution is mass input, improvement, and access to the open source community that is the basis for the OLPC program. But this will require that OLPC hone this side of their operation, which they can easily do. Imagine what this machine will do in a year or two, if everyone that wants to G1G1 does participate. Imagine what purchasing countries will think if we love it and we're all making the box the best it can be for their kids. Not only am I getting one, but when I do, I can start giving back to OLPC, too, in my humble way. That's what I am waiting to do now. I don't have one yet. Happy New Year!

im in about the same situation, i ordered 2 XOs on 12/11 and within 15 minutes had received a email from paypal saying that it had been charged, also, my credit card was immediately charged. i never received ANY email from OLPC and when i tired to go to the OLPC web page to track my order it refuses to accept my email address and it asks for a number that they never supplied me.

after 3 phone calls to a number that never gives you a human and disconnects you after you've sat on hold for an hour i called the number that they supply on their website for you to order by phone. of course that number was answered by a human on the 3rd ring. when i asked them about the support line for people who had already ordered an XO they told me that they had no knowledge of that number, or even if that number actually existed. then they told me that they needed to keep the line free for people who wanted to order an XO and hung up on me.

so far ive gotten nothing from OLPC, i tried to email then and they sent me an automated response saying that theyed respond in 3-5 days, its now 8 days later and still no response.

just needed to vent, ive been feeling the frustration build at this for a while and i felt like i was the only one with this sort of experience out there.

Well, I envy those who have not yet received the laptop. I joined the program in the first day. I wasn't particularly adamant about getting it in time for the holidays so I waited patiently. On December 22 I received an e-mail with the shipping information. Imagine my surprise when I input the tracking number in the FedEx website and I get the information that the package had been "delivered on December 14 with no signature confirmation required" (!) Well, nothing was delivered to my home on December 14. No laptop. Nothing. Opened a ticket with FedEx and sent an e-mail to OLPC customer care. As of January 2, FedEx states that it looks like it was stolen or misdelivered and that the shipper must file a claim. I have not received any reply from OLPC. After reading all the comments here I have this dreadful feeling that I will never get a laptop...

Mail order and "donation" is the wrong model for getting this thing deployed. These things should be in bubble-packs in drugstores, next to the cheap calculators. That will get the price down.

I ordered three "first minute" OLPC on first day (G1G1) and received one of the three in short order. This was shipped to my Virginia front porch. The other two (one ordered by telephone, the other on-line) are supposed to ship to the Virginia church. I have an email notice on one that says it will be delivered "before January 15"
One was charged to PayPal, the other to credit card with a different entry (I assume the on-line order is the PayPal one). A friend who has ordered one already received it. Offspring and spouse ordered one each but do not expect those for a good while.

Ingrid, you and I are in the same boat.
I donated on Dec 3. Only email received was from paypal.
I have no recognition from OLPC whatsoever and their tracking page doesn't recognize my email.
I am starting to worry, not that I will receive the laptop soon, that doesn' matter.
I worry I may never receive it.
And what confidence do I have that the twin laptop will get to a child?

Well, it's Jan 8 and I'm still without my laptop!!! HUMPFFF
I gave on day one at 9am and sent to an American address --NOT a PO Box. SO WHY DON'T I HAVE MY LAPTOP YET????
Anyone out there have an explanation for me?

I ordered on Dec 21st, got an immediate response from Paypal with the right email address, shipping address, etc. After unsuccessfull trying to track the order using laptopgiving.org several times, I sent an email to service@laptopgiving.org on Jan 1st. I got an automated response with a promise to follow up via email. Nothing so far.

I tried the 800 number and after being on hold for a long time, I talked to someone. After unsuccessfully trying to look up my order he told me to call "customer service" at 800-201-7144. Just got off the phone with them. I was told that I'd get an email and phone call from a supervisor as a follow-up. After reading a lot of the feedback on this program, I wonder if they really understood what they were doing when they set up the G1G1 program?

--bob

I ordered in November and just called since I've received no communication since a December 22 email stating that a laptop would would not be here in time for the holidays but would be shipping before Jan. 15. After 20 minutes on hold I got a person who let me know that the address they had on record was incomplete (wonder how that happened) and they have not yet shipped. She corrected the address (I hope) and let me know that a laptop would now ship to me in late January or February (gee, thanks). I'll hold my breath and see if this new (ambiguous) date holds true.

You may want to call if you've had no further contact from these jokers.

I am yet another Day One Donor with no laptop as of today (January 12, 2008). I have sent several e-mails to OLPC, beginning on December 20, 2007. The only responses have been from the automated system. They all say, "Please expect to hear back from us within 3-5 business days."

I have also phoned several times. The process is the same each time:
I tell my story and provide my order number;
The representative has no record of any prior calls;
The representative can't determine the status of the shipment;
I get put on hold so the supervisor can be consulted;
The representative returns and tells me that everything is okay now, the warehouse has been notified, and the supervisor will call or e-mail to confirm.

My first call to OLPC was also on December 20th. I have called three times since then. No supervisor has ever called to confirm anything, nor has a supervisor ever sent a confirming e-mail. I have no laptop and no information about if or when a laptop will be shipped.

I continue to be in full support of OLPC's mission, but it has become clear that the organization's stated mission and its actual values are not aligned. OLPC is not an organization that actually does what it says it will do. It does not function with integrity. As a donor, I am deeply saddened.

Day One Donor here... It's Jan 15th and I just received my kid's OLPC laptop! No duties, etc.. Just a nice box with the computer, some papers and the power cord inside. I live in Toronto.

WOOOOO Canadian orders are arriving!

Another tale of woe titled OLPC misdelivery.

Ordered early Dec to which PayPal affixed an incorrect address. Within minutes the "service" eddress was contacted and they replied with an email to confirm the address correction. Then they mailed it to the wrong address anyway! To add insult to injury it was FedExed with no signature required so somebody got a free laptop (and as mentioned above, I can only hope a child somewhere got one).

Calls to the "phone line of doom" are worthless, a supervisor that never calls back. Emails to the "service" eddress respond nonsensically that they're "sorry for the delay" and the XO should arrive today. Arggh!

I support the OLPC project wholeheartedly but this experience is upsetting to say the least.

I posted this under some other thread, but thought I'd drop it in here as well:

Yeah I gotta say their operations/execution is pretty garbage. I ordered on the first day as well and have not received it. I've emailed them and I just keep getting the standard response that there's been an overwhelming response and to be patient. The date getting moved from Dec. 24 to Jan 15. was fine. Now the date of early 2008 is testing my patience.

I completely understand that their delivery model is based on sending thousands at a time, but this is really getting ridiculous. Any thoughts I had of test driving the OLPC and then donating more is gone.

There are plenty of great causes out there, and to provide funds for an inefficient non-profit is a bad allocation of dollars.

I ordered my laptop on November 11th and STILL have not received it. I can't find out any information and I'm starting to feel like I'll never get it. I'm really regretting my decision to donate to this organization now.

I ordered on the third day. I only recieved email from paypal and one from olpc, and that email led me to believe I would get a second email. I never did. I sent an email to olpc, and recieved an auto-reply email telling me they would send a reply in 3 days. Ha Ha Ha. I have no tracking number. It is 1 day after the tracking site says I shoud get it. UPS was already here today. I got nutrisystem whoopie! Hey Nick wheres my XO ???????? And what about the poor kid? I want to know when he/she gets it.

I ordered TWO of them and have received nothing to date, and can't reach a human to determine whether my computers have even been shipped. I have a paypal receipt number, and a reference number, but no tracking number and no computers. I have only been able to access automated responses stating all computers should have arrived by January 15. The automated phone line hangs up after inviting you to press zero if you have not received your computer!

In early November, I ordered 2 laptops (and paid for 2 more). I was told that my order would arrive by
Christmas. These were to be Christmas gifts for 2 of our grandchildren. I received on Dec. 22 an email
stating that I would not receive them by Christmas, but I would receive them by Jan. 15th. It is now Jan. 16th
and still no laptops. However my credit card has been charged.

I expect my computers by Jan. 22d, that's a month after your email. A very disappointed customer.

Vito M. Montelli

Well after, my January 11 call and post here, I decided to call again today since I hadn't heard anything back from the G1G1 program. After 1 hour on hold I got a person who said there was no history of the call on January 11 and that they had an incomplete address for me. We argued a bit about that and the fact that they "allegedly" sent out an email to people who had incomplete addresses (I sure never received one, anyone else like to comment). New ship date? Sometime in late February or March. I honestly do not think I'll ever see the thing and I'm certain of a couple of things:

OLPC and Brightstar are horribly, horribly mismanaged and I'll never have a good thing to say about them as long as I live.

OLPC won't see another cent in donations from me.

Why? Because, if their information management and supply chain management is this screwed up dealing with donors, I wouldn't trust them to follow through on any of their promises.

I'm glad to know that my first day donor, no laptop yet story isn't alone. I am a bit disappointed that no one at OLPC Give1 Get1 is willing to stay in communication with all of us donors. It's really a terrible business practice. Even if it is bad news, they should let us know. By not keeping in touch, they aren't doing anything to promote their efforts at all, and most organizations fail when good will is lost.

For myself, the timing of my laptop's arrival isn't urgent, but having confidence in this organization's intentions is important. I received some unexpected criticism for having made a contribution towards education instead of food. I strongly believe in education so that people have the tools to solve or prevent their own problems. However, it feels like my donation toward that end has not gone anywhere at all.

Now that I'm realizing there is a systematic problem in the OLPC project, I am even angrier that I have yet to receive my first day order. If the laptop does not arrive by the end of February, I plan on canceling mine (which should marginally help the rest of you waiting).

I've been debating about whether or not to cancel (the ethics behind it, etc...), but it's come to the point where I feel there needs to be some accountability. First they missed their 100 per laptop goal. Now they've been unable to deliver on more promises. What can they actual deliver? How much of their grandiose goals were also just over-promises? I feel my dollars have been wasted. I'm cutting my next check to Doctors Without Borders and Heifer International.

Anyway, hunting through the OLPC website there is a link to this page: http://64.34.176.239/get_ref.html

Supposedly once your machine has shipped, the reference # and email address will generate your T-Mobile hotspot account. Checking this site everyday though will probably only further your frustrations.

Nov 16th doner here without the green toy.

It is interesting that the reply page after entering our email and order number from http://64.34.176.239/laptop_giving says that north american laptops have already shipped.

I did get the email on Dec 22nd saying that it was delayed but was scheduled to ship before January 15th. I imagine that the people in charge of distributing are just to embarrassed to send out another "delayed" update email. It would seem obvious that communicating with current doners would be in the interest of the future of the project. This leads me to believe that the project has no future.

I hope the patents can be used for a similar purpose if not by this org.

I just called in (half-hour on hold) and asked for a realistic estimate of the delivery. The representative said "mid to late February".

I just checked the OLPC wiki site and for the first time there is a fairly forthright statement within the OLPC NEWS section...

"During the reconciliation process of the “get” laptops shipped during Give One Get One, a number of unfulfilled order records were uncovered. The OLPC team has been working hard with our partners to resolve all open issues. We expect another ~5000 XO laptops will be shipped on Monday. The remaining orders pose an extra challenge as they either have incomplete or no shipping and contact information. If you have not yet received your XO laptop, you should be getting an individualized email that addresses your specific situation. If you are scheduled to receive your laptop next week, you will also be getting a follow-up email with tracking information. We'll be adding additional phone lines and shifting agents to reduce wait times. A further reconciliation of the data will be conducted this week, although hopeful, we can anticipate additional incomplete orders. Our apologies for these delays."

I personally would not have said the "...you will be getting..." part because of the previous promises, but, you have to start some where.
I would wait until a event occurs (then double check that it actually did occur), then say "we HAVE sent follow up e-mails" or something like that.

This is the best customer service contact they have yet made regarding the shipping fiasco. They also added a link to a page about shipping problems right on the front of the OLPC wiki. If that weren't enough, they also did a much more sophisticated (and true) respnose on the tracking widget on the www.laptopgiving.org webpage.

These changes have finally boosted their credibility in my view.

Second day donor Still nothing no emails to questions no laptop no phone call nothing. Dont have much hope for the children either. Nicky you dissapoint me.

Got email yesterday telling me to expect an email by the 23rd and that I am in the que My fingers are crossed.

Got email today. Shipps next week, when it does I am to get a tracking email.

OLPC and its G1G1 program both look fraudulent to me. I made my purchase/donation November 12, Paypal took my money, and that's all. No actual replies to my inquiries, no computer, no tracking number. I'll be more than surprised if I ever hear from OLPC, let alone receive the computer I ordered. And OLPC has the gall to complain that they're swimming in donation money!
I predict OLPC will do a disappearing act and donors will get a few dollars on each unit six or seven years from now through massive class action suits organized by competing law firms.

As for all of you w/ a reference number... make sure you use dashes between each set of 4 numbers. And the rest of you w/out the proper info... contact paypal, because they control the reference number pertaining to the order. It really seems to be a waste of time contacting OLPC. They are understaffed, overworked, and recieving a huge inflow of contact info.

I can't believe this. I figure by my tracking order I was number 67 to order a laptop. Yet, I still have not received anything. Today I got this ridiculous email:
Thank you for contacting Donor Services. Your new shipping address information has been recorded.

(what exactly do they mean by my "new shipping address?" There is nothing new about it.... nor did I send them anything)

Please accept my apologies for the delay in receiving your XO laptop. Give One Get One was such a phenomenal success that we over-taxed our order processing and payment systems. Demand exceeded supply.

(There is nothing I hate more than PR bullcrap. Demand might have exceeded supply, but what happened to all those orders that were called in on the first day? Why are these not filled when others are? Could someone give me a straight answer?)

Additional XO laptops are being built now and will be delivered in 45 to 60 days.

(You have GOT to be kidding! I have to wait another two months?)

Your laptop is in the queue for delivery at that time. If you wish to reconsider your contribution in the face of this delay, we will issue a refund to you.

(Somehow I get the feeling they would actually like us to cancel. Otherwise they might be offering us something to placate our frustration -- like just about every other salesperson in America who wants their customers. I was thinking of fulfilling their wish, but I think I will frustrate them more by not cancelling and forcing them to actually deliver the thing --- with any luck before I a)get married b) have kids c) have grandkids.)

We have set up a dedicated phone line for these requests. The number is 1-800-883-8102.

(So I called this number and I got someone (whose English was barely understandable --- gee was I in some third world country and is this why these orders have been such a disaster?) who took all my information as if absolutely NONE of it was recorded anywhere ??? and then says 'okay I have entered your "new" shipping address. And your laptop will be shipped within a week...'

Surprised I said: "NEW? What do you mean NEW? I didn't change anything? what information do you have for me? So she got all flustered and stammered... and said if you are unhappy call this 1-800-201-7144
I said: Can you just tell me what is happening there? Can someone give me any explanation as to why I ordered in the first hour of the first day and I still don't have my laptop yet?
She just said call the 1-800 number again.

Anyway, I went onto the laptopgiving.org site and plugged in my reference number and email and low and behold it says we are having an issue identifying your address.

And if they are having address issues, couldn't they have emailed everyone to tell us this.. Wouldn't have cost them a penny.

But
What does this really mean? Do you think they just lost everyone's address and phone numbers on the first day? Funny cuz it didn't sound like I was in some despot third world country. In fact it sounded like Boston, so what happened.

Look I want to believe this is a reputable thing Nick is doing and that what they promise will actually transpire, but what bothers me most, is that they just haven't been honest about what has gone wrong.

If I had gotten an email that said:
We are so sorry, we have no idea what we are doing and we lost the entire first day's orders... please forgive but can you re-send us all your information....
I would have no problem with that.

If there had been a news report equivalent to a consumer recall that said:
Hey everyone in North America who partook in G1G1 all your info is lost, contact them cuz they can't contact you... I would have been OK. Fine at least I know why it still isn't here.

But what is it with the prevailing American ideology that honesty is the worst policy. Instead let's just lie. We won't call it that. We'll call it a "phenomenal success that demand exceeded supply.." cough cough sputter sputter. Nope, we live in Dubya's world ---no truth to be had here.

Since this entire project is based upon the good will of people who want to help the world, it should occur to Nick that we are the type of people that would be quick to let bygones be bygones if we were told the truth.

Instead, the lies just make people like me question the overall integrity of this project, and the fact that you haven't offered us anything to placate our anger/frustration (A very tiny "gee, we are so sorry we messed up royally, thank you for remaining a customer and helping a child in the third world, and to show our appreciation, we are going to throw in a free crank, just to say thank you," makes me think they just don't care. BIG HINT NICK: This would go a long way.

Does anyone think Nick reads these things?
Does anyone think Nick cares?

In the meanwhile, please know that laptops are in the process of going to Mongolia, Cambodia, Afghanistan, Rwanda and Haiti as part of the "give one" side of the equation. Fortunately, OLPC's mission of getting laptops to the children in these countries has not been delayed.

(Gee, I hope this is true, but somehow, I doubt it.)

ANYWAY, if someone at OLPC actually reads these forums.. ??? Here's what I think. (If you care.)

I've been a fan of this project since 05, but my love is fading. If you sent me an email telling me the truth, whatever it is, I'd feel good about this project again. The fact that no one has bothered to do that, has me in a tiff and all the warm fuzzys I used to feel about OLPC, and have passed on to everyone I know, has faded.

Thanks.

Just found this on their news site.

"8.Support: This week Nicholas Negroponte sent out a letter to all donors who have not yet received their laptops apologizing for the problems and explaining some of the on-going issues."

This is a perfect example of what is really bothering me. Yes, Nic sent out the email... which by the way is kinda proof that they hadn't lost ALL the information... but nowhere, NADA, PAS DANS MON EMAIL, does he "explain' the on-going issues."

"The remaining laptops should be shipped by the end of March."

Sorry. Nic and goobledegoop people. Since you claim this is such a small percentage of the people that have been neglected, I think you should send us a crank as a conciliation for screwing up so badly and lying about it to us.

I ordered the G1G1 computer in December 2007 and have not received the computer or any information on the delivery date. They have my money for over 60 days. What is going on?

Hello dear doaner, wd regards,sir my name is iqra i m in fifth class,i have need one xo laptop child for learning. so therefore request to you that kindly provided me one xo laptop for learning and obliged. THAKS IQRA ZAFAR 4M PAKISTAN.