While not wishing to sound too much like an OLPC fanboi, we should talk a bit about educational and social goals of the project.

First, getting more information into remote Africa/China/India/South America is good. (Examples of inexpensive communication with markets in cities allowing farmers to get better prices is well documented.) Launching an inexpensive mesh networked computer supported by a central server/communications hub will transform these societies. Just as the internet has changed our society. The economic transformation from pervasive, inexpensive communication will be profound. (As an aside, I do not think the OLPC will be restricted to just children. They have the potential to be the foundation technology for almost any application.)

Second, OLPC is not about computer assisted learning. It is about self-empowered learning in developing world societies that cannot afford much in the form of any kind of guided learning. No, OLPC is not about training programmers. OLPC owners will become more knowledgeable about their options and, hence, will act to build a better life for themselves. (Queue cliche about kids, farms and New York/Paris.) To train programmers, you do need access to a computer. To train Mathematicians, Physicists, Engineers also need access to the literature and canned curricula. (MIT is packaging their lectures up for consumption over the internet.) OLPC provides that access.

Third, OLPC is already having a good effect on the market. Vendors of all scales are trying to access this market with novel solutions. This offer from T-Mobile is one of the more interesting ones. It amplifies a person's motivation to perform a social good. Yes, T-Mobile gives away something with almost no marginal cost while hoping to get the automatic renewal. Nonetheless, it is still good and could be better if they were providing telecomm in remote areas to support OLPC recipients.

Andrew

[Editor's note: These are all good points, but I think you'll find that what you're suggesting could happen isn't precisely aligned with how the OLPC "advertises" itself, nor the actions they're taking. I'm basically in alignment with *your* goals. Maybe you should be running an initiative.

On the mesh networking front, it remains to be seen whether the system they've put into the XO will actually work as well as they're claiming it will.

On the programming front: Go back and read what Negroponte and others have said about exposing kids to open-source software.

On the market front, absolutely, but that has nothing to do with the per se objectives of the OLPC.--gf]