One Laptop Per Child (OLPC)

After delays in manufacturing OLPC, I recently got my hands on a new OLPC for a few hours. Currently, the only way of getting your laptop is via the G1G1 program where for $400, you give one laptop to a child in need and you get one. Tmobile was also generous enough to give 1 year of free Tmobile HotSpot service with this!

First impressions:
It's pretty small & light, and cute with a little handle on the top.


It took me a few minutes to open the laptop since I didn't RTFM. Hint: need to open both antennas first before the laptop would open.


This laptop is definitely for kids. Everything seems small. Small screen, small keyboard (so small that I can't touch type on it). The keyboard is not the tactile type, it's molded rubber so it's still OK if you spill stuff on it.


There are some thoughtful design:
The LCD swivels 360 degrees, allowing you to show what on your screen easily.

When you open the antennas, it uncovers USB and headphone/mic jacks. I like the fact that there's one horizontal and one vertical USB ports. Depending on what you try to plug in, sometimes it fits better one way or another (because of the antenna).

It's also equipped with stereo speakers, and even a camera!


I find the software not too intuitive though, at least not for me. A taskbar appears when you drag your mouse button to the edge of your screen. Then there are a variety of applications you can run. The only thing that took me awhile to figure out is how to switch between applications. They have some pretty cool applications pre-installed. Like a video recorder, sound recorder/analyer (you can see the waveform on the screen and it changes when you talk).


Overall, I think it's a good first laptop that will help educate many children abroad. It's not something for me to use daily - even if it's only for web-browsing.