An awesome opportunity to spend $$

**Shoshana** · 11-17-2008, 01:44 PM

Have you heard of One Laptop Per Child? You can google it to read about the laptop and the program. Basically, it is a huge charity program whose goal is to supply each child in developing countries with his or her own laptop. The laptops are specially designed with many durable and incredible software features. Last year at this time, and again (starting today), they're having a Buy 1 Give 1 program where you can purchase two laptops for a total of $400 -- and one you get to keep for your child. The laptops have wireless internet access. They're more designed to allow children to connect with their peers, and to teach children to think, learn, create, and design -- rather than 'how to use a PC per se'.

If you're interested, you can purchase the laptops from amazon.com (just search for One Laptop Per Child.

**HandyMom** · 11-28-2008, 01:23 AM

I need to check on these again, thanks for reminding me. I would like one to have some ability to play games on, too but with it being bare bones I don't know if it's what I need.

**phoeny_moonstar** · 11-28-2008, 02:36 AM

I would love to buy one, just can't afford 400$ for a laptop for DD in the budget rightnow.

**rainbowgc** · 11-28-2008, 12:27 PM

I wish I could afford to do this because it is an extremely good cause.

**Michelle68** · 11-28-2008, 07:00 PM

What a cool program! I had seen a billboard while traveling around the city seeing patients, but I wasn't sure what it was about. Thanks for the info.

**Shoshana** · 11-29-2008, 08:07 PM

Ours arrived! I say "ours" instead of "hers" because it's going to be my job to learn out to use it!

Really, its a great machine, great design, supposedly meant to teach kids how to think and create, rather than how to use a PC -- although they will learn keyboarding. It has wireless capability, a camera, and a webcam, social networking with other OLPC users (none in our area but that's not surprising). The screen flips so that it becomes a book reader. The biggest difference I can see so far between the OLPC (One Laptop Per Child) computer and a PC is that there is no external disk drive. There are all sorts of games pre-loaded, and more being developed on an ongoing basis. People are devoting a lot of time and energy to developing programs for this machine. It's all freeware (sugar platform?) and as children become advanced they can even learn the programming language. I think it will be quite a few years before my dd is truly able to utilize its capabilities.

I did download a 174 page manual, and have barely scratched the surface. So far my 5-yr-old is making music with one of the programs, and playing matching games (visual and musical).