The Value of the OLPC project

Providing XO computers to developed countries does not diminish the value of the OLPC project, much as providing a better education and educational tools in developed countries does not diminish the value of education in other countries. In fact, such a move would actually increase the value of the project, among other positive benefits.

Schools in Developed Countries

There are many poor schools located in developed countries which could benefit greatly from a revolutionary, low-cost, powerful educational tool like the XO laptop. A lot of these schools are struggling to provide basic computer services to students and must rely on older books or struggle to buy costly new books.

Even worse, in the United States poor schools whose students make below-average scores are being punished in various ways. XO laptops could serve many of these functions and further supplement the curriculum, giving poor schools a needed boost.

XO laptops need not be limited to poor schools, however. More financially stable and well-off schools could also use XO laptops to enhance the learning experience as well. Certainly, the XO laptops are not limited to any particular economic class or situation as it is a wonderful learning tool regardless.

Increased Funds

OLPC is a non-profit organization. However, this does not mean that OLPC cannot sell XO laptops at a reasonable cost or at reasonable market value in developed countries, nor would it be wrong of OLPC to do so. OLPC's status as a non-profit organization simply means that all of the profit procured from such sales would go back into the development and sales of more XO laptops, not into the hands of company board members or shareholders, as it would in a for-profit company.

In effect, the sales of XO laptops in developed countries would serve to subsidize the cost of XO laptops in developing countries.

Manufacturing Cost

In addition to the financial benefit garnered simply from selling XO laptops for a profit in developed countries, increasing production of the XO laptops would result in a decrease in manufacturing cost, because when products are manufactured and sold in larger quantities, manufactures are more liable to give greater discounts and the very process of manufacturing the product becomes more efficient and reliable, thus less expensive.

Clarity of Purpose

Nicholas Negroponte, founder and spokesperson of OLPC, has said that selling the XO laptops commercially would mean diluting the "clarity of purpose" of the project. But regardless of a non-profit status, hardware must be bought, work must be compensated and deals must be made with parts and manufacturing companies in order to get a product out the door. And most importantly, money must be procured in order to cover all these expenses and fund further work and production.

Th fact that OLPC can open up sales of the XO laptops to developed countries and use the money gain from that to further fund the project itself, means that OLPC would have to worry just a little less about continued outside support and move more towards becoming self-sufficient and able to get its mission going a little faster, with a little less help.

What differentiates a for-profit from a non-profit organization, is that the former must seek out monetary wealth as a gaol, a requirement if it is to be successful, and often has stockholders to keep happy and board members who rake in hefty salaries, the latter, on the other hand, uses money merely as a means to an ultimate goal beyond that of monetary wealth.

As long as Negroponte or others in OLPC don't start raking in the cash from XO sales or other activities within the project, OLPC's mission and purpose are clear, and sales of the XO laptops in developed countries do nothing to detract from that clarity, while providing an additional source of funding for its mission.

Mindshare

OLPC and the XO laptop already have a significant amount of mindshare in many circles and in the tech-savvy Internet community. It has gained greater mindshare thanks to articles and interviews in various publications, even getting a feature on 60 minutes. It is probably the best known independent educational project at the moment, for its novelty and scope of ambition, among other reasons.

But for those outside these various circles in developed countries, OLPC and the XO are just abstract things going on elsewhere without any particular connection to them, and less present than the latest celebrity gossip. Sure, a lot of people might have seen it on 60 minutes, but what makes it stand out among all the other things happening around them, and what connection does it have to them?

The answer is: Not much. Not if the XO laptops aren't brought out into the public's eye as an actual product to be acquired and used, making a difference in education and in other positive ways in people's lives. And not much if OLPC can't make enough money to roll these out en masse in other developing countries.

An intangible benefit of opening up XO sales to developed countries is the expanded presence of mind it will generate. And the more people know about, the more likely they will buy one, the more attention the project receives and the momentum it gains.

The Corporate Agenda

OLPC is a non-profit organization with a the aim of making a small, low-cost laptop with education specifically in mind. OLPC will use whatever is feels is best to that end. Unlike other superficially similar products from the likes of some corporations, there is no corporate agenda behind the XO laptop, and no stockholders to keep happy.

That means that all of the dubious "features" which were influenced more by corporate needs than the needs of the user are refreshingly absent in the XO laptop. However, corporations usually have more resources and it would be a shame to watch various corporations sell more superficially comparable products when they are in fact inferior to the XO in design and construction.