| Four countries may buy 4 million Linux-powered OLPC laptops |
Jul. 31, 2006
 [Updated Aug. 3, 2006] -- A spokesperson for the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) program revealed July 31 that the countries of Nigeria, Brazil, Argentina, and Thailand have each expressed an interest in purchasing 1 million Linux laptops through the U.S.-based program.
Please Note
The original headline of this story ("Four countries commit to 4 million Linux-powered OLPC laptops") turned out to be incorrect. An OLPC project spokesperson inadvertently misinformed DesktopLinux.com regarding the current status of discussions with the four listed countries.
Walter Bender, OLPC president for software and content, posted the following explanatory note on the OLPC's website at 2:17PM EDT on Aug. 3, 2006:
"A recent article in DesktopLinux reported that four countries have each 'committed' to buy one-million laptops. The OLPC spokesperson quoted in the article mispoke. In fact, no agreement has been signed. We continue to cooperate with Thailand, Brasil, Argentina, and Nigeria, but no one has committed to purchase laptops nor has OLPC asked anyone to sign a purchase agreement. We apologize for any confusion."
Several media outlets reported last week that Nigeria had committed to buying 1 million of the laptops, and others reported (incorrectly) that $1 million worth of computers -- or about 10,000 -- had been requested by the African nation.
OLPC program director for Middle East and Africa Khaled Hassounah confirmed to DesktopLinux.com July 31 that Nigeria has indeed committed to buy 1 million machines, and then revealed that Brazil, Argentina, and Thailand also have placed similar commitments. However, as indicated above, the OLPC on Aug. 3 clarified that "no one has committed to purchase laptops nor has OLPC asked anyone to sign a purchase agreement," but that discussions are ongoing with the listed countries.
"We have not finalized the deal with the Nigerian government yet, but we are in the process of doing so," Hassounah told DesktopLinux.com. "The person who announced the Nigerian government's commitment to buying the laptops (Professor Ernest Ndukwe) is a key member of the Nigerian Task Force working with OLPC on bringing laptops to Nigerian children."
"We are actively moving ahead with Brazil, Argentina and Thailand. Others (countries) are being considered," Hassounah said.
The OLPC aims to distribute -- free of charge -- millions of Linux-based laptop computers, complete with their own power sources, to needy children in developing countries around the world.
From the Linux perspective, Nicholas Negroponte, head of the OLPC project and former director of MIT Media Labs -- where the project originated -- has said that the OLPC project could lead to mass adoption of Linux, making the OS as popular on the desktop as it now is on the server.
To date, AMD, eBay, Google, Nortel, Red Hat, and a number of other technology companies have signed on to help support the project.
To find out more about how this program has evolved over the past 18 months, see our special report:
Hot Topic: The "One Laptop Per Child" project
[Updated Aug. 3, 2006 -- This story was modified to clarify that the use of the word "commit" was based on incorrect information inadvertently provided by an OLPC project spokesperson.]
[Updated Aug. 1, 2006 -- This story was modified to eliminate the impression given by the original wording that firm, written, legally binding "orders" had been placed by any of the four countries listed.]
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