OLPC nears low-cost Linux laptop production

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Nov. 13, 2006

The One Laptop Per Child project's onsite supervisor, Mark Foster, reported from Shanghai on Sunday that the first 10 prototypes of the Linux-powered OLPC XO-1 are up and running. This marks a key milestone toward an upcoming build of 900 units.

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The OLPC project, based in Cambridge, Mass., aims to distribute -- free of charge -- millions of Linux-based laptop computers, complete with their own power sources, to needy children around the world.

The team hand-assembled the first 10 units to evaluate the system's many custom components, to perform systems-integration testing, and to ensure that the production process is solid, all in preparation for next week's B1-Test build, wrote OLPC executive Walter Bender in his weekly email report.

"Quanta, the Chinese computer maker that won the international bidding for the project earlier this year, will assemble 900 OLPC machines that will be used for destructive testing and distribution to our development partners," Bender wrote. "Our vision is a step closer to becoming a reality.

"It cannot be overstated how much both the hardware and software teams have poured their hearts and souls into reaching this milestone. Kudos to all of them," Bender added.

As for the software side of the project, team members Jim Gettys and Chris Blizard reported that the team has "frozen" the current build of the alpha software release for the B1 machines.

"The ice is relatively slushy due to the fluid nature of early development and critical bug fixes will be applied up until the last moment," Bender wrote. "We expect to have the Sugar framework, web browser, chat, a simple text editor derived from Abiword, a simple version of the music application (mini-Tamtam), a memory game, and eToys in the base system. Numerous other applications and demos will be in a repository where they can be readily downloaded."

The OLPC project is well into its second year. Last month, the New York Times reported that Libya became the fifth country to express serious interest in the inexpensive student laptop -- the others being Nigeria, Brazil, Argentina, and Thailand. Brazil expressed some early interest in the project.

For all the latest news on the low-cost Linux-based OLPC laptop project, refer to our special report, below.

More about the OLPC Project

For lots of background on the OLPC's Linux-based low-cost laptop project -- including features, specs, and a timeline of announcements -- be sure to visit our comprehensive OLPC special report:

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