Newton's Laws

Author: Thomas Newton

Imagine not having access to the laptop in your dorm room. Or even a public computer in the library. No e-mail checking every five minutes, no Facebook, nothing. At Middlebury, this scenario is never an option. But in a number of developing countries, access to computers and the Internet is not a fact of life but a rare exception. Access to computers in modern America has become almost as common as access to telephones. Given the normality of computer access in the world in which we live, study and work, it is easy to forget that many countries lack the kind of access to computers that we take for granted on a daily basis.

Two organizations are hoping to change this by developing, producing and delivering affordable computers to developing nations. The two organizations, One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) and Intel, are going about achieving this goal in very distinct and opposite ways, but does one of them have a markedly better way of doing it?

One Laptop Per Child is a non-profit organization that, according to its chairman and founder, Nicholas Negroponte, has a simple goal: "To maximize the number of children who have a connected laptop."

The organization's approach is a centralized one. By teaming up with some of the world's largest computer manufacturers and component suppliers, they will mass-produce a cheap but functional laptop, which will initially cost around $150 and in time drop to $100 per unit. The low cost will be achieved through a combination of basic components, mass-production and the use of the open operating system, Linux.

Intel, on the other hand, plans to produce its affordable computer in the regions in which it will be sold. According to Intel, this will lead to a growth in local jobs, improved customer support and, if all goes well, the start of a local IT industry. Their computers will be based on Intel's Classmate PC base and cost $300 initially, with a long-term target price of $200.

In the end, neither OLPC nor Intel has a distinct advantage in all cases. Intel, which is producing slightly more expensive, regionalized computers, is targeting users in more developed nations, like China and India. OLPC, on the other hand, is targeting the children of the poorest and most remote nations on earth, several of which are on the African continent.

Intel, logically, has a more business-oriented goal: aiming to get new customers. OLPC has a more noble goal: a laptop for every child to aid in learning and to give them access to the world at large, something they would not necessarily have otherwise.

Both approaches, however, are proactive and could significantly increase the number of people with access to connected computers. If they succeed, everyone stands to gain. More information equates to more educated citizens of the world which, in the end, will lead to more international understanding.