I just read an article a NY Times article about the XO-Laptop Program. The program is being run by Nicholas Negroponte, founder of the OLPC project. Their goal is to ship computers to children in developing nations. Negroponte says, "While children are by nature eager for knowledge, many countries have insufficient resources to devote to education—sometimes less than $20 a year per child. Imagine the potential that could be unlocked by giving every child in the world the tools they need to learn, no matter who they are, no matter where they live, no matter how little they may have."
The premise is that for $399 you can buy a laptop for your family and they will ship one to a school in a different country. The donation is tax deductible. The computers have been specially designed to be rugged, child friendly and energy efficient. You can check out the specs here: Laptop specs. One of the more interesting features is that the computer can be run by a hand held generator if there is no electricity available.
The program will only be running for a short time. The program will run for two weeks, with orders accepted from Nov. 12 to Nov. 26. You can sign up for an email reminder. All computers orded will be received in December before Christmas.
I think people are always looking for a worthwhile charity to donate to and this one surely appeals to the techie in us all.
