rootninja

I have an XO laptop that I received as part of the give-one-get-one program a few years ago. And I just got an email from the OLPC program asking me to send mine to Haiti. So I checked their site, http://laptop.org just to make sure it was legit before I send it out.

I use the little green laptop on recreational travel because the wifi signal strength is much better than your average laptop and it’s been less likely to get stolen since most people look at it and think it’s a toy. It also seems indestructible, so I don’t worry about tossing it around.

Hopefully they’ll release the next version of the laptop soon so i’ll have one to play with again! So long XO…

Dear G1G1er,

At the end of 2007 you participated in the Give One Get One program of One Laptop per Child (OLPC). Thanks to you and others like you, 75,000 laptops went to Rwanda, Ethiopia, Mongolia, Cambodia, Oceania, the West Bank, and Haiti.

An additional 75,000 laptops came into the USA as part of the “get” side of the equation. In some cases those laptops have since been put into closets for one reason or another.

We are gathering additional used XO laptops to send to Haiti. If you or the child to whom you gave the laptop is no longer using it, we appeal again to your generosity and ask you to send it to the address below (even if it is broken).

OLPC FOR HAITI c/o Exel
615 Westport Parkway #500
Grapevine, TX 76051

75% of the schools in Port-au-Prince have been destroyed in the recent earthquake, but by good fortune, none of our Haitian team was hurt. They have spare parts and OLPC technical staff and teachers, and stand prepared to deploy these XOs.

Because of the XO’s unique features (sunlight readability, solar powered, water resistant, drop proof), it is also an ideal tool for relief work.

If your XO is in use, please ignore this email. We only want your broken or unused XOs.

Sincerely,

Nicholas Negroponte