OLPC Not Market-Based
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| Author | Content |
|---|---|
| jkouyoumjian Apr 27, 2007 11:45 AM EDT |
Maybe none of this will benefit anyone, least of all Microsoft. In the final analysis, I am wondering how much any of this is going to mean. The OLPC laptops have been designed with a specific function in mind, but there have been no wide-scale deployments to see if there is actually demand for the product. In fact, OLPC is going from a relatively small pilot test program to full scale production of millions of units, without any input from the free market saying that anyone really wants their product. The whole thing is a top-down push of a technology product, driven by one charismatic individual and designed by a committee. The people who will use the product are not the people who will pay for it, so they have no investment it its success. I wish them luck, of course, but does this strike anyone else as a setup for a giant failure? Shouldn't they at least try the production system with a few 10s of 1000s of students before moving on to millions? (edited for typos) |
| tuxchick Apr 27, 2007 12:26 PM EDT |
You raise some interesting questions. A lot better thought-out and reasonable than the crazy ms-funded spew that blames the OLPC for everything from the fall of capitalism itself to turning kids into cyber-hoodlums. |
| jdixon Apr 27, 2007 12:38 PM EDT |
> ...without any input from the free market saying that anyone really wants their product. Of course. It's being marketed to governments, not individuals. There is no free market where governments are concerned, and the decisions are seldom based on any realistic assessment of cost/benefit. |
| Sander_Marechal Apr 27, 2007 2:03 PM EDT |
Quoting:Shouldn't they at least try the production system with a few 10s of 1000s of students before moving on to millions? IIRC they are doing that just now. |
| DarrenR114 Apr 28, 2007 5:39 AM EDT |
The OLPC is not targetted toward "free market" and therefore all the traditional "rules" go out the window. Then again, when a truly new product is introduced, is there always a small market run first followed by larger production runs if that works out? I mean look at the Sony PS3 or Nintendo Wii. I don't recall there being "pilot" runs of those first. |
| jkouyoumjian Apr 28, 2007 1:29 PM EDT |
As for the PS3 or Nintendo systems, those were produced by companies with experience in the gaming market. They had proven demand for their systems. There is no proof that anyone wants these OLPC units. There is only speculation from a few people in the first world who are guessing how well the developing world will accept that they have to offer. And if the kids that the governments buy them for don't want them, then what? People generally resist things that are pushed on them from the top by others in authority. And if they produce 3 million units, put them into the field and they start to fail, then what? Do they recall them? A bottom up approach with proven demand helps prevent these to situation from happening. First, if people really want them, they find ways to get them. This need not be monetary. How about putting some into large-scale use and seeing if anyone really wants them before making millions? Second, design problems are discovered before millions of units are dumped into the field. |
| Sander_Marechal Apr 29, 2007 4:17 AM EDT |
Quoting:There is no proof that anyone wants these OLPC units. There is only speculation from a few people in the first world who are guessing how well the developing world will accept that they have to offer. Uh, no. You should read the reactions from people in the countries that are targeted by OLPC. Or check out the video's of kids using it (e.g. Brazil). Also, governments do want them. OLPC has many orders lined up. Not enough yet to bring the price back down to $100 but enough to produce the unit at $175. There is proven demand from both governments and end-users. |
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