I have not seen the OLPC, but I had the pleasure of jealously fondling a coworker's Asus today. Wow, what a solid device. This is truly a road warrior's dream go anywhere machine.
I hope my colleague goes to the bathroom soon, so I can steal it.

vitamincm

@hatchetman751:LOL Nice one.

GizFanAlpha

Goodness - this really is a short-sighted comparision, rather like comparing a screwdriver with a hammer. These two machines are aimed at rather different markets, and the XO has many practical aspects that were completely missed by the Laptop review (well, what do you expect if you get an 8-year-old to review it, eh?).

One important aspect that was missed is durability. I've seen demonstrations of the XO droppped repeatedly from a height and running without problems. What a student would do with half a dozen small, shiny bits of EEE if they accidentally or intentionally attempted the same thing with it, I'm not sure.

Then there's the battery life and lifecycle. The XO can carefully conserve its battery using its black-and-white "reflective" mode, and last a full day of school. It can be charged using solar or manual power, and you can buy extra (or replacement) batteries for $10. The EEE can't do any of those things.

These are practical - if not vital - considerations for developing countries without flourishing tech-support departments or reliable electricity supplies. The XO elegantly screws itself into a niche in this respect. The EEE bangs its way in like a hammer: with more power, to be sure, but with rather less finesse.

I'm not saying the XO is perfect... but I just don't think the comparison is at all fair!

Leonard Low
(author of the Mobile Learning Blog [mlearning.edublogs.org], and professional educational technologist)

leonardlow

Nicholas Negroponte is an idiot. If he really wants his dream (for all kids to have a laptop) to come true he should accept the competition and if anything merge with them. Competition is only going to help him achieve his goal. Plus he should have made it from the beginning that you could buy one commercial and the fact that he is doing the buy one give one thing only for a short time is stupid.

On another note: the Asus EEE Pc is pretty good for kids, I think. The "Tabbed" OS is the simplest OS I have seen. I wish it had a larger Flash drive though and I wish that they had stuck to their original price point . Oh well.

boomersooner9133

This is crap. Why are they pitting these two machines against each other to figure out which is best for consumers to buy? Which consumers are we talking about?

XO's target audience isn't into it? You mean the 8 year old kid who plays with daddy's free toys from Laptop magazine or that 8 year old in Africa who's learning how to read and write?

Ohhhh right, that makes sense. Lets get a tech savvy 8 year old that lives in the free world tell us if it's right for kids living in the developing world.

Do you see a problem here?

How about we as ambassadors of technology celebrate OLPC's values to help those who need it instead of Asus trying to bank on the next big money making trend.

Ollie

Maybe Negroponte should've take Steve Jobs' offer for free OS X...

pastrychef

It looks like OLPC needs to simplify their interface further.

Still, I'm not sure how fair it is to compare laptops where one costs twice as much as the other. By that scale difference should we see how the Eee compares against other $800 computers or even other $600 computers?

Vagabum

@hatchetman751: Yeah. I got that. Laughed too.

I'm eyeing an EEE PC for myself. Buying an XO for the third world kids seems like a good idea. Right up until one of them little buggers comes and takes your high-tech job. Law of unintended consequences. I'm not havin' it.

hakubak

Hey XO makes a great lappy
FOR ME TO POOP ON
triumph....anybody.... oh well

hatchetman751

Wait....did the target audience literally poo-poo on it?

OK, I shall retire now to fester in my poor taste.

Kaiser-Machead

@vitamincm:

is there an extra 'u' in your post?

Spaceboy

the eee pc rocks. ive had mine for a week now. i popped it open and removed the wifi and put in my verizon evdo card. now i just grab and go instead of having to "pack up" my macbook.

myneid

I just think its stupid we're giving laptops to kids on developing countries. Hell, I've never had a laptop in my life. (Getting one soon though, a EEE in fact)

Does what I want it to do, be mobile. I'm a PC gamer at home, but i don't care about that for the road.

The problem with the OLPC is that the intel student PC is walking all over it. Even the EEE is being sold to students in slightly more developed countries.

Rob C

I've noticed that many of Gizmodo's posts about the OLPC are negative within the summary on the front page. But when you click "MORE" to read the rest of the article they basically say at the end "well actually the OLPC isn't that bad." This article seems to paint the laptop in a negative view at the end though too.

blommer

for "western society" the asus is better. however, for the "developing world" mostly being quite sunny and sans electricity in abundance...OLPC wins...high contrast mode, built in charger...designed for harsher climates.

EMoShunz

"in their quest to create a laptop that adults could teach children to use the world over, they forgot that it's children who usually teach the grownups how to use new gadgets"

how is some african kid going to know anything about using a computer? thats the kind of kid they are targeting, so I think its simplicity is meant for children like that

igneous

@Spaceboy: ROFL. I don't know how is vitamincm going to steal an ass though.

theimmc

My luddite mom just emailed me using her GMail account that she is getting the eeePC because it meets her needs (she wanted an ultraportable).

That old dog can be taught new tricks.

PS - Like every year, I'm thankful for the bitter old lady who gave birth to me. Great bird, mom. You bought yourself another year before I dump you into a crappy nursing home and raid your bank accounts with indelible power of attorney.

omg-ponies

@omg-ponies: lmao

EMoShunz

@Spaceboy: ....I see what you did there. LOL

cayton

Lets compare apple to apples the OLPC was never really intended for home use in developed countries it was made to be used in developing countries hence the low power processor, hand crank, swivel screen and increased durability the only reason it ended up in our hands is because of the classmate caching more support and BOGO was a novel way of getting into the hands of those that could use it. Also it's half the price of the EEE ($399 buys two, half the cost is tax deductible)so you're comparing a $199 laptop to a $399 laptop and don't forget the free T-mobile wifi for a year

kiwijaws

@leonardlow: "Leonard Low [snip] professional educational technologist"

What on god's earth is a "professional educational technologist?" What's modifying what? Are you a technologist for professional education? Are you a professional in educational technology? Do you educate professionally about technologists? And why is that when I look up the phrase in the Oxford Dictionary, it says "when applied to oneself, a synonym for douchbag"?

Nonetheless, I think you make an excellent point! (Although why does everyone assume that 3rd world kids are clumsier than 1st world kids? And as for access to tech support, isn't that increasingly handled in the 3rd world anyway?)

frigg

@cayton: Never admit to seeing things. Now the lawyers know who to subpoena...

GoPadge

The comparison fell apart for me when they gave the Eee the edge in "applications" for having a speedier browser. The Eee has double the ram and processing power, so the browser damn well better be speedier, but that's an advantage of hardware, not software.

The comparisons in the other categories are pretty sketchy too, and the merit system is really unbalanced. The XO seemingly crushes the Eee in design, while the Eee scores marginally over the XO in applications (thanks to a hardware advantage), but it's still measured as one point each.

sumocat

@boomersooner9133: don't be an ass. Show me one example of Negroponte not graciously accepting competition and clearly stating that he doesn't really care how the technology makes it to developing countries so long as it gets there soon.

If you want to argue that OLPC should have partnered with existing H/W and S/W manufacturers, then review the history -- the mandate was for open source, and anyone (for profit included) was welcome to play in the sandbox so long as they embraced Open Source.

The XO wasn't planned for commercial release because the underlying assumption was that production would lag demand -- you'll recall that there was quite a bit of hype and support for the machines when they were prototypes.

I'm not advocating that the XO is perfect, nor that OLPC is the solution to either the economic or educational challenges of most of the world, but give the guy the credit he's due.

Show me any "first world" technology company that seriously thought of addressing this market with custom designed solutions before OLPC? Before XO, the best solution for most emerging markets was either outdated technology or used equipment -- neither of which worked well given the constraints of the environment.

ndonahue

@ndonahue:

"Show me one example of Negroponte not graciously accepting competition and clearly stating that he doesn't really care how the technology makes it to developing countries so long as it gets there soon."

In a recent newspaper interview, the question was posed to Mr. Negroponte that if his goal were to genuinely and solely put computers in the hands of children from developing countries, what difference did it make if the computers were from his organization or any other source. He responded:

"What are you some kind of fucking moron? When was the last time someone won a Nobel for having some other fucking company run with their idea, and do it better, cheaper, and help more starving kids in Africa? Do you know what it's like to fly around the world and eat all sorts of fancy food with heads of state, have your grad students call you Bono, and the next thing you know you can't even get a call back from an assistant IT director in friggin Nigeria? What are you a fucking moron? Do you know how many swatches we went through just to come up with neon green? Why am I even doing this fucking interview? Do you rule any countries with starving children who need computers? No? Didn't think so. So unless you have a TV camera hidden somewhere in this room and access to a major network, I'm afraid it's peace out. Oh, and for the record, if you're going to quote me, it's 'we welcome any and all interest in serving underprivileged kids that our work has inspired.'"

frigg

I like the OLPC. Just wish I could buy it straight up.

dcartist