Lots of you heard a lot of hoopla about the OLPC project (er, One Laptop Per Child). This is a strange little machine that’s aimed at bringing computing to kids around the world. It’s been a while since I heard anything about it, other than they had started shipping with both Linux and Windows, which shocked a few people in the community who saw that as something negative.

So, here I visit the OLPC team and get the skinny from the CEO and then talked with the engineer who built its innovative wireless features (hint: dude is smart and the wireless features on the OLPC are truly innovative). Learned a lot and learned about the deal with Microsoft too.

Oh, and next month they are bringing back the popular “Give one, get one” deal where you can buy an OLPC for $400 for yourself and that’ll get one donated to a kid on your behalf.

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Fighting and differences between the two couldn’t be bridged. It was six months ago Intel and OLPC founder Nick Negroponte announced they would work together to produce the laptops.

Intel has their own PC for school children, called the Classmate PC. They weren’t willing to meet Neogroponte’s request not to sell it. It probably didn’t help things further when Negroponte went on 60 Minutes in May and basically asserted that Intel was undermining the OLPC by selling the Classmate PC below cost. Intel had their own accusations, namely that OLPC wanted Intel not to sell chips to anyone with a similar product.

OLPC was a popular concept but it cost more and took longer than expected. Originally, they hoped to make the laptop $100 but it is double that. To offset costs OLPC temporarily sold to the public, asking people to buy two laptops for $399 and donate one of them. They recently began selling laptops in African, Latin American and other countries.

The laptop is designed to work on less traditional power sources and is energy efficient. It uses a handcrank, pedal or pull-string to produce electricity and can run up to 21 hours without being plugged in.

Negroponte accused Intel of violating its written agreement with the group “on numerous occasions” and said the chip manufacturer “contributed nothing of value” during its six months on the board of the nonprofit group. – MarketWatch

OLPC also just lost their CTO, Mary Lou Jepsen, who quit earlier this week to launch a for-profit company to commercialize the technology she invented. The project doesn’t seem to be going well and the OLPC project stopped selling laptop to consumers at the end of December.

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“UNICEF’s in-country communications teams are working with the schools using OLPC laptops, and also with children using other recording devices, computers, and mobile phones to preserve and share stories online,” explained Stephen Cho on the Official Google Blog.  “An enthusiastic team of Google volunteers, including me, developed the laptop application, the interview guides based on the work of StoryCorps, and the website.”

Also, as you’ll see upon listening to them, the stories stream through the YouTube player.

Fair warning: these stories aren’t guaranteed to be universally interesting, and due to language barriers (storytellers speak in their native tongues), it’s unlikely that many people will even be able to understand every story.  Still, Our Stories should create a remarkable historical record of what’s going on in the world around us at this point in time.

Something like 75 audio recordings are already available through the Our Stories site, and according to a FAQ section, many more may be added in the near future.

Hitwise authority Heather Hopkins writes, “Last week, there were more than two and a half times more US Internet searches for ‘one laptop per child’ than for ‘laptop’.  It was the top search term that included the word ‘laptop’ last week though it still trailed the higher volume search term ‘laptops’.”

Granted, those searches don’t necessarily translate into purchases; Hopkins (as well as just about every news outlet with which I’m familiar) has documented that the American economy isn’t exactly in a robust state this holiday season, and the DJIA is down another $211 today.

Yet Hopkins reveals, “The top website visited after laptop.org last week was laptopfoundation.org – to which the ‘participate’ link leads from laptop.org.”  And that’s a pretty good sign that people are indeed putting money towards the project.

It wouldn’t be surprising if a few more dollars are spent on Thanksgiving, either.

Last week, Negroponte and his team unveiled the rugged, human-powered, mesh-networked, drop-it-in-the-mud-if-you-want, rubber bound prototypes to the world, posting photos of them on Flickr. Weighing two pounds, the machine is powered by Linux Fedora operating system and will be available to world governments beginning in April 2007.

There are still a few bugs to work out, like sunlight readability of the screens (which will be 25% larger in the final version) and deciding on the final look among the three finalists. Pricing will depend on the amount of RAM ordered, but Negroponte expects to reach the $100 price point as orders reach 5 or 6 million.

Several countries with impoverished citizens have shown active interest in purchasing the laptops, including Argentina, Brazil, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Nigeria, Russia, and Thailand.

The laptop will operate under a Creative Commons license, giving their young recipients “unrestricted rights to content.” The Red Hat desktop team also recently added “buddy icons” to illustrate the system’s chat features.

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The latest design, which potentially looks like this, is scheduled for hopeful deployment by the end of this year or early next. China, Brazil, Thailand, and Egypt (among others) have all signed on to purchase the computers for school distribution, replacing costly textbooks and other educational wares.

The major selling points of the computers include a rugged, rubber-bound exterior to keep out moisture and dust, operating on human generated power, and piggyback wireless connectivity.

The first snag in the plan came when the original power concept of a hand crank turned out too tiring for the cranker and too wearing on the machine itself. The team seems to have abandoned the hand crank and is working on an external mechanism.

The hardware may not be the biggest obstacle though–one apparent jury rig master has created one for just $75. Most that criticize the project praise it first and then dismantle the logistics of distribution and practical applications.

The most notable objector has been Bill Gates, who recommended switching to a cellular phone model. Some have dismissed Gates’ proposal as misdirection-a backhanded smack at the Linux operated machines as well as a promotion for Windows CE mobile operating system.

Issue: Black (Gray) Market

The gray market is a term used to describe things legally obtained and then sold illegally. Critics believe that the computers would be given to families and then sold for money elsewhere.

The M.I.T team has addressed this from early on, aiming to give them a distinctive look, childish even, so that it would be apparent if the computer was stolen or sold to those that shouldn’t have them. The buzz phrase for the developers has been “people rarely steal a school bus.” Still, some argue the theory only works if there’s enough stigma or scruples to care about shame, unattractiveness or childishness of design.

Issue: Lack of Infrastructure

The biggest point of contention is that developing nations lack the infrastructure to support a wireless network and reduce the potentially enormous cost of distribution. Many of these countries lack sufficient wireless connection capabilities as well as the teams of technicians required to maintain them.

Project planners feel they have already sidestepped the financial aspects of Internet connection by installing a mesh network that allows one computer to connect to another that is connected to an Internet connection.

In addition to the logistical problem of ensuring so many computers are turned on simultaneously and the actual power that can be generated by hand, doubters feel that solid infrastructures need to be in place before any such program can be implemented.

Also of concern are the so-called “hidden costs” of distribution and who pays for them. Plus, if all fails, the project will have been an enormous waste of money that will have difficulty getting funding once infrastructure is in place in the future.

Optimism Still Survives

M.I.T., sponsors, and supporters are still ascribing to the old “where there’s a will, there’s a way” philosophy.

One rather eloquent Java developer, Jason D. Marshall, believes it has farther reaching benefits than just providing education and technology:

“You can give a man food, water, vaccines. You can keep his children from dying slow, horrible deaths. You can do all of this without giving a man any dignity, or any power over his own destiny. It is my belief that this observation is behind much of what Negroponte and his friends are trying to do.”

Others like the idea of giving the project more power through private sales in developing nations. Parents, who would like to buy their young children a durable, inexpensive computer may be willing to pay $200 or $300 for on of these $100 laptops.

Incentive to do so could be added by knowing that by purchasing one, buyers can send at least one to the children that need a computer, while helping to pay for distribution and development. One commenter at Engadget called the idea a “buy one, give one” concept.

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