Negroponte’s decision to partner with Microsoft Essay

2. Do you agree with Negroponte’s decision to partner with Microsoft? Yes I agree with this decision Negroponte partnerships with companies such as Microsoft, which is very trustworthy, and reliable name in the computer sector for the operating system and software. Nicholas Negroponte, founder and director of the MIT Media Lab, introduced the idea for the $ 100 laptop in 2005. The laptop will be directed towards the child in â€Å"developing countries.† The intent is to help education in those countries. The purpose of this project, to be specific, is â€Å"To provide children around the world with new opportunities to explore, experiment and express themselves.† Technical achievement of the laptop project fast-low power requirements, the physical design of all closed to prevent water or sand or dirt damage, open source software [originally, this has since changed], a unique interface, and the possibility for solar and hand-crank powering, and designers who are doing well to achieve their costs disappear. Despite its considerable innovation, or perhaps because of it, the OLPC project has been unable to achieve its $100 targeted cost. The current cost of each unit is listed on the OLPC Website as $199 (www.laptop.org/en/participate/ways-to-give.shtml). However, this does not include upfront deployment costs, which are said to add an additional 5%–10% to the cost of each machine (wiki.laptop.org/go/Larger_OLPC), and subsequent IT-management costs. Nor does it include the cost of teacher training, additional software, and ongoing maintenance and support. OLPC initially required governments to purchase a million units, and then reduced the number to 250,000 in April 2007. Such large purchases are difficult to justify for governments in developing countries, and the requirement was ultimately eliminated. Some countries eventually lost interest due to the higher costs of the XO. For example, Nigeria failed to honor a pledge by its former president to purchase a million units, partly because they no longer cost $100 apiece.21 Meanwhile, other countries, including Libya, have opted for the Intel  Classmate, which is priced at approximately $250 for the PC alone. Officials in Libya, which had planned to buy up to 1.2 million XO laptops, became concerned that the machines lacked Windows, and that service, teacher training, and future upgrades would not be provided directlyby OLPC. Subsidies from Intel, including donated laptops and teacher training, also helped persuade the Libyan government to choose the Classmate. The goal of OLPC is to provide each child with a rugged, low-cost, low-power, connected laptop. To this end, we have designed the hardware, software and content for collaborative, fun, and self-empowered learning. One Laptop per Child is not about machines, it’s about movement. to get computers into the hands of children that will help them learn, then â€Å"this is a price worth paying.† Use technology to transform education by bringing connectivity and constructionist learning for poor children around the world, â€Å"said Nicholas Negroponte, founder and chairman of OLPC.