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The Brightest Light in the House
90% of the time there would be no reason to write about a project that is one month removed from final beta with still another month from a scheduled October rollout. Then again, in 90% of the world, a final beta and a rollout would never have made news at all. This project is about to change all that.
Most people are familiar with the story of One Laptop Per Child and it’s vision to protect a child’s innate capacity to learn, share, and create on their own. OLPC’s answer to the developing world’s challenge is the XO laptop, or as many folks have come to refer to it, the $100 laptop.
The story behind this nearly-launched humanitarian effort is well documented. If you need a rundown, you can watch Nicholas Negroponte (OLPC Chairman) give a spirited synopsis of the progress to date at TED. What most people don’t know, is that Mr. Negroponte is not your typical reformed capitalist-turn-philanthropist. From all accounts, this has been his life’s dream turn reality.
For the better part of two decades, Nicholas has been nudging his dream forward. Recently, I had a chance to speak with a former colleague of his from days spent with the International Multimedia Developers Association several years ago. I was told, quite emphatically, that he spoke about the $100 laptop as fervently then as he does now. He has never once compromised the project’s purpose and has never once let the mound of obstacles, inherent with a mound of stakeholders, keep him from realizing the possibilities.
So when October rolls around and we all start to feel good again about humanity, let’s keep in mind that “feel-good� stories are not the result of millionaires suddenly spending their cash. They are not the result of hardware and software partners organizing to lend their products and services to a cause. And they are not the result of the press (both formal and bloggers alike) agreeing that something is of noble intentions. Before any of these things can happen, someone has to dream the impossible - and dream it enough times to believe that nothing can stop it from becoming real.
Imagine where you’ll be in 20 years… then imagine where your dream will be.
September 19th, 2007 at 10:32 am
Fantastic Andrew, very inspiring. I’ve been following this off and on for a while and am excited to see how it pans out.
September 19th, 2007 at 1:09 pm
That’s indeed very inspiring, and as far as I’ve read about the $100 Laptop I’ve never come across its beginnings. An untold story, thanks for sharing.
September 19th, 2007 at 4:04 pm
Ever overnight success I’ve ever met, practiced hard for 20 years in anonymity. This is a great article. Thanks
September 19th, 2007 at 11:15 pm
Andrew,
We all need dreamers, but we also need pragmatist that explain tot he dreamer that while his ideas are amazing and transcending, they are not practical or feasible in the model the dreamer envisioned. OLPC would be a perfect example of this.
September 21st, 2007 at 11:07 am
Excellent point Wayan… the dreamer always needs the pragmatist whether it’s the engineer, the strategist, the investor or the buyer. I think what I was harping on, was the hard work (from every believer, inside and outside OLPC) who had a hand in making this a reality.