insight 

I see that the $100 laptop scheme has been given a boost with the upcoming introduction of a get one give one scheme (G1G1) in the US and Canada.

Hopefully this will help get the programme properly off the ground and help bring production levels to a cost that will ensure that the $100 target price becomes a reality sooner. However, as pointed out by OLPC themselves there are still many countries who at that price will still be unable to afford the machines for large numbers of their population, so although this is billed as a time-limited promotion, maybe something of this nature will be required in the long-term to deliver the success levels they are seeking.

I have also been wondering about the usage of the machines that are bought for use in the home markets as opposed to those to be given to the developing nations. I’d be interested to know the demographic of those buying and whether they swiftly move onto higher specification machines.

I hope the market is there and that this is a successful programme. Access is one of the key themes of the Internet Governance Forum and I’m sure that this scheme will go some considerable way to increasing access for many.