Laptops for Kids: A Matter of "Defense" for Colombia

TED follows Nicholas Negroponte to Colombia as he delivers laptops inside territory once controlled by guerrillas. His partner? Colombia's Defense Department, who see One Laptop per Child as an investment in the region. (And you too can get involved.)

A pioneer in the field of computer-aided design, Negroponte was perhaps best known for founding and directing MIT's Media Lab, which helped drive the multimedia revolution and now houses more than 500 researchers and staff. An original investor in WIRED (and the magazine's "patron saint"), for five years he penned a column exploring the frontiers of technology -- ideas that he expanded into his 1995 best-selling book Being Digital. An angel investor extraordinaire, he's funded more than 40 startups, and served on the boards of companies such as Motorola and Ambient Devices.

But his latest effort, the One Laptop per Child project, may prove his most ambitious. The organization is manufacturing the XO (the "$100 laptop"), a wireless Internet-enabled, pedal-powered computer costing roughly $100. Negroponte hopes to put millions of these devices in the hands of the children in the developing world by 2010.

Comments

[ArabianMonkey]

Remarkable feat! This project is changing the course of the lives of kids in under served communities. WOW! Respect to Negroponte.

[zizyphus]

Maybe he can look at the US- our kids don't have laptops over here.

[panchovilla]

Google "Juan Manuel Santos," the name of the minister of defense in Colombia to learn about his connection to drug traffic, right-wing death squads, and hostility against Venezuela.

[noam4prez]

And by the way, Nicholas Negroponte is the brother of John Negroponte (google him)!

From Wikipedia:

"The previous U.S. ambassador to Honduras, Jack Binns (who was appointed by President Jimmy Carter) made numerous complaints about human rights abuses by the Honduran military under the government of Policarpo Paz García. Following the inauguration of Ronald Reagan, Binns was replaced by Negroponte, who has denied having knowledge of any wrongdoing by Honduran military forces."

Just an example. You've got to wonder about the real motivations of Nicholas, working with the Columbian military in the guise of helping children learn.

[Rachela]

A very cool story about turning technology into a way to reach isolated children, and "vaccinate" them from ignorance.