Sunday, February 3, 2008

This is one of those stories which makes me imediately search for a local application.

Nigerian 5-Year-Olds Repair OLPCs in "Hospital"

Affordable Laptops Are Simple to Repair
Greener Gadgets Conference in New York City, former One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) CTO Mary Lou Jepsen explained that the discount laptops have met with a number of roadbumps in Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation. Part of the problem has been wavering support from lawmakers there and negative local press. But part of the problem has been literal bumps.

Jepsen explained that children in Nigeria learn at metal desks that are bolted together in pairs. They are supposed to seat two young learners, but more typically seat five in common crowding conditions. This means the desks are constantly getting jostled around, and the brand-new XO OLPCs get knocked to the floor. Even though they were built to be extremely rugged, occasionally a screen or other component will get broken.

In the developing world, a consumer can't just drive to the nearest repair shop. That's why Jepsen and team designed the XO to be so easily repairable (it even comes with embedded extra screws). The key components can be easily swapped out with a screwdriver, including the $1 backlight for the LCD display (something that usually cannot be readily replaced on typical laptops). Even motherboards can be swapped out easily, though actually repairing one takes some expertise — about as much as repairing a TV, suggested Jepsen, depending on what's wrong.

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