I have to ask...Why?

Why does everyone need to use electricity?

Why does anyone need a loptop?

Will these products, hand generator and laptop, give these children the ability to have fresh food and clean water? Will these products give the children the love and self worth they desire and deserve?

Is this the free market economy's way of making itself feel good?

Glenn-

A laptop will not neccesarily give a child "love and self worth". However, it does provide them with a tool. It is easy for somebody who already has access to luxories like electricity and a computer to deride their use, but denying that somebody else might benefit from them seems foolish and hypocritical to me.

The goal of these products/projects is to provide tools and access to information. Why would you deny these people access to tools that can help them better plan and build their communities? Why would you deny them the ability to generate their own power and light their way home? Why would you deny them access to telephone communication that could be combined with micro-loans and help build their economy?

Sorry to go off on a rant, but your comment at best is naive. Of course if you feel so strongly about not using electricity then maybe you should turn off your computer?

what I want to know is
Where can you find these things. I bought the olpc for this function. I wanted a internet machine that could go anywhere. This is the perfect laptop for that. I was told that the pull cord was included by the people at olpc before I bought it.

never got it....
the battery life is also shorter than advertized...even on black and white mode.
5 hours in black and white
4-3 in color

I really want to know where I can get the potenco pull cord recharger or some other solution.....

what I want to know is
Where can you find these things. I bought the olpc for this function. I wanted a internet machine that could go anywhere. This is the perfect laptop for that. I was told that the pull cord was included by the people at olpc before I bought it.

never got it....
the battery life is also shorter than advertized...even on black and white mode.
5 hours in black and white
4-3 in color

I really want to know where I can get the potenco pull cord recharger or some other solution.....

I am not trying to deny these people anything. However, who are we to decide what these people need? These people are not stupid. They have been living for thousands upon thousands of years developing ways to live within their environment. It just so happens that some very negative, if not evil, people decided they wanted something these people have. The best way to get it is to screw them over and take it. That is what I believe happens in many cases.

Will a laptop help get the land back for many displaced refugees? These "tools" are tools of the last 20 years. They are tools that don't really do anything in the physical realm. They are tools that cannot provide the most basic of necessities for communities that simply need clean water. With these tools they will however be able to be swept away into the modern world in which purchasing power denotes self worth. Look at the united states economy right now. Look how messed up it is. Ask yourself if you are truly happy because you can buy an over sized house modeled in some sort of bastardized victorian style and remain in debt for the rest of your life?

And do these people even want laptops? Who's to say they even want our pity? They may just want a little help to end the atrocities that surround them and then they can get back to the lives that many may not even remember.

Oh...while I'm at it, just because people don't have electricity does not mean they are unhappy and deprived.

I'm not sorry to go off on a rant. When are we going to stop being so self-righteous and realize that others may not want to be saved by our religion of mass consumption democracy.

Glenn,

I can understand your frustration with how people were treated in the past, but your comments seem very confused. No where did I, nor the article suggest that the people that stand to benefit from this technology want our pity. The fact of the matter is that the people that this invention/product is being designed for are people that have little to no access to resources of any kind, be they clean water, medicine, communication, or money. However, as I previously mentioned with the telephone/microloan example, a computer that is mobile and able to connect and communicate with a larger network is a tremendously powerful tool that can be used very effectively to empower groups that were previously marginalized.

By trying to give people tools that enable communication and wide spread economic growth, you can hope to have a greater impact on improving standards of life. When access to clean water is a daily struggle, I do not think bastardized faux-victorian mansions causing debt are a big concern. As you stated several times (and contradicted several times), this isn't an issue of mass consumption it is an issue regarding general daily needs for a healthy life.

Your claim that these tools are incapable of providing physical benefits is very short sighted as is your faith in the people that could possibly stand to benefit from them. "Do these people even want laptops?" it appears you have already decided for them.

I will agree that the whole OLPC venture has struggled and often suffers from many of the naive beliefs that other NGOs have had with dealing with undeveloped nations, but there is potential for great improvements in the standards of living for many people. Besides that wasn't the point of the original post. It was about a small and simple to operate power source that has the potential to provide light for the long walk home. Simply assuming that other people don't want the benefits of this technology is just as self righteous as assuming that we can save them with the religion of mass consumption.

Beyond laptops... I would say that yes, very many people would like to power a small LED light so they or their children could read or study after nightfall. Many places might have access to electricity, yet not be able to afford to use it for luxuries like reading. If this gadget was available for an affordable price, people would benefit. Let's not assume that people living in preindustrial conditions without readily accessible electricity, etc wouldn't want to be able to power things like lights, etc. I am sure there might even be uses for this in the medical field.

The third world has basic needs more pressing than technology. But let's say you insist on getting them some new high tech stuff. You want to help people take the first major step up in technology, you get them a LED light system & some way to charge them. You want to go the next step? Get them a cellphone & a solar cell charger. A laptop is way, way down the line in pecking order, after safety & social justice.

I throw in ideas such as "pity", "self worth", and "consumerism" into the mix because the implications of our actions are much greater than we think and hit much deeper than we can ever imagine. There are not just cut and dry problems and solutions when dealing with fragile cultures and conflicts throughout the world that most people haven't the slightest understanding of.

As some commentors noted the smaller steps might be better suited and more appropriate for people of underdeveloped countries, and more focus on safety and social justice before the onset of technology might be a good thing.

Though this is just an online discussion, hopefully it can garner more and more attention to the infusion of underdeveloped regions of the world bringing a more critical eye to what people are championing as "help".

Design and technology seem to be given too much weight as the saviors of our society. We may need to stop and think about what it is we are actually doing once in a while.

However, as a gadget that charges up ipods with human power...this thing is great!

Glenn Says:

"And do these people even want laptops? Who's to say they even want our pity? They may just want a little help to end the atrocities that surround them and then they can get back to the lives that many may not even remember."

Wow Glenn, have you ever even been near those whom you keep referring to as "these people"? I've worked with three developmental aid organizations in S.E. Asia and Africa, and I can tell you first hand that access to information is cherished by all people, not just privileged people of European descent. The internet brings political awareness and information about developmental opportunities in the fields of housing and agriculture to people who really need it.