January 31st, 2008
Have you gotten one yet?
Businessweek and ZDNet Asia reported earlier this week that many customers who participated in OLPC’s Give One Get One (G1G1) program are still waiting for the Get One to materialize. The idea behind the G1G1 initiative was that donors could, for $400, purchase both an XO computer for themselves and for a needy child in a developing country. Without buying in large quantities, this was the only way American consumers could get their hands on one of the mini laptops.
According to the article, however,
Harry McCracken, editor in chief of PC World, is still waiting for his XO laptop. He was one of the first to participate in the promotion, donating US$400 to the OLPC on November 12.
Originally, the OLPC told McCracken that he’d have his XO by Christmas, but that got pushed into January, and now representatives tell him he “might have good news in February.”
Similarly, the article notes,
An OLPC representative said the organization is prioritizing shipments of XO laptops to needy countries, which probably makes sense. But the laptops are in short supply, and issues with addressing and order tracking have compounded the problems.
So how about you? If you ordered an XO through this program, have you received it yet?
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Follow Chris Dawson on Twitter! Christopher Dawson is the technology director for the Athol-Royalston School District in northern Massachusetts and a member of the Internet Press Guild. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations, but always keep in mind that the opinions expressed here are his own and not those of his daytime employer, even if he talks incessantly about his day job.
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