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[LesleyT]

My To-Do List:
1.  Put bag of dog poop on intel's doorstep
2. Light bag
3.  Knock
4. Run

But is a bag the best design for getting flaming hot dog poop on those little things on your feet of intel staff?

1. Get together a team of designers, editors, teachers, volunteers, visionaries to come up with four principles of dog poop delivery system interface....
2. Send out press releases, notices, media blitz about world-changing dog poop delivery systems which will revolutionize access to dog poop delivery for people all over the world.
[...]
37981 . deliver the devices.......   eventually...

-NN

oh yeah.  hire LesleyT

[Gabey8]

I would sell XOs commercially and price them at a point that would subsidize the sales, or even donation, of laptops to developing countries. The commercial price wouldn't have to be a 100% markup, nor should it be while there are still some glitches remaining in the OS.

I would definitely make a point of enabling the XO to play videos and flash content, particularly if the devices were going to be sold commercially. G1G1 donors might not have minded purchasing an item that occasionally seems to be in a beta-testing status, since we knew we were helping the OLPC mission, but purchasers who just want a portable laptop for themselves probably won't be so forgiving.

The person who figures out how to get the XO to stream video and audio like a videophone will be a hero. So will the one who integrates Write or AbiWord with Speak to provide talking word processing.

[DavidNielsen]

I would acknowledge that the OLPC machine was the first and still the best in the line of affordable Linux powered laptops and attempt to ramp up production so it could be marketed for the same market as products like the Asus EEE Laptop. Reason to do this:

1) Generate income which can be spend on development of next generation OLPC hardware, derived products for the commercial and niche markets and be spend donating laptops for the original education purpose. It is clear that developing nations are not going to be able to afford massive rolls outs and every little bit helps.

2) Getting OLPC laptops in the hands of developers, to create a viable ecosystem of specialised 3rd party programs we need developers to have the OLPC in their hands, see the posibilities of the platform. Doing this development in a simulator is not sufficient, we need the encouragement.

3) It would help line the OLPC up for getting into 1st world public schools, for these governments investing in a million laptops is affordable compared to their current IT spendings and could be justified by the saving on new books. It would help usher in the paperless schools with text books that are kept up to date in the styling of wikipedia. OLPC would be an invaluable partner to prepare a generation for work in the service and information industries, not to mention the low power would be a welcome move to cut CO2 emissions.

I would want to see the OLPC expand beyond it's narrow scope of 3rd world education, let us build and lead a movement to revolutionize computing. I want to see every child get a laptop, everywhere, one that follows them through all their years in school. Let IT become a truly integrated part of education everywhere.

[jnk27]

Create a thin XO device, with simply the ability to browse really well ***cough*** Opera ***cough***, and serve as an eBook reader.  Scrape Sugar, touch-pads, and keyboard - instead add a multi-touch screen  .  Also add a mzillon usb/SD/vga/... expansion ports for more devices, and allow standard 'nix drivers to work.  Plan to sell them in the educationopen market at a very competitive price ***cough*** $100 ***cough***, and let loose the hacker community. Prophefit 

P.S.  Also sell it in kit form, with some assembly required.

[corgimas]

i would make a point to read these forums to see what a popular consensus might be of my xo laptop..........

[eclare99]

Well, I would print up all the great suggestions here, and read and peruse them carefully while travelling to Canada, go and see Santa at the North Pole, share ideas with Santa and Ms Santa, and the elves, then head back home and try to get back to being the "xo Saint Nick"!

[tamrik]

Objectives:
1. Improve availability and quality of software for the OLPC.
2. Create additional lesson plans for use with the OLPC and make them available worldwide.
3. Decrease the cost per unit.
4. Raise cash to finance continued operations.

Steps to accomplish these objectives:
1. Make the laptops available to American and European school systems.   Availability of the OLPC within American and European school systems could generate global collaboration between students and teachers, resulting in an extensive repository of lesson plans and educational activities.  In addition, the sales of these systems would serve to increase production levels, reducing unit costs, and generating revenues that could be used to continue the OLPC primary mission.

2. Start work toward the publication of a definitive guide to developing integrated Sugar activities (with examples), making it easier for educational developers and hobbyists to create educational activities.

[CharlesMerriam]

Ah, my taxes are finally done.   

A day is about nine working hours, so what could be accomplished in one day?

First, I would raise additional funds.  I would draft a letter to all G1G1 recipients thanking them for their support and asking for additional donations.  I would thank them for their contributions through G1G1, highlight the actual deployments and make the argument that donations to OLPC provides a lot of "donation for the dollar".  I would explain that because OLPC is small, it can only ask twice a year, so please send money now.  I would set the machinery in motion to send out this physical letter by mid-June and plan on another one to arrive about December 10.  While initial mailings typically break-even, I expect the OLPC would come out ahead by using the G1G1 list as the starting point. 

Second, again with donations, I would look into the viability of adding small plaques to the bottom of new manufactured laptops.  These could be a single part replacement for the current battery cover or a permanently attached rider package somewhere.  If all else fails, a sticker would work.  The writing on each would be unique with text that might resemble "Laptop #24211 donated by Mark Lungstum.".  Donors would not be able to choose where the laptop is deployed or initiate contact, since OLPC would not be tracking these through manufacturing.  Look into setting up an infrastructure wherein each new donor could receive an occasional email from the affected child.  On the other hand, for some software and creative email forwarding, OLPC could dramatically improve donations.

Third, it is time to spend some time watching the organization.  I would set up time to meet with all the people who have resigned from the OLPC in the last six months and give careful exit interviews.  There will be data to be gleaned, feathers to be smoothed, and a productive way to spend one hour chunks.  The manageable number of phone conferences or physical meetings provides enough benefit to make the grade.

Finally, I would go home early.  OLPC has been a great success so far.  Most of the problems people clamor for immediate action are recent opportunities afforded by its success.  What was impossible is now something to be optimized.  Take the afternoon to walk along the Charles and consider what should be done next.

[mellon]

I'm just going to repeat the same basic things everyone else is saying, because perhaps if it's said in unison, folks will listen.

Sell the OLPC XO to people who want to buy it.   It doesn't matter if it's a pain in the neck.   Sell it anyway.   The more geeks who have one of these, the more code will get written.   Whenever I go into a coffee shop and work on my XO, people come up to me and ask about it.   Everybody loves it.   It's a fantastic product.   But when they ask "how can I get one," and I say "you can't," their faces fall, and that's the end of it.

Sell the XO.   Don't worry about changing it.   Just sell it.   The kids who get XOs will really benefit from more people in the developed world having one of these.

And don't make it a charity thing.   Sell it for a decent profit, but not as a nonprofit activity.   Sell it cheaply enough that if I have a 100-unit project, I can buy 100 units at a decent price.   Use the profits to fund the project.

Don't try to manage the message.   Let the market lead you in unexpected directions.   I'm not really a big fan of markets as a panacea, but this is something they do well.

The more ways there are to get an XO, and the more projects that get done with an XO, the better life will be for the actual target audience for the XO - the kids.

[Wayan Vota]

.


The Contest Is Now Closed - let the voting begin!

Please vote for the person you think would be the best Nicholas Negroponte for the day based on their response.  The top three will split $50 in XOexplosion gear.

Not all entries were counted, as some were off topic or repeated other's entries.

[dkaufman1]

99 words
~~~~~~~~~

Enact 100 day plan:

 -  Offer G1G1 by referral only ala Gmail, which would allow me to stay focused on my core mission but grow my developer base with "market frenzy"

-  Create a licensing plan to allow various OLPC branded items to help support my mission financially, similar to (RED) campaign including XO accessories

-  Create a contest called "Simple Lessons" where anyone can create a lesson for using the XO in a classroom, and a library of lessons are built

- Introduce the "1Child" Campaign -  each week a child's story is told, the before and after of life around the XO

[dkaufman1]

On thing I noticed after submitting my (minutes late) entry was that many writers did not think in terms of "a" day.  I think that being able to show up in 1 day and enact lasting change is very difficult, but that was the mission.

I shied away from anything with hardware, software, organizational changes as they are normally not feasible in "a" day.

[dkaufman1]

Just to show I pay attention, after the fact.  It was minutes plus a day.  I guess I didn't tell Wayan that I had filed an extension, on my contest ENTRY!



Of course he didn't say if accepted my extension application.

[Tortuga]

I'd like to amend my original proposal to include that Walter not be allowed leave. I see his departure as a major change in direction and/or philosophy that by its very nature puts me on edge.

People are posting about inevitable change and that is fine and a valid point. Except when it comes to the core visionary/starters of a project, that is not fine, imho.

Edit: I'm not trying for more votes, as it was already decided, from the start, that any winnings or XO parts will go to the the project in Nepal.

[PiForEver]

Sell Comercially for $250